Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Tang Susu picked up the goosegrass and matsutake mushrooms that Yang Xiaobao had brought back, turned around and went into her room.

Tang Lifu, Tang Liqiang, Yang Gousheng, and Yang Xiaobao looked at each other in the main room, their eyes filled with unease.

In the past, when the original owner came back after finishing his work, he would either complain that they hadn't done the housework well or find an excuse to beat and scold them. Now, his silence made them uneasy—was he brewing an even bigger temper?

Inside the house, Tang Susu stared at the wild vegetables in her hand and clicked "Sell" on the system screen.

[Ding dong! Selling one pound of wild goosegrass and half a pound of matsutake mushrooms, earning a total of 150 coins!]

Adding the 20 coins she had left, she now has 170 coins.

Without hesitation, she immediately selected 10 jin of white rice and 10 jin of flour on the trading screen, and added soy sauce, oyster sauce and salt, and specially asked the system to dispense the seasonings in bamboo tubes.

These modern seasonings were rare commodities in those ancient famine years.

She spent 130 coins in total, and carefully put the remaining 40 copper coins into her bosom.

She carried the rice and noodles out of the room, tossing about 2 jin each of rice and flour onto the dining table, and casually explained, "Donggou Village is in the middle of the north and south, so we can eat both rice and noodles. I'm from the south, so I'm more used to rice."

As soon as these words were spoken, the four people in the main room froze instantly, their eyes fixed on the white rice and flour on the table, their breathing becoming heavy.

Donggou Village suffered three consecutive years of famine. In previous years, they barely survived on the relief grains issued by the government. Not to mention pure white rice and flour, even mixed grains with bran had to be eaten sparingly.

In a bumper harvest year, one pound of white rice could be exchanged for five pounds of bran, three pounds of buckwheat, or two and a half pounds of millet, enough to feed a family until the next harvest. They had never even tasted white rice or noodles in their entire lives.

Tang Susu sat down in the main seat in the center of the room and said in a detached tone, "These were originally intended to be the grain sent to Tangwa Village."

The family's hearts sank instantly.

In the past, whenever there was even the slightest bit of good stuff, the original owner would eagerly send it to the Tang family, without feeling bad even if her own family went hungry.

Remembering how the Tang family took the grain and beat Tang Susu until her head bled, Tang Lifu clenched his fists, Tang Liqiang's face turned red, and Yang Gousheng frowned, all of them looking indignant.

Just then, Tang Susu changed the subject, deliberately sighed, and said with a hint of grievance in her voice, "But I have completely given up on the Tang family now."

"Over the years, I've given them plenty of money, thinking that my second uncle and aunt would genuinely accept Lifu and Liqiang. But what happened? When I went to borrow some grain, I was beaten until my head bled, and my younger cousin even threw stones at me."

As she spoke, she looked up at her family and said firmly, "From now on, Lifu and Liqiang will stay with us and won't go back to the Tang family. If you want to start your own households when things get better, I will support you. Also, Lifu and Liqiang will have everything that Gou Dan and Gou Wa have. We are all family, and no one is superior to another."

The four of them stood there completely stunned, their eyes filled with disbelief.

In the past, when the original owner was bullied by the Tang family, she would only take her anger out on them when she came back. Anyone who tried to seek justice for her would get beaten up.

Moreover, the original owner always felt that his younger brother and son were a burden. Tang Lifu and Tang Liqiang had long discussed in private that they would move out and start their own business after saving up some strength in two years. They never expected that Tang Susu would suddenly say such a thing.

"From now on, if we have anything good, we'll keep it for ourselves and not give a single bit to the Tang family," Tang Susu continued, turning to Miao Yulan who had just come out of the kitchen. "Yulan, put these rice and noodles away. We'll cook them tonight and eat them ourselves."

Miao Yulan's hand trembled violently, and she asked in a trembling voice, "You cooked...for yourself?"

She stared at the rice and noodles on the table, calculating in her mind how much coarse grain five pounds of rice and noodles could buy, enough to feed her family for half a month if they were frugal.

In years of famine, it was considered good if every household could have a thin soup every day to keep them alive. The four boys in the family were at the age where they could eat a lot, and she was pregnant. In the past, the original owner would not even give them enough coarse grains, let alone white rice and noodles.

Tang Susu noticed her hesitation and deliberately put on a stern face: "What? My words don't carry any weight?"

Miao Yulan was so frightened that she quickly shook her head, picked up a small bowl, scooped out only a tiny bit of rice, and went to the kitchen.

Tang Susu was speechless – those few grains of rice weren't even enough to fill Yang Xiaobao's teeth.

She got up, picked up all the rice and noodles on the table, and went into the kitchen. She poured all the rice into the pot, then took a broken basin, poured out all the flour, and kneaded it with warm water: "Cook it all. Everyone will have a good meal tonight."

Miao Yulan turned pale with fright but dared not argue, and could only quickly add firewood to the fire.

Hearing the commotion, Tang Lifu, who was in the main room, swallowed hard and whispered to his younger brother, "Did the Tang family really upset you, that's why you're wasting food like this?"

Tang Liqiang picked up a sickle from the corner and shouted angrily, "It must be! Big Sister wants us to have a good meal so we'll have the strength to go to the Tang family to collect our debts!"

Yang Gousheng squinted, seemingly lost in thought: "No way. If Mother wanted to collect the debt, she would have been cursing and swearing by now."

Only Yang Xiaobao, staring towards the kitchen, secretly wiped his drool and whispered, "White rice and white noodles must taste delicious."

The fires in the two stoves burned brighter and brighter, and the aroma of white rice quickly filled the entire house, its soft and sticky fragrance making everyone's stomachs rumble.

Tang Susu shaves the kneaded dough into the boiling water, then adds some light soy sauce and oyster sauce for seasoning. The noodle soup in the pot boils instantly, and the aroma becomes even stronger.

Remembering that her family members had been eating coarse grains for a long time, their stomachs must be weak, she said to Miao Yulan, "Pour out the rice water from cooking rice, divide it into six small portions, and have everyone drink it before meals to protect their stomachs."

Thick rice porridge, topped with a layer of rice oil, was served steaming hot in six broken bowls and placed on the dining table.

The family members stood around the table, their eyes fixed on the bowl, but no one dared to move.

In the past, whenever there was something delicious, the original owner would eat it first, and they could only wait for her to finish eating before sharing the rest.

Tang Susu picked up a bowl of rice porridge and handed it to Yang Xiaobao, deliberately asking, "Don't you want some?"

Yang Xiaobao immediately reached out and took the bowl. The scalding hot bottom made him recoil, but he held on tightly, afraid that Tang Susu would change her mind.

He took a small sip carefully, and his eyes lit up instantly—the rice soup, fragrant with the aroma of rice, slid down his throat, warm and sweet, the most delicious food he had ever eaten in his life!

Seeing that he had drunk it, Tang Lifu, Tang Liqiang, and Yang Gousheng quickly picked up their bowls as well. Ignoring the fact that it was too hot, they gulped it down, even licking the bottom of the bowls clean, afraid of missing a single bit of the flavor.

Tang Susu turned to look at Miao Yulan, who was still stunned, and teased her deliberately, "What? Do I have to feed you?"

Miao Yulan shuddered and quickly picked up her own bowl of rice soup.