Annie took the not-so-much meat and went into her self-made kitchen to cook it. Although it was a kitchen, it was nothing more than a campfire and a couple of pots and pans with a lot and a lot of spices on the side.
Noah had seen Annie's interest in cooking and had gone to the town to buy some of the basic spices to take home with him. Although Annie had initially been against this waste of money, Noah's gentle persuasion had her on board.
He watched as Annie, who was no more than seven years old, stood happily on a low stool and thought about what to do with the meat, and how glad he was that he had made a good decision in the first place.
The diet had to be balanced, and Noah saw that and he also going out to gather some wild greens and berries to bring back. Looking at the rice bowl before leaving and seeing how little rice remained, Noah decided.
Seeing his big brother going out, John also took on the task of fetching water from the nearby river. Jeptha, of course, became the "adult". He stayed at home to look after his two sisters.
Noah left the house and went alone to the higher ground to look for wild vegetables and berries. John went to the nearby river with a large bucket.
Just as he reached the river and was about to draw water, he saw a giant tiger drinking near the bottom. John remembered what his big brother had once said, that there was a rule in the forest that all creatures silently obeyed. It was that no creatures could hunt along the river except those in the river, but there were exceptions to every rule.
John did not dare to gamble. He slowly backed away from the giant tiger. But whether it was nervousness or an accident, he managed to step on a tree branch.
The loud snapping sound naturally reached the tiger's ears. He stood up and moved slowly towards the spot where the sound had just been made.
In a panic, John picked up the stone at his feet and threw it into the river, and the movement of the stone in the water caused the tiger to turn his head to look at it. John turned and obediently ran away.
It was only when he was far away that he stopped to catch his breath, and it was fortunate that he had the method his older brother had taught him, otherwise he would not have escaped so easily.
Just as John was about to turn back, a strange sound came from the bushes in front of him. John consciously prepared to run in the other direction, but was still drawn to the sound in the grass.
For the voice coming from the other end of the grass was too familiar; it was his big brother's voice. And it sounded as if he was complaining about something.
Curiosity got the better of him and John took small steps over to him. When he stuck his head out to look, he saw his big brother eating a pile of leaves.
This is the kind of leaf that John also recognised; when Jeptha could not bear to be hungry, he ate this kind of leaf, but he spat it out after he had taken a bite of it. Because the leaves of this tree are too astringent and too bitter, people who are not used to eating them feel that they are eating Coptis chinensis. So, in general, they will not eat this kind of leaf, even if they cannot help it, they will find something else to eat.
But at this time, Noah seems to be hungry for three days, as if he had eaten these leaves, while eating also complained: "These leaves can really be a lot, although it can be a full meal, but this is also too bitter and too astringent right."
John couldn't understand why Noah was still eating these leaves when it was obvious that Annie was already cooking at home. But he didn't want to disturb his big brother, he could see that his big brother was starving.
Although he kept complaining, his hands kept shoving the leaves into his mouth.
John also decided to go home and wait, he wanted to see if his big brother had become a bigger eater like Jeptha. If so, eating less himself should be enough to make him eat more.
Silently, John picked up the bucket and walked back home alone. Noah, however, was still eating the leaves.
After eating, Noah put the berries and wild vegetables he had just picked into his basket and walked straight back home.
When he got home, Noah gave the basket of wild vegetables and berries to Annie to cook. And then he began to take care of his little sister Ying's reading.
With Ying, Noah sometimes felt helpless. She wasn't much of a reader and didn't like to cook or write poetry like Annie. Instead, she preferred to play with the wooden sword.
Although Noah didn't want her to lose focus on her studies, he still wanted her to have something she liked to do, so he had always let her finish her studies and then play all the time.
But this time Ying was very good and finished reading and then sat on Noah's lap and said, "Big Bro, I heard that when you turn eighteen, you can go to the Awakening Ceremony and as long as you awaken a strong extraordinary ability, you can go to the Academy and study.
Noah was very curious how Ying knew about this, because he remembered that he had never said anything about such things. However, Ying pointed to the books lying on the floor and explained, "This is what I read in the books, so Ying will also work hard to read and practise with the sword so that he can protect big brother, second brother, third brother and sister when she awakens her powerful extraordinary ability in the future.
Noah couldn't help but feel relieved to hear these words from a child who was not yet six years old. He thought to himself, he hadn't suffered in vain.
But there was another part of Ying that he didn't know, and that was that the Awakening Ceremony couldn't awaken one hundred percent of the powers. Everything in the book is wonderful, but the reality is not so. Only twenty percent of the world's population can awaken their powers.
Those who can't awaken can only go into other professions or join the Logistics Department, a big department that's always at the back of the field helping the person with special abilities.
But there was no need to explain all this to Ying, she was still too young, letting her have a fantasy in her heart would make her happy for a long time.
But Noah also felt strange, because actually he had to participate in the awakening ceremony to awaken his powers, but he grew up with a lot of sword moves that came out of nowhere. And part of the reason he saved his siblings five years ago was because he always had a feeling in his head. That he had to free them himself, and that the people who were after them couldn't stay.
But even they had become less frequent lately, so Noah was gradually returning to his usual self. But those sword movements in his head, he wouldn't forget them, and he even went outside to practise whenever he could. Perhaps it was this kind of thing that made Ying, who was still a child, like swords so much.
After chatting with Ying for a while, the other three brought food to the humble table. Noah also picked up Ying and walked over to the table and sat her down.
Annie also began to help the others with their food, putting most of the meat in Noah's bowl after helping the others with their food. Noah saw this, but he said, "Annie, big brother has had some food in the city today, so a little bit is all right. You take the rest of the meat and vegetables for yourself and the others."
Annie looked at her big brother quizzically, but Noah insisted he was full and made a show of burping and rubbing his stomach.
Meanwhile, Annie had put the rest of the meat into the bowls of the others. John also put some meat in Annie's bowl and said, "You eat more too, second brother isn't too hungry".
Jeptha followed suit, putting meat from his own bowl into Annie's, but with a pained expression. Sharing food could be hard for Jeptha, who loved to eat. But when he thought of his sister going hungry, his hard feelings disappeared. Big Brother always taught himself that if Big Brother and Second Brother were not around, he would have to protect and care for his sisters.
Ying saw this and also gave Annie the meat from her bowl.
Annie covered her mouth and giggled at the look on her third brother's face and her little sister's actions. She pick up a pen with a piece of paper and write six words.
Thank you, I love you all.