Chapter 19

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The next day, Bai Xue woke up at dawn. The brick platform bed was warm from the heating. Although the blanket was thin, she slept comfortably.

“Big Sis…” Bai Ruyun felt it the moment the elder sister beside her got up. She sat up with sleepy eyes, followed by Bai Ruxia. The two boys also sat up.

“I’m going to make breakfast. If you guys are tired, sleep for a while more!” Bai Xue did not even dare to take off her clothes when she slept, afraid of the cold.

She just had to lift the blanket and put on her shoes.

“Big Sis, I’ll help you!” Bai Ruyun quickly put on her cotton clothes and pants and followed her to the ground.

“I’m so sleepy. Big Sis, let me sleep for a while more!” Bai Ruxia was not so diligent. She could not even open her eyes and lay back down under the blanket.

Although the two of them were twins, the older sister was still more sensible and diligent than the younger sister.

“Xue, you two should go back to bed and sleep for a while too! Daddy will make breakfast!” Bai Daliang woke up when he heard the commotion.

“Dad, you have a wound on your head. You need to take care of yourself! We’ll do it! Don’t work in the fields either!” She still had a plan. If Bai Daliang was seen working in the fields, it would be difficult for her to carry out her plan.

“I’m fine…”

“Stop insisting that you’re fine. You have to recuperate for at least two months!” Bai Xue interrupted him.

“How can we do that? It’s almost the new year. The planting season will begin after the new year. How can I get work credits if I don’t work?” Bai Daliang was anxious.

There was less than half a month before the new year. After the new year, the spring wind would blow and they would have to go to work. They would dig corn roots, fertilize the land, and prepare for planting in spring.

“Don’t worry about anything else. I definitely won’t let you go hungry. Just lie on the bed and recuperate. At the same time, help take care of the babies and let Mom finish her confinement. This might be the last time she gets pregnant. If she doesn’t do it properly, she might suffer long-term ailments in the future!”

“Erm…” Bai Daliang was accustomed to working. He was not used to lying on the brick bed to recuperate and not doing anything.

“Dad, if you want to stop Grandma and Third Uncle’s family from pestering you, you have to listen to me. Trust me. Once they know that you’re working in the fields, they’ll immediately barge into our house to snatch food!” Bai Xue made it clear.

Bai Daliang instantly understood what his daughter meant. She wanted him to pretend to be sick.

“Alright! I’ll listen to you!” Bai Daliang struggled for a moment and said.

“Alright, the wound on your head hasn’t healed yet. Quickly lie down and sleep again! We’re going to make breakfast!” Seeing her father understood, Bai Xue did not say anything else and quickly walked out.

Just as she took out a catty of yellow millet from the cupboard, Bai Rushan followed them out.

“Big Sis, what are you going to make? Are you making porridge? I’ll go get some firewood and start a fire!”

“Alright! Add some water to the pot and boil it! I will cook millet porridge!” Bai Xue took a basin and washed a catty of millet before pouring it into the big iron pot.

They made thick sticky millet porridge with brown sugar for breakfast and everyone in the family got to eat it.

The family was enjoying their meal when the door was pushed open. Old Madam Bai’s loud voice sounded.

“Daliang! My dear son, are you alright? I was so worried!”

The entire family was dumbfounded. There was thick brown sugar millet porridge on the table, and everyone had it in their bowls. No matter what they said, they could not make any excuses about them.

“Big Sis, what should we do? Grandma will definitely come after our supplies…” Bai Ruyun’s face turned pale.

The others felt the same way. Wang Cuihua looked worried.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll handle it. Chuan, go and get the captain.” Bai Xue asked Bai Ruchuan to call the captain before Old Madam Bai stepped into the room.

Bai Ruchuan put down his bowl and chopsticks and ran out. He bumped into Old Madam Bai at the door of the inner room.

“Hey, you little brat, are you trying to kill your own grandmother?” Old Madam Bai screamed, but Bai Ruchuan kept running.

Old Madam Bai did not care about the collision and quickly walked in.

“Daliang, are you alright? You worried me to death!” As she spoke, she sat at the spot where Bai Ruchuan had been sitting at the table. Her eyes did not forget to wander back and forth looking for something.

“Mom… Why are you here so early in the morning?” Bai Daliang said unhappily.

“I was just worried about you. I ran over as soon as I woke up. Oh my. This is quite the spread! This millet porridge is as thick as dry rice! My life is so hard that I can’t even afford to have soupy millet soup…” She sighed and picked up Bai Ruchuan’s bowl.

Old Madam Bai would do anything to get what she wanted be it plunder or act.

Seeing this, Bai Xue quickly took away the remaining millet porridge in the basin and gave her younger siblings a look, telling them to eat quickly!

The little ones did not disappoint her and quickly scooped up the porridge in their bowls.

“You good-for-nothing, why did you take the porridge away? I’m not full yet! Daliang, don’t you care that she has no respect for her elders? Hurry up and get her to bring the porridge over!” When Old Madam Bai saw this, she quickly finished the porridge in her bowl and shouted.

“Grandma, my mom is still in confinement. I still have to feed my mom with the remaining porridge! If she doesn’t have any breast milk, are you going to buy them milk powder?” Bai Xue was so disgusted by this old woman that her words were not polite at all.

“What does that have to do with me? I’m your father’s biological mother. There’s no reason for him not to feed me!”

“Let’s not forget you kicked my father out a long time ago and he has done his duty as a son. As a mother-in-law, it’s unreasonable for you to snatch food from a daughter-in-law who is still in confinement!” Bai Xue retorted.

“You good-for-nothing, who permitted you to speak? Shut up! Daliang, aren’t you going to discipline your daughter? If you don’t, I’ll teach her a lesson for you!” Old Madam Bai said as she stood up.

“Mom, you can eat my bowl of porridge. We have to save the rest for Cuihua! She doesn’t even have any breast milk yet!” Bai Daliang said angrily.

“Give it to me!” When Old Madam Bai heard this, she immediately reached out and took the porridge in front of Bai Daliang.

Bai Xue looked at her father disappointedly for caving in and picked up the bowl to eat. She did not even serve her father porridge. She even gestured for her mother to eat quickly! If they did not eat quickly, it would all end up in her grandmother’s mouth.

Wang Cuihua lowered her head and ate her food. Old Madam Bai was unhappy when she saw this.

“Your man has no food to eat. How could you still have the cheek to eat? Give your porridge to Bai Daliang! Can’t you see that he’s injured?”

“Mom, Cuihua is in confinement. How can she not eat? I’m not hungry. I’m done!” Bai Daliang immediately spoke up for Wang Cuihua.

Bai Xue glared at Bai Daliang. He had forgotten how his mother treated him the other day. Now, he had even given her porridge.

“Grandma, I have some questions for you then. Who injured my father? Since you mentioned he has to go with no food, can I ask who took his food from him? I also have to ask, how are we going to resolve the matter of Third Uncle hitting my father?” Bai Xue did not care if she was her grandmother or not. The woman treated them badly, so she was not going to play nice.

She might have heard something and come over to see what was going on. The family in the west of the compound were bad people. The people in the family must have smelled the fragrance of their food last night and said something to Old Madam Bai.

“Isn’t your father fine now? What’s there to resolve? Isn’t it normal for biological brothers to fight? What nonsense are you talking about?” Old Madam Bai took a bite of the porridge guiltily. Her eyes were wandering as she shouted and scolded to hide her emotions.

“Grandma, how did you conclude that he’s fine now? He can’t get off the bed yet. He gets dizzy when he moves! Third Uncle gave my dad a concussion, did you know that? Moreover, he needed stitches on his wound and still has to remove the stitches seven days later! The medical fees cost $10! He won’t be able to work for two to three months!” Bai Xue felt sorry about the money, but she could not tell the truth.