C4 Chapter 4

“You little punk—stop right there! How dare you steal your sister’s egg cake!” Huang Guihua chased after Liu Wenbing for a few steps. When it was clear she wasn’t going to catch him, she looked down, slipped off a shoe, and flung it at him.

“Ow, Grandma—am I even your real grandson? Here, take your nasty shoe back!” Liu Wenbing rubbed his head, ducked outside the front gate, and tossed the shoe back to Huang Guihua.

Furious, Huang Guihua let loose. “You little punk! Keep running—if you’ve got any guts, don’t come back for dinner tonight!”

The whole scene left Liu Wenmei staring. When she finally snapped out of it, she hurried over, picked up Huang Guihua’s shoe, and handed it to her. “Grandma, the ground’s dirty. Put your shoe back on.”

“Ah, okay. You’re the good one, Mei. Those little brats are going to be the death of me.” Huang Guihua took the shoe, bent down to put it on, and still made sure to praise Liu Wenmei.

“Mei, go rest for a bit. I’ll make you something good. It’s all that brat’s fault—he ate your treat. Grandma’ll make you an egg pancake. It’ll be ready in a little while.” With that, Huang Guihua headed into the kitchen and got busy.

“Grandma…” Liu Wenmei didn’t even get a chance to get a word in, so she let her go.

While Huang Guihua worked in the kitchen, Liu Wenmei took a careful look around the house.

There were a lot of people in the Liu family. Years ago, Grandpa and Grandma had split the household up. Her uncle’s family lived in the old place in the village, while their home sat at the very back edge of town, closest to the mountains, a bit removed from the other houses.

Back when Grandpa picked this spot, he had two reasons. First, he figured being near the mountains meant they could live off the land if another hard stretch ever hit. Second, there had been times when bandits came through to rob people, and if trouble showed up, being close to the mountains meant they could get away faster.

The house faced south and was laid out in an L-shape. From east to west were her parents’ room—Liu Xianming and Sunn Hongmei—then the living room, then her grandparents’ room—Liu Mingde and Huang Guihua. From south to north were her brother Liu Wenkai’s room, her younger brother Liu Wenbing’s room, and, at the end, her room.

The kitchen was to the right of the front gate. The storage shed, the cow stall, the chicken coop, the outhouse, and the little vegetable patch were all out back.

Liu Wenmei went back to her room. Inside was a large heated brick bed with a cabinet sitting on top of it. To the right of the door was a writing desk and a chair with a backrest. That desk and chair set was hers alone—the only one in the whole family—something her grandpa had managed to claim for her a few years back during the campaign to seize and redistribute property.

Back then, anything the old landowning family wasn’t allowed to keep got burned. Whatever was still usable was divided up, and when it came time for their share, her grandpa asked for that desk and chair.

“Mei, the egg pancakes are ready! Come out and eat!” Huang Guihua called from outside. Liu Wenmei answered and then stepped out of the room.

Wenmei’s reputation really wasn’t great. These past few years, when the Sent-down Youth started arriving, she’d taken a liking to Zhao Haixing—handsome, fair-skinned, and bookish-looking. She followed him around every day, bringing him things, and the villagers pointed and whispered, saying she had no shame. Her grandma doted on her and wouldn’t let her do much work, so people also spread rumors that she was lazy and always looking for an easy life.

“Mei, hurry up. Eat while it’s hot—Grandma made it, and it’s good.” The moment Wenmei stepped outside, Huang Guihua came over from the kitchen carrying a bowl.

“Grandma, I’ve got it. Let’s split it—half and half.” Looking at the golden egg pancake in the bowl, Wenmei felt a rush of warmth. She broke it into two pieces.

In times like these, food was precious. Her grandma treated her well, and she couldn’t just keep it all for herself.

“I’m not eating,” Huang Guihua said, grinning from ear to ear as soon as she heard Wenmei offer. “I’m old—I don’t need this. You eat, Mei. Eat up and you’ll grow up fair and pretty.”

Her Mei had really become considerate. After that fall into the river, she even knew to share her food now. Good. So good.