Chapter 8

Chapter 8

On the way back, Shen Yuan and Wang Sanhu joined a group to walk with others.

These were troubled times, and everyone was short on food and clothing. Although the local government also arrested those who committed robbery, it did little good.

They simply didn't have enough manpower.

Those serving in the yamen—the local government office—all had wealthy family backgrounds and connections; no one was willing to risk their lives.

They only wanted to earn a government salary, sport an official’s uniform, and exercise their privileges to make life better for their families.

Everything else was beyond their concern.

Those who undertook dangerous tasks like suppressing bandits were chosen from among the common folk, and even then, they had to pay the government to buy their positions.

Due to the long years of war, the quota for low-level clerks in the yamen had shrunk drastically; those without connections were all conscripted into the army.

In the past two years, as the situation stabilized somewhat, they recruited some constables from the lower ranks to fill these roles, specifically tasked with overseeing such matters.

In previous years, there were far more incidents of home invasions and robberies.

Shen Yuan possessed the memories of the original body's owner; the original owner had been robbed more than once.

Once, more than ten of them were walking together, but they still couldn't protect their copper coins and purchased goods. The robbers were fierce and ruthless, well-fed and strong. They wielded weapons like knives and swords, while Shen Yuan and the others were unarmed and no match for them.

The robbers wanted money, not lives, so they had no choice but to give up their goods to save their skins.

Big Tree Village was relatively lucky; neighboring villages had even been ransacked. Anything of any use in the homes was taken, women and girls were carried off, and many villagers were killed or injured.

It was because that incident was so appalling that the government could no longer ignore it and allow those groups to grow stronger, which led to the renewed recruitment of constables.

They arrived safely at the village, and both Shen Yuan and Wang Sanhu breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Yuan's home was farther away, so the two parted ways midway.

Shen Yuan carried grain in one hand, a fish in the other, and had a sesame seed pancake tucked in his clothes.

He walked quickly to his doorstep and called out to Shen Dong and Shen Xi, who were squatting in the fenced yard, carefully cleaning wild vegetables: "Dongdong! Xixi! Your big brother is back!"

At this, Shen Xi lifted her little face, dropped the wild vegetables in her hands, and ran outside, sweetly calling, "Big brother! Big brother! You're finally back!"

Shen Yuan wanted to reach out and ruffle the little one's hair, but his hands were full, so he had to give up. "Look what delicious things your brother bought."

"Fish! Big brother, we can have fish tonight!" Shen Xi's eyes sparkled at the sight of the fish. It had been so, so, so long since she had eaten meat.

"Yes, tonight your brother will stew some fish soup for you." The house had few seasonings, only coarse salt—not even oil. For the fish to be palatable, soup was the only option; otherwise, it would be tasteless.

Hearing they would have fish soup tonight, even though she had never tasted it, Shen Xi could imagine how delicious it would be. Meat was always delicious; surely it would be much, much, much tastier than millet porridge.

She tore her eyes away from the fish and offered to help Shen Yuan carry things. Shen Yuan handed her the one jin—about half a kilogram—of millet to carry.

Shen Dong had also come out and silently reached to take the sack of fine wheat bran from Shen Yuan's hand.

He too had heard his big brother say they would have fish soup tonight. He had never had it, but he imagined it would be very good.

Shen Dong felt a surge of anticipation and joy.

How wonderful! Not only was his big brother fine, but they could even eat meat! His life was really getting better.

With one hand free now, as Shen Yuan entered the yard, he casually gave a light pinch to Shen Nan's cheek, who was standing at the yard entrance holding Little Beibei and watching them.

"Nannan did a great job taking care of little sister today. Did you miss your big brother?"

His cheek lightly pinched, Shen Nan was stunned for a moment, then immediately lowered his head, his ears turning bright red. He nodded slightly, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible. "It wasn't hard. I did."

Shen Yuan knew Shen Nan was extremely shy. Given the family's circumstances, it was likely due to extreme insecurity.

Not just Shen Nan; Shen Dong and Shen Xi were the same. The three children just showed their insecurity in different ways.

Shen Yuan said with a smile, "Your big brother missed Nannan very much." Then he looked at Shen Dong, who was silently watching him with wide eyes, and Shen Xi, who was eagerly about to ask something. "And I missed Dongdong and Xixi too."

The two little ones smiled contentedly; though they didn't know why, their hearts felt incredibly sweet.

"Ah ah." Shen Bei in Shen Nan's arms looked at Shen Yuan and babbled. Shen Yuan's smile deepened. "And our little Beibei too. Your big brother missed all of you so much while he was out."

Shen Xi held Shen Yuan's hand, looking up at him with starry eyes, chattering nonstop as she pulled her big brother along about all the things she had done that day.

"Big brother, I did lots of work at home. I gathered wild vegetables in the morning, took over from third brother at noon to feed fourth sister, swept the floor in the afternoon, and sorted lots of wild vegetables."

Shen Yuan listened attentively and responded gently, "Xixi worked hard all day. After we eat and wash up, we'll rest well and get our strength back. Dongdong and Nannan too, everyone worked hard today and must be tired. Make sure to eat your fill later to regain strength, okay?"

The three children nodded obediently, their lips curling up happily. They were used to the chores they did daily and didn't find them particularly tiring. But hearing their big brother say this made them feel very happy, as if their weariness had melted away.

Shen Dong and Shen Xi felt they could gather wild vegetables for another two shichen—four more hours. Shen Nan felt he could carry his little sister and sort wild vegetables for a long time. They weren't tired; they had endless energy!

...

In the cooking pot, Shen Dong had already cooked the wild vegetable and wheat bran paste. Shen Yuan took out the sesame seed pancake and told the little ones to have it first with the paste, but Shen Dong didn't agree.

"Big brother, let's save the sesame pancake for tomorrow. Aren't we making fish soup tonight? It'll be too much; we won't finish it all."

Good things shouldn't all be eaten in one day.

To be honest, his big brother's behavior made him a bit uneasy. Like second brother said yesterday, the current big brother gave him a feeling that they were living as if there were no tomorrow.

Even on a full stomach, Shen Dong felt just as uncertain inside. He was worried that if they ate everything today, there would be nothing left for tomorrow.

Shen Yuan thought about it and agreed with Shen Dong; it was too much to finish, so he set the sesame pancake aside for now. He found a clay pot, filled it with the paste from the pot, cleaned the fish quickly, then had Shen Dong tend the fire while he cooked the fish soup.

Shen Dong placed half-charred wood into the stove. "Big brother, when second brother and I came back today, there were quite a few wild vegetables in the yard. I don't know who left them, but I sorted them all and put them in the baskets."

"This morning, Auntie Ping also gave me quite a lot of wild vegetables."

Shen Yuan's hand holding the wooden ladle paused slightly. He turned to look at the place where the baskets were piled; both were filled with wild vegetables. The lines of his face softened considerably. "We should keep them. It's a kind gesture from everyone."

The fish soup would take a while to cook. Shen Yuan covered it with a straw lid and had Shen Dong reduce the heat to let it simmer slowly.

They ate the wild vegetable and wheat bran paste first.

The wild vegetables were slightly bitter, the wheat bran had little flour, and the coarse salt tasted harsh and bitter. Honestly, this paste was truly awful to eat.

From texture to flavor, there wasn't a single aspect Shen Yuan could accept.

But this is food. No matter how bad it tastes, you can't waste it.

Just having something to eat was already a struggle.

Shen Dong and the other two dug in quite eagerly; they usually only had a little of this. Since there were no adults at home, the kids couldn't rent farmland. Shen Yuan could rent land, but it required a minimum of ten mu, and he couldn't manage it alone. He could only go out to find odd jobs, so where would he get the money to buy grain?

They had never been able to eat a full bowl of food like they had last night and today.

Shen Xi ate the fastest, finishing his bowl and licking it clean as usual.

Shen Yuan watched and added another scoop for him. "If you're still hungry, have more."

Shen Xi stared at the mush in his bowl and pushed it toward his brother. "Big brother, let's save this for tomorrow."

Yesterday, when he told the children to keep eating, they refused outright, wanting to save it for the next day.

Today, he had bought new grain. No matter what, he was determined to let the kids eat their fill.

Shen Yuan pushed the clay bowl back in front of Shen Xi. "None of you need to worry about saving food because we might run out. If you're still hungry and want more, keep eating. If it's all gone, I'll go out and earn more; it's no big deal. But today, eat no more than two bowls. There's still fish soup in the pot, so save room for a bowl of that, understand?"

Shen Dong and the others still hesitated, unwilling to eat. They were used to it; eating less each meal was okay—it saved food.

Shen Yuan sighed softly. "Big brother met a generous person today who introduced me to a job; I'll go check it out tomorrow. Don't worry, just eat."

The three children looked at each other. After a moment of silence, Shen Dong said, "But big brother, we also want you to have an easier time."

Shen Xi chimed in, "If we eat less, then big brother can have it easier."

Shen Nan, still holding the youngest, Shen Bei, didn't speak, but his attitude was clear. He wanted his big brother to have it easier and not wear himself out because of them.

"You all really..." Shen Yuan’s nose stung, and he blinked twice quickly to avoid getting emotional in front of the children. "Just be good and listen. Our days will definitely get better and better from now on; we don't need to save like this. If you don't eat, then I won't eat either."

How could they stand to hear that? Ever since Shen Yuan nearly starved to death yesterday, the children had one firm rule in their hearts.

Their big brother needed to eat his fill.

"I'll eat, I'll eat! Big brother, don't skip eating." Shen Xi was truly frightened; he loved his big brother so much, he didn't want him to stop eating and die.

Shen Dong's small face turned even paler. Shen Nan's eyes welled up with tears as he silently ate and added more food, using his actions to show he was eating and not saving.

Seeing the children's reactions, Shen Yuan realized that his threat had scared them.

After all, the previous owner of this body had actually died of starvation; it was no wonder the children were terrified.

Shen Yuan stroked each of the children's heads. "I'm sorry, big brother said the wrong thing just now. No matter what, I will live well and stay with you until we're old and my teeth fall out. Don't be afraid; I won't say such things again."

Shen Dong looked up at Shen Yuan with red eyes and nodded silently.

Shen Xi and Shen Nan were already shedding tears; they were truly afraid that their big brother would leave them.

...

There was no leftover wild vegetable and bran mush; he hadn't cooked much to begin with.

The clay bowls were also small; even with two bowls each, they weren't full.

After they finished the mush, the fish soup was ready.

Lifting the straw lid, a cloud of steaming white mist rose, the heat prickling their faces and hands.

Following it was the delicious aroma of the fish soup, with sliced fish floating in the milky-white broth.

The children wanted to eat meat; this way, they could have both meat and soup.

They had just eaten two bowls of mush, so a bowl of fish soup with three slices of fish was about enough. Eating too much too suddenly would burden their stomachs and cause diarrhea or pain.

The children had never had fish soup before. The milky-white, delicious broth was seasoned only with a little coarse salt, but it was enough to make them squint happily, smacking their lips as they savored the rich, fragrant soup and the tender, smooth fish.

Watching the children sip the soup carefully as if tasting some rare delicacy—yet eagerly trying to offer their own portions to him whenever their eyes met—Shen Yuan's heart softened. He gently told them to finish their own first.

Shen Yuan placed the sesame pancake in a bamboo basket and hung it from the rafters to keep mice from stealing it.

Along with the remaining fish soup, it would be the children's food for the next day.

He specifically emphasized to Shen Dong that before he returned tomorrow, the sesame pancake, fish soup, and fish meat all had to be finished. There was only one pancake, and the fish—including the head and bones—weighed only about two jin, and they had already eaten some. Even if all of it were divided among the three children, it wouldn't fill them up. Shen Yuan was truly afraid the children would try to save even this little bit of food.

Shen Dong thought this could last three days, but his big brother insisted it be finished in one.

He hesitated for a long while before reluctantly nodding.

"Understood, big brother."

Satisfied, Shen Yuan nodded and patted his younger brother's head. "Good boy."

Afterward, Shen Yuan rubbed his fingertips; the children needed to bathe and wash their hair.

Bathing in ancient times was a chore. To avoid catching cold in winter and to save firewood and water, ordinary families didn't bother.

After an entire winter, one could imagine how dirty they were.

He needed to wash, too.

Although the original owner had wiped himself down with water, it was only a surface cleaning that didn't solve the root problem.

Fortunately, spring had arrived and the weather was much warmer. Tomorrow, he would go to the tea house in the county to check the situation. If he returned early, he would heat water for a bath.

Author's note:

----------------------