Chapter 009 Dispute

Xiao Mi was scooping rabbit meat out of the pot when she stuffed a piece into Gao Ren's mouth and complained, "It's so cold, where did you run off to again? It's fine to stroll around the village, but don't go into the mountains! Earlier, Xiao Dao and the others led the way, and the snow was light, but now the mountains are dangerous!"

Gao Ren lowered his head and gnawed on the rabbit meat, his eyes flickering, but he didn't respond.

Xiao Mi, who had been in charge of many younger siblings in her past life, raised her hand and gave him a knock on the head, "I'm talking to you, why aren't you answering? If you run off again, I'll tell Brother Feng, and you won't get any food when you come back."

Gao Ren spat out the rabbit bone, a fierce look suddenly appeared on his face, and he raised his hand abruptly, "You... dare to hit me?"

Xiao Mi was busy lifting the lid of the pot containing stewed chicken, completely unaware of the danger behind her, and continued scolding, "Hit you? I was thinking of starving you! This is Laoxiong Ridge, not the capital city. The surrounding deep mountains and old forests are dangerous. If you don't listen, I won't share my delicious food with you in the future!"

The wooden lid of the big pot was tightly closed, and when it was suddenly opened, the long-suppressed aroma burst out, spreading joyfully. The scent of meat, the wild aroma of mushrooms, mixed with the sweetness of rice, was indescribable and particularly intoxicating.

Gao Ren's stomach immediately growled, and he instinctively withdrew his hand, then looked at the busy little girl in front of him and rolled his eyes.

Nothing comforts a weary body more than good food. After a busy morning, Liu Auntie and the others were delighted to see the abundant meal that Xiao Mi brought out. As hunters, they were used to eating wild chicken and rabbit, but the fragrant white rice was a rare treat. After all, at sixty wen per catty, most families would save it for making porridge when the elderly and children were feeling unwell. It was rare for a family like the Lu's to serve it directly in a large basin.

Some of the young women couldn't help but salivate at the sight, "Xiao Mi, this is too wasteful! This rice, mixed with sorghum or millet, is enough to last half a month."

Xiao Mi smiled and urged everyone to sit down, saying, "Aunties, you've helped me with the sewing, so I must treat you well. Otherwise, no one will help me in the future, and I'll have nowhere to cry."

Unfortunately, despite her words, the women hesitated to approach.

It was Liu Auntie who guessed their thoughts and spoke up, "Xiao Mi, we appreciate your kindness, but the elderly and children at home are used to eating sorghum and bread. It's not right for us mothers and daughters-in-law to eat white rice in large quantities. How about this, find a few large pottery bowls, divide the food among us, and we'll take it home. These sewing tasks won't be finished in a day, so we'll share them and bring them back in a few days."

Xiao Mi felt a pang of regret and embarrassment at the suggestion. Thinking back to her past life, when a few friends took her to improve their meals, she had always thought of the orphans in the orphanage. It was the same feeling.

"Alright, I'll listen to Auntie."

Xiao Mi quickly found seven or eight large pottery bowls in the kitchen, filled each one with a large portion of rice, pressed it down with a wooden spatula, and then covered it with a layer of stewed chicken with mushrooms and a layer of spicy rabbit meat.

Each woman received a large bowl, and they were overjoyed, but also a little embarrassed. Helping each other in the neighborhood and sharing a meal was only natural, but taking the food back home was a bit shameless.

But thinking about how happy their children would be to see white rice, they let go of their embarrassment.

After a half-day's pause, the snowflakes began to fall again.

The women bid farewell to Xiao Mi, covering the large bowls with cotton jackets and carrying the bundles of cloth and cotton back home in a hurry.

Xiao Mi watched them leave, and just as she was about to close the gate, Liu Auntie turned back.

"Xiao Mi, I forgot to ask you something in the rush earlier."

"What is it, Auntie, feel free to ask." Xiao Mi led Liu Auntie to a sheltered spot near the door, curious about what she had to say.

Liu Auntie, with a straightforward temperament, said, "Is your mother's death anniversary coming up soon? According to your father's temperament, you'll have to make a big fuss, won't you?"

Xiao Mi smiled bitterly and replied, "I was thinking of discussing with my father how to handle my mother's hundredth-day memorial. Although we made some money from selling game earlier, it belongs to Brother Feng, so I don't want to be too extravagant."

"That's right, you're a sensible child."

Liu Auntie patted Xiao Mi's collar and comforted her, "Don't get upset, talk to your father nicely. When the time comes, remember to call me to help you."

"Okay, thank you, Auntie. I really can't handle it all by myself, so I'll have to trouble you."

"Don't be polite, your mother used to help me a lot when she was alive. Now that she's gone, it's only right for me to take care of you more. If your mother's spirit is in heaven, she'll be delighted to see how sensible you've become."

After saying a few more words, Liu Auntie finally hurried back home. Xiao Mi closed the courtyard gate and went into the main room.

Old Master Lu was eating heartily with his three sons. When he saw his daughter come in, he pushed over a bowl filled with chicken meat and greeted her, "Xiao Mi, come and eat. The food will get cold soon."

Lu Xiaomi picked up the chopsticks, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Dad, in a few days it will be the hundredth day since Mom passed away. Because I was sick before, and Mom's funeral was a grand one, our family has been left with nothing. Should we keep the hundredth day ceremony simple for now? When our family is better off next year, we can do something more for Mom..."

"No way!" Before Xiaomi could finish speaking, Mr. Lu, who had always been good-tempered, suddenly got angry. "Your mother's memorial must be grand, absolutely cannot be taken lightly!"

With that, he didn't even eat his meal, and went straight into the house, leaving his bowl and chopsticks behind.

Since waking up in the Lu family, this was the first time Xiaomi had been scolded by her father. She felt a bit wronged and her eyes couldn't help but turn red.

Lu Eldest and Lu Second and Lu Third, seeing this, put down their bowls and chopsticks and quickly stepped forward to comfort her. "Xiaomi, don't be upset. Dad didn't mean to be harsh on you. He's just worried about how Mom is doing over there."

"Yeah, when Mom's funeral was held, you were still sick. Dad even wanted to sell the family's land to gather money, but it was Old Feng who stopped him, so we barely managed to get by. Now... even though it's just the hundredth day ceremony, it's not as simple as you think."

Xiaomi opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but when the words reached her lips, all that came out was a sigh.

Although she had received her original memories, those memories were more like a movie to her. She had seen and understood them, but she didn't have a deep emotional connection to them.

In her memories, Mrs. Lu had truly doted on her daughter, but there was a blank period in her memory.

"Big brother, I was confused when I was sick before, and I've forgotten a lot of things. Dad said that I went to my maternal grandparents' house with Mom, and on the way back, I caught a cold, and Mom passed away, and I was very sick too. But why don't I remember where my maternal grandparents' house is, and what happened? Did Mom ever mention it to you guys?"

Lu Eldest furrowed his brow, thought for a moment, and shook his head. "When Mom took you away, the three of us wanted to go with you to take care of you, but Mom got angry and refused to let us go. She only took you with her. We asked about the destination, but Mom wouldn't say. Dad didn't want Mom to go back at that time, and they even had a quarrel about it. When you left, Dad didn't even come out of the house. We didn't dare to ask too much. We were looking forward to Mom bringing you back, but she passed away before half a month had passed, and we didn't have a chance to ask about the maternal grandparents' house."

Lu Wu also scratched the back of his head and said helplessly, "I haven't heard Mom mention it either. But you, have you really forgotten everything? I thought you learned to cook and manage the household at your maternal grandparents' house."

Xiaomi's heart skipped a beat when she heard this, afraid of bringing up the matter of "changing cores," so she quickly changed the subject.

"I was really sick at the time, and my mind was confused, so I can't remember. I'll think of a way for Mom's hundredth day ceremony."

Xiaomi waved her hand, didn't eat her meal, and turned back to the backyard.

The three Lu brothers looked at each other and sighed. As the eldest brother, they felt extremely guilty that their little sister had to worry about the family's livelihood.

Lu Third thought for a moment and said, "The big exam won't be until next autumn. I'll take a half-year break from school first, and come back at the end of next summer."

"How can that be?" Lu Eldest and Lu Second both objected in unison. "Mom said when she was alive that no matter how difficult things were at home, we had to support you in your studies. In the future, when you succeed, you have to take care of the family and your sister."

Lu Third smiled bitterly, "Let alone taking care of Xiaomi, I feel embarrassed just hearing that. But now it's Xiaomi who is taking care of us."

"You can't stop studying either. I'll go hunting in the mountains tomorrow!"

Lu Second slapped Lu Third on the shoulder, causing him to almost fall off his chair, and that settled the matter.

Xiaomi didn't know that the three brothers had just finished a "democratic" meeting. At that moment, she was sitting in her room, checking the silver notes she had received from selling game. One hundred and fifty taels, plus thirty-something taels of loose silver.

Although Feng Jian had said that this silver was hers to use, it would be very disrespectful to the Lu family if she used it to hold a memorial for Mrs. Lu or to support Lu Third. If she took this silver to hold a memorial for Mrs. Lu and support Lu Third, she felt her face would turn red just thinking about it.

But the Lu family's situation was really too difficult, and she couldn't afford not to use this silver.

After hesitating for a long time, she finally took the silver notes and went to the front yard.

In the east wing room, Gao Ren had found some jujubes somewhere and was eating them, spitting out the pits all over the floor, while Lao Yang was smiling and sweeping them up.

Feng Jian was leaning against the window, looking out at the distant mountains through the slightly open window. Yesterday's heavy snow had finally given all the mountains and forests a new look, and now that the wind had stopped and the snow had ceased, there was a quiet and beautiful scene.

Xiaomi came around from the back door and knocked on the door, asking, "Is Feng Big Brother awake? I have something to say."