Su Mu Qing held the wooden spoon and fed him porridge bit by bit. The little milk bun was probably hungry too. He ate very eagerly.
The moment she fed him, before she could scoop more into the spoon, he cried out "ah ah ah," and tried to grab the bowl with his hands.
Soon, he had finished the small bowl of porridge clean. Su Mu Qing looked at the little milk bun's face, which still had an unsatisfied expression. He was incredibly cute!
Seeing that the little milk bun was indeed not full, she gave him more of her own porridge. In this way, they ate mouthful by mouthful until the porridge in the pot was finished. Next time she made porridge, she wouldn't store it separately. That way, she wouldn't have to wash an extra bowl.
"Alright, all done eating! Sister is going to wash the bowls. You sit here obediently and rest for a bit!"
After placing the little milk bun down, Su Mu Qing was about to find a place to wash the clay pot with the water from the rinsing cup. It was all rice paste, and wiping it with straw alone wouldn't be enough.
However, before she could move, an old woman from nearby called out to her. By seniority, Su Mu Qing should call her Third Grandmother.
"Qing Ya, there's still some porridge left in your pot!"
Su Mu Qing picked up the pot and looked. Indeed, there was still some clinging to the inner wall of the clay pot. She was a bit surprised. This Third Grandmother had excellent eyesight! To be able to see from so far away. Did she have X-ray vision?
What she didn't know was that Third Grandmother didn't see it; she had experience. Families usually made thin porridge, even in non-famine years. Less rice and more water meant it wouldn't stick to the pot.
Moreover, given the current situation, if the porridge was too thick, it would stick to the inner walls everywhere. To eat it clean, one would have to scrape it around with a spoon. When scraping, there would be a "ka ka ka" sound.
Everyone around had seen her feeding the little one porridge earlier. The porridge was thick and soft, almost like paste. When Su Mu Qing ate, she didn't make any scraping sounds. Therefore, Third Grandmother guessed she hadn't finished eating it.
Third Grandmother walked up to her, took the clay pot from her hands, and looked. "Wiping it like this is too wasteful. You should rinse it with water. I still have some soup water here. You young people are too young. You don't know how to save food..."
Before Su Mu Qing could refuse, Third Grandmother, while talking, poured the clear porridge from her bowl into the pot.
Then, holding the pot with both hands, she shook it carefully. She also scraped the sides with a small spoon, not letting go of a single grain of rice.
Third Grandmother poured out the rinsed soup water. Then, with a smile, she handed it to Su Mu Qing to drink.
The original clear porridge looked much cloudier. Some rice oil floated on the surface. The quantity had also noticeably increased.
If she hadn't seen the operation with her own eyes, she might have truly believed it was thinly brewed porridge made especially for her and taken a sip...
Su Mu Qing looked at the bowl in front of her... and felt like throwing up! She kept telling herself in her heart that Third Grandmother meant well. She just didn't want to waste food.
She tried her best to suppress it, but she couldn't control the psychological nausea. She swallowed the sour water that welled up in her mouth with effort. She could clearly feel the porridge she had just eaten churning up to her throat.
Her action of swallowing was misinterpreted by Third Grandmother as her wanting to eat more. A hint of disappointment flashed across her face. Still smiling, she handed the bowl towards Su Mu Qing's mouth again.
Su Mu Qing dodged the bowl being handed to her mouth, shaking her head repeatedly. Enduring the nausea, she said, "No, thank you, I'm full. Really. I'm really full..."
She couldn't bring herself to say it was unhygienic or looked disgusting. Saying such things would be too hurtful... Nor could she suggest Third Grandmother eat it herself. That would seem disrespectful... So she could only keep saying she was full.
"Oh! Mother, Sister Qing said she's full. Why are you still forcing her? She's old enough to know if she's full. If you don't eat it, I'll feed it to Er Bao. He hasn't eaten much either."
Just as Su Mu Qing was at a loss, a young woman reached out her dirty hand and snatched the bowl away.
Su Mu Qing could clearly see the dirt lodged in her long fingernails, submerged in the soup...
She couldn't stand it anymore. While the mother and daughter-in-law were talking, she picked up the clay pot and ran out of the ruined temple.
Seeing Su Mu Qing run out, Third Grandmother felt a little guilty. Although her intention was to feed her own grandson, she genuinely wanted to share some with Su family's girl.
Since Su girl said she was full, then so be it! She still had to keep an eye on that lazy wife of her third son, otherwise, the porridge would go into that lazy woman's stomach again.
"Third wife, this is for Er Bao. You're not allowed to eat it yourself!"
Su Mu Qing ran outside the ruined temple and took a few deep breaths of the hot air before suppressing the feeling of nausea in her heart.
She found a secluded spot, washed the clay pot and bowl, and wiped them with a wet wipe. The used wet wipe wasn't too dirty, and she was reluctant to throw it away, so she put it back into her space for safekeeping and future use.
These consumables were used up little by little. She didn't know when she would get more. She should save what she could.
After washing the bowls and taking care of her personal needs, Su Mu Qing put the clay pot back on the ox cart before returning to the ruined temple.
Inside the ruined temple, Third Grandmother was still scolding her daughter-in-law, "You lazy good-for-nothing. You ate all the little porridge there was."
The third wife's expression was one of disagreement as she retorted, "I was just tasting it. I was afraid it would scald him..."
"Ha! Who do you think you're fooling? That porridge doesn't even look hot, how could it scald anyone? I'm not blind. You feed Bao a little bit each time, then secretly stuff a big mouthful into your own mouth. Do you think I don't see it? Aren't you afraid of scalding your tongue?"
The woman was rendered speechless by the scolding. She didn't think she had done anything wrong. She was just too hungry. Besides, the child was still young, and eating a little less wouldn't matter.
"You lazy good-for-nothing, you poisonous woman! That's your own son... Do you want him to starve to death? Everyone else prioritizes their children eating their fill, but you're different. Eldest wife, she's not allowed to eat tonight, understand!"
Third Grandmother launched into a tirade against her third daughter-in-law. She finally stopped after being persuaded by the people around.
Su Mu Qing: Sigh! What is this all about? I wonder when this drought will end...
The weather was too hot, so the little bun was wearing only a bib, with his bare little bottom sticking out, sleeping on the straw mat. He looked like a little piglet! So cute.
Su Mu Qing walked closer and saw that his little face was pressed with imprints. She then turned him over to sleep comfortably and lay down on the other side to doze off herself.
She had originally thought that because it was hot and people were talking in the ruined temple, she wouldn't be able to sleep. But before long, she fell asleep, and slept soundly. It seemed she was indeed a bit tired today.
Su Mu Qing was woken up by someone tickling her. When she opened her eyes, she saw the little milk bun had already gotten up and was sitting on the mat.
Seeing Su Mu Qing awake, he grinned, revealing a few little milk teeth. His outstretched hand was still patting her face randomly.
"Ah, ah, ma, ma, bo..." The little milk bun was drooling, babbling incoherently.
Su Mu Qing got up and sat for a while. She looked at the time in her space; it was already past three in the afternoon. She had slept for four hours.
"Mu Qing~ You're finally awake! I've come to see you a few times. I took Xuan Ge'er out to pee. You should get up quickly too!" The one calling her was Su Ming Hui's second daughter, Su Cui Ping, who was fifteen this year. She had a bold and straightforward personality.