Su Grandma's face turned pale.
This child was indeed scared, babbling nonsense.
She would have to sneak out tonight to call back the child's soul.
Su Xiaotian suddenly remembered that this era was the era of smashing the Four Olds, where demons and ghosts were absolutely forbidden!
It was her mistake!
But the words were already out, and there was no other way.
"Grandma, I was just telling you!" Su Xiaotian quickly said, "I won't tell anyone else!"
"Good boy, you must be delirious from illness and haven't recovered yet." Su Grandma touched Su Xiaotian's forehead, checking if her granddaughter had a fever again.
"Grandma, really, I really had a dream." Su Xiaotian said earnestly, a hint of anxiety on her small face.
Su Grandma smiled indulgently. Perhaps the child had inadvertently heard someone mention the Dragon King and had a dream. It was nothing, right?
She was overthinking it.
"Grandma baked you a sweet potato in the stove; it'll be ready soon. Eat it and then sleep, and you'll forget all about it."
Su Xiaotian shook her head resolutely and turned to rummage in the small chest at the head of the kang, pulling out five mao.
She handed five one-mao bills to Su Grandma, who was stunned.
"Good boy, where did you get this money?"
Su Xiaotian's doting was evident, but as a child, she shouldn't have money. Occasionally, during the New Year, she might get a fen or two of lucky money to buy candy. To pull out five mao at once was impossible.
"Grandma, this is what Grandpa Dragon King said he bought for me to eat candy with!" Her small face was filled with innocence and bewilderment, her expression perfect.
Su Grandma was flustered.
Superstition, demons, and ghosts were punishable offenses, but the money in her granddaughter's hand was real. What was going on?
"Grandma, take this five mao. If Grandpa Dragon King gives me more money in the future, I'll give it to you again." Su Xiaotian said seriously and earnestly.
Su Grandma felt completely unsettled. Her granddaughter suddenly causing such a scene made her truly afraid that she would attract unwanted attention.
"Good child, you mustn't say these words, not to anyone." The old woman quickly pulled Su Xiaotian into her arms and whispered.
Su Xiaotian nodded solemnly: "Besides you, I won't tell anyone."
Su Grandma nodded mechanically, and after nodding, she felt it was still inappropriate, so she quickly added, "Not even your mother."
It wasn't that her daughter-in-law was untrustworthy, but rather that such matters were best kept quiet. If someone found a handle, the whole family would suffer.
Su Xiaotian nodded heavily: "I won't say it, not even to my parents."
Reassured, Su Grandma went out.
Su Xiaotian then began to read her books again with concentration.
The little girl diligently reading her storybook didn't realize that Su Grandma was so preoccupied by her that she forgot to cook.
Su Grandma wasn't unaccustomed to money, but she had never seen money given by the Dragon King.
She felt both joy and worry!
If people found out, their whole family might be arrested, but what could be done?
Suddenly, the old woman had an epiphany.
As long as she didn't say anything, and her granddaughter didn't say anything, who would know where their family's money came from?
Who could prove it was given by the Dragon King?
It was just that the Dragon King had helped her good child, and she couldn't even offer a stick of incense. It was truly a sin!
She would offer incense to the Dragon King when the people in the brigade weren't watching so closely anymore.
With her mind cleared, Su Grandma went to cook. However, due to her absentmindedness, the Su family's lunch was a little late.
Fortunately, no one in the Su family was difficult. When the three daughters-in-law returned from work and saw that dinner wasn't ready, they quickly helped cook without a single complaint.
The four women soon prepared the meal. The whole family ate soup with wild vegetables and cornmeal pancakes, which looked unappetizing.
Only Su Xiaotian had a white flour pancake in front of her, which looked so different amidst the table of food.
Su Xiaotian felt deeply ashamed. She was the most useless one in the family, yet she ate the best.
"Grandma, I'll eat the same as you from now on."
"Good boy, the wild vegetable soup isn't tasty."
"Grandma, from now on, we'll all eat good food and not wild vegetable soup, really." Su Xiaotian said solemnly to Su Grandma.
Su Grandma's heart ached. Not eat wild vegetable soup, then what would they eat?
But thinking that the Dragon King had sent money to her granddaughter, perhaps their family's life would truly improve in the future.
After eating, Su Xiaotian immediately returned to her room to continue reading.
There was a golden house in books, and she absolutely couldn't waste time.
In this era, it was still a planned economy, and Su Xiaotian truly couldn't find any other good ways to make money. Since she had been reborn, and given this golden finger, she had to seize the opportunity.
In an afternoon, Su Xiaotian finished two more books. Because she read them very attentively, she earned fifty mao and sixty mao respectively.
Su Xiaotian was so happy she almost jumped. She had earned one yuan and sixty mao in a day, which would astound others if they heard it.
However, Su Xiaotian didn't plan to give this money to Su Grandma immediately. Giving Grandma money too many times a day would arouse suspicion.
She would save it up and give it to her all at once.
At this time, Su Grandma was cooking in the kitchen. Because Su Xiaotian had said at noon that she wanted to eat with everyone, Su Grandma, after much deliberation, scooped out a spoonful of white flour and mixed it with the cornmeal to make pancakes.
When frying the cornmeal pancakes, two of them were specially brushed with a little oil.
The cornmeal pancakes with white flour, stimulated by the oil, had a very rich aroma.
But she still felt that such food was not nutritious enough, so she also boiled an egg for Su Xiaotian.
It wasn't that she didn't want to give eggs to the other grandchildren, but the brigade had strict rules. Three people could keep one chicken, and their family of eighteen could only keep six chickens.
In those years, it was difficult for people to even eat their fill, let alone chickens. Usually, they only got three eggs a day.
Let alone feeding ten grandchildren, even the family's oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar relied on these eggs; there was truly nothing extra.
As dusk fell, Su Grandma fried a basin of cornmeal pancakes.
The children who had been reading returned, and the adults who had been working in the fields returned. The family was bustling, preparing to eat.
Seeing an extra egg in front of her, Su Xiaotian's small eyebrows furrowed.
The family had too few chickens, and they could only eat wild grass, so they didn't lay many eggs, which was why they were so frugal.
If only the library could provide her with a book on scientific chicken farming, but unfortunately, she couldn't decide what books she could see.
In the end, the egg was divided by Su Xiaotian.
A small egg was cut into four pieces, and besides Su Xiaotian, Grandpa Su, Grandma Su, and Little Seven each got a piece.
Grandpa Su and Grandma Su looked at their filial granddaughter and couldn't help but secretly wipe away tears. It was their failure as adults that made the children suffer.
But even this small piece of egg felt incredibly heartwarming.
After the family had dinner, the women sat in the yard to cool off, chat, and do needlework.
With more than ten people in the family, big and small, just making shoes was enough work for the four women.