When Dabao first saw this woman yesterday, she had thrown their quilts straight out. By then, Dabao was certain that everything in his dream was real. The way she looked at them had been full of disgust, as if she wished she could drive them out of the house.
At the time, Dabao had decided he had to stay far away from this woman. If he could avoid provoking her, he would. Suffering a little hardship was fine, as long as it kept his younger brother and sister safer.
But today, she had suddenly started treating them well. This left Dabao completely confused. He couldn’t tell whether the evil woman in his dream really was the Second Aunt standing before him now. The difference between before and after was simply too great.
Chen Yuan made a pot of pork, glass noodles, and potato stew.
As she cooked, instructions appeared in her mind. First: search for preparation methods using pork as the ingredient and extract the relevant information. Second: begin cooking after receiving the command.
Then, with swift and precise movements, she chopped the pork into neat cubes, placed it in the pot, fried sugar for colour, and added soy sauce and spices. Her movements were smooth and practised.
Cooking was an essential skill for a domestic housekeeper system. Any ingredient on Earth, in her hands, could be transformed into a delicious dish.
Based on the three children’s ages and physical condition, Erbao and Niuniu were the weakest. Dabao was slightly better, but he was also very thin. Long-term malnutrition in humans could lead to various illnesses.
So, for a balanced meal, Chen Yuan also made nutritious vegetable porridge with radish and leafy greens. The ingredients were simple, but fortunately, she controlled the heat with ease. While stewing the meat, she also stuck several corn cakes around the edge of the iron pot—a traditional northern way of eating she had seen while downloading information.
When Chen Yuan carried out a whole basin of meat from the kitchen, the three children instantly turned into free little birds and rushed over joyfully. They obediently held their chopsticks and bowls, staring eagerly at the large pot of fragrant food and swallowing hard.
It smelled too good.
Too good.
Ten thousand times better than Grandma’s cooking.
That was what all three children thought. Dabao, who had been watching the whole process, felt this even more strongly, because Second Aunt had been very generous with the oil. Grandma, on the other hand, only scraped out a tiny bean-sized lump of lard when cooking and refused to add even a little more. The dishes she made were always watery and bland.
Compared to this basin of meat, Grandma’s food was like earth compared to heaven.
And that was without even mentioning the freshness of the ingredients. When Grandma cooked for them, she never made fresh food for every meal. She would cook a huge pot of stew, then reheat the leftovers again and again. One pot could last two or three days. Sometimes, if she made too much, it would even turn sour. At times like that, Grandma would scold them for wasting food and force them to keep eating it. Because of that, they had upset their stomachs several times.
Niuniu already had all her teeth, but the Shen family did not feed her carefully. She usually ate the same food as Dabao and Erbao. Her body was terribly thin, her arms no thicker than two little fingers. She looked so weak that a gust of wind could blow her over. Today, she had only drunk one bowl of flour paste, and by now she was dizzy from hunger.
In the quiet air, the sound of the children constantly swallowing filled the room.
Chen Yuan carried out the last bowl of vegetable porridge and said, “You can eat now, but slowly. Otherwise, you’ll burn yourselves.”
The moment she finished speaking, the three children quickly grabbed their chopsticks and picked up pieces of glossy, amber-coloured braised pork, stuffing them into their mouths.
The instant the meat entered their mouths, the juices burst across their tongues. The pork belly, layered with fat and lean meat, had been stewed perfectly. One bite was soft, fragrant, and tender, the rich oils melting in their mouths. It felt as if their souls had ascended.
The potatoes had absorbed the pork fat and braising sauce, becoming soft, fragrant, and delicious. The glass noodles were even more flavourful, carrying a savoury-sweet taste that went perfectly with rice. Even the corn cakes were different from the traditional kind.
Dabao and Erbao each took a bite of a corn cake and immediately knew it was nothing like the hard, stone-like corn buns Grandma made. This corn cake was very soft and had a faint fragrance inside. One taste was enough to know white flour had been added.
Among the three children, Niuniu had the most delicate teeth, but eating the cake took no effort at all. In two or three bites, she swallowed one down. Clearly, she was truly starving. The vegetable porridge had also been cooked with fine rice. It was fragrant and delicious.
Chen Yuan did not save any of the half slab of pork. There were only a few jin of it to begin with, and it would shrink after stewing anyway, so she simply cooked it all and let the three children eat to their hearts’ content.
As a machine, this was also the first time she had eaten food she had cooked herself. The sensitive taste buds on her tongue delivered an unexpectedly delicious sensation. Enjoying this rare taste of human life, she sighed inwardly.
Being human felt wonderful.
She really could not understand why people in the future wanted to mechanise themselves.
Half an hour later, the plates and bowls on the table were completely clean, with nothing left. After the meal, Chen Yuan worried that the food had been a little too oily and the children’s stomachs might not be able to handle it. She found a small packet of tea leaves among the things Shen Huai had sent back and brewed a pot of fragrant jasmine tea to help them cut through the grease.
Niuniu’s little belly was round from eating. She leaned against the chair, unwilling to move at all. Dabao and Erbao had probably eaten such delicious food for the first time in their lives. They were beyond happy.
Chen Yuan looked down and saw that Dabao’s happiness index was now [-130], Erbao’s was [-150], and Niuniu’s was [-100]. The three children’s happiness scores were still rising.
Their eyes were dazed and watery, their faces full of joy as they remained immersed in the meal.
Chen Yuan quietly prepared to pick up Niuniu and absorb the energy from her happiness when, suddenly, a scream came from the old house opposite.
The houses in the neighbourhood were not soundproof at all, so they heard it clearly.
“What a sin! How could thieves come here? Those damned dogs! They stole everything!”
When the three children heard that voice, they immediately shrank back in fear.
Oh no.
Grandma must have returned and discovered that everything in the storeroom was gone.
With this fright, the children’s happiness indices visibly began to drop. Chen Yuan felt depressed. If they returned to their starting point, wouldn’t all her hard work have been wasted? How could she let energy that was already at her lips fly away?
There came a pounding at the door, along with a middle-aged woman’s angry curses.
“You little brats, come out! Did you take the things? If you don’t come out, I’ll report this to the police and have you sent to the station!”
When Zhang Guilan returned home and saw the front door wide open, her heart sank. She knew something was wrong. Then she looked in the storeroom and found it completely empty. Nothing was left.
It had been stolen.
When she stepped out of the yard, she suddenly smelled fragrant meat coming from across the way. These days, no one’s cooking could smell that good. Following the scent, she immediately determined that the two little brats had stolen the things.
“Motherless little things. No upbringing at all. I give you food and drink, and this is how you repay me? Today, I’ll skin you alive!”
Inside the house, the three children had completely lost their earlier excitement. Panicking, they were about to go out when Chen Yuan stopped them and walked ahead.
Just as Zhang Guilan was about to smash the door again, Chen Yuan opened it from inside.
Zhang Guilan hadn’t expected the door to open so quickly. Before her stood a beautiful woman with sharp brows and eyes. This was Shen Huai’s new wife, the one he had sent word about yesterday.
In truth, when Chen Yuan returned yesterday, Zhang Guilan had only greeted her from afar. She had looked delicate and frail, like someone who had never done physical labour. Shen Huai had gone and married her in some rural town. His father was angry and looked down on her poor family background, so he did not welcome this new daughter-in-law. Since she was staying in Shen Huai’s house, they simply pretended she didn’t exist and decided to wait until Shen Huai came back.
Chen Yuan remembered from the original host’s memories that when she had first married into the Shen family, Shen Huai had not been home. No one in the Shen family took her seriously. The new wife arrived, but no one cared or asked after her. Even when she caught a chill and fell ill, no one knew.
Because of this, resentment built up in the original host’s heart, and she vented it on the children. By the time Shen Huai finally came back, a long time had passed, and their relationship had already deteriorated beyond repair. Not long after, they divorced, and the original host quickly exited the story.
Zhang Guilan froze for a moment, as if she had not expected to encounter Chen Yuan. But she ignored her and pointed at Dabao and Erbao hiding behind Chen Yuan.
“You little brats, get out here! Where did the things go? Hand everything over right now, not a single thing missing, or I’ll send you to prison!”
Chen Yuan protected the three children and said coldly, “These were all bought by their uncle for the children. What right do you have to take them back? Go ahead and call the police if you can. Perfect timing—let all the neighbours see how Shen Huai’s stepmother abuses his own nephews and niece.
“Shen Huai gives you quite a lot of labour fees and food money every month, doesn’t he? How much of it has actually been spent on the children? And now you still have the nerve to come ask for the things back. Does your conscience not hurt?”
“What does this have to do with you? This is none of your business. Hurry up and hand the things over!”
In Zhang Guilan’s eyes, Chen Yuan was an outsider. Even if she had married Shen Huai, the Shen family had not acknowledged her, so she had no right to speak here. Besides, plenty of couples divorced these days. Whether they would last was still uncertain.
And since Shen Huai had sent those things back and they had entered the Shen family’s door, they belonged to her, Zhang Guilan. How could there be any logic in someone taking them out again?
“I’m getting involved in this matter today,” Chen Yuan said.
Watching the children’s happiness scores plummet like they were falling off a cliff hurt more than taking her life. This stepmother was a ticking time bomb on the children’s road to happiness. She had to be removed, otherwise there would never be peace.
Zhang Guilan said angrily, “You think you can stop me? Since you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, I’ll find people to carry the things back in a moment. When Shen Huai returns, I’ll tell him everything. I’ll make sure he divorces you. Then you’ll be an unwanted woman. Go back wherever you came from and stop acting so mighty.
“But if you kneel down and apologise properly, maybe I’ll consider forgiving you.”
Chen Yuan glanced at her without saying a word. She picked up Niuniu, took Dabao and Erbao with her, and walked straight out of the house.
Standing at the entrance between the old residence and the courtyard, she shouted loudly:
“The three children of the Shen family’s eldest son are truly pitiful! Their father died young, their mother isn’t by their side, and now they’ve fallen into the hands of a black-hearted step-grandmother!
“Their own second uncle went to so much effort to send back good food and supplies from far away, but she hid everything away. The children didn’t even get to see a shadow of it. Instead, she sent it off to her pregnant daughter to nourish her body!
“This old woman takes 40 yuan every month as payment for looking after the children, yet this is how she treats them. What a rotten conscience!”
“At her age, she still refuses to leave these children a way to live. When Shen eldest visits Dabao and Erbao in their dreams, he’ll surely be cursing you for being a biased grandmother. In the dead of night, how could he not crawl up from underground to find you?!”
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