CH 9

The next day Su Qinghe gritted her teeth and got up in the morning bed to cook for the family.

Yes, she decided that starting from today, she will cover the three meals a day at home. She has to do it without the system’s temptation.

She didn’t want to starve to death, nor did she want to eat the food brought back by her brothers, while her brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces, and nephews would starve to death.

The most important thing is that when others can’t get food, she can get food by working. She feels that if she doesn’t work hard to get food because of her laziness, she, herself despises her three views.

It’s just cooking, it’s not exhausting!

She also has a key to the kitchen, which Gao Xiulan put on her side so that when she is hungry and wants to eat, she can do it herself.

Su Qinghe went straight to the kitchen door and opened it. There was still some corn cob flour left in the kitchen. She directly made a bowl, put it in the pot and cooked it, then put spices on it.

Although there are no condiments added but with the skill points given to her by the system, she has become more and more accurate in her sense of cooking. She can have this awareness of when and how much to put.

So even this kind of pure coarse grains can barely be called edible.

The family felt a little bad because of the meeting last night, and they were a little weak when they got up in the morning. After seeing the smoke coming from the kitchen, they were surprised and rushed to the kitchen, fearing that something had happened inside. After seeing Su Qinghe in the kitchen cooking with a big spoon, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

It turned out, sister was cooking. That’s right, sister is going to eat in the morning.

“Brother, sister-in-law, you can go to work after the meal.”

Su Qinghe shouted.

Hearing Su Qinghe’s words, the others were flabbergasted. Su Aiguo said, “How can this work? You can eat by yourself, we are not hungry.”

If his sister eats alone, she can eat a few more bite. If all of them eat, their sister will have a lesser meal.

Ding Guihua’s mouth moved, but she didn’t speak.

Lin Shuhong looked at the children who were sweeping the floor with some hesitation on her face.

“Let’s eat, I cooked for the whole family. I know that there is not enough food at home. I am going to find a chance to go to the county town with my mother to see if we can borrow food. Our family will eat two meals first, and it’s okay if we don’t eat dinner in the evening. You have to eat breakfast otherwise how can you work hard in the morning?”

Su Aiguo doubted, “Sister, can you borrow? Now everywhere is cut off ……”

Su Aihua disagreed and said, “Sister, how can you ask for help? It’s good that they can give us meat, but if you go again, they will not recognize you as a goddaughter. That’s a loss.”

He is not as honest as his brother. The senior cadres are smart people. If they look at their family’s troubles so much, they will definitely dislike their sister.

In this situation at home, it is too difficult for their sister to find someone from the city. If the senior cadre can be a matchmaker for their sister in the future, then their sister will be able to go to the city to enjoy the blessing.

“Brother, it’s okay. I’ll go try it later.” Su Qinghe said.

“What are you doing here, waiting for a pie to fall from the sky?” Gao Xiulan combed her hair and came out, looking at her sons and daughters-in-law standing at the kitchen door, she was immediately upset.

Hearing Gao Xiulan’s voice, Su Qinghe hurriedly went to the kitchen door, “Mom, I’m cooking. Let my brothers and sisters-in-law eat something before they go to work. Just some corn paste.”

Gao Xiulan was still stern, but when she saw Su Qinghe, her face was like a spring breeze, her voice was gentle, “Why do you get up so early to cook? How hard it is ah. Just tell mom what you want to eat, mom will make it for you.

What can I give them? Now every household is broke.1 There are so many of them. They will not be satisfied with a bite. It’s better to save a good lunch at noon.”

Su Qinghe: “…” Her mother has a lot of misconceptions!

“Mom, I have done everything. Let them eat before they go. Two bites per person. Morning work requires a lot of energy.”

“Why do you need so much strength? You can’t give more work points.” Gao Xiulan glanced at her two sons and daughters-in-law. Seeing that they were behaving, she said with a stern face,

“Forget it, Qing’er cooked it, so you can have a bite. She got up early in the morning to make food for you all. She didn’t even have a bite herself. Those of you who are heartless still can’t tolerate her. Do you feel if your conscience is still there?”

Su Aiguo and Su Aihua really touched their hearts, and then honestly said, “Mom, it’s still there. We all remember sister’s goodwill in our hearts.”

Lin Shuhong and Ding Guihua: “…”

After Gao Xiulan spoke, the family finally sat down and had breakfast together.

The children still have a small share, and one person can eat two or three bites to pad their stomachs.

In order to be full, Da Ya added boiled water to her bowl and other siblings too and stirred them into a clear soup.2 They eat with relish.

Lin Shuhong was about to give her children some food to eat, Gao Xiulan patted the table directly,

“Didn’t you hear what Qing’er said? Giving you food will give you the strength to work. If you give it to others, can you still have the strength? If you don’t want to eat, give it to Aiguo. Why are you giving them food? It’s not bad if they don’t starve to death, but they also want to eat til’ a full stomach? If it weren’t for Qing’er, no one could eat a bite this morning!”

Lin Shuhong hurriedly plucked the food into her mouth, worrying that if she pissed off her mother-in-law, she wouldn’t be able to eat anything next time.

Su Qinghe was tastelessly drinking the paste. She didn’t have much in her bowl, because Gao Xiulan said she would open a small stove for her.

After eating quickly, Su Aiguo and Su Aihua took their wives to work. Gao Xiulan told her granddaughters to clean up the dishes. She went to her room to get some flour to make egg noodles for her daughter to eat.

Su Qinghe hid in the room to check her storage. After seeing three catties of rice, she was relieved.

After the upgrade, she no longer needed to get praise from others to be rewarded. In the future, as long as she cooks, she will be rewarded. Regardless of whether she chooses coarse grains or fine grains, cooking a meal for the family is rewarded with three catties of food.

Before, she thought that it would be more convenient to get coarse grains. Now she has other ideas. If she takes out the fine grains, she can still take the fine grains and go outside to exchange more coarse grains.

In this way, the family can not only eat a little bit but also find the opportunity to have a good meal.

She plans to take out the rice after working3 for a few days in a row. This can also ease the situation at home.

There is also that big iron pot, she is also ready to take it out. The big clay pot at home uses too much firewood. Not only is food scarce these days, but firewood is also a treasure. Save if you can.

Su Qinghe made up her mind and Gao Xiulan also entered the house with the bowl and chopsticks.

Because now she can contribute to this family, Su Qinghe felt more at ease when she open a small stove.

“Mom, when things get better in the future, I will give Da Ya and the others a good meal. Da Bao and Er Bao are not tall. Da Ya is ten years old, and she looks like she is six or seven years old…”

Gao Xiulan flatly said, “If the family doesn’t lack food, can I not give them a bite to eat? I also want to tell you, don’t make breakfast for the family in the morning. You heard at the meeting yesterday. I have also heard that we have to survive until the autumn harvest. There are still several months, ah, Qing’er, Mom doesn’t want you to eat bark like others. Mom feels distressed.”

She choked up as she said, “The bark cuts the intestines, so it hurts. The bark is not good enough to eat, and you will get edema. Why did cripple Su’s wife die? She doesn’t eat and gives all the food to the children.

As a result, she starves to death and the family is now in a more difficult situation. Mom doesn’t want you to suffer. Those girls take a bite less and won’t die. It’s good to be able to live. If you’re soft-hearted, you will be the one who dies of hunger. If you are gone, Mom also will not live…”

This mother acted up again.

Su Qinghe took her mother’s hand, “Didn’t I mean to wait until the day is over? Dad has delivered food and meat several times. I don’t think my dad will ignore us. Dad is a cadre below, so it’s not a problem to feed our family.”

Gao Xiulan immediately turned red when she heard her man, “No, your dad was a capable man when he was here. He often brought back some game. Otherwise, how could your brothers grow that tall? Our Qing’er has a bitter life;  you couldn’t eat a bite of your dad’s meal. Fortunately, your dad has a conscience and knows to come back to compensate you.”

Su Qinghe looked at her red face and felt that she saw something that could be called a young lady on Gao Xiulan’s face… She shivered and coughed,

“Mom, we have to have faith in my dad. Before, I didn’t care about family affairs, as long as my mother loves me. But when I went to a meeting yesterday, I was scared. I don’t have my dad anymore, and I don’t want to watch my family go. When I think of someone starving to death at home, I get scared and can’t sleep at night.”

She showed a scared look.

Gao Xiulan hugged her distressedly, “Qing’er, don’t be afraid, mother is here. No one will die of hunger. Our family has a strong labor force and can earn work credits. Our family has more food than others. We will not die of hunger.

Those girls and your nephews will not die of hunger either. I haven’t heard of anyone who can die of hunger with food in their stomach every day. Those who died of starvation haven’t eaten for several days. Don’t be afraid, Mom is distressed to see you like this.”

Su Qinghe nodded and then said, “Mom, I will cook two meals a day from now on at our house. If my dad doesn’t give us food in a few days, we will change it to one meal. The farmers are busy these days, but my brothers and sisters-in-law go to work with little food.”

When her daughter said so, Gao Xiulan nodded her head, “Okay, okay, okay, we all listen to our Qing’er.”

At lunchtime, Gao Xiulan and her sons announced their decision to take two meals a day for a few days. Then she brainwashed her sons,

“It’s because Qing’er cares about you that she’s prepared to ask for food from the big cadres to subsidize you. Are you, brothers of the family feel sorry?”

The two brothers nodded straight. Sorry, really sorry!

Lin Shuhong and Ding Guihua also lowered their heads.

At work in the afternoon, Su Aihua said to his wife, “If anyone says anything bad about my sister in the future, I will fight them. Our sister is the best. She’s only a teenager, five or six years older than Da Ya yet helped us with many things. Whoever says she is not good has no conscience.”

Ding Guihua hurriedly coaxed her own man, “Yes, yes, no one said that sister is not good. Didn’t I always say that sister is good?”

Su Aihua glanced at her, “You can’t think bad about sister in your heart. If you think about it, you are heartless.”

“…… Yes, I promise not to think. I’ll think of the goodness of sister.” Ding Guihua breathed a sigh of relief.

Her man is foolish when he should be smart, and smart when he is foolish. She used to think that this sister was not good, so she was not convinced. There was no sister-in-law in the whole commune who didn’t work and could still open a small stove every day.

Even the grandson she gave birth to Su family didn’t enjoy this kind of treatment. How can she feel comfortable?

Now, of course, it’s another story. Who made sister live well and meet noble people.

It’s true that people have different lives. They are both born as a woman. Why is there so much difference in their life?

Ding Guihua sighed with entanglement.

At home, Su Qinghe didn’t sleep in. In this environment, it’s better to sit by the door in a daze.

A few small people nearby are doing housework, sweeping the floor, wiping the table, washing clothes…

Su Qinghe was ready to give a hand with only a few integrity left. The children trembled and refused.

Their Grandma said that people who don’t work have no food to eat. If Auntie does the work, they won’t be able to eat.

Su Qinghe: “…”

Taking advantage of Gao Xiulan’s absence, Su Qinghe stuffed them with a piece of dried sweet potatoes.

“You have worked hard, this is a reward for you.”

The children didn’t dare to eat at first, Su Qinghe said, “Eat quickly, this is a reward for you. I won’t tell your grandma.”

The children gobbled up and stuffed them into their mouths. The youngest, Erbao couldn’t bite, so Su Qinghe was ready to find boiling water to soak it, but Da Ya directly chewed it up for him to eat.

Su Qinghe gulped. Can this be done?

But Su Qinghe also noticed that among these children, the two boys, Dabao and Erbao, were heartless. On the contrary, the girls are more sensible. The Da Ya is calmer, Er Ya is more lively, and the San Ya is more clever.

Su Qinghe felt that these children were just cute and sensible little angels compared to the children in the future.

After they finished eating, Su Qinghe did ideological work for them.

“In fact, what your grandma said is also for your own good. Hard work is a person’s greatest wealth. Don’t be lazy. Laziness is a disease that is difficult to cure.”

She was lazy for 20 years and she couldn’t cure it for two lifetimes. Oh no. Had it not been for a famine year, she estimated that she could still lie for another 20 years.

Da Ya moved her lips but dared not speak. Of course, Su Qinghe saw the doubt in her eyes.

Er Ya whispered, “Aunty, why you don’t work? Are you sick?”

Su Qinghe: “…Yes, I’m sick. I had this disease since I’m in my mother’s womb. I can’t cure it, and I feel uncomfortable when I move.”

Both Da Ya and Er Ya opened their mouths wide, and San Ya also learned to open her mouth.

Da Ya said, “But auntie is sick, but also has food to eat.”

Su Qinghe said earnestly, “Although Auntie is ill, she is kind and helpful. That’s why we have meat in our family. So you must do more good deeds and be a blessed child.”

Su Qinghe feels that she has too little morality, but when facing children, she still has to establish correct values for them as much as possible.

The children seemed to understand a little bit. It’s not that Auntie doesn’t work, but Auntie is sick. But her heart is good, so she’s blessed.

Seeing how ignorant a few children looked, Su Qinghe is quite comforted. Sure enough, sugar-coated words have been the most useful since ancient times. Very well, in the future, she will finally not be the image of a vicious aunt. She doesn’t want to be treated with hostility after making contributions to her family.

In the next few days, Su Qinghe cooked two meals a day in a row. 30 catties of rice have been deposited one after another.

When Gao Xiulan began to lose confidence in her man Su Dagen and wanted to restore the one meal a day again, Su Qinghe asked the system to send ten catties of rice to Gao Xiulan’s room. There is also a big iron pot.

Gao Xiulan woke up before dawn and was planning to discuss with her daughter, to cook only one meal in the future. As a result, she saw the iron pot in her room, and the rice inside the pot.

Looking at the white rice, Gao Xiulan immediately burst into tears with excitement.

“Dagen, I knew you were reliable.”

1

I omitted the next sentence because I couldn’t quite understand a word there and it mess up the whole sentence. So, pls. help me with it. Here’s the raw: 咱家还有口吃的就不错了

2

While translating, I can’t help but felt sad and shed tears. I felt so blessed that I never experienced this and although there were really times where I felt so hungry that I cried at least there was still rice and dried fish on our table. The most troublesome times in my life were the time I can only feast on rice mix with soy sauce and oil.

3

cooking.