Chapter 5: A Bowl of Meat Soup

“Dazhen, why don’t you stay for dinner tonight?” Miao Sanfeng called out from outside the house.

Although Miao Sanfeng didn’t value her daughter as much as her two sons, she still had more affection for Jiang Dazhen than for her granddaughters. Besides, Jiang Dazhen had married well, which gave the old woman a great deal of face in the village. Naturally, she treated this daughter more kindly.

Jiang Dazhen’s husband, Meng Chuoping, was a seasoned fourth-level worker at the county’s machinery factory, earning a monthly salary of 52.8 yuan. In this era, skilled workers like him were often more sought after than government cadres. Cadres were paid by the month, but workers were paid by the day—as long as they worked 25 days in a month, they received their full salary. If they worked more, they could earn extra.

Meng Chuoping’s parents were also workers in the county town, and the entire family had high incomes and ample supplies of grain and oil ration tickets. They lived comfortably and even had the ability to help out their rural relatives.

Meng Chuoping had previously been married, but his first wife died during childbirth, leaving behind a daughter who was now ten years old.

Jiang Dazhen had graduated from junior high and worked as a temporary laborer at the textile factory where Meng Chuoping’s mother worked. His mother felt it wasn’t right for her son to remain single for so long. Seeing that Jiang Dazhen was diligent, capable, and healthy, and not minding her rural background, she decided to match her with her son.

Apart from being older and already having a child, Meng Chuoping was an excellent match. Jiang Dazhen agreed without hesitation. In the second year of their marriage, she gave birth to a son, which delighted the Meng family elders and solidified her place in the family. Even though they knew she occasionally sent things back to her maiden family, they turned a blind eye.

“No, I won’t stay. I just came to drop something off. Mengxue is still young—he needs someone with him,” Jiang Dazhen said.

She understood her family’s situation well. The production team only distributed grain twice a year—once midyear and once at the end. With over a month left until the midyear allotment, this was the time when food was scarcest. The whole family was likely waiting on her father's stipend next month. If she stayed for dinner, her nieces might not have enough to eat.

“It’s getting late. I should head back,” Jiang Dazhen said as she kissed her nephew and placed him into her sister-in-law’s arms. “Don’t forget what I told you earlier—keep the girls in mind.”

With that, she stepped down from the kang, patted the dust off herself, straightened the wrinkles in her clothes, and lifted the curtain to leave.

Jiang Laidi watched his aunt walk away and reached out to grab her.

“Aww, my sweet little nephew doesn’t want Auntie to leave? Don’t worry, I’ll come see you again soon,” Jiang Dazhen said with a warm smile as she looked at his tiny hand reaching out. Her heart melted. This nephew of hers really was special to her—far more likable than the ones from her second brother’s side.

But Jiang Laidi was still small and weak, unable to drag a grown adult back. He could only watch helplessly as she left.

Gu Dongmei felt puzzled. Ever since her sister-in-law left, her son had seemed sluggish, lying listlessly in her arms without moving.

“Maybe he’s sleepy,” she murmured. “I’ll try rocking him to sleep. Otherwise, when the girls come back, they’ll probably wake him up again.”

Sister! Jiang Laidi’s eyes lit up. Since his rebirth, he’d been in a dazed state and hadn’t properly seen his four sisters. He wondered how they were doing now.

As dusk fell, those who had been busy all day outside finally returned home.

Because Gu Dongmei had given birth to a son, Miao Sanfeng had made a rare exception and gone to the production team to request a half-month leave for her daughter-in-law to recover. In this era, people weren’t too fussy about postpartum recovery—most women returned to the fields two or three days after giving birth. After all, work points determined how much food a family received. Skipping work meant hunger, so they had no choice but to grit their teeth and push through.

Many women suffered lifelong postpartum illnesses because of this, and when the symptoms flared up in old age, it was unbearable.

This was Gu Dongmei’s first time doing a postpartum confinement. Even if it was only half a month, she was deeply grateful.

“You’re back. Dazhen came by today and brought some things,” Miao Sanfeng said as she saw her husband and son return, sweaty and exhausted, carrying hoes. She set the chopsticks on the table.

“Dani, Erni, go help your father and grandfather get their clothes,” she instructed the granddaughters who followed the men inside, as she turned back to tend the cooking.

Jiang Dani and Jiang Erni quickly agreed. They returned to their room, placed four-year-old Sanni and two-year-old Sini on the kang, and told their mother to watch them.

Jiang Laidi stared greedily at his eldest sister. When Jiang Dani died, the family was still very poor—they hadn’t even been able to take a single photo of her. After so many years, he had nearly forgotten what she looked like.

His gentle eldest sister, his fiery second sister, his food-loving third sister, and his quiet fourth sister—Laidi looked at the drooling Sini next to him. She, like him, was still just a child.

“Here, for you.” Sanni dug a dark wild berry out of her front pocket. It had been crushed a bit, and dark juice had stained her hand. She held it out, trying to feed it to her little brother.

Jiang Laidi was overwhelmed with emotion.

It had always been this way. As the youngest sibling, his sisters always gave him whatever good things they had. Even Sanni, who usually hated sharing food, always saved her favorite treats for him.

Gu Dongmei couldn’t help but smile as she saw Sanni’s pained expression—reluctant to part with the fruit but determined to share it.

“He’s still too little. He can’t eat this yet. You eat it, Sanni,” she said, comforted that her daughters weren’t jealous of their brother despite the special attention he received. Sibling harmony was what she most hoped for.

Sanni looked at the berry, puzzled as to why her brother couldn’t eat it. Then she turned to her drooling little sister and split the berry in two, placing one half into Sini’s mouth. The sweetness made both girls break into happy grins, their eyes squinting in delight.

Dani and Erni smiled at the sight. After pulling out clean clothes for their father and grandfather, they quickly brought them over.

Because of his lame leg, Jiang Cheng normally didn’t work in the fields. But now that his son had given him a precious grandson, he felt a renewed vigor. He wanted to earn as much as he could while he still had strength—savings for his grandson’s future wedding.

These days, he accompanied his son to the fields and did lighter tasks to earn some work points.

Father and son stripped off their shirts, leaving only their underwear, and drew water from the well in the courtyard for a quick rinse. It was summer, and most villagers preferred to wash up this way to avoid hassle.

Once they changed into clean clothes and returned to the main room, Jiang Cheng looked around and asked, “Why didn’t you ask Dazhen to stay for dinner?” Then, spotting the bowl of large bones on the table, his eyes widened. “Did she bring these bones?”

Jiang Cheng received half a jin of meat tickets every month, but meat wasn’t always available even with tickets. The family hadn’t tasted meat in three or four months.

“Why would we eat the meat? It’s all for Dongmei. She needs good food so our grandson won’t go hungry,” he said, frowning. In his heart, his grandson now took top priority.

“Like I need you to tell me,” Miao Sanfeng rolled her eyes at him. “I already set it aside for Dongmei. I stripped all the meat off the bones for her. You two can gnaw on the bones if you’re desperate.”

To people of that time, meat was a rare delicacy. Bones without meat were hardly satisfying.

“Mom, is the baby asleep? I haven’t held him all day—I miss him,” Jiang Dahai said. Now that he had a son, he finally felt he could hold his head high among the village men. He walked with a spring in his step these days.

Jiang Cheng didn’t say a word, keeping a stern face, but his eyes mirrored his son’s anticipation.

“Dongmei’s nursing the baby now. Don’t go in—if you startle him and he chokes, it’ll be a problem,” Miao Sanfeng said, annoyed with her clumsy son and afraid he’d cause trouble.

Jiang Dahai wasn’t discouraged. He chuckled foolishly. Once dinner was over and the baby was done nursing, he could spend time with his precious boy.

Jiang Cheng was secretly envious. With his daughter-in-law in confinement, it wasn’t proper for him to go into their room. The baby was small and rarely brought out. Since his birth, Jiang Cheng had barely seen him.

Ignoring the two men, Miao Sanfeng picked up a bowl of bone broth and carried it into the room. It had simmered all afternoon, until the bones were tender. Since it was meant to help with lactation, she hadn’t added salt—but even so, the rich aroma made everyone’s mouth water.

“Dongmei, come drink this while it’s hot.” The fragrant steam curled into the room as she handed over the bowl.

“You girls better not even think about it. This is for your brother. If I catch anyone sneaking a taste, I’ll tan your hides,” she warned sharply.

The pot on the stove was still boiling porridge. She couldn’t linger, so she turned to Dani and the others, her voice stern. Sanni and Sini flinched and lowered their heads, not daring to even glance at the bowl of meat soup.

Satisfied with their obedience, Miao Sanfeng nodded and left.

In this household, the girls only ate after the elders had finished—whatever scraps were left.

Jiang Laidi stared at the bowl of meat soup in his mother’s hands, his thoughts in turmoil. Was the difference between boys and girls really that great? In his past life, as a girl, his grandparents never treated him kindly. But now that he was a boy, his mother got to drink meat soup.

He didn’t know whether to feel lucky or heartbroken.

“Dani, Erni, Sanni, Sini—come here,” Gu Dongmei called softly once her mother-in-law left. She glanced at the steaming bowl, then gritted her teeth and waved the girls over.

“Mom, what are you doing? That’s your broth for nursing!” Dani panicked when she saw her mother pick up a big piece of meat and try to feed it to her.

“There’s no way I can finish all this by myself. Don’t you want to eat some meat too?”

No matter how mature they acted, the girls were still children. The temptation of meat was too much.

“Hurry—before Grandma comes back,” Gu Dongmei urged as she placed pieces of meat into each daughter’s mouth. It was her first time going behind her mother-in-law’s back, and her heart raced with nerves.

Sini was too young to chew, so Gu Dongmei spooned her some broth instead.

“So this is what meat tastes like... It’s amazing. When I grow up, I want to eat meat every day,” Sanni said with her mouth full, holding it tightly shut as if to keep the flavor from escaping, her face glowing with happiness.

Gu Dongmei felt her heart ache. Sanni was already four years old, yet this was her first taste of meat. What kind of mother had she been?

“Mom, what about baby brother?” Sanni asked after seeing her sisters all get a taste, but not her little brother.

“He can only drink milk for now. When he grows up, he’ll get to eat too,” Gu Dongmei said softly, brushing her fingers through Sanni’s sparse, yellowing hair.

Sanni thought for a moment. Her brother was so pitiful—he couldn’t even eat meat yet. She decided she’d be even better to him in the future.

That small bowl of meat soup became one of the most precious memories for them all. Even the usually sharp-tongued Erni softened.

Each tiny piece of meat was chewed again and again—until there was no flavor left—yet no one wanted to swallow it.

Jiang Laidi looked at his sisters’ thin, sallow faces. He understood deeply how precious food was in this era. In just a few years, when disaster would strike, how many more would be dragged into the abyss of despair?

Now that he had been given a second chance, what could he do to change his family’s fate?

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Chapter 5: A Bowl of Meat Soup