Chapter 21

Very soon, smoke began to curl up from the kitchen chimney.

The millet was clean and didn’t need washing—they could just cook it as is. The lotus root, however, needed to be rinsed; otherwise, the soup would be full of mud. For now, the Ding family didn’t lack water, so it wasn’t a big issue.

The leftover water was poured into Ding Xiaodie’s gourd bottle, and Ding Gui found one for himself too.

Now, everyone had something to carry water in.

Fortunately, when the townspeople fled from the famine, they couldn’t take their pots and pans with them. Now, the family of three gathered around the stove, watching the bubbling pot of millet porridge. Their hearts and eyes were filled with a deep sense of happiness.

There was no fish, shrimp, or meat—but they had their lives, health, and hot millet porridge. The whole family was safe and together—what could be more important than that?

Meanwhile, when Dabao and Erbao returned home carrying the lotus roots, their entire family was stunned.

Their family hadn’t been the worst off in the village, so they managed to bring along a bit of leftover grain when they left. But along the way, they had to be frugal—if they could skip a meal, they would.

In terms of family hierarchy, Laifu’s mother and ninety-year-old grandmother were above him, and below him were his two half-grown sons. Naturally, the food had to be given to the elders first.

But the grandmother didn’t want to burden the younger generation and would only take two or three bites at most.

So every day in the Laifu household, there was a tug-of-war over who should eat and who shouldn’t.

But now, with this much lotus root and a bit of water in the gourd, they could rinse the roots, grab a handful of rice, add three pounds of lotus root, and cook it as Xiaodie had instructed—bring to a boil on high heat, then simmer on low.

Before long, a pot of soft, glutinous lotus root porridge was ready. It was deliciously sweet and fragrant—even the old granny praised it.

Finally, they didn’t have to argue over food anymore.

Laifu’s wife, Madam Yang, added a bit of pork fat she had saved with great care. Her eyes turned slightly red. The household was full of old and young—two boys—and their grain was barely enough for another meal.

She had been managing all this stress alone, calculating every step. It was exhausting.

Laifu understood her struggles. He gently patted her shoulder and said, “Dish it up. Everyone gets a full bowl today. Let’s eat until we’re full.”

The whole family, young and old, smiled with bittersweet joy.

Smiles like this—filled with real happiness—had not been seen for a long, long time.

Especially when Laifu saw his grandmother’s smile, a wave of sadness rose in his heart.

At that moment, Dabao said, “Come to think of it, we really have to thank Xiaodie. If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t have known about lotus root.”

“Yeah, Xiaodie is smart. We never noticed when we were back in Aozi Gou,” Erbao added.

Laifu nodded. “This is good. We need to remember this. If the Ding family ever needs anything, you two better be quick to help.”

“Got it!”

Dabao and Erbao happily drank their porridge. Their bellies were warm, and their hearts hadn’t felt this light in a long time.

—-

Zhang Xiu was also quick and capable when it came to housework. The fragrant porridge was soon ready. For Wang Dafeng’s sake, the lotus root was cooked until it was extra soft.

Then, Xiaodie went to wake up Wang Dafeng.

After calling her for a long while, Wang Dafeng opened her eyes groggily and mumbled, “You wretched girl, food? Ay, I must be dreaming. Who talks about eating these days? It’s all about begging for food.”

Xiaodie couldn’t help but laugh. The old lady could be kind of cute sometimes. She blinked her big eyes and said, “Didn’t you smell the aroma of millet porridge?”

Wang Dafeng sniffed with her eyes half-closed.

Hmm? It really did smell like food.

Suddenly full of energy, she sat up. Her mind cleared, her legs stopped aching, her arms stopped hurting, and she briskly went downstairs straight to the kitchen.

She was stunned to see a pot of millet porridge on the square table and another pot filled with something unfamiliar but soft and delicious-looking.

“Wh-where did this come from?” Wang Dafeng was so shocked she could hardly speak. Even back in Aozigou, she hadn’t seen such good millet porridge. Was this a dream?

“Old Third, Old Third, pinch me!”

She stretched out her old arm. Ding Gui laughed and helped her sit down. “Mom, no need to pinch. You’re not dreaming. It’s real. Eat up. Today, you can eat until you’re full.”

Zhang Xiu had already served three bowls of porridge and lotus root, handing over chopsticks one by one. “Eat, Mom. Xiaodie, you too.”

Only then did Wang Dafeng sit down in a daze.

It wasn’t until she took a sip of the fragrant porridge and let out a contented sigh that she finally believed this wasn’t a dream.

Still, where did the millet and that thing called lotus root come from?

Wang Dafeng insisted on knowing, so Xiaodie had to lie: “Grandma, I heard someone say that when you’re blessed with good fortune, you should never ask where it comes from. If you do, it’ll disappear. I think you shouldn’t ask or tell anyone either. As long as we have food, that’s enough.”

Wang Dafeng thought the little girl made sense and nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, yes. I won’t ask again. If I do anything wrong, you let me know.”

No one expected such a big change in the old lady. Ding Gui and Zhang Xiu exchanged glances and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

The millet porridge was delicious, and the lotus root tasty. There was no oil, but that didn’t matter. Still, without salt, the flavor was lacking.

Ding Gui planned to take a pound of millet to trade for some salt. They could still hold out with what they had, and if they did more good deeds, Xiaodie could get more supplies from the space.

After eating, he grabbed the millet and headed out.

Zhang Xiu and Xiaodie weren’t worried at all.

Although Ding Gui sometimes seemed unreliable, he was actually a great businessman—sharp, calculating, and quick-witted.

After he left, the three women sat in front of the stove, full and relaxed, chatting away.

As they talked, Wang Dafeng sighed, “If only we could dig lotus root from that pond every day. Then we could settle down here and stop running.”

Her words carried a trace of sorrow. After all, if they could settle, no one would want to keep wandering and sleeping out in the open.

But Xiaodie knew very well—they couldn’t stay in Yangliu Town for long. For one, many houses still had dead bodies inside. People were pretending not to notice for now, but with the heat, it wouldn’t be long before flies were swarming everywhere.

At that point, the town would become unlivable—unless all the bodies were dealt with.

—-

Early the next morning, the villagers hit the streets with buckets and basins, hoping to find a water source.

After resting for a night, they were reluctant to move on. If they could find water, they didn’t want to take another step forward. Everyone was tired of dragging their families along on this hard journey.

Laifu hurriedly stopped a few people. “Listen to me. Don’t search blindly. If you can’t find anything, it’s just a waste of energy. Let’s conserve our strength. Once it’s dark, we’ll set off.”