Cured Meat and Roasted Chicken

The afterglow of the sunset fell on the eaves of the Zheng Family's house. Water was sprinkled on the ground in front of the door, suppressing the floating dust of dusk and bringing a hint of coolness.

By the small table facing the main entrance, three members of the Zheng Family were eating.

"Steward Wang's son was beaten by Madam with forty planks. The person is almost dead, they carried him back."

Zheng Fa held his chopsticks, hearing his mother relay gossip from the village.

His younger sister, Zheng Shan, sat beside him, leaning half her body against Zheng Fa. She held a rice bowl larger than her head in both hands, her entire face buried in it as she ate with gusto.

Hearing the gossip from Mother Zheng, his younger sister lifted her small head and asked, "Wang Gui? Didn't Madam take a liking to their family and choose him to be a Page for the Seventh Young Master? How did he get beaten?"

Zheng Fa glanced at his sister, seeing her round eyes shining and the corners of her mouth still stained with dark green vegetable juice.

Such a gloating expression, a child playing at being an adult!

Even though his sister was only six years old, she understood that their family and the Wang family didn't have a good relationship.

They were both tenant farmers of the Zhao Family's estate, but their conditions were vastly different.

In the early years, when Zheng Fa's father was the estate steward, the Zheng family's life was passable, much better than the Wang family's.

But five years ago, during a monster beast chaos, Zheng Fa's father died unfortunately while trying to harvest the crops.

With the pillar of the family gone and no longer holding the steward position, the Zheng family's fortunes plummeted.

Mother Zheng lived with her son and daughter, having to care for the children and manage the fields, making life extremely difficult.

Conversely, the Wang family took over the steward position left by Zheng Fa's father, and their family's conditions were visibly improving.

Normally, Steward Wang, wary of Zheng Fa, the former steward's son, would subtly ostracize the Zheng family.

The other families in the village weren't blind to this, but one side was a widow with children, and the other was a steward favored by those in power. People naturally gravitated towards their own benefit, and the Zheng family's life became even lonelier.

Children might not understand the reasons behind adult conflicts, but the exclusion in their words and actions could be even more malicious.

Wang Gui, as the only son of Steward Wang, was the de facto leader of the children on the estate. He often led the bullying of Zheng Fa and his younger sister, Zheng Shan.

Zheng Fa was easier to handle; he was tall and strong from a young age, with a steady personality, commanding a certain respect among the village children. Even Wang Gui didn't dare to go too far.

His younger sister, Zheng Shan, had a lively personality, loved to play and joke around, and thus suffered many grievances. It was understandable that she was happy to hear of the other's misfortune.

"What are you doing?" Mother Zheng glared at his sister. "They say Wang Gui has a wicked temper and led the Seventh Young Master astray. Madam saw it and had him beaten with planks to teach him some manners at home. If Madam saw you like this, she'd beat you too!"

Zheng Shan pouted, stunned. "I'm not as bad as Wang Gui! Besides, I can't become a Page. When Madam chose Wang Gui, he showed off all over the village. Others didn't get this chance!"

Zheng Fa secretly shook his head. He had long seen through Wang Gui's character; he was the type to bully the weak and fear the strong. He was certainly arrogant in front of their family.

But he didn't believe Wang Gui had the guts to lead the Seventh Young Master astray.

It was actually still early. The Zheng family ate dinner at this hour to take advantage of the remaining daylight before dusk, saving on lamp oil.

Farming families ate two meals a day, not just the Zheng family, but even the Wang family did.

There were only two dishes on the wooden dining table. One was a plate of green leafy vegetables, called Pig Grass Leaves by everyone in the village. It was originally harvested to feed pigs, but poorer families ate it too.

The Zheng family ate this every few days. A large basin of vegetables boiled in water, with almost no oil or salt added, making it truly difficult to swallow.

The other bowl was different. It was a plate of tender bamboo shoots that Mother Zheng had gathered from the mountains that morning. On top of the slender, long tender shoots were two pieces of bright red, glistening with oil--

Meat!

Two slices of cured meat!

Zheng Shan's mouth was stuffed with Pig Grass Leaves, her cheeks bulging. Her large eyes were fixed on those two slices of cured meat.

If eyes could eat, those two slices of cured meat would have been swallowed long ago.

She remembered the cured meat was preserved during the New Year. They had only cured a thin strip in total. Mother Zheng would cut off two slices every ten days or half a month, eating extremely frugly.

The last time they ate cured meat was a month ago.

Zheng Shan wasn't greedy. Two slices of cured meat, one for her brother, one for her...

No, Mom should eat too. Then she'd eat half of one slice...

No, just one bite!

One bite would make her very happy!

Finally, Mother Zheng's chopsticks reached for the two slices of cured meat.

Zheng Shan's eyeballs followed the chopsticks, and even her small head tilted slightly.

The first slice of meat, Mother placed into her brother's bowl.

Mm, that was right.

The second slice of meat, Zheng Shan saw her mother's hand pause in front of her.

In the end, it also landed in her brother's bowl.

Zheng Shan blinked, feeling a little wronged, but then comforted herself: Brother had to work every day, so he needed to eat more meat.

Pig Grass Leaves were also delicious!

She lowered her head, not looking at the meat in her brother's bowl, but chewing the vegetable leaves with even more force, as if she were eating meat.

A pair of chopsticks fell from above her forehead.

The chopsticks, holding meat, were so close to her that the aroma of the meat seemed to slap her in the face.

Zheng Shan suddenly looked up, watching Zheng Fa smile as he placed a piece of cured meat into her bowl.

"Brother!" she grinned at Zheng Fa, her missing front teeth not hindering her joy.

"Eat your meat," Zheng Fa said, ruffling her hair.

"Mhm!" She picked up the cured meat and took small bites, completely satisfied.

Mother Zheng, watching from the side, didn't say anything. Looking at her elder son, her daughter was also a piece of her own flesh and blood.

Who would want to see them wronged?

There was a reason she favored her son.

Not only did the heavy farm work require men, but the family's status in the village also differed depending on whether there was a man.

If her husband had passed away and Zheng Fa wasn't there, Mother Zheng and her daughter's lives would have been even harder.

In Mother Zheng's heart, Zheng Fa was the one who would uphold the Zheng Family's legacy.

She was happy that her son was close to and cared for his sister.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Fa picked up another piece of cured meat and placed it in Mother Zheng's bowl.

Mother Zheng looked at her son, a complex emotion welling up inside her.

After her husband passed, she felt as if the sky had fallen and wished she could have died with him.

She never expected her son to become so sensible, making her reluctant to leave and giving her hope.

"Mom, you're old now, eating meat is useless, and you don't even like it. You're still growing..."

"I'm already tall enough."

"..."

Mother Zheng looked at her son, who was nearly eight feet tall, and couldn't refute him.

She was also puzzled. The family had lacked food and clothing these past few years, yet her son grew taller every day.

At seventeen or eighteen years old, he was already half a head taller than everyone else in the village.

Despite their hardships, this child was the best-looking in the village.

This made others in the village dare not insult them lightly.

At night, Zheng Fa lay in bed, the mottled blue tiles above him letting in slivers of starlight.

He could hear his sister murmuring in her sleep in the next room and the sound of his mother turning over.

His cotton quilt was old, with some parts thin and others lumpy, making it uncomfortable and not very warm.

He closed his eyes and drifted into a hopeful sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, the world had changed.

Sunlight shone on the simple, clean white ceiling of the room. Outside the window, car horns blared incessantly from the street.

A down-filled duvet gently embraced his body.

Though the duvet was soft, Zheng Fa felt no attachment to it.

He jumped out of bed barefoot, put on his slippers, and rushed out of the room. He opened the refrigerator, took out a whole braised chicken he had bought at the market the day before, along with four steamed buns, and put them in the microwave.

The aroma of the chicken gradually filled the room from the microwave.

Zheng Fa took out the freshly heated roast chicken. The skin sizzled with golden oil, and the steam carried the enticing aroma, teasing his taste buds.

Ignoring the fact that the chicken was still hot, he tore off a drumstick and stuffed it into his mouth.

The fragrant, hot chicken warmed him from his mouth to his stomach, then traveled up his spine, eliciting a happy sigh.