The old woman placed the wild boar meat on the chopping board and examined it for a long while before cutting off one-third. She had Wu slice it into small pieces and cook a pot of finely chopped rice porridge to nourish her son.
The remaining meat, the old woman stored in a large vat outside the east room window, saving it for her son’s next meal.
When the aroma of meat wafted from the main hall, Dan Dongchen, like his son, swallowed his saliva.
"Dad, the wild boar meat smells so good. After you eat it, you'll get better right away," he said.
"Yes, with the wild boar meat that our Little Cong earned, Father should recover quickly."
Hearing his father's words, Dan Xiaocong nodded repeatedly.
"Dinner's ready," the old woman's voice was much louder than usual today.
Just as always, the old woman brought in the earthenware pot and placed it on the kang table.
As they smelled the aroma of the meat porridge emanating from the pot, the stomachs of the father and son rumbled in unison.
The old woman heard them and wanted to laugh, but more than that, she felt a pang of sadness. However, she did not show it, still greeting everyone with a smile to come and eat.
The porridge the old woman served was as usual: her son and grandson each received a large bowl, while the rest of the women in the family, including herself, received small bowls.
It was also clear that the porridge in the father and son's bowls was thicker.
"Mother," Dan Dongchen wanted to give some of his porridge to the old woman.
The old woman, however, stopped his hand, gently shook her head, and said softly, "Dongchen, you are sick. You need to eat more to recover quickly. Otherwise, what will happen to us women and children?"
The old woman's words successfully made Dan Dongchen's hand freeze mid-air.
Yes, although he had once been a useless scholar who could neither carry burdens nor lift objects, in front of his family, he was the head of the household, the pillar of the family.
"Dad, please eat quickly, or the meat porridge will get cold."
While urging his father, Dan Xiaocong quickly used his wooden spoon to divide the meat porridge in his bowl among his grandmother, mother, and aunt.
As for his older and younger sisters, he did not share with them, fearing that his grandmother and mother would scold them, bringing them further misfortune.
Dan Xiaocong's actions warmed the hearts of the three middle-aged and elderly women, making them feel deeply contented.
Old Mrs. Dan: My eldest grandson is so sensible. He always thinks of his grandmother when eating anything and never hogs the food.
Ms. Huang: Although her son is not her biological child, he has been more sensible than other children since he was young, so it's not a loss for her to dote on him so much.
Ms. Wu: Although her son doesn't dare to be too close to her, she can still feel his affection for her.
...
The Meng family's dinner was much livelier. Grandpa Meng had also sent a bowl of the braised offal, pig's head, and blood sausage to each of the two neighboring families.
The men ate at a table in the main hall, while the women ate at a table in the kitchen.
Fu Xinci looked at the large basin of meat dishes and her lips twitched. It was truly a case of wanting meat when there was none, and wanting vegetables when there was meat.
Alas, she felt she deserved the word "fussy."
But she really wanted to eat shredded cabbage with vinegar and pickled cabbage stir-fried with noodles.
As for pickled cabbage, that was out of the question; it wasn't fermented yet.
Cabbage was not only available at home but also in her space.
Thinking of being self-sufficient, Fu Xinci took off her outer jacket, ready to showcase her skills.
Her actions were noticed by Ms. Tian, who was serving rice. She quickly said, "My little ancestor, if you want to eat anything, just tell Auntie, and Auntie will make it for you."
"It's alright, Auntie, I just want to make shredded cabbage with vinegar, it will be ready soon."
"Shredded cabbage with vinegar?" Ms. Tian had never made this dish before, so she proposed to Fu Xinci, "Xinci, how about Auntie stir-fry some cabbage for you?"
"Sure, Auntie, use the cabbage hearts."
"Alright, Auntie will stir-fry cabbage hearts for you now." Ms. Tian was a capable person; she put down the ladle and went to get the cabbage, and Ke'er followed to help with the fire.
Ms. Fang looked at her daughter and felt like sighing, "My child, isn't the meat tasty? Why do you insist on eating stir-fried cabbage hearts?"
"Mother, the meat is delicious, but I also want to eat stir-fried cabbage hearts."
Ms. Fang: What else could she say?
After dinner, the family finally had some leisure time.
At the elders' urging, Fu Yu and Ms. Fang returned to their room to change into their "newly bought" duck down padded jackets.
Fu Xinci had picked out two styles for them, one long and one short.
Fu Yu's was a dark cyan, and Ms. Fang's was a rich purple.
Especially Ms. Fang's two jackets were in a retro style, both with hand embroidery.
This was the first time Ms. Fang had seen such beautiful padded jackets. Her hands continuously stroked the embroidery, murmuring, "These embroidery patterns are so beautiful; I've never seen anything like it."
Hearing this, Fu Xinci couldn't help but twitch her lips again.
She really wanted to say: Mother, have you misunderstood? We were talking about the jackets, but you're only interested in the embroidery pattern.
However, seeing her mother's delighted expression, she wisely chose to say nothing.
As night fell, all was quiet around. Yet, Fu Xinci's mood today was different from usual.
In the trading hall, many people were gathered around the vending machine, both familiar and unfamiliar faces. Everyone's bags were nearly bulging.
But when the lights on the vending machine lit up, everyone froze.
"Xinci is actually asking us for weapons?"
"She wants high-performance, lightweight ones with small recoil..."
Yang Xinjie and Xu Jiacan muttered, then both looked at the captain.
The captain remained composed and calmly instructed Yang Xinjie, "First, write it down on a piece of paper and ask Xinci what exactly is happening on her end."
"Yes."
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the vending machine, but when they saw the paper slip transmitted from the other side, their expressions changed.
"Captain, Xinci says she might have to face the Wokou."
"Wokou?"
"Wokou are the Japanese."
"Damn it."
"Holy shit."
"Quick, give Xinci weapons and take care of those little bastards."
Before Yang Xinjie could finish speaking, the people around him were already agitated, cursing loudly.
The captain, Xu Jiacan, and Pang Dun'er wished they could crawl into the vending machine and lead the charge.
Fortunately, at a critical moment, the resolute base commander spoke, "Yang Xinjie, ask Fu Xinci what year she transmigrated to. Is it 1931 or 1937?"
"It's best if it's 1931, to wipe out those little bastards beyond the pass."
"Count me in if we're going."
"Right, if Fu Xinci can go, we should be able to go too."
As the crowd was chattering, the lights on the vending machine lit up again.
Everyone immediately held their breath, staring at the paper slip.
"The Ming Dynasty, but not the Ming Dynasty we read about in history books."
"What does that mean?"
Xiao Ai suddenly had an idea, thinking of a possibility, "I've guessed it. It must be a fictional era."