Dodo and Guoguo quickly pulled He Yu Shui into the house.
It was the coldest time of the year, and He Yu Shui was only wearing a thin jacket. Her pants were also thin, made of cotton that could let the wind through.
She hung her head low, not daring to look at Luo Xiao Qing.
Luo Hui Zhen heard the commotion and saw He Yu Shui’s appearance, feeling sorry for her. “Yu Shui, where are your cotton jacket and pants?”
He Yu Shui said, “They’re too small. I can’t wear them anymore.”
“Oh, what a tragedy! How could He Da Qing just run away with someone, leaving behind a half-grown child like you and your little sister? He doesn’t even bring his sister along?”
“Yu Shui, have dinner at Luo Shen’s house today. It’ll be ready soon!”
He Yu Shui nodded. “Thank you, Luo Shen. Just give me a small half of a steamed bun. My brother will pay you back when he comes back.”
“Don’t worry about paying back. You can play for a while first.”
This was the first time Luo Xiao Qing directly witnessed the tragic childhood of He Yu Shui. It was heartbreaking.
Luo Xiao Qing continued to process the wild chicken.
He Yu Shui looked at the internal organs discarded by Luo Xiao Qing on the ground. She swallowed her saliva. “Xiao Qing Gege, are you not going to eat these internal organs? Can you give them to me?”
Luo Xiao Qing was taken aback. “These are not edible!”
“They are edible. I can cook them. I saw Dad teaching Gege cooking. As long as there are seasonings, it will be delicious.”
He Yu Shui swallowed her saliva as she spoke.
Luo Xiao Qing suddenly realized that in a time when people couldn't even afford to eat enough, many families would boil the chicken bones to a mush after eating a chicken and then chew and swallow them.
Not to mention these internal organs.
“Okay, I'll clean them up and give them to you later.”
“Thank you, Xiao Qing Gege!”
He Yu Shui looked at the internal organs with shining eyes. With these, she could save them and not have to go hungry for days.
Soon, Luo Hui Zhen brought the food to the table. It was a large bowl of packed rice.
The savory smell of braised pork filled the entire courtyard.
He Yu Shui was astonished. Didn't the Luo family say they couldn't afford to eat, that they couldn't make ends meet? How could they eat braised pork and such good rice?
Even the Yi Da Ye family wouldn't dare to eat like this.
Looking at the delicious food, He Yu Shui took a step back. “Xiao Qing Gege, maybe I should go back.”
In this era, with scarce resources, well-mannered children generally felt uncomfortable staying when they saw other families eating meat.
Luo Xiao Qing pulled He Yu Shui to sit beside him and put the rice and chopsticks in her hand. “Just eat. It's because you took care of Dodo and Guoguo. Come and eat whenever you're hungry.”
He Yu Shui still hesitated. The meat was too precious.
Luo Hui Zhen said, “Child, eat. Think of it as your own home!”
Luo Xiao Qing directly picked up a piece of braised pork and stuffed it into He Yu Shui's mouth.
The meaty aroma spread in her mouth. He Yu Shui burst into tears. She hadn't tasted meat for a long time since He Da Qing left.
Dodo and Guoguo, seeing that Luo Xiao Qing had started eating, quickly lowered their heads and ate as well.
The aroma of braised pork made the old lady in the back yard’s stomach rumble.
She wanted to go out and ask for a bowl, but remembering that she didn't go out when He Yu Shui knocked on the door earlier, she could only endure it!
Liu Hai Zhong smelled the aroma and threw down his chopsticks. “This Luo family is not living a life! Yesterday it was rice and fish soup, today it’s braised pork and rice! Do they have a mountain of gold and silver at home? Why are they so extravagant?”
Liu Da Ma snorted. “Humph! It's because they hunted again! They got several wild rabbits and chickens!”
Liu Hai Zhong's eyes were red with envy.
Jia Zhang Shi in the middle courtyard felt even worse.
Currently, Jia Dong Xu had just entered the steel mill, earning money for one person and eating for three. He also had to drink a little wine every meal. Their family was struggling financially. Tonight, they would each have a bowl of sticky rice and two pieces of cabbage stalks. It was so bland that nothing tasted good.
Smelling the aroma of braised pork, Jia Zhang Shi angrily threw down her chopsticks. “This Luo Xiao Qing is a scoundrel! He enjoys all the good food and drink but doesn't help us orphans and widows. He deserves to never find a wife and be an orphan!”
Qin Huai Ru lowered her head, surprised. Why did Luo Xiao Qing seem like a different person after being ill? He wasn't capable of hunting this much before.
Yesterday it was fishing, today it was hunting!
Unfortunately, Qin Huai Ru didn't know that Luo Xiao Qing had sold a wild boar today and earned two hundred yuan. It was almost equal to Jia Dong Xu's annual salary.
Luo Xiao Qing still had another wild boar in his space. Once he sold that, he would have four hundred yuan in hand.
Yan Jie Fang in the front yard smelled the aroma of meat. “Dad, our family hasn't seen meat for six months! You see how poor the Luo family is, but they can still eat pork belly and rice. I want to eat too!”
“Eat, eat, eat. Luo Xiao Qing can hunt, can you?”
“Honey, our dining table hasn't seen meat for six months. Maybe tomorrow I'll go and cut some meat and make dumplings?”
“Make dumplings? It’s not a holiday. Tomorrow I’ll go ask Luo family if they have any leftover bones and ask for some to make soup!”
Thinking of the aroma of meat bones, Yan Jie Fang and Yan Jie Kuang couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
“Yu Shui!”
He Yu Zhu’s voice came from outside while the Luo family was eating.
He Yu Shui hurriedly swallowed her rice. “Gege, I'm here!”
He Yu Zhu walked into the Luo family’s house. “Hey, why are you having dinner at Luo Shen’s house? Didn't I tell you to go to Yi Da Ye’s or the old lady’s place if you were hungry?”
He Yu Shui said, “Yi Da Ye said they were not having dinner today, and the old lady wouldn't open the door for me. I was starving!”
He Yu Zhu looked at the braised pork and rice in the Luo family’s house and was stunned. His family was considered to have good conditions in the courtyard.
He Da Qing was a chef in the past, so their home always had a small stove going, but even then, they didn't have the ability to eat rice and braised pork. Even Yi Da Ye’s family, whose monthly salary was seventy to eighty yuan, wouldn't dare to waste rice like that.
Was the Luo family not living anymore?