Chapter 9: Entering the City

Qin Huiyin stood in front of the stove, watching as six wild eggs were fried to a golden hue, their fragrance wafting through the air and making her mouth water uncontrollably with hunger.

Li Taohua, noticing her longing, picked up a piece of the fried egg and held it to her lips.

Qin Huiyin blew gently on it before taking a bite, her face alight with happiness. "Delicious."

"Silly girl," Li Taohua chided her gently.

The main staple was still wild greens mixed into a cornmeal porridge, but after frying the eggs, some oil and salt lingered, making the porridge far more flavorful than previous meals.

Once the wild greens and cornmeal porridge was ready, Tang Luwu helped serve the food. She carried the wooden basin filled with porridge outside, while Tang Yixiao followed her with his bowl and chopsticks, heading for the dining table.

Qin Huiyin brought out the plate of fried eggs.

Li Taohua moved the large bowl of cornmeal porridge that Tang Luwu had just served over to herself, topped it with several generous pieces of fried egg, and carried the bowl into the inner room to eat.

By the time she returned, Tang Luwu had already distributed the porridge. Li Taohua glanced at her, then snatched the bowl from in front of Tang Luwu.

Tang Yixiao had just sat down and glared at Li Taohua when he saw this, his face darkening.

Tang Luwu shifted uncomfortably.

Would she go hungry again today?

It was because of hunger that she’d collapsed into the water before—her head had spun suddenly. If she went without food again, who knew where she might faint next time?

Tears shimmered in Tang Luwu’s eyes.

She didn’t even want the eggs—just the wild greens would suffice. Was that too much to ask?

She’d only served herself a single ladleful, not daring to take more, and most of it was the bitter wild greens. The majority of the cornmeal porridge was in the bowls of Li Taohua and Qin Huiyin. She’d noticed before how Qin Huiyin hated the wild greens and would pick them out to throw away. She’d thought they didn’t like them, and it would be wasteful to discard them, so she’d ladled a few extra greens for herself, believing it wouldn’t anger them.

As Tang Luwu spiraled into anxious, self-pitying thoughts, Li Taohua added two more ladles to her bowl and set it back in front of her. "Eat. What are you waiting for?"

Tang Luwu froze in disbelief. "Is this really for me?"

"Who else would it be for?" Li Taohua retorted.

Tang Yixiao exhaled quietly.

If Li Taohua and her daughter had denied his sister food again, he’d have saved his own portion for her. He’d tried to do that last time, but she insisted he was too frail and refused to eat his share. If things turned out like that again, he would force her to eat, no matter her protests. Fortunately, the two women hadn’t made trouble for his sister today. Perhaps they’d been frightened by her fall into the water and didn’t dare make things difficult over food any longer.

Li Taohua slid Tang Yixiao’s bowl over as well.

This time, Tang Yixiao showed no particular reaction.

Li Taohua gave him two ladles too. When she finished, she served the last bit of cornmeal porridge to Qin Huiyin, then took the empty basin back to the kitchen before returning.

The Tang siblings bowed their heads, quietly eating wild greens and drinking the cornmeal porridge. In the center of the wooden table sat the golden fried eggs—they neither glanced at them nor showed any interest, focused only on the food in their bowls.

"Go on, eat!" Qin Huiyin called to them.

Neither sibling moved.

Tang Yixiao didn’t even look up, and Tang Luwu spoke in a voice as faint as a whisper: "I don’t really like eggs. You two have them."

Qin Huiyin picked up some egg and placed it in their bowls. "You have to eat even if you don’t like it. Eggs are best hot—they’re not as good once they’re cold. My mother made plenty; the two of us can’t finish them all."

Tang Yixiao lifted his head to look at her, suspicion in his eyes.

So generous?

Whenever there was something good to eat, it always went to her first—only when she’d had her fill did anyone else get a taste. Why was she suddenly so magnanimous today? Was there something wrong with these eggs?

He was young, but not so easily fooled. His older brother had always told him never to trust others lightly; in this world, no one is kind without reason.

Qin Huiyin simply followed her heart, unconcerned with what they thought. She served even more eggs to Li Taohua, saying sweetly, "Mother, have some more."

Tang Yixiao waited a while, and only after seeing Li Taohua and Qin Huiyin eat the eggs did he finally eat the ones in his own bowl.

Delicious.

How long had it been since he’d tasted something so good?

Tang Yixiao was filled with mixed emotions.

Whatever Li Taohua and Qin Huiyin’s intentions, it would be a waste not to eat the eggs laid before him. With that in mind, he picked up some more and put them in Tang Luwu’s bowl.

Tang Luwu grew anxious, glancing nervously at Li Taohua and Qin Huiyin. Qin Huiyin was engrossed in her meal, paying them no mind. Li Taohua pursed her lips, clearly displeased.

After the meal, Tang Luwu volunteered to wash the dishes.

She was so full today.

When Tang Luwu came back after washing up, she saw Qin Huiyin already lying asleep inside.

Tang Luwu sat beside her, watching the peaceful slumber on Qin Huiyin’s face, feeling as if all that had happened today had been a dream. If every day could be like this, then perhaps her father marrying a stepmother wouldn’t be such a terrible thing.

Qin Huiyin needed to go to the town, which meant setting out at dawn. When she woke, she heard sounds from the kitchen and wandered over, still half asleep. In the dim light of the moon, she saw Tang Luwu at the stove, making flatbreads. Hearing footsteps, Tang Luwu looked over timidly and said, "You said you were going to town today, so I wanted to make some flatbreads for you and Aunt Li to take on the road."

"Why don’t you come with us?" Qin Huiyin said. "We’re going to buy medicine for Tang Yixiao today. You know more about his condition than we do—it’s best that you come with us."

"Can I?" Tang Luwu asked, uncertain.

"Of course you can." Qin Huiyin rubbed her eyes. "I’ll go wash my face. I’ll leave this to you."

Tang Luwu’s original intention had been to do more around the house, to maintain the harmony they’d found the previous day. If she worked hard enough and proved useful, perhaps Aunt Li would see her as less of a burden, and there would be fewer quarrels at home. She hadn’t expected Qin Huiyin to invite her to town, or to bring up medicine for her brother again. She didn’t care about going out for fun, but when it came to her brother’s health, it was always on her mind.

From what she’d seen yesterday, Aunt Li truly doted on Huiyin. If Huiyin remained this easy to get along with, surely the family’s relationships could improve.

For the first time, Tang Luwu felt a glimmer of hope for the future.

She made several flatbreads—one for Tang Yixiao, one for Tang Dafu, one each for Li Taohua and Qin Huiyin. She ate only half of one herself, wrapping up the rest.

When Li Taohua saw that Qin Huiyin was bringing Tang Luwu along, she complained, "Why are you taking her? The ox cart costs money—two coins per person. With her along, that’s enough to buy another pound of cornmeal."

"I’ll walk. I won’t take the cart," Tang Luwu said hurriedly.

"No, if we go, we go together. If we ride, we ride together," Qin Huiyin insisted. "We’ll need to buy things later, too. Someone has to help carry it all, and the two of us won’t manage alone."

Li Taohua considered that, once they’d pawned some clothes and the silver hairpin, they’d have money and would want to buy rice and flour. They really would need help carrying it back, so she said nothing more.