Chapter 15: The Clever Third Sister

“How the wealthy landlords eat, I don’t know, but from now on, my family must have white rice at every meal!”

After serving the rice, Tang Jiancheng began handing out the dishes.

Each person received a large spoonful, all piled high with meat, looking incredibly appetizing.

As soon as the children had both rice and dishes, they immediately began eating heartily, their mouths glistening with oil.

“Eat slowly, there’s plenty left in the pot!” Tang Jiancheng kept reminding them, worried they might choke.

“You should eat too,” Liu Fangfang urged, seeing him just standing there with a gentle smile, watching them eat.

“Hmm, you guys go ahead, I’m not hungry yet.”

Watching his wife and children devour the food he had prepared brought Tang Jiancheng a deep sense of satisfaction.

In his previous life, at this very time, his youngest daughter had died young, his wife had taken her own life by drinking pesticide, and he himself had sunk into despair, drowning his sorrows in alcohol. Upon returning home, he vented his frustrations on his daughters, breaking the legs of two of them and terrifying the eldest into mental illness.

Thankfully, all of that was in the past now. In this life, Tang Jiancheng vowed never to allow such tragedy to happen again.

“Dad, you should eat too. I’m almost done,” said his eldest daughter, ever considerate.

Having only eaten a few bites herself, she quickly stood up, carried a bowl, and scooped a full serving of rice and dishes to hand to him.

Tang Jiancheng accepted it eagerly, feeling so touched that he nearly shed tears—he hadn’t been treated this well even after seventy years in his past life!

He quickly shoveled a couple of mouthfuls before emotions could overwhelm him.

Delicious!

Absolutely delicious!

Food served by his daughter tasted so much better, so fragrant!

The family ate their fill, leaning back in their chairs, rubbing their bellies to aid digestion.

“Dad, I wish we could have meals like this every day,” said the youngest daughter, barely five years old, speaking like a little adult.

“Don’t be ridiculous! You think your dad has really struck it rich?” Liu Fangfang shot her a glance.

“I can help Dad earn money!” the little girl exclaimed, clenching her tiny fists. “When I grow up, I’ll make lots and lots of money so you all can eat the best and live well.”

“Oh? Seventh sister, where did you learn that? You even say ‘eat the best and live well’ now?” Tang Jiancheng was pleasantly surprised.

Seventh sister lifted her chin proudly: “I just know!”

“She often goes to Er Dan’s house to listen to the radio; that’s where she heard it,” the fifth sister immediately exposed her.

“Fifth sister, you go there just as much, and you’re the one who took me!” Seventh sister defended her image, turning the accusation back.

“I only go occasionally, but you go every day. Er Dan’s mother even said that when you grow up, you’ll marry Er Dan,” fifth sister said.

Er Dan?

Tang Jiancheng thought for a moment and recalled that this boy was the village party secretary’s son.

In the entire Daping Village, only the party secretary’s family owned a radio. It was bought with collective funds back when the village was organized collectively and belonged to the village as a whole, but after the land was distributed to households, no one contested it, and it effectively became the party secretary’s private property.

Tang Jiancheng didn’t want to make a fuss over a radio; it wasn’t worth offending the party secretary.

But thinking of the party secretary suddenly reminded him of something.

In his previous life around this time, the party secretary had discovered a den of badgers in the back mountain—about seven or eight, all fat.

Badger meat was exceptionally fresh and delicious, and the rendered badger fat was a prized remedy for burns, always fetching a high price.

This thought made Tang Jiancheng restless.

He couldn’t recall exactly when the party secretary had found the badgers. If they had already been caught, it would be a significant loss.

“Jiancheng, where are you going?” Liu Fangfang asked hurriedly when she saw him grab a hoe and head out.

“It’s just a walk. We ate too much earlier. Oh, and later, give them their cotton shoes. Also, I bought a lot of cotton cloth and cotton stuffing—make new padded clothes for them when you have time. Their clothes are too thin; it’s too harsh for such cold weather.”

“Dad, I’ll go with you,” the ten-year-old third daughter suddenly stood up. “Are you going to dig for badgers in the mountain?”

“How did you know?” Tang Jiancheng was surprised, and his heart skipped a beat. Had the party secretary already taken the badgers?

“I saw the party secretary’s eldest son, Chou Dan, often carrying a hoe into the back mountain. They say he even saw badger fur there,” the third daughter explained. “When I saw you carrying a hoe, I guessed you were going to dig for badgers too.”

Huh?

Is my third daughter really this clever?

In his previous life, the third daughter had run away from home at fifteen and never returned.

With that kind of intelligence, no wonder she dared to run away with the fourth daughter!

“All right, then you come with me,” Tang Jiancheng agreed.

“I’m coming too,” the fourth daughter, who was inseparable from the third, quickly called out.

“What are you going for? It’s snowing heavily outside—what fun is there in going to the mountain? If you fall into a snowdrift, you’ll be buried alive!” Liu Fangfang scolded.

The fourth daughter said nothing but looked at Tang Jiancheng and the third daughter with pleading, bright eyes.

Knowing how clever the third daughter was, she wisely avoided crossing Liu Fangfang and pretended not to see the fourth daughter’s look, but her eyes kept signaling the younger one to plead on her behalf.

The fourth daughter, also quick-witted, promptly said to Tang Jiancheng, “Daddy, I want to go too.”

“All right, then. You’ll come together. But you must stay close to me and not wander off. If you fall into a snow pit, like your mother said, you might never get out again,” Tang Jiancheng warned.

“Don’t worry, Dad, I definitely won’t run off,” the nearly nine-year-old fourth daughter replied cheerfully as she went to stand beside the third daughter, who happily held her little hand.

“Dad, we…” the other children saw this and wanted to go as well.

Children’s love of play is natural.

Being trapped indoors by the snow had them all restless, eager to get outside.

“Let’s see who dares say they want to go out again!” Liu Fangfang snapped sternly, silencing everyone.

She then shot a resentful look at Tang Jiancheng. Before, when he didn’t care much for the daughters, anyone who clung to him was quickly pushed away, which exhausted her. But now that he loved them and allowed them to cling, he spoiled them a bit too much—it was tiring in its own way.

“Listen to your mother. Don’t go outside anymore, or you’ll catch a cold!” Tang Jiancheng added, and the children fell silent.

“All right, put on warm clothes and tie up your pant legs. If your pants get wet, your feet will get frostbite,” he instructed.

“Okay!” the third and fourth daughters found some string and tied their pant legs, fastening their worn padded jackets tightly.

Then, one of them carried a hoe, the other held a woodcutting knife, and they followed Tang Jiancheng out the door.