Bai Xue finally managed to coax Wang Cuihua to sleep, instructed her younger siblings to keep an eye on her, and then went out to take two eggs from the supermarket space and threw them into the pot.
Just as she was about to go out and collect some firewood to cook the eggs, she looked up and saw her father Bai Daliang coming in with a bag on his back.
"Xiao Xue, what are you doing?" Bai Daliang asked worriedly as soon as he walked in and saw his eldest daughter busy.
"Dad, I took out the two eggs I hid earlier to cook for mom. She still hasn't had any milk yet!" Bai Xue was relieved she hadn't impulsively taken ten or eight eggs to cook, otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to come up with an excuse.
"Let me do it, Dad! You've just woken up from your injury, your body is still weak, go back inside and wait!" Bai Daliang said, taking the bag off his back, revealing it was all food.
"Dad, where did you get the food?" Bai Xue asked, puzzled.
"I got it from your grandma's! Xiao Xue, quickly go inside, it's cold out here!" Bai Daliang said, putting down the food and pushing the door open to go out and gather firewood. Bai Xue went back inside to wait, to be honest, she wasn't very skilled at using the big iron pot.
Before long, Bai Daliang had boiled the two eggs and brought them in, waking Wang Cuihua to eat them. Under Bai Xue's supervision, Wang Cuihua didn't divide the eggs this time; she ate them all herself, since producing milk was more important.
Bai Daliang went out again to cook millet porridge. Initially, he was going to make cornmeal mush, but considering the children hadn't had a proper meal in days, he decided to make millet porridge instead.
The whole family had a warm meal of millet porridge, and the two newborns drank sugar water and fell asleep.
"Daliang, didn't we send all the food to our third sister-in-law's family? How did you manage to get it?" Wang Cuihua asked, looking at the ten or so pounds of cornmeal.
"How could my mother possibly give food to others with her character?" Bai Daliang said angrily, "When I went, the whole family was eating cornmeal pancakes, which made me so angry, I took all the remaining cornmeal!"
"Well... didn't they say anything?"
"No matter what they say, it's no use. I took our own food!" Bai Daliang evidently didn't want to say more, brushing it off.
Bai Xue knew this definitely wasn't over. Based on the memories left by the original host, anything Grandma Bai snatched was never returned.
This time, to get so much back, there must be something up in recent years, just not sure what it is.
"Dad, are you okay?" Bai Xue asked casually.
"Silly child, what's wrong with dad? Finish up and get back on the bed, it's cold on the floor," Bai Daliang said with flickering eyes.
Bai Xue was sure something was definitely up, and it wasn't something small either.
Internally, Bai Daliang was quite worried. He understood his mother; snatching the cornmeal back like this, even though it was getting their own food back, his mother wouldn't just let it go.
"Cuihua, go back to the bed to take care of the children, I'm going to hide the cornmeal!" Bai Daliang said and picked up the cornmeal to go out.
Bai Daliang didn't need to explicitly say it; she knew it was to prevent his mother from coming over to snatch it again.
Bai Daliang had just hidden the things and returned to the room, and as soon as he caught his breath, Grandma Bai's cursing voice came from outside.
"You damned Bai Daliang, how dare you snatch your mother's food? Where is the justice? Bai Daliang, get out here!"
The kids inside all gathered around Bai Xue, looking at their big sister, seemingly asking what to do.
"Big sister, I'll go break Grandma's leg to make her leave!" Bai Ruchuan couldn't hold back any longer and wanted to rush out.
"Little Chuan, sit down!" Bai Xue pulled him back down.
"Big sister, don't stop me, Grandma is too much, I want to beat her to death!" Bai Ruchuan's eyes were bloodshot, shaking with anger.
"Big sister, and I'll help Little Chuan, I won't let him suffer!" Bai Ruxia also wanted to get off the bed.
"Xiao Xia, don't make things worse!" Bai Ruyun held her back.
During this time, Grandma Bai was still raging, and the neighboring families had already heard the commotion and came out to watch the excitement.
"Xiao Xia, Little Chuan, no matter what Grandma did wrong, as grandchildren, hitting her would make us wrong. Whatever we say then will be wrong!" Bai Xue gathered her younger siblings together "We should..."
The siblings whispered to each other, and Bai Daliang, hearing his mother had arrived, comforted Wang Cuihua to keep a good watch on the children, then went outside himself.
Grandma Bai rushed at Bai Daliang as soon as she saw him, punching and scratching, all while not stopping her mouth, "Damned Bai Daliang, you unfilial son, not only do you not show respect to your parents, but you also snatch the little food from your parents' mouths!"
The more she spoke, the more fired up she got, going so far as to wail even more intensely, "Everyone, come and judge, there's actually an unfilial son who snatches food from his parents! His wife doesn't know how to earn food having children, but snatches from me, the old woman!"
Bai Daliang couldn't stand his mother reversing black and white in her cries, though she was always the one coming to snatch his wife's and children's food, and yet she blamed him for being unfilial.
He put up with it every time only because she was his mother, the one who gave birth to and raised him, but this time, she ignored the possibility of her own grandchildren starving to death, taking away all their food, and he couldn't take it. Partiality could go to such an extent, what else was there to worry about?
Bai Daliang shoved the still pummeling and clawing Grandma Bai away from him, "Mom, are you done?"
This time he truly erupted, "We've already split the family and live separately, yet you keep coming over to scavenge our food, regardless of whether my children live or die. I want to ask, is there such a mother in this world? The children of the third brother's family are yours, so are mine not? Do you know Cuihua gave birth last night and almost died with the baby because she hadn't had enough to eat for days? Right?"
Being pushed down like this, Grandma Bai fell directly to the ground, which stirred the hornet's nest even more. She pounded the cold ground and cried mournfully.
"Everyone look, a son hit his own mother. Ah, my leg is broken, you wretched brat, you're reversing right and wrong, clearly you came this morning with a knife to snatch our food, and you're saying I took yours! You unfilial son, I'm going to report you to the commune!" She looked around, possibly for someone who came with her, but no one dared come out at this moment.
Seeing this, Bai Xue signaled Bai Rushan with her eyes, and her siblings understood and all ran out.
Bai Rushan arrived and knelt down, crying, "Grandma, I beg you to give our family a way to live! We are also your biological grandchildren!"
This crying drew sighs from those watching the excitement outside the courtyard wall.
Seeing the situation turning against her, Grandma Bai immediately stopped her commotion and shouted sternly, "You wretched brat, what nonsense are you spouting? How has this old woman not given you a way to live? Aren't you all alive and well? Get up, don't bring me bad luck!"
"Grandma, you say it was my dad who took your food, but I clearly remember, a few days ago you came and took all our food. My mom begged you to leave some for when she gives birth, and what did you say? Is having a child so delicate? My eldest grandson is at home hungry!" Bai Xue said, walking out of the house. With the original host's memories, she remembered everything clearly.