Elsewhere, in the Orphanage kitchen.
A few flies buzzed over the dark wheat bread, only to be caught by a fat woman and tossed into the pot. The two women cursed incessantly. "Eat, eat! Why won't they just eat themselves to death? They eat so much every day, it's like we're raising pigs!"
Beiwei stood silently to one side, holding a handful of bracken. She broke it into small pieces and dropped them into the soup, keeping her head down and doing her best to ignore the two fat women.
Just then, one of the fat women shoved her way over angrily, an eyeball dangling outside her head. "Why are you so slow at everything? Are you some pampered young lady who's never lifted a finger? Let me tell you, lady, if you're here, you have to work! We still have that herd of pigs to feed!"
Beiwei deftly stepped aside, avoiding the fat woman's shove. She had never cooked before, so of course she wasn't good at any of this.
Faced with the fat woman's insults, she only said softly, "I'm very sorry. I'll try harder."
The two fat women sneered. "Look at the soup we told you to make! Why did you put so many vegetables in it? And you used a whole half bottle of salt! We've had enough of you! Who can afford to eat like this?!"
"...Sorry."
Beiwei placed her hand on the item in her pocket.
The two women's abuse grew uglier and more frenzied, as though that half bottle of salt were their very lives.
Sure enough, it went just as she had expected.
One fat woman turned, grabbed a kitchen knife, and charged at her, screaming madly, "Since you're so kindhearted, you should know the children haven't had meat in six months!