The sun slowly descended the mountain.
The evening sunlight spread across the horizon, enveloping Daihe Village in brilliant golden, multi-colored clouds. The scenery was very beautiful.
The daytime heat had receded, and a cool night breeze gently brushed across the faces of the mother and her children.
As they arrived at the house door, Zhao Sidan and Wu Huinang came out to greet them with anxious expressions.
Cheng Loanloan said coolly, "Go wash your hands and get ready for dinner."
Wu Huinang hurriedly brought out the food that had been warming in the pot. Zhao Dashan took a bowl and placed half of the chicken in it.
On the wooden table were four dishes and six bowls of millet rice.
Zhao Er'gou and Zhao San'niu were dumbfounded. The two of them had caused trouble outside and expected a beating upon their return, but they never imagined there would be so many delicious dishes: braised rabbit with radish, mushroom and egg soup, a plate of stir-fried green beans, and even the hen they had brought back. Such an abundance of food, more plentiful than in the past two years, made their mouths water uncontrollably.
Zhao Sidan's stomach had long been rumbling with hunger; he couldn't wait to grab his chopsticks.
Cheng Loanloan said, "Huinang, go get another bowl."
Wu Huinang immediately went into the kitchen, grabbed a bowl, and came back out. Cheng Loanloan portioned out some of the braised rabbit and radish. "Sidan," she said, "take this to your grandparents."
Zhao Sidan licked his lips, then grabbed the bowl and ran off like a flash.
It was getting dark. The old Zhao family residence had already eaten dinner: a little buckwheat flour cooked with wild vegetables, and each person had a cornmeal bun with a few green beans mixed in. This was enough to fill them about 50-60%, and in Daihe Village, it was already considered good food.
"Old man, why do I smell something like meat?" Old Madam Zhao sniffed her nose. "Who can still afford to eat meat at a time like this?"
Old Master Zhao took a drag from his hand-rolled cigarette. "Wait a few more days, and at least half the people in the village will run out of food. Do you think that's likely?"
"Didn't we get through the locust plague last year? The imperial court won't abandon us," Old Madam Zhao said, sewing as she spoke. "Today, the village head went to town, and the county magistrate said the imperial court is preparing to perform a ritual to pray for rain, hoping this rain will fall quickly..."
As she was speaking, someone in the courtyard shouted loudly, "Grandma!"
Old Madam Zhao hurriedly put down her needle and thread. "Why is that child Sidan here again? He hasn't been beaten by his mother, has he?"
The old madam pushed open the door and went outside, seeing Zhao Sidan holding a bowl in his hand. From a distance, she couldn't see clearly and thought the boy had come to beg for food. Only when she got closer did she realize it was a bowl of meat! The smell of meat she had just sniffed earlier was coming from this very bowl!
"Grandma, Mother told me to bring this over. I'll head back first!"
Zhao Sidan, his mouth watering, shoved the bowl into Old Madam Zhao's hand and immediately ran off. He had to go back and eat rabbit meat!
Old Madam Zhao was stunned, feeling as if there was something wrong with her ears. *That* wasteful eldest daughter-in-law actually gave her a bowl of meat?
The smell of meat spread throughout the courtyard, and other members of the Zhao family also came out.
Zhao Erwang, the youngest son of Zhao's second son, said, "I heard from Brother Tie Zhu that Sidan caught a rabbit today. This must be rabbit meat, it smells so good!"
Zhao Er's wife was a little surprised. "Eldest sister-in-law actually gave Mother food?"
"Eld
Old Madam Zhao, however, didn't feel it was a draw.
That wasteful woman had given her five *wen* earlier today, and now she was bringing over a large bowl of meat? When had the eldest daughter-in-law ever been so generous?
The eldest daughter-in-law only ever acted suddenly nice when she needed the Zhao family's help. Old Madam Zhao was very keen to see what she was truly up to.