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The porridge was thick with grease, accompanied by vegetables and oil droplets. For a child who had been gnawing on rough grains and wild vegetables, it was certainly not a delightful meal. Li Yishu gulped down two large bowls of porridge in one go, his little belly swelling up. Li Zhoule watched her brother with a smile as he held his stomach, looking satisfied, and she slowly drank a large bowl of porridge herself. The warm porridge filled her with energy, nourishing her stomach and revitalizing her body; she felt her post-illness weakness fading away.
"Let's take a break before we get back to studying. Our family has enough food now, so you don't need to go out looking for more. It's so cold outside; you might catch a chill," Li Zhoule instructed her brother. The Li family was known for their scholarly background; even though they had fallen on hard times, the children still remembered the importance of reading and writing.
Li Yishu obediently nodded, walking around the room for a bit to digest before returning to his own room to study. The books in the Li household had mostly been sold off; what remained were those that Elder Brother Li had copied during his childhood. The handwriting of a young child was not very neat, so these books could not fetch a good price and were left at home, making them convenient for Li Yishu's learning.
"The Yellow Emperor painted the wilderness, marking the division of cities; Xia Yu controlled the waters, initially establishing mountains and rivers. The landscape of the universe remains unchanged, while the names of ancient and modern differ. Beijing originally belonged to Youyan, Jin Tai is its alternate name; Nanjing was once Jianye, Jinling is another name... Sichuan is known as Xishu, Yunnan as ancient Dian... Eastern Mount Tai, Western Peak Huashan, Southern Mount Hengshan, Northern Mount Hengshan, Central Mount Song—these are the five sacred mountains of the world; Poyang of Raozhou, Azure Grass of Yuezhou, Danyang of Runzhou, Dongting of Ezhou, Taihu of Suzhou—these are the five lakes of the world...”
Hearing the sound of reading coming from inside the room, Li Zhoule smiled with satisfaction. Li Yishu's education had been initiated by their father, but after his passing, the responsibility fell on her shoulders. Over the years, she had intermittently taught him three hundred poems and now he was studying "Young Learning Jade Forest." Only after finishing "Young Learning Jade Forest" could he begin learning the Four Books and Five Classics. Fortunately, Elder Brother had copied many books in his childhood, ensuring that her younger brother would not be without reading material. It was unfortunate that due to ongoing wars instigated by the court in recent years, the imperial examinations had been suspended without any indication of when they would resume.
Li Zhoule entered the kitchen to wash the dishes and noticed there was still a large portion of porridge left in the pot. She smiled again as a shallow dimple appeared on her delicate cheek.
"Zhou Le, are you home?" A middle-aged woman's voice called from the yard gate. Li Zhoule hurried outside. "Aunt Manchong! What brings you here? Come in quickly to warm up; it's too cold outside."
"No need, no need," Aunt Manchong waved her hand repeatedly with an embarrassed expression. "Zhou Le, um... do you have any food left at home? Could you lend your aunt some?"
"Ah?" Li Zhoule was taken aback that Aunt Manchong would come to borrow food from them; after all, they were known as one of the poorest families in the village.
Aunt Manchong sighed and said, "I know your family probably doesn't have any extra food. I went around the entire village looking for something but couldn't find anything at all. You're my last hope here. Lesser Heat is sick and can't eat wild vegetables at all. I just wanted to make him some porridge so he could have something nourishing to help him through this illness."
In truth, Aunt Manchong wasn't genuinely seeking food; she understood how poor the Li family was. She came not only with a glimmer of hope but also to find someone to share her burdens with.
"Lesser Heat is sick?" Li Zhoule exclaimed in surprise. Lesser Heat was Aunt Manchong's grandson who had been born last summer; he was only a year and a half old now and already ill—she feared he might not survive this harsh winter.
"Aunt Manchong, wait for me," Li Zhoule said quickly as she dashed back into the kitchen. She poured the remaining porridge from the pot into a large sea bowl and carried it out. Given how cold it was outside, this bowl of porridge would keep well for a while and would be enough for the child to eat well for several days.
"Auntie, take this bowl of porridge back for Lesser Heat."
“Rice Porridge?” Aunt Manchong was taken aback. She had come to the Li Family to borrow grain without any hope of a savings account, but unexpectedly, Li Zhoule gave her such a big surprise. However—where did the Li Family get Rice Porridge? Wasn't their family unable to afford even Brown Rice Porridge?
Li Zhoule understood Aunt Manchong's confusion and smiled as he provided an explanation: “I was sick for a while, and Little Book was worried about me. He went to town to find work, hoping to earn some money to buy food for me. Fortunately, he met a kind-hearted person. The boss of a restaurant felt sorry for him and gave him all the leftover rice and dishes from the customers. After bringing it back, I made it into porridge, enough for us siblings to eat for several days.”
Aunt Manchong couldn't help but envy: “Li Yishu is really lucky!”
It might seem inappropriate to eat someone else's leftovers, but for a poor family, having something to eat was already a blessing. Moreover, the leftovers from the restaurant were likely to be richer in flavor; even the porridge would be more filling than their own thin broth. Seeing the large Sea Bowl with a thin layer of Lard floating on top, Aunt Manchong felt immensely happy. With this bowl of porridge, her grandson should be able to get through this tough time.
“Thank you, Zhou Le. Um, is it too much? Will you two siblings have enough to eat?” Aunt Manchong said this, but her hands held the Sea Bowl tightly.
Li Zhoule naturally understood her feelings and smiled as he replied: “I saved some for us; it’s enough for both of us. Besides, yesterday Li Yishu picked some wild vegetables that we can mix in, which should last us two or three days.”
Aunt Manchong sighed: “In this weather, picking wild vegetables is really not an easy task. It’s just that Li Yishu is lucky.”
Li Zhoule nodded; almost all the edible wild vegetables nearby had been picked clean. What else could they find? There weren’t any mountains close to the village where villagers could go up and catch a few fainted wild chickens or rabbits or frozen snakes to bring back for food.
The two chatted for a while longer before Aunt Manchong, worried about her little grandson, took her leave with the Sea Bowl.
Li Zhoule stood in the cold wind for a while; his body was freezing, so he hurried inside. Fortunately, when they built their house back then, their conditions were good, and the house was sturdy—no leaks or drafts—and stepping inside felt much warmer.
“Sister, was that Aunt Manchong who just came by?” Li Yishu emerged from his room holding a book.
Li Zhoule replied with a hum: “Lesser Heat is sick; Aunt Manchong wanted to borrow some grain to make porridge for him. Li Yishu, I gave Aunt Manchong a bowl of our porridge; you don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not,” Li Yishu said. The villagers had always treated them well; after their parents passed away, everyone took care of them. Now that their food problem was resolved and they had extra grain, it was only natural to help the villagers. “But we can’t let others know about Fairy Treasure; people can be unpredictable.”
Li Zhoule tapped his forehead lightly: “Do I need you to tell me? I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice.”
Li Yishu made a face: “You’re only four years older than me; how much salt can you have eaten?”
Li Zhoule poked Li Yishu's forehead in frustration. "Do you understand what a metaphor is?"
Li Yishu quickly stepped back to escape his sister's grasp. "I know, I know. I'm going to read now."
With that, he turned and slipped into his room. Li Zhoule watched the swaying curtain of the door and chuckled. It had been many years since she had seen her little brother act so childishly. If only their older brother would come back, life would be even better!
...
After breakfast, Hanno went out to find a renovation design company. Although hiring someone independently would save a lot of money, working with a reputable renovation company was much less stressful. Hanno was not willing to exhaust herself just to save a bit of money, especially since she wasn't short on cash. During her years working in the south, she had earned quite a bit and saved some money. Moreover, Wei Feng's savings were still in her hands—Wei Feng's parents had passed away early, and he had long since separated from his married older brother. The pension money was naturally left for his fiancée as per his wishes. Wei Feng's older brother and sister-in-law were doing well; they ran a supermarket and were financially stable, so they wouldn't need their younger brother's hard-earned money. Hanno hadn't touched Wei Feng's savings; she had simply donated his pension to build a small school in a remote mountainous area in Wei Feng's name.
The environment of the community was excellent, Hanno thought contentedly as she walked along. Thankfully, when she returned to D City, she bought a house and moved Han Dad and Mom Han out of their original community. Although that place was in the city center, the environment was far worse than the current one. Most residents there were elderly people who gossiped incessantly, as if Hanno had committed a grave mistake by not being married at her age. Rumors even circulated about her health issues. Once, while walking through the community and reading an article on her phone that moved her to tears, some gossiping neighbors saw her and spread rumors that she was mentally unstable. When Hanno learned about this from other neighbors, she nearly took a knife to confront those busybodies—didn't they say she was mentally ill? If she harmed them, she wouldn't have to face legal consequences.
In this new community, people didn't know each other well, which reduced conflicts significantly. No one approached Hanno with nonsensical remarks. Right outside the community was a large river with beautiful scenery, and on the other side stood the city sports center with various fitness activities available. Han Dad and Mom Han had not only adapted well after leaving their old neighborhood but were also busier than ever—more active than Hanno herself.
"Hanno, is that you?"
Hanno looked at the person greeting her enthusiastically with confusion. "Who are you?"
The person smiled and said, "Don't you recognize me? I'm Ma Yanli."
Hanno stared at the familiar features of Ma Yanli before finally recognizing her. Ma Yanli had been her classmate from elementary school through high school for twelve years—a relationship marked by both connection and distance. They had shared classes from elementary through high school, but they were never particularly close friends. While they had gotten along during elementary school for a time, Ma Yanli's best friend had never been Hanno. Logically speaking, after graduating from elementary school, there should have been fewer classmates who continued together; their relationship should have grown closer. However, Ma Yanli lost her close friends from elementary school and made new ones in middle school and high school without ever considering Hanno as her best friend.
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