Goudan wiped his saliva and lifted his little face to look at Lin Tang.
"Little Auntie, you go ahead and eat. We'll just smell it."
As he spoke, worried that his little auntie would disdain his younger brother for being sloppy, he quickly wiped off the saliva that had dripped onto Choudan's chin.
Upon hearing this, Lin Tang's heart suddenly ached.
In that other world she had seen, which child didn't need coaxing and deceiving by adults to eat their meal obediently?
Not like this era, where even getting enough to eat was difficult.
Lin Tang had always liked sensible children.
Her heart softened, and she touched Goudan's little face, smiling and saying, "We'll eat together."
In the two youngsters' memories, their little auntie was always cold and fierce.
Her sudden gentleness terrified the two children.
Goudan's face was especially shocked.
"...Li-Little Auntie, we won't... we won't eat."
Although he said this, his eyes were glued to the porcelain bowl.
The longing and drooling look in their eyes for the food was heart-wrenchingly sad to see.
Looking at her understanding, skinny, and starving little nephews, Lin Tang's heart felt tender.
She raised her hand and touched the slightly unruly hair of the little guy.
"I'm full, and there are two eggs in this bowl. I can't finish it by myself, so you need to help eat it.
One mouthful each, come on, open your mouth..."
As she spoke, she scooped a full spoonful of the orange-yellow egg custard and brought it to his mouth.
Goudan hesitated and glanced at his mother, then forcefully turned his head away.
"Mother, I just had a bowl of rice porridge. I'm full now. Let Goudan and the others have the egg custard!" Lin Tang looked at her mother with a pleading face and said.
Her mother had always favored her.
Seeing the young girl's tender and adorable act of coaxing, how could she possibly say no?
Plus, she wasn't the kind of elder who was malicious. They were just struggling with poverty!
Li Xiuli put on a stern face and addressed the little tykes, "Look how good your little auntie is to you all, always remembering you when there's something nice to eat.
Look around the village, whose little auntie is so generous.
People should have a thankful heart. Don't forget your little auntie when you have something good to eat in the future.
When you grow up, you should also be good to your little auntie..."
Her family had no place for ingrates.
Li Xiuli babbled on and made the children blush with embarrassment and emotion.
It was as if Lin Tang had done something incredibly significant.
"Little auntie, don't worry. When I grow up, I'll make money to buy you meat," Goudan, as the eldest child of the Lin family, took the lead and declared.
Choudan grew up following Goudan and, only being four years old, he didn't fully understand what the adults were saying.
Yet, he echoed his brother, shouting, "Buy meat for Little Auntie... buy meat."
Lin Tang: "..."
As an adult, what did she need children to buy her meat for?
Was this how her parents had always taught their nephews?
Overwhelmed by shock, Lin Tang's fingers trembled as she held the bowl.
To her father and her mother, however, it appeared as though their daughter was just easily moved.
The old couple imagined the scenario, their hearts swelling with sympathy for their daughter.
They secretly thought: It seems we'll have to teach these little tykes to be more filial to their little auntie in the future.
Lin Tang, who still didn't know she was going to be given special care in the future, handed the spoon to Goudan.
Smiling, she said, "Goudan, you're the big brother, you split it."
Goudan was taken aback and licked his lips, rolling the custard at the corner of his mouth into his mouth.
He looked at Lin Tang in disbelief and pointed to his little nose, asking, "...I—I split it?"
This bowl of egg custard was all theirs?!
And he... is going to do the dividing?
For a moment, Goudan's small body suddenly burst with an unprecedented sense of pride.
His little face flushed with joy.
At home, meals had always been divided by Grandma.
He couldn't believe he had been given such an important task, one not even his dad had done.
Did this mean he was even more capable than his dad?
Excited, Goudan puffed out his little chest proudly.
His gaze toward Lin Tang brightened with happiness.
Lin Tang had no idea that by casually assigning the small task of dividing the Egg Custard to Goudan, the oldest child, just because she wanted to go out and see if she could pick up some more good things, he would be so creatively inspired.
Thinking of her family's meals made Lin Tang feel a bit gloomy inside.
She said to Xiuli, "Mom, let's fry some eggs tonight. The farm work is so strenuous; you all need to eat well to keep your strength up."
"Fry what eggs? We won't fry them." Xiuli shook her head in refusal.
"Isn't every family the same? Keep the eggs for yourself. You have lost so much blood; you need to replenish it properly."
"If your brothers crave something, they can go find something good on their own.
Whatever they pick up, no matter what it is, even if one person eats it all, I won't care.
But I will keep what you find for you to eat slowly over time."
The eldest daughter-in-law was quite generous.
The second daughter-in-law had a narrow mind, always hoarding things in her own room, barely able to hide her greed.
She certainly wouldn't let her daughter be at a disadvantage.
Lin Tang knew her mother couldn't resist her wheedling. Enduring the strangeness and awkwardness in her heart, she tugged on her mother's sleeve with pleading eyes.
"Mom, just fry a few, I've already promised my brothers.
Look how skinny they've become, not to mention how lean Dad and you are. Don't you feel pity? I feel pity."
"They're just wild eggs, after all; we got them for nothing. You can consider that I didn't find anything today, okay?"
"It's been so long since you all tasted eggs. Just indulge this once, okay?"
Xiuli's eyes turned slightly red as she patted her daughter's hand.
"Alright, alright, Mom promises you; we'll fry some eggs tonight."
Which young girl doesn't want to hoard all the tasty things in their own room?
Only her silly daughter, having finally found a few eggs, insisted on sharing them with the family.
How could she not love such a daughter?!
"It's getting late; isn't it time to change your dressing? Come on, let's go to the room and I'll change it for you."
Xiuli turned her face aside to wipe the corner of her eye and led Lin Tang back to her room.
Lin Tang, whose mind was only on treasure hunting, followed her mother, speechless, "...".
Lin Tang's room was on the far right. Although not large, it was well lit, with a jujube tree planted in front of the window.
In front of the window sat a small, rather old desk, and beside the single bed was a wardrobe as old as the desk.
The walls were papered with newspapers, looking neat and tidy.
It didn't resemble a farmhouse bedroom of that era at all.
Xiuli carefully unwrapped the white cloth from her daughter's head.
She examined the wound meticulously; it was no longer bleeding.
With more rest, it should heal fully.
Lin Tang was concerned that if the wound on her head healed too quickly and was discovered, but the system had cleverly performed a trick.
It had healed underneath while still appearing injured on the surface!
An hour's rest at noon.
Following a whistle, the production team members went back to work.
Before leaving, Xiuli reminded Lin Tang,
"Tangtang, your head is still not healed. Just rest at home and don't make mom worry."
Watching her mother's frail figure, Lin Tang felt a bitterness in her heart.