C25

Potato was nothing valuable to the peasants, but it was one of the food that could satisfy their hunger. Wenxiu estimated that this sack of potatoes weighed around eighty to ninety catties. It was enough for the three of them to eat for half a month. In other words, if she accepted this bag of unknown origins, she wouldn't have to worry about eating anything for at least half a month. And half a month was more than enough for her to find new food.

Actually, as they watched the autumn breeze cool down, what they needed was not only food, but also clothes, blankets, and the thatched cottage on top of their heads … But right now, nothing was more important than not being hungry.

However, what if these things were dug out by someone else and they wanted to wrongly accuse her of stealing? Faced with such sudden food, she could not help but think of more.

Should he keep these things?

A myriad of thoughts ran through Wenxiu's mind. Her gaze swept across Tree and Tong Tong's two eager faces. Finally, she boldly made her decision — she would accept it first before deciding on anything else.

Wen Xiu had always thought of her crossing as a retribution for stealing too much, so she vowed not to steal anymore. She swore to support herself and her two children by getting rich with her hands. The things in the kitchen weren't stolen by her. Since they weren't, there was no need for her to be afraid, right?

"Mother, what's wrong? "Mother …"

"Alright, let's eat the burnt potatoes and chicken noodle soup at noon today." As Wen Xiu was speaking, she grabbed the sack tightly. "Tree, close the gate."

"Oh!"

When Tree heard this, he quickly ran out.

The Tong Tong saw Wen Xiuji struggling to carry the sack, so she tactfully extended her slender arm to help. Although she did not have much strength left, nor did she have any help, she was still extremely excited. She could now help her mother.

Wenxiu moved the potatoes from the sack to the bottom of the brick bed. The brick bed was only used in winter, and the heat had already been sealed to prevent the potatoes from being roasted by the heat. Hiding the potatoes under the kang, while avoiding detection, also prevented the occasional mouse from appearing in the room. It was quite funny, they were so poor that they didn't even want to visit the mice. When she thought about it, she felt that it was not only funny, but she also felt that it was better to not waste food on a cat.

"Brother, now that we have potatoes, do we not need to starve anymore?" The child was still young, but he was scared and hungry. The Tong Tong Tong stood in front of the brick bed, unwilling to leave, afraid that once he left, the food his mother had just hidden would be gone.

Tree's black eyes were fixed on the floor of the bed. Listening to his younger sister's question, he gave a firm grunt of assent, "Mother definitely won't let us starve. I've been eating my fill these past two days!"

"Hee hee …" "Me too, the Tong Tong Tong loves my mother the most!"

"You love mother's poached eggs, right?"

"Hmph, aren't you the same?"

Wenxiu took out three potatoes, then used the only piece of broken bedsheet to cover the brick bed again before answering the two children, "You must remember, no one can tell us to leave the potatoes under the brick bed, understand?"

The two children nodded in unison!

Wenxiu didn't mind what she and her child ate at all. During lunch time, Wenxiu went out and picked up two pumpkin leaves. The fluffy pumpkin leaves could effectively clean the surface of the chicken mushrooms, but it didn't cause any damage to them. She washed the chicken mushrooms clean, tore them into thin pieces, and put them into a basin. Then she beat the eggs into a jar.

After she had beaten two eggs, she suddenly remembered that there was no salt or oil in the house. Fried eggs with chicken noodle soup, how can you fry without oil and salt? Eating without oil was one thing, but people couldn't eat without salt for too long. Otherwise, they would really get sick. Thus, she had a plan in her mind, so she hurriedly took four wild eggs and went out the door. Not long after, she returned with a small lump of salt and a small bowl of clear oil.

She went to change the eggs for salt and oil.

The four wild eggs didn't get much salt, but they were still pretty good for half a month. As for the clear oil, Liu Dahe had exchanged them for half of what he had given.

Wenxiu didn't try to be courteous with Liu Dahe, but in her heart, she silently remembered his kindness. Once her life was better in the future, she would definitely repay this kindness of his. She carefully poured the salt into the old salt jar and sprinkled it into the egg bowl. Only after it was well mixed did she start a fire.

By this time, smoke was rising from the roofs of the houses.

After Wen Xiu had lit the fire, she added a large firewood and then buried the potatoes in the stove. By the time the fire ran out, the potatoes would be cooked.

The practice of burning potatoes was both economical and effortless. The most important thing was that it was not at all taxing, as poor people often did in order to fill their stomachs. Compared to a hungry stomach, being able to eat one's fill was a blessing. How could he even hope for more oil and water from the potatoes?

After Wen Xiu finished burying the potatoes, she scooped two spoonfuls of oil into the wok. After the oil was boiled, she poured the chicken noodle soup with eggs into the wok. Very quickly, the golden egg liquid took shape. It wrapped itself around the Chicken Silk Mushroom and released the fragrance of the Chicken Silk Mushroom and the egg at the same time. It was extremely alluring.

Trees and Tong Tong stood to the side, smelling the fragrance, almost drooling as they chattered about how fragrant it was.

Wenxiu smiled and told the little fellows to sit down. When the scrambled eggs with chicken noodle soup were out of the wok, they would be ready to start eating. She wanted to make chicken silk mushroom egg soup, but there were so many chicken silk mushrooms, it would be a waste if they were all made into soup. However, if they didn't eat it and the chicken noodle mushrooms broke, it would be even more of a waste of the food.

Actually, the best way to fry eggs was to use lard. The scent of lard would seep into the mushrooms, making the taste even more tempting. However, her current conditions were limited, and the vegetable oil was even given to her by someone else. Thus, she couldn't ask for too much from him. When she had the conditions in the future, she would definitely save up a lot of lard and eat whatever she wanted!

The chicken noodle soup was also a type of fungus. Wen Xiu was afraid that the child would have a bad stomach from eating the unripe fungus, so she roasted it for almost half an hour before she put it into the bowl. The three of them ate one bowl each. There was still money left in the pot.

"Mother, it smells so good!"

"Wa! Wa! Wa! I'm drooling!"

For the past two days, the most common sound coming out from the shabby thatched cottage was "It smells good, it smells good". It encompassed the heartache of the brothers and sisters who had been starving all these years, as well as the joy of eating to their heart's content.

It's great that they don't have to starve anymore in the future!

Wenxiu did not eat her fill this time. After the three of them finished sharing the fried eggs with the chicken mushrooms, they each took out a cooked potato from the stove. However, the child's appetite was small. After eating the fried eggs with chicken noodle soup, he could no longer eat roasted potatoes. They all shook their heads and said that they had eaten their fill.

Wenxiu placed the potatoes properly for the siblings, then ate up the rest of the potatoes that belonged to her. Then, she gave a beautiful burp. She suddenly felt that her days of not being disturbed by others were truly comfortable. It would have been great if she could be like this forever!