That night, after tossing and turning, she finally managed to sleep.
A rooster's crow rang out, waking Great River Village from its deep slumber. It was just barely dawn, and faint morning sunlight enveloped the village.
Farmers all woke up very early, wanting to take advantage of the sun not yet having risen to go to the fields to weed and kill pests. Another busy day had begun.
Cheng Loanloan hadn't slept well that night. It was a hard bed, with reeds and straw laid beneath the sheet, making her feel uncomfortable no matter how she lay. Luckily it was summer; if it were winter, she would truly want to die.
The lowest-class farmers simply couldn't afford cotton; their quilts were stuffed with straw and reeds. Great River Village was neither truly north nor south and didn't have the custom of heating a kang bed. One truly had to rely on sheer willpower to withstand the cold...
Cheng Loanloan felt a heavy burden on her shoulders. Not only did she have to fill their stomachs, but she also had to make at least two cotton quilts before winter arrived.
She sat up and got out of bed.
Everyone in the house was busy. The eldest daughter-in-law was washing clothes and sweeping the yard. The eldest son was preparing to go to the fields, the second son was preparing to fetch water, the third son was about to go chop firewood, and the fourth son, carrying a bamboo basket, was about to go pick wild vegetables... These children were truly sensible; she didn't understand why the original owner had doted so much on her natal family's nephew.
"Wait a minute!"
Cheng Loanloan said, frowning.
She turned and went into the room, opening the bag of millet that Old Madam Zhao had given her yesterday. Inside were three or four *jin* of yellowish millet, slightly darkened. This millet, at a glance, was clearly last year's leftovers, already a bit moldy. Eating moldy things would likely cause diarrhea. When poor, eating these things was, of course, no big deal, but now that she had the means, why make the children suffer?
She emptied the bag of millet, then clicked open the shopping mall system to buy yellow millet. Yellow millet was, in fact, just millet grain. In modern times, millet in the shopping mall was even more expensive than white rice, costing five *wen* per *jin*.
Although white rice was cheap and delicious, its origin would be hard to explain.
She glanced at the remaining money in her hand; 30 *wen* remained. Gritting her teeth, she made up her mind and bought five *jin*, leaving her with five *wen*.
Cheng Loanloan carried the bag of millet out: "Eat breakfast first, then go to work."
Wu Huiniang recognized the bag; it was the one Grandma had given them last night. She opened the bag and was startled.
Before, Old Madam Zhao had secretly provided food, but it was always rock-hard cornmeal cakes, or dark multi-grain noodles, or corn flour. Millet of such beautiful color, their family had truly never eaten before!
"Old Madam Zhao still cares a lot about you grandchildren," Cheng Loanloan said indifferently. "Divide it and cook porridge for two meals."
She really couldn't stomach eating plain white rice; mainly because millet porridge was very nutritious and good for the stomach.
These children hadn't eaten their fill for a very long time, and their stomachs, more or less, had some issues. They needed to be slowly nursed back to health.
Wu Huiniang was stunned. She lifted the bag of millet to estimate its weight; it was roughly five *jin*. Five *jin* of millet, divided to cook two meals of porridge – then each person could drink at least two bowls!
Last night, after eating their fill, she had thought they would starve for a month. She hadn't expected her mother-in-law to become so generous!
She didn't ask anything further; she carried the bag of millet and went into the kitchen to cook porridge.
Zhao Dashan put down his hoe and went to help his wife.
Zhao Sanniu and Zhao Sidan licked their lips, circling the stove.
Only Zhao Ergou slightly furrowed his brows, thinking to himself, *Mother, is she not planning to live? All the food in the house is gone, are we going to starve next?*
Oh well, eat, just eat. If we don't, it'll only benefit the Cheng family!
Everyone eats it all, then we'll all just starve to death together!