Chapter 13

Wang Dafeng was naturally suspicious. When they didn’t pour her any water, she thought the Ding family trio was secretly drinking it behind her back. Once they did give her water, she started to question whether it was even safe to drink.

The old lady rolled her eyes and said, “Fine, guess this little girl has a bit of conscience. But just to make sure it’s drinkable, you guys drink some first—prove it to me.”

This…

Of course, the three members of the Ding family wanted to drink the water.

But they had just transmigrated from the 21st century. Just looking at the old woman’s yellow teeth—which probably had never been brushed in her lifetime—was enough to make them gag. Not to mention that gourd bottle was usually in her possession. Who could stomach it?

Zhang Xiu quickly said, “Mother, water is the most precious thing right now. When we’re not thirsty, we all have to save it. Think about it—how could the water be bad? If it was, why would Xiaodie keep it in her own gourd bottle, right?”

Ding Xiaodie wrinkled her small face. “Grandma, I may be a child, but I know better than to poison you with water. This water is so precious—wouldn’t it be better if my parents and I drank it ourselves?”

“Yes, Mother. How about this—if you’re too suspicious to drink it, just give it back to Xiaodie. Look at her, she can’t even bear to take a sip and wants to save it. If you give it to her, she might even call you ‘Grandma’ a few extra times,” added Ding Gui, fanning the flames.

“Dream on.”

Wang Dafeng instantly tied the gourd bottle to her waist—nobody was going to take a single drop of water from her. Unless they wanted her dead.

Seeing the old woman acting like this, Ding Gui thought, If we don’t start reining her in now, she’ll just get worse later.

So, he sighed deeply. “Xiu’er, Bao’er… do you know what happened earlier when I ran into Big Brother and Second Brother and talked about Mom?”

Zhang Xiu immediately sensed this was a setup and played along. “What did they say? Were they going to send some grain for Mom? Their families are much better off than ours. When they came, I saw their kids’ baskets were stuffed full.”

“You guessed wrong.” Ding Gui shook his head with a sorrowful expression. “I told them that Mom’s getting old, she’s barely getting by with us, and if this goes on, I’m afraid her body won’t hold out. I asked them to take her in and feed her—nothing else, just feed her.”

“But the moment I said that, both of them turned hostile. Said their families didn’t have enough food, and why should they share any with the old lady? They even said whether Mom lived or died was our problem. Told me not to come asking for help again because they wouldn’t lift a finger, no matter what.”

Wang Dafeng stared blankly, stunned. She knew her two heartless sons too well.

That was definitely something they’d say.

Ding Gui continued with an even sadder tone, “Mother, you clearly have three sons, but none of them care. Even if you died, they wouldn’t do a thing. Looks like from now on, you’ll have to rely on just the three of us. And this road of fleeing from famine is only going to get harder. The four of us must love and care for one another. Otherwise… if you only think of yourself, how will the three of us have the strength to beg for food for you? If it ever comes to the point where we don’t even have water… the three of us might survive longer than you. And the first to die—might be you, Mother!!”

Wang Dafeng was utterly dazed!

Ding Xiaodie secretly gave her father a thumbs-up. Uncle, that was Oscar-worthy. You missed your calling as an actor.

Zhang Xiu also tearfully wiped at her eyes, acting along.

After a moment of reflection, Wang Dafeng finally realized something: if she didn’t start treating her third son’s family better, she might really not make it.

That sudden, deep fear hit her hard.

Her eyes rolled again as she made a quick decision: change starts with small actions. So she turned around and yanked Ding Xiaodie into her arms. “Wuuu… Xiaodie, my sweet little granddaughter, Grandma was wrong! Now I know only you three truly care about me. I’ll care about you too from now on. Come, come, have a biscuit, ah!”

After speaking, she wiped a huge glob of snot with her hand, then reached into her clothes for the biscuit.

She’d been storing that thing close to her chest for several days. Though she’d dried it when they left home to make it last longer, it was still… questionable. For three people from the 21st century, just the thought of eating it was enough to make them gag.

And at this moment, Ding Xiaodie almost fainted—being pulled into the old woman’s musty, funky-smelling embrace nearly knocked her out cold.

Then came the biscuit shoved right up to her mouth…

AHHH, this is lethal!

Ding Gui and Zhang Xiu were also stunned into silence.

“Grandma, no, no, no…”

Ding Xiaodie, small and thin, squirmed like an eel out of Wang Dafeng’s arms, pushing away her dry, rough hands. “Grandma, you eat it. I’m not hungry. Dad and Mom said we’re not allowed to touch your food. You’re old, and can’t go hungry. You need food in your stomach to live a long, healthy life!”

“You little rascal!!” Wang Dafeng’s lips trembled.

But this time, it wasn’t fake—she was genuinely moved.

And because she was moved, she really wanted to share her biscuit with her son’s family. The three of them panicked and quickly pushed it back, insisting no one should touch the elderly’s food. They made it sound so heartfelt, it could move the heavens.

Wang Dafeng bawled her eyes out, snot flying.

Finally, they managed to calm her down.

Zhang Xiu walked her back to rest in her room.

Meanwhile, the Ding family trio looked down at the piles of snot she’d left behind…

Only now were they realizing—this whole transmigration business? Not fun. Actually kind of deadly. First was the hunger, and second, the hygiene… no one was picky, but even the strongest stomach had limits. What just happened? Absolutely nauseating.

The three of them exchanged wide-eyed stares for a while until Ding Xiaodie was the first to speak up, “I’m going out to find some kids to play with. You two figure this out yourselves!”

Zhang Xiu immediately stood. “I’ll go see if I can find anything to eat in the kitchen.”

“……”

These two?!

Ding Gui opened his mouth but couldn’t squeeze out a word. After all, he was the man of the house—he had to shoulder the responsibility.

In the end, he scooped up some ash from the stove and sprinkled it over the mess, then swept it all up.

—-

“Xiaodie, come here!”

“You hear that? Hurry!”

Just as Ding Xiaodie reached the doorway, two older kids from next door called out to her.

Even though everyone was starving, kids were still kids. As long as they had a shred of energy, they didn’t want to be stuck indoors.

Looking at them, Ding Xiaodie quickly recalled their identities from the original host’s memories.

The older girl was Ding Xue, fourteen years old. The younger boy was Ding Hao, ten. They were the second daughter and third son of her eldest uncle Ding Rong’s family. Back in Aozi Village, they used to bully Ding Xiaodie a lot.