Chapter 4: Stealing the Rice Soup

There wasn’t much rice soup in the clay pot—barely enough for the two girls to feel half full just by drinking the broth.

But with Lin Chaoyu delivering it? The best those two sisters could hope for was a sip left at the bottom.

Lin Chaoyang knew Lin Chaoyu well. He was sure the guy wouldn’t honestly deliver the soup untouched—but he didn’t bother interfering.

After all, his younger siblings were all selfish. Let them hurt each other; he wasn’t going to get involved.

Once Lin Chaoyu was out the door, Lin Chaoyang sat down to eat with Lin Chaoxing.

He scooped most of the rice grains into Lin Chaoxing’s bowl and even pulled out a chicken egg.

“Big Brother found a wild egg in the bushes today. Xingxing, you eat it. Don’t tell anyone.”

Lin Chaoxing’s eyes lit up at the sight of the egg, and his mouth immediately began to water.

“I won’t tell! Xingxing will eat it with Big Brother!”

Lin Chaoyang peeled the egg, and Lin Chaoxing quickly reached out his little hand, broke it into two halves.

One half was noticeably bigger than the other. Without hesitation, Lin Chaoxing put the larger half into Lin Chaoyang’s bowl.

“Big Brother’s big, so he eats the big half. Xingxing’s small, so I eat the small one.”

Afraid Lin Chaoyang would give the big half back to him, he quickly opened his mouth to eat the smaller one—but suddenly paused.

“Big Brother… do Second and Third Sisters get to eat eggs too?”

Lin Chaoyang hesitated for a moment, then lied. “They did. They secretly ate theirs earlier. Xingxing, don’t say anything—it’s our little secret.”

Lin Chaoxing was easy to fool. Hearing that everyone had gotten some put his mind at ease, and he happily ate his half.

To Lin Chaoxing, even a small piece of egg was a rare delicacy.

He didn’t dare eat it all at once. He took tiny bites, letting the taste linger in his mouth as he slowly savored the flavor.

Watching this, Lin Chaoyang felt a twinge of heartache—but he didn’t dare give out any more food.

They still lived under the same roof. If he spoiled Lin Chaoxing too obviously, the others would notice.

To keep his secret stash hidden, he could only occasionally feed his little brother things he could gather from around the village—that way no one would catch on.

Once the brothers finished their meal, Lin Chaoyu finally ran back home, ready to eat his share of the rice soup.

But by then, most of the rice grains had already been scooped out by Lin Chaoyang. Lin Chaoyu scraped at the pot’s bottom for a long while, disappointed.

Lin Chaoyang used the moment to assign him dishwashing duty and took Lin Chaoxing off to bed.

As Lin Chaoyu did the dishes, he grumbled, shooting resentful glances at Lin Chaoyang’s room.

He had thought there’d be plenty of rice grains left for him at the bottom of the pot.

But Big Brother had cleaned it out completely—only watery soup remained.

Fortunately, he’d drunk quite a bit of the rice soup straight from the clay pot on the way to the clinic. That helped ease the hunger just a little.

After rushing through the dishes, Lin Chaoyu lay down quickly while the feeling of fullness still lingered.

—

The next morning, Lin Chaoyang got up and made another pot of rice soup.

There was even less rice than the night before—not enough to scoop out a full bowl of grains.

Skilled at this by now, Lin Chaoyang scooped out two bowls with whatever grains he could find, leaving behind a pot of nearly clear soup.

When Lin Chaoyu woke up and saw the pot, where you could hardly spot a single grain of rice, he couldn’t hold back his growing sense of injustice.

Before, when Lin Chaoyang cooked rice soup, he’d always drink the watery part and leave the grains for them.

But from last night to this morning, Lin Chaoyu had barely gotten a few grains—just enough to get by on water alone.

Furious, he stormed to Lin Chaoyang’s room and knocked on the door.

Lin Chaoyang coldly asked, “Is there something you need?”

Lin Chaoyu couldn’t hide his grievance and immediately began to tear up.

“Big Brother, I’m hungry! I want to eat rice. Why didn’t you leave any rice for me? You used to give it to us!”

Lin Chaoyang’s tone became even colder. “Don’t you know what the situation at home is like? We only have a handful of rice. How much do you think we can cook?”

Before Lin Chaoyu could reply, he continued, “Do you think working in the fields doesn’t take effort? You think I don’t know what hunger feels like? If I starve, who’s going to take care of you?”

Lin Chaoyu had nothing to say in response. Then, he caught a glimpse of the few remaining rice grains in Lin Chaoxing’s bowl, and his frustration boiled over.

“Why does he get to eat rice every day, while I’m out herding cattle and working? He doesn’t do anything!”

Lin Chaoyang laughed bitterly. “You think that as the older brother, I’m obligated to make sure you’re well-fed? If you want to be the big brother, then why are you quarreling with your little brother?”

Lin Chaoyu was once again left speechless, but his chest felt tight with frustration. With a stomp of his foot, he turned and ran out.

Lin Chaoxing looked worriedly at Lin Chaoyu’s retreating figure. “Big Brother, is Fourth Brother angry? Should I give him my rice?”

Lin Chaoyang slammed the door shut. “Don’t worry about him. He’s too clueless to understand. He doesn’t even get the idea of the older sibling making way for the younger one.”

Seeing that Lin Chaoyang was also upset, Lin Chaoxing didn’t dare say more and quietly continued drinking his rice soup, taking small sips.

By the time the brothers finished their rice soup, Lin Chaoyu had already disappeared, and the pot was scraped clean of all rice soup.

Lin Chaoyang sneered. He had set aside enough for three people, but Lin Chaoyu had drunk it all.

It didn’t matter. He’d left it there; whoever ate it, it was their problem now.

After a quick tidy-up, Lin Chaoyang left for the fields.

Before long, Lin Chaoyun and Lin Chaoxia returned home from the clinic. The two had only had a few sips of rice soup the night before and were famished, nearly seeing stars from hunger. Yet, when they got home, there was nothing left to eat.

Lin Chaoxia grumbled unhappily, “Is Big Brother trying to starve us?”

Lin Chaoxing immediately defended Lin Chaoyang. “Big Brother left you rice soup!”

Lin Chaoxia’s temper flared immediately. “Left us some soup? The pot’s completely empty!”

Lin Chaoxing, scolded, wasn’t about to back down. He held his ground. “He did leave it! I saw it!”

Lin Chaoyun, who had been silent until now, shook her head at Lin Chaoxia. She pulled her sister aside, trying to calm her down.

“Big Brother wouldn’t forget to leave us anything. Someone must have taken it.”

Lin Chaoxia’s eyes immediately darted to Lin Chaoyu. Her face turned red with anger. “That little rascal! Xingxing, tell me, how much rice soup did Big Brother put in the clay pot last night?”

Lin Chaoxing answered honestly, “A whole big pot. It was heavy.”

Lin Chaoxia, hearing this, was so furious she nearly ran to find Lin Chaoyu to give him a piece of her mind.

She had known it! Big Brother wasn’t that heartless to starve them!

A whole pot of rice soup, and that little rascal Lin Chaoyu had left just a few sips for them!

Lin Chaoyun seemed almost unsurprised, her expression unchanged.

“Don’t you know what Fourth Brother is like? He won’t eat until he’s stuffed, so how could we get any?”

Lin Chaoxia was still fuming, rolling up her sleeves to go after Lin Chaoyu.

But Lin Chaoyun didn’t stop her; she was injured and couldn’t hold her sister back anyway.

While chaos brewed at home, Lin Chaoyang, out in the fields, was soon approached by the village leader.

“Yangzi, where’s your little brother? He hasn’t even gone to herd the cattle. Did he ask for leave or what?”