Chapter 14: A Hard-to-Swallow Dinner

Lin Luoxi, though disheartened by Lin Wenqian’s discouragement, had already made up her mind to go up the mountain tomorrow, no matter what.

As she watched Lin Wenqian stir the grain husks in the pot, she felt no appetite whatsoever.

The dinner was not only bland but also lacked any oil or seasoning. It was just boiled grain husks, and once the water had boiled down, it would be ready to serve.

In the kitchen, there wasn’t even the most common salted vegetable found in a farmer’s home. With such dry and difficult-to-swallow grain husks, how could she bring herself to eat? Lin Luoxi’s face showed a look of hesitation.

“Time to eat,” Lin Wenqian said as he, seemingly unaware of the difficulty in Lin Luoxi’s eyes, softened the grain husks and began to ladle the food into bowls.

There were six people in the family, but excluding the unconscious Lin Wentao, there were only five people to feed.

Lin Wenqian carefully divided the small amount of grain husks from the pot, but it wasn’t even enough to fill the bowls.

Seeing the meager amount in the pot, Lin Wenqian gave himself a larger portion, then filled the others’ bowls.

“Big Brother, my appetite is small. I’ll eat your bowl, and you eat mine,” Lin Luoxi quickly said as she grabbed Lin Wenqian’s bowl, which barely had enough to fill the gaps between her teeth, and exchanged it with his.

“Hey, Second Sister, you were frightened today, you should eat more,” Lin Wenqian exclaimed, watching Lin Luoxi switch bowls with him. He was eager to take his bowl back.

He couldn’t understand why, in the past, Lin Luoxi had always eaten with relish, but now, since her soul had merged with her previous one, she was beginning to turn her nose up at the food and exchanged for the smaller portion.

“Big Brother, Father and Mother have already collapsed. You’re the oldest, and you can’t go hungry. So, I’ll eat less, it’s fine,” Lin Luoxi said, explaining her reasoning with a convincing tone, even though the grain husks were hard to swallow. She wanted to make Lin Wenqian eat more.

“This… this…” Lin Wenqian, who was still growing, wanted to eat more, but as the older brother, he felt obligated to let his sister eat her fill first. Hearing her words, he was moved, but at the same time, he also wanted to eat more himself, yet didn’t want to let Lin Luoxi starve.

“Big Sister, you can eat mine. I’m small, I can’t eat much,” Lin Luoling said as she saw her older brother and sister trading their bowls. Understanding the situation, she quietly pushed her own bowl toward Lin Luoxi.

Looking at the full bowl of grain husks in front of her, Lin Luoxi’s temples throbbed with tension.

Heaven, she really didn’t want to eat this, which was why she had purposely switched bowls with Lin Wenqian.

But when Lin Luoxi saw Lin Luoling looking at her with wide, clear eyes, she could only force a loving smile as the older sister and weakly said, “Little Sister, I didn’t have much of an appetite today. You eat first. Tomorrow, when I’m feeling better, I’ll eat yours, okay?”

“Okay!” Lin Luoling quickly agreed and took her bowl back, sitting down on a small stool, quietly eating her grain husks.

Watching her little sister, so obedient and understanding, eating the difficult-to-swallow food and trying her best to swallow, made Lin Luoxi’s heart ache.

Thankfully, this child was understanding. If it were other children, they might have started throwing tantrums by now because of the hard-to-eat food.

“Little Sister, tomorrow, I will definitely find something for you to eat,” Lin Luoxi promised, gently stroking Lin Luoling’s thin, yellowish hair.

“Really, Second Sister? I want to eat meat. If there’s no meat, eggs will do,” Lin Luoling said, her eyes sparkling when she heard Lin Luoxi promise to bring back food.

Lin Luoxi’s heart ached even more when she heard this request. She was left wondering, “Little Sister, why is it that with so many things to eat in the world, you’re only thinking about meat and eggs?”

This request… was something she could try to fulfill, but it wouldn’t be easy.

“I saw at Grandma’s house before; their family was eating meat. When they saw us, they immediately chased us away,” Lin Luoling explained, her voice small.

“Lin Luoxia from the big house saw us being chased away and deliberately ate a piece of meat in front of us…” Lin Luoling, though young, spoke clearly and fluently, her eyes full of longing for meat.

She remembered how, when Lin Luoxia ate that piece of pork, she had drooled with hunger. Their family hadn’t had meat for a long time.

“Luoling, are you full? If you are, go to bed,” Lin Luoxi said, already imagining how Lin Luoxia from the big house must have been showing off while eating in front of them.

She knew that there was no point in talking to a child about it; it was better to wait until tomorrow, when the sun rose, to surprise them.

“Okay, Sister, I’m already full,” Lin Luoling said obediently, then took her empty bowl to the washbasin to clean it.

Lin Luoxi couldn’t let her small, adorable sister wash the dishes. She quickly snatched the bowl from Lin Luoling’s hands and washed the dishes herself.

Thankfully, dinner didn’t have oil or fat, so washing the dishes wasn’t that troublesome.

After cleaning the dishes, Lin Luoxi first brought hot water into their room to help Lin Luoling clean up, then carried her to bed. Only after that did she go out to change the dirty water and clean herself.

Looking at how things had returned to normal, Lin Wenqian smiled to himself. He was happy that his responsibility to care for his sister was now being taken on by her.

He looked up at the night sky, seeing the round moon hanging high. He couldn’t help but feel that Heaven knew their family was finally reunited, with their little sister back.

Just as Lin Luoxi was preparing to sleep, she suddenly remembered something she still needed to do.

“Little sister, you sleep first. I’ll go check on Third Brother. I’ll be back soon.”

Lin Luoling, who had been carefully cleaned by Lin Luoxi, loved her affectionate sister. Hearing Lin Luoxi’s words, she shook her head. “Sister, I want to go too.”

“No, little ones need to sleep early so they can grow tall. If you stay up too late, you won’t grow,” Lin Luoxi patiently reassured Lin Luoling, who seemed ready to get up.

“Okay, Sister, but you must come back quickly,” Lin Luoling said, her eyelids growing heavy. She mumbled softly before drifting off to sleep.

Lin Luoxi looked at her little sister, smiling gently at the sight of Lin Luoling already deep in sleep. She quietly stepped out of the room, making sure not to disturb her.

The moment Lin Luoxi closed the door, Lin Luoling, who had just appeared to be asleep, suddenly opened her eyes and glanced at the door she had just closed.

“This time, it’s my turn to protect Sister and the family,” she murmured softly, then, remembering what Lin Luoxi had said about needing sleep to grow tall, she obediently closed her eyes and fell back into a deep sleep.

It was as if everything that had just happened had been a fleeting illusion.

“Father, Mother, I’m here to check on Third Brother,” Lin Luoxi said as she entered the room where Lin Wentao was resting.

The injury on Lin Wentao wasn’t too severe yet, and Lin Luoxi wanted to treat him while the injury was still fresh, making it easier to heal.

“Da’er, you’re here,” Lin Dayu and Lin Wangshi said, looking at Lin Luoxi as they sat up. They had been restless, unable to sleep, worrying about Lin Wentao.

“Father, Mother, you don’t need to get up. I can handle it on my own,” Lin Luoxi reassured them. More people would only make things more chaotic.