C9 My Family Is Poor We Cant Afford Meat!

Everyone could see that Erya was being too greedy.

Yet Wang Caifeng was notorious for defending her children to the hilt, able to argue black was white even when her own were at fault!

"Really, Tang Jin, aren't you being a bit petty? My niece asks for a single piece of candy and you refuse? Have you forgotten the time your family was nearly starving and you came to me begging for sweet potatoes?"

"What an ingrate! Always taking, never giving!"

Wang Caifeng rolled her eyes dramatically and then soothed Erya in her arms.

"Don't fuss, Erya. We don't need her sweets. Their family is so poor, how could they possibly afford candied haws?

"They must have picked up someone else's discarded treats! Don't worry, I'll buy you something new later!"

Having said her piece, Wang Caifeng shot Tang Jin a fierce look and turned to leave.

But then, something caught her eye—a white and red object in Tang Jin's hand!

On closer inspection, it was a chunk of premium streaky pork!

Marbled with fat and lean, it shimmered with grease. At first glance, it weighed over a pound!

She had been so focused on vindicating her granddaughter that she hadn't even noticed.

Her steps halted as she fixated on the meat in Tang Jin's hand.

"Where did you get that meat, Tang Jin?"

Wang Caifeng inquired. Today, she had grudgingly sliced off only half a pound for her daughter's homecoming, yielding merely two or three pieces per person!

Imagine the joy of feasting on such a large piece!

"This?" Tang Jin lifted the meat, a sly smile on his lips.

"Second aunt, you're mistaken. This isn't meat; it's tofu!"

"How could our family afford meat, given our poverty?"

He threw Wang Caifeng's earlier words right back at her!

Wang Caifeng's face flushed with anger and then paled.

It was obviously prime pork, yet he claimed it was tofu—was this not a blatant attempt to ridicule her?

She seethed silently, unsure of how to release her frustration.

Wang Caifeng shot him a venomous glare.

"Don't think I'm unaware of your sneaky deeds. I'm warning you, if I catch you, I'll make sure my son doesn't let you off the hook!"

She suspected that Tang Jin had stolen the meat!

After her accusation, she scooped up Erya and turned back to her own home.

"Why did you respond like that just now?"

Xia Churan, who had been standing nearby, was confused.

They had legitimately bought the meat with their own money, so why allow others to harbor such misunderstandings?

Tang Jin could easily read Xia Churan's mind and smiled slyly.

"Even if I told her I earned the money through business, she wouldn't believe me!"

"Let her think what she wants! We just need to focus on living our lives with integrity."

Tang Jin scooped up Little Milk Bun and headed inside.

Xia Churan paused, momentarily taken aback, then followed him in.

The dough they had prepared needed to rest in the stove for a while to soften. That afternoon, they indulged in the meat they had purchased, stir-frying it with chili peppers.

Xia Churan stared at the glistening meat in her bowl, almost unable to believe it was real. Just days before, she had been worried about not having enough to eat, and now here she was, not only well-fed but enjoying a hearty and delicious meal!

After the meal, Tang Jin stepped out and made his way toward the western end of the village.

Only one family lived on the western edge, Daniu's. He resided there with his ailing mother.

Daniu himself was a figure of sympathy. Stricken by a severe illness as a child, he suffered brain damage. Now in his twenties, he still had the mental capacity of an eight or nine-year-old.

With his father having passed away early, his mother had raised him on her own. Now that she was ill, their family's plight was not so different from Tang Jin's past circumstances.

Thankfully, Daniu was a kind soul with a strong back. He never turned down requests for help with laborious tasks. Relying on his physical strength, he managed to scrape by, working both in the fields and for others.

Upon Tang Jin's arrival, Daniu was in the yard, mixing pig manure with wood ash to make fertilizer.

In those times, only the wealthier families could afford to keep pigs, making pig manure a valuable commodity.

It seemed that Daniu was preparing the fertilizer for someone else.

"Daniu!" Tang Jin called out as he entered.

Daniu looked up, recognized him, and flashed a toothy grin.

"Mr. Jin," Daniu halted his work and flashed a toothy grin.

"What brings you here?"

He hurried to fetch a stool.

Tang Jin took a seat and cut to the chase.

"I'm here today to see if you're interested in making some money with me."

"Make money?"

Daniu scratched the back of his head, his expression simple and honest, clearly not quite grasping the concept.

"That's right, make money!" Tang Jin said, exercising patience as he began to explain.

"You go to the fields and gather clams. Once you've got them, sell them to me. I'll pay you one and a half yuan per catty! I'll take as many as you can find!"

"With the money you earn, you won't have to do backbreaking work just to eat sweet potatoes. You can even take your mother to see a doctor. How does that sound?" Tang Jin proposed.

The prospect of being able to afford his mother's medical care made Daniu's eyes sparkle with excitement.

"Yes, yes, Mr. Jin! I want to make money! I want to earn enough to buy medicine for my mother!"

Daniu clapped his hands joyfully, his towering 1.8-meter frame bouncing like an overjoyed child.

Watching him, Tang Jin felt a pang of emotion.

Even a child with limited intellect knew to honor his mother, yet he himself...

With a quiet sigh, Tang Jin stood up, pulled out two yuan from his pocket, and handed it to Daniu.

"Let's agree on that then. After you've gathered them, bring them straight to my house, and I'll pay you. Take these two yuan as an advance. It's the Lunar New Year, so go buy some meat to treat yourself and your aunt!"

Daniu might not have understood the concept of an advance, but he got the gist of Tang Jin's words. All he knew was that he needed to collect the clams for Tang Jin.

Grinning from ear to ear, he accepted the money, offering profuse thanks before seeing Tang Jin off.

On his way home, Tang Jin walked past the paddy fields, eyeing the plump clams nestled within.

In this new life, he'd start by turning these little treasures into a tidy sum.

As he contemplated this, he continued toward his house. Suddenly, a figure came running toward him in haste.

Drawing closer, he recognized Ergou from his village, panting heavily as if Tang Jin were a lifeline.

Ergou came to a halt in front of him, swallowing hard.

"Jin, could I borrow your cart for a bit? My wife's about to have our baby!"

Earlier that day, Tang Jin had been seen by many, including Ergo, pushing the cart into town.

Now, with his wife's water broken and her belly swollen, all the village midwives had left to celebrate the New Year with their families.

His only option was to borrow a cart and take his wife to the next village to find a midwife.

"Absolutely!"

Understanding the gravity of the situation, Tang Jin didn't hesitate. He quickly walked Ergou back to his house and lent him the cart.

After watching Ergou depart, Tang Jin went back inside as the evening began to settle in.

Little Milk Bun was playing with stones in the courtyard. Seeing Tang Jin return, she ran up and gave him a sweet kiss.

Tang Jin enjoyed a tender moment with his daughter, stroking her head, before finally stepping indoors.