A Pot of Meat Porridge

"Big Dummy Chen, stop daydreaming by the river! Grandpa Village Chief says to come home for dinner!"

A young voice interrupted Chu Chen's memories.

He looked toward the voice and saw a group of plainly dressed children giggling and teasing him in the distance.

Seriously... Are they ever going to drop that nickname?

Good thing I'm easygoing. If they tried that on a certain other kid from the village, he'd say they were asking to die!

Chu Chen rolled his eyes but said nothing. He joined the children and headed back to the village.

He couldn't really blame them. Until he was five, Chu Chen had wandered through life in a daze, behaving much like a child with an intellectual disability.

The villagers used to say keeping such a child around was a burden. Even the children his age had started calling him a dummy.

Though Chu Chen had long since shaken off that earlier confusion, the nickname had stuck.

Not that he minded much.

He knew the people of Holy Soul Village had sharp tongues but soft hearts.

Holy Soul Village was poor, and even Old Jack, the village chief, had little to spare. Raising young Chu Chen had been no small burden.

But Old Jack truly treated Chu Chen as his own grandson. He would eat less himself to make sure the boy had enough.

The other villagers were much the same.

They complained aloud, but one day Zhang San's family would steam a few extra potatoes; the next, Li Si's family would roast a couple of extra sweet potatoes.

Those potatoes would arrive at Old Jack's house under the excuse that they had "made too much, and it would be a waste to throw it away." Then they would end up in Chu Chen's stomach.

But both Old Jack and, once he was old enough to understand, Chu Chen knew the truth.

In a village where nearly everyone had next to nothing, every household counted its food carefully. How could anyone cook so much that there were leftovers?

They were simply decent country folk expressing kindness the only way they knew how, awkward as it was.

Chu Chen had grown up on food from every household. It was no exaggeration to say he owed every family in Holy Soul Village a debt.

It was only a nickname. Let them call him what they liked.

When people had kept him alive, what kind of person would he be to resent them over a name instead of repaying them?

Chu Chen wanted only two things now: to grow stronger and to repay their kindness.

The villagers of Holy Soul Village deserved to have their kindness returned.

Well, except for Old Tang's family on the west side of the village. Father and son could barely take care of themselves. How could they have helped feed Chu Chen?

Chu Chen bore them no ill will. Reading the original story in his previous life had left him with a poor impression of their character, but after crossing over, he understood that this was a real world.

Many events from the original story had yet to happen. Condemning people for things they had not done would be going too far.

He could simply keep a respectful distance. There was no need to stir up trouble.

Besides, Tang Hao was far too strong and not exactly a reasonable man. Get too close, and Chu Chen might end up smashed to death with one swing of his hammer.

Better to remain strangers and get on with his own life!

"Little Chen, you're back! Come see what Grandpa made today."

The moment Chu Chen entered the house, he saw an earthenware pot in the middle of the table and Old Jack smiling at him.

The pot had clearly just been set down. Steam still rose from it, and the wooden house smelled of meat.

"Grandpa, you bought meat again, didn't you?"

Chu Chen sniffed, his expression helpless.

"I told you, I don't like meat. Why spend money on it? Vegetable porridge fills me up just fine..."

"Nonsense! Who doesn't like meat? You're still growing. You can't eat wild greens every day!"

Old Jack glared at him, then let out a long sigh.

"I know, Little Chen. You're trying to be considerate..."

"I'm the one who hasn't done right by you. All these years, we've hardly had meat in the house. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so thin..."

"Grandpa, stop!"

Before Old Jack could finish, Chu Chen reached out with an arm so thin it was skin and bone and took his hand.

"If it weren't for you, I'd have ended up in some wolf's or hyena's belly long ago. I wouldn't even be here today!"

"Besides, so what if I'm a few pounds lighter? Erpang, over on the east side of the village, has plenty of meat on his bones, but he's not as strong as I am!"

"Good things come in small packages. Look..."

As he spoke, Chu Chen walked over to the water jar and, with a whoosh, lifted the large stone holding down its lid above his head.

Training at the Dou Qi stage strengthened the body and nurtured the muscles and bones. Though Chu Chen was only at the third stage, his physique was no weaker than that of an ordinary adult.

Lifting a stone that most children his age could barely move was no trouble for him.

But the sight scared Old Jack badly.

"Oh, you little rascal! Put that stone down, quick!"

Chu Chen hurriedly put the stone back. Only then did Old Jack breathe a sigh of relief.

Chu Chen stood there with his shoulders hunched and a guilty look on his face. The more Old Jack scolded him, the angrier he grew. He stepped forward and gave the boy two light smacks on the backside.

"You little brat! That stone's heavy. What if you'd hurt your back?"

Knowing he was in the wrong, Chu Chen didn't protest. He just grinned sheepishly and waited for Old Jack to calm down before speaking softly.

"Grandpa, haven't you eaten?"

"I'll show you 'haven't eaten'!"

Old Jack gave Chu Chen two more smacks on the backside, then stalked over to the table and sat down.

"Come sit. Eat!"

"Okay!"

Chu Chen obediently took his seat. Old Jack lifted the lid, revealing the steaming meat porridge inside.

"That little stunt of yours made me forget to tell you. I didn't buy this meat. Heaven handed it to us!"

"I went up the mountain to pick a few mushrooms and saw this silly rabbit run headfirst into a tree. Hah! Even heaven knew it was my grandson's sixth birthday and he deserved something good to eat..."

Old Jack proudly told him how he had gotten the meat while ladling a full bowl of porridge for Chu Chen.

He gave Chu Chen plenty of meat and little porridge. The pot was small to begin with, and after that bowl, there was hardly any meat left.

Chu Chen looked at the little porridge remaining in the pot. He wanted to say something.

But when he looked up at Old Jack's kindly smile and the resolve behind it, Chu Chen knew what the answer would be: "Grandpa doesn't like meat." So he said nothing.

He held back his tears, bent over his bowl, and gulped down the porridge.

Then he spoke, his words muffled and his voice trembling.

"Grandpa, once I awaken my Martial Soul and become a Soul Master, once I'm strong, I'll make sure you have meat to eat every day!"

"One day, we'll have so much meat porridge we can eat a bowl and throw another away!"