No matter how severe the famine, parents will always try to feed their children first.
Feng Qingxue tilted the porcelain bowl in her hands, allowing Feng Qingyun to drink the porridge from the edge of it, while she gently stroked her head with her other hand.
"Qingyun, listen carefully. Don't tell anyone anything, and elder sister will make sure you have an egg to eat every day."
"Yes! Elder sister, I won't say anything." Feng Qingyun repeated.
No one understood the preciousness of food better than Feng Qingyun.
When they were living together in the three thatched huts with their two elder brothers and sisters-in-law, they would hear them accuse Feng Qingyun and her sister of wasting food.
It was not talked about behind their backs, but openly.
Feng Qingyun, being clever and with a good memory, clearly remembered that if it were not for her elder sister's desperate resistance, her brothers and their wives were planning to marry her sister off to the tenth team, which had several bachelors, in exchange for food.
If her elder sister did not agree to this, they were threatened with eviction from the thatched huts.
Although Feng Qingyun did not understand what being a wife meant, she knew it couldn't be good, otherwise her elder sister would have agreed to it.
Her elder sister was always good to her, so she trusted her decisions.
After finishing the porridge, Feng Qingyun touched her slightly bulging little belly, smacking her lips.
"Elder sister, the rice porridge tastes really good."
"If you're full, then go to sleep." In the moonlight, Feng Qingxue could see that not a grain of rice remained in the porcelain bowl.
"Alright." Feng Qingyun, feeling satisfied, curled up her legs in her torn cotton coat, snuggled against Feng Qingxue, and fell asleep quickly.
But Feng Qingxue simply couldn't fall asleep.
It was late autumn, and winter was inching closer. They couldn't keep living in the straw shed. They needed to find a more secure dwelling.
Finding a place to live should be easy, as the famine had greatly reduced the population of the Caohu Production Team, leaving many vacant houses. Even though the houses were made of mud walls and thatched roofs, and were in poor condition, with a little repair, they could provide shelter from the wind and rain.
The key was, they needed to find a way to move into one of these thatched houses.
The most important things thereafter were food and clothing. Objects taken from their personal space should be reasonable and not attract attention.
Fortunately, the original sisters had already set up their own households and did not have to live under the watchful eyes of their brother and sisters-in-law. If they were still living together, their clandestine actions would certainly be discovered.
After a night of contemplation, Feng Qingxue managed to clean herself secretly behind the pile of firewood near the straw shed, using a bathtub and warm water from her personal space.
While bathing, she also washed her hair.
After washing, she applied a coat of body cream and used hair conditioner.
In order to avoid any suspicion, she specifically chose the scentless kind of lotion, as well as shampoo and conditioner.
Then, Feng Qingxue put on undergarments and thermal underwear made of modal fabric in her empty cotton coat. The low-necked, close-fitting clothes were not noticeable after she put on the cotton coat.
She truly wanted to bring out clothes for Feng Qingyun, but the timing was not right, so she restrained herself.
Just as dawn was breaking and before Feng Qingyun woke up, Feng Qingxue went outside the straw shed and squatted behind the pile of firewood to wash up.
The straw shed did not have any water containers, so she had to get water from her personal space again.
After taking out her regular toiletries from the personal space, Feng Qingxue brushed her teeth, washing her hands and faces, then carefully applied a layer of colourless and odorless cream on her face, neck and hands.
After finishing washing up and putting away her toiletries, only then did Feng Qingxue have the chance to look at her own looks in a small mirror.
Just like Feng Qingyun, her shoulder-length hair, which was twisted into two braids, was yellow and dull, and her face skin was stretched tight over her bones. It was hard to tell whether she had an oval-shaped face or a melon-seed-shaped face, but it was clear that she wasn't ugly. Should her skin become plump again, she would undoubtedly be a beauty.