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

Miao Yulan held the bowl of hot rice soup, its surface glistening with rice oil, her fingers trembling slightly.

She knew better than anyone else that in this family, she was definitely at the bottom of the food chain.

Every day before dawn, they get up to fetch water, cook, and feed the pigs (if there are pigs). They are busy from morning till night, but they always get to eat the worst food.

When there wasn't enough food, they had to go hungry and save what they had for others.

She had only ever heard of this bowl of white rice soup from the elderly people in the village.

That was a precious thing used to nourish newborn babies who didn't have enough breast milk. I never imagined that I would be drinking it myself one day.

Miao Yulan secretly glanced at Tang Susu, wondering to herself: Perhaps her elder sister made an exception and shared this bowl of rice soup because she was pregnant and worried about the baby's health.

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became, and with a hint of disbelief, she sipped the rice slowly, even licking the rice grains stuck to the rim of the bowl clean.

Tang Susu ignored Miao Yulan's thoughts, her nose filled with the aroma of rice and noodles wafting from the kitchen, and her stomach was already growling loudly.

When Miao Yulan brought the white rice and the rough porcelain bowl containing the knife-cut noodles to the table, she suddenly slapped her forehead—she had been so focused on cooking the staple food that she forgot to stir-fry the vegetables!

But she had sold all the wild vegetables in the house to make money, and the vegetable garden in the backyard had long been overgrown with weeds, with not a single decent vegetable in sight. She could only frown and say, "Let's just make do with what we have. Filling our stomachs is the priority."

Tang Lifu, Tang Liqiang, Yang Gousheng, and Yang Xiaobao stared intently at the white rice and glistening knife-cut noodles on the table, their eyes wide open, and they didn't dare to touch their chopsticks for a long time.

They were used to eating only "chaff and wild vegetables" at every meal, and the dark, mushy food was good enough to fill them up halfway. They had never seen such snow-white rice or such chewy noodles before.

Yang Gousheng couldn't help but secretly pinch Tang Liqiang's arm, and Tang Liqiang cried out in pain, which made everyone realize that it wasn't a dream, there really was something delicious!

Tang Susu picked up a spoon and filled each person's bowl halfway with rice and a small bowl with noodle soup. She then added a few bites of knife-cut noodles and said with a smile, "Mix it together, it'll taste delicious."

Before the words "Let's eat!" had even been fully uttered, the four boys, like hungry wolves pouncing on their prey, grabbed their chopsticks and began shoveling food into their bowls, stuffing their mouths so full they could barely speak, only letting out satisfied "woof woof" sounds.

Miao Yulan sat awkwardly to the side with her chopsticks in hand, and said softly, "I...I'll just eat a couple of bites, leave more for the children."

Tang Susu looked up at her and deliberately asked, "You mean, send the rest to the Tang family?"

Startled, Miao Yulan quickly shook her head and picked up her chopsticks to shovel rice into her mouth: "I'll eat! I'll eat!"

She dared not mention "staying for a meal" again. What if Tang Susu changed her mind and sent the precious food to the Tang family? Then she and her children would have waited in vain.

Tang Susu was indeed starving. Although eating only staple food without any side dishes was a bit monotonous, she was already weak and slowly finished all the food in her bowl.

By the time she put down her chopsticks, the rice and knife-cut noodles on the table had been completely devoured. Not even the noodle soup at the bottom of the bowl or the rice grains on the edge of the bowl were left. Each bowl was so clean it could reflect light, saving her the trouble of washing dishes.

The way they wolfed down their food made her realize just how much food her family usually lacked.

After eating and drinking his fill, Yang Gousheng patted his round belly, then suddenly remembered something, slammed his hand on the table, and said, "Mom! We're going to the Tang family to collect the debt! My grandma said that my second maternal grandmother took the 30 taels of compensation that my father risked his life for, and we have to get it back!"

Yang Xiaobao chimed in with his childish voice, his little fists clenched tightly: "That's right! We need the money back, not give it to that wicked second grandma!"

Tang Liqiang rolled up his sleeves, his face beaming with excitement: "A full stomach gives me strength! I can take down two or three of them. Let's go now, before they get away!"

Tang Lifu didn't speak, but his approval was obvious in his eyes.

The Tang family not only took the money but also beat the eldest sister so badly that her head bled; they certainly deserved to settle this score.

Tang Susu was also thinking about the 30 taels of compensation, but she was much calmer than the other children. She frowned and said, "We can't go now. If the Tang family had money, they wouldn't have cheated me out of my money in the first place. Going now would be pointless, and we might even get another beating."

As she spoke, her tone turned serious, "Everyone sit still, and no fooling around!"

The family members immediately deflated, exchanging bewildered glances, their eyes filled with disappointment.

They thought that their eldest sister had been heartbroken by the Tang family and was finally going to sever ties with them, but they didn't expect her to still protect the Tang family.

Tang Liqiang hung his head, thinking to himself: Once my older sister's wounds heal, she'll probably be sending things to the Tang family again, just like before.

Yang Gousheng pulled Tang Liqiang to a corner, muttering his resentment but not daring to refute Tang Susu's words.

Just then, a loud and forceful shout came from outside the courtyard gate, making everyone's ears ring: "The Yang family is really unlucky! They married such a good-for-nothing wife!"

"You gave away all 30 taels of silver that Dog Egg's father risked his life for to your heartless family! You deserve to be beaten, why didn't they just beat you to death!"

Tang Susu knew immediately that it was the original owner's mother-in-law, Old Lady Yang.

She recalled the original owner's memories—after the original owner made a fuss about separating from the family last year, she cut off contact with her mother-in-law. Every time they met in the village, she would either pretend not to see her or have a huge argument.

The original owner was young and strong, and could always scold Old Lady Yang until she was speechless.

"What are you pretending to be pitiful for, digging pig feed! It's like the Yang family is mistreating you! Your own family is starving to death, and you're still sending things to your parents' home. How dare you even borrow grain?" Old Mrs. Yang cursed as she walked into the yard.

But when she saw Tang Susu, she suddenly paused, then called out to Miao Yulan, "Li Fu's wife, come here!"

Miao Yulan was stunned for a moment, then quickly ran over.

Old Mrs. Yang pulled a small burlap sack from behind her back, stuffed it into her hand, and said in a low voice, "This is the food I've saved. Keep it safe and make sure it's not used by some people to fill the hole in your family's coffers."

She patted Miao Yulan's hand again and whispered, "You're going to be a mother soon. You need to be firm when you need to be, and don't always put up with things."

After saying that, Old Lady Yang glared at Tang Susu, as if afraid that Tang Susu would lose face by arguing with her, and then turned around and ran away in a panic, without even continuing to curse.

Miao Yulan, carrying a small burlap sack, hurriedly walked up to Tang Susu, handed her the sack, and said in a trembling voice, "Big...Big Sister, this is grain sent by my mother-in-law..."

Her heart was pounding, fearing that Tang Susu would get angry and make her kneel on the washboard again.

Tang Susu didn't want to accept it at first, but then she thought that the white rice and flour she had taken out before were too conspicuous. With this bag of coarse grains as cover, it would be easier to exchange supplies from the system in the future.

She took the grain bag, weighed it in her hand, and said to Miao Yulan, "Alright, put the things away, boil some hot water, everyone wash up and go to bed."

Miao Yulan felt as if she had been granted a pardon and quickly took the grain sack to the kitchen.

Not long after, she came out carrying a basin that was almost full of steaming water and said apologetically, "Sister, this is all the water we have at home, please wash first."

Tang Susu stared at the basin of water, momentarily stunned—she then realized that in this severe drought, water was more precious than food.

This basin of water is probably meant for her family to use after she finishes washing.

Although I felt a little uncomfortable, I understood that "it's good enough to have water," so I could only suppress my modern lifestyle and accept the reality of "lowering standards."

She secretly rejoiced that she was the head of the family and could use water first, at least she was at the top of the "family food chain".

After Tang Susu finished washing, Tang Lifu, Tang Liqiang, Yang Gousheng, and Yang Xiaobao took turns washing their faces and hands with the basin of water. The originally clear water quickly turned black, like ink had been splashed on it.

Finally, Tang Lifu carried the basin to the yard and carefully poured the water onto his parched fields, not wasting a single drop.

This scene made Tang Susu realize just how severe the water scarcity caused by the drought was.

When it was time for bed, Tang Susu faced another problem. There were only two habitable rooms in the house:

One room was occupied by Tang Lifu and Miao Yulan, a married couple. The other room only had a kang (a heated brick bed) that looked about 1.5 meters wide, which had to be squeezed in for her, Yang Gousheng, and Yang Xiaobao.

She was used to sleeping alone in modern times, and now she had to share a bed with two teenagers. She was full of resistance, not to mention that Yang Gousheng started snoring like a symphony as soon as he lay down, making it impossible for her to sleep.

Tang Susu stared at the dark beams, her eyes wide open, and secretly made up her mind: once she earns money, the first thing she will do is build a new house, and she must get herself a bedroom of her own, so that she will never have to squeeze onto a kang (a heated brick bed) again and listen to snoring!