Every person who returned home after that reacted the same way as Huo Bing and Xiao Hua.

There was shock, surprise, joy, happiness, but mostly disbelief and unworthiness.

After all, it was white flour dumplings!

How could Mother bear to give them to us?

In the past, she would only make a little bit, perhaps to make a pancake or a noodle soup with dumplings for the little brother.

How could she bear to give them to us now?

The most shocked of them all was Jiang Shui.

Carrying a basket full of wild vegetables, she thought it would be nice to have a bit more of the vegetable porridge tonight.

She came home only to have Mother take the basket from her and urge her to wash her hands and eat dumplings.

When she sat down with a bowl and saw the white flour dumplings, just like those for the third and fourth brothers, even the same number, Mother even explained that the fourth brother had gotten shrimp, so his bowl had two shrimp dumplings.

She was told not to mind.

How could she mind?

These were white flour dumplings, and there were plenty of scrambled eggs inside.

It wasn’t like her dumplings had less egg because she was a daughter, nor did she not get to eat white flour because she was a daughter.

Mother didn’t specially make her eat fewer eggs.

The fourth brother got more shrimp, not because he was a boy, but because he had fished for the shrimp.

Jiang Shui realized she didn’t mind at all. It really didn’t matter.

In the past, they would argue and fight over the thicker porridge, or to get a bit more wild vegetables, but none of that mattered now.

She liked how Mother handled things, and she liked that Mother explained it to her.

Today, Mother was so good.

She prayed to the heavens that this wasn’t a dream, that when she woke up, Mother wouldn’t change back.

Shen Qing didn’t know what her children were thinking.

Seeing them happily eating the dumplings she made, she felt a sense of accomplishment for no reason.

She wouldn’t neglect herself, so she had already eaten early with the first batch of dumplings.

Now, with some free time, she was cleaning the basket of wild vegetables Jiang Shui had gathered.

The most abundant was the Malan head (a type of wild vegetable).

This wild vegetable could also be found in the Huaguo supermarket, but the ones Jiang Shui brought back had red stems, and the aroma was stronger.

Shen Qing loved to eat and knew how to prepare it.

After blanching the vegetables, she cut them into small pieces, added salt, minced garlic, chili peppers, aged vinegar, and sesame oil, then mixed them together to make a delicious dish.

Looking at the rest of the vegetables in the basket, she found a lot of purslane, which was similar to Malan head in preparation.

It was good for clearing heat and detoxifying, as well as stopping dysentery, so it was very beneficial to eat.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have any vinegar or sesame oil right now.

Stir-frying was out of the question without oil.

Well, tomorrow when she went into town, she could buy some necessities.

The remaining vegetables, she didn’t know.

They looked familiar, but she couldn’t name them. As long as they were edible, she wouldn’t stress over it.

“Why didn’t you wait for me before eating?”

The displeased voice came from the gate.

The third and fourth brothers, who had been eating happily, pouted and continued eating without caring.

Jiang Shui nervously looked at Shen Qing, biting her lower lip as if lost in thought.

Shen Qing looked up in surprise and saw a young boy in a long robe, frowning and looking at the family with reproach.

Ah, this must be Jiang Xiangzhong, the youngest son of the Jiang family.

Jiang Xiangzhong was the one who was most favored by the original mother.

Everything was done with him in mind, and he was spoiled without limits.

With four sons capable of working, plus Huo Bing and Jiang Shui, two girls who were quick and skilled at cooking and washing, the family shouldn’t have been so poor.

They shouldn’t have been living in a dilapidated house, eating meager meals with little savings.

But it was all because they had to pay for Jiang Xiangzhong’s schooling, to buy him paper, ink, and brushes!

It was a good thing to have a scholar in the family, especially when the whole family supported him, but the premise was that the person being supported had gratitude and respect, not an ungrateful wolf.

But Jiang Xiangzhong used the silver earned by his four brothers, and enjoyed the care of his sisters-in-law, believing it was all his due.

He never showed any gratitude or respect.

Over time, except for the eldest brother, who was the most foolishly filial, and the second brother, who was like a hard-working ox, everyone else was polite on the surface but secretly resented him.

“I’m talking. Didn’t you hear me?” Jiang Xiangzhong’s frown deepened as his gaze swept across the brothers and sisters before finally landing on his mother.

He wanted his mother to explain!

How could these people eat before he came back?!

Shen Qing saw Jiang Xiangzhong looking at her but said nothing.

Behind every spoiled child was a spoiled parent.

People didn’t dislike the child, they disliked the parent who indulged and spoiled them.

She didn’t like spoiled children, and didn’t want to be a spoiled parent.

At thirteen, Jiang Xiangzhong was furious when he saw that no one paid him any attention. He stomped his foot and angrily shouted, “Mother! You haven’t eaten, how can they eat first? If you don’t control this, will they ever respect you again?”

Shen Qing, startled, answered, “I’ve already eaten.”

Jiang Xiangzhong froze. Was he asking that?

No, how could Mother have eaten before him?

She actually ate without waiting for him!

“Mother, why did you eat first?”

“I’m your mother. What’s wrong with me eating first?” Shen Qing retorted coldly.

Jiang Xiangzhong was stunned.

He pointed his finger, finally landing on Jiang Shui, and angrily said, “Why did she eat first? Shouldn’t we have waited for me to return?”

Shen Qing glanced at Jiang Shui and said, “She’s your sister. There’s a proper order. Do you think she shouldn’t eat first?”

Jiang Shui’s smile widened, and she lowered her head, continuing to eat her dumplings.

The dumplings were delicious, even better than before!

Jiang Xiangzhong opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

He only felt that today, his mother seemed so unfamiliar.

He argued stubbornly, “But she’s a girl! She’s naturally inferior to boys, how could she eat before me?”

In the past, Mother always told him that Jiang Shui was a worthless burden, that when he was ready for the imperial examination, she would marry Jiang Shui off to a rich family, with enough bride price to support his studies.

Once he passed the exams and gained success, he only needed to support the family, and Jiang Shui would belong to another family.

It would have nothing to do with him.

Why should he respect an outsider?

Shen Qing was almost amused by his words.

“If you think she’s inferior, why do you let her wash your clothes? Why eat the food she makes? Why use their silver?”

“You’re a scholar, proud and noble. You should maintain your own integrity. Since you look down on them, rely on yourself! By the way, the dumplings you’re eating tonight were made by the ‘inferior’ girl. Maybe you should stop eating them.”

She knew where Jiang Xiangzhong’s ideas came from—it was what the original mother had taught him.

But unlike the eldest and second brothers, Jiang Xiangzhong had gone to school and met all kinds of people, some of whom were wise and knowledgeable.

He should have his own judgment of his mother’s words.

But he didn’t.

He still believed in everything his mother, a simple village woman, said.

If that was the case, there was no need for him to continue his studies.

Or perhaps he believed that enjoying the hard work of others without giving anything in return was fine.

Who wouldn’t enjoy that?

Selfish people never needed to use their relatives’ hard-earned money to study.

Jiang Xiangzhong was glared at by his mother, feeling as though all his little thoughts had been seen through.

He huffed in annoyance, “Fine, I won’t eat them!”

Later, when his mother begged him to eat, he wouldn’t touch them!

Then he remembered his writing brush was a bit worn out.

He had planned to ask for silver to buy a new one.

After a moment’s thought, he decided, “Fine, if Mother asks me to eat later, I’ll eat just to make it easier for her. Then I’ll bring up buying a new brush. Maybe she’ll buy me two.”

Jiang Xiangzhong waited and waited, but by the time the sun had completely set, Mother didn’t come to beg him to eat the dumplings.

His stomach rumbled with hunger, and he couldn’t help swallowing.

When he passed by the kitchen, he saw that even Jiang Shui’s bowl had white flour dumplings in it!

Those were the white flour dumplings he usually got, but now even Jiang Shui was eating them.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

The more he was angry, the hungrier he became.

In his mixed feelings of anger and hunger, the night seemed unusually long.