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

Tang Susu tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, her mind preoccupied with "how to feed her family without exposing the system during these days of food shortages." She finally drifted off to sleep around midnight, unable to stay awake any longer.

Beneath her was a hard wooden plank covered with thick straw, so hard it hurt her bones. She shrank back, secretly glad that it was summer.

In winter, lying under a tattered quilt stuffed with straw in Donggou Village, a place where the north and south meet and the indoors is colder than the outdoors, one would probably be so cold that one could not sleep all night.

Thinking about it this way, she suddenly felt even more pressure.

Right now, we not only need to solve the problem of food and clothing for the whole family, but we also need to earn cotton clothes and quilts to keep warm before winter, otherwise the whole family may not be able to survive this winter.

Tang Susu woke up just as dawn was breaking.

She got dressed and stepped out of the room; the courtyard was already bustling with activity.

Miao Yulan squatted by the well, washing the family's dirty clothes. The wooden basin next to her was piled up like a small mountain. The washed clothes were hung on the clothesline and fluttered in the wind.

Tang Lifu was squatting in the corner, fiddling with a hoe and a sickle, preparing to go to the field;

Tang Liqiang carried two empty buckets and hurried towards the well outside the village.

Yang Gousheng carried a bamboo basket on his back and had already collected half a basket of firewood.

Even the youngest, Yang Xiaobao, was carrying a small basket and hopping along, preparing to go up the mountain to find wild vegetables.

Watching this scene, Tang Susu couldn't help but sigh: The original owner must have lost her mind. Instead of loving such hardworking family members, she insisted on pleasing her bloodsucking maternal relatives, only to end up being beaten and disliked.

She cleared her throat and said, "Everyone, stop for a moment. I have something to say."

Everyone paused, turning to look at her with a hint of confusion in their eyes.

In the past, when the original owner woke up, he would either lie still or grumble and curse. He never arranged things so early in the morning like this.

Ignoring their questions, Tang Susu turned and went back to her room, where she found the grain bag that Old Lady Yang had brought yesterday.

Upon opening it, she found five or six pounds of dark buckwheat rice inside. She glanced at it on the system screen, which displayed "Modern Mall price: four coins per pound, more expensive than white rice."

She thought that it would be too conspicuous to just randomly produce white rice, which would easily arouse suspicion, and besides, she only had 50 copper coins left, so she had to spend them sparingly.

Gritting her teeth, she used 40 coins to buy 10 catties of buckwheat rice in the system, leaving her with only 10 copper coins.

Then, she mixed the newly bought buckwheat rice with the leftover white rice from yesterday, carried the grain bag to the outer room, and said, "Have breakfast before you go out. I'll arrange work for you all again."

Miao Yulan leaned closer to take a look and saw that the grain bag contained buckwheat rice and white rice. She immediately gasped in shock.

In the past, when Old Lady Yang secretly fed her food, it was always some dark millet, hard-to-swallow corn husks, or hard wild vegetable husks. She had never seen such a good combination before.

She couldn't help but look at Tang Susu, her eyes filled with shock.

"My wife felt sorry for you having no food, so she brought this over especially," Tang Susu explained casually. Afraid that she might overthink it, she added, "This grain will be eaten over three days. This morning, we cooked it into a soft porridge. Everyone has weak stomachs, so it's more comfortable to drink something thin."

Miao Yulan's heart pounded with anxiety—spreading ten or so pounds of grain over three days was simply too extravagant!

She originally thought that after eating white rice and white flour last night, she would have to tighten her belt and eat wild vegetables for the next two weeks, but she didn't expect her older sister to be so "generous".

But she didn't dare ask any more questions, so she could only nod and quickly went to the kitchen to cook porridge with the grain bag in her arms.

Seeing this, Tang Lifu quickly packed up his tools and went to the kitchen to help Miao Yulan.

Tang Liqiang returned with water and smelled the aroma of porridge wafting from the kitchen. Together with Yang Xiaobao, they leaned over the kitchen door, drooling as they waited for dinner to be served.

Only Yang Gousheng stood aside, frowning, thinking to himself: Is Mother giving up now? Is she going to use up all the grain and let the whole family starve to death?

But then I thought, it's better than my mother taking the grain to give to the Tang family. Even if we finish eating it all and end up gnawing on tree bark, it's still better than letting outsiders benefit from it.

As dawn broke and the courtyard gradually filled with light, the buckwheat and white rice porridge in the kitchen bubbled and simmered. Thick rice porridge overflowed from the crack in the iron pot, dripping down the rim, and the rich aroma of rice filled the entire courtyard.

Yang Xiaobao stood at the kitchen doorway, drool practically dripping down his chin. He slurped and swallowed it down.

A moment later, a ring of glistening water stains appeared around the corner of his mouth.

Tang Susu wanted to find a cloth to wipe his drool, but after searching through all the cabinets in the house, she couldn't find a decent cloth. She could only pretend not to see it and turn to go to the yard to wait for dinner.

The porridge is finally cooked.

Miao Yulan served everyone a bowl of food in a rough porcelain bowl. There was still more than half a pot left in the pot, enough for everyone to have another bowl.

The family sat around the table, slurping down their bowls of porridge. The piping hot porridge warmed their stomachs and their hearts.

Everyone was full, sitting in their chairs clutching their stomachs and grinning foolishly. Some even secretly pinched themselves, afraid that this was a dream and would disappear as soon as they opened their eyes.

Prolonged hunger made them cherish the ability to "eat their fill" like never before.

After breakfast, Tang Susu cleared her throat and began assigning tasks:

"Lifu, go to the field and check on the crops. See if they can be saved. Write down what needs to be done."

"Liqiang, you're in charge of fetching water. Prepare plenty, it's hot, and everyone will feel comfortable after a bath."

"Dog Egg, go and collect more firewood. It'll be easier to cook tonight."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Yang Xiaobao looked up at her with his little face and asked in a clear voice, "Mom, what should I do?"

Tang Susu rubbed his head and said with a smile, "Xiao Bao, your sister-in-law, and I are going up the mountain. We can't just eat rice without any side dishes, so let's go find some vegetables that will go well with the rice."

Miao Yulan was stunned for a moment.

She's been married into the family for so long, and she's never seen her eldest sister do a single day of work. Foraging for wild vegetables has always been a task for her and Xiao Bao.

She secretly wondered: Her older sister probably wanted to supervise the work, to prevent her from slacking off.

But she didn't dare ask any more questions, so she could only nod and obediently go to get the basket.

The family packed their things and each went out with their own tasks.

By this time, the sun was already high in the sky, and the villagers were all out busy making a living.

As Tang Susu walked up the mountain, she saw many old men squatting in the fields, sighing and looking at the cracked earth. Some even knelt on the ground, clasping their hands together and praying for rain.

She recalled the humanities and geography knowledge she had learned in her previous life, and combined it with the continuous drought, she judged in her heart that there would probably be no rain in the coming days, and this year's harvest was probably hopeless.

This further solidified her belief that "we can't rely on the weather for our livelihood; we have to find our own way to survive."

The nearest woods to the village had long been searched by the villagers; almost all the edible plants had been pulled out, leaving only some nutrient-poor weeds.

In order to find something to eat, many village women and children have to go deeper into the mountains and forests.

Tang Susu led Miao Yulan and Yang Xiaobao deeper into the mountains and forests for a while.

Just as I rounded a clump of low trees, a system notification suddenly sounded in my mind:

[Ding-dong! Wild green dandelions spotted!]

Immediately afterwards, two more sounds:

[Ding-dong! Wild green red pine mushrooms spotted!]

[Ding-dong! Wild green morel mushrooms spotted!]

She immediately brought up the system screen in her mind, where the location of the mushrooms was clearly marked.

Following the prompt, Tang Susu parted the low bushes and saw several small, exquisite brown morel mushrooms growing in the pile of dead leaves, along with several clusters of plump red pine mushrooms with reddish-brown caps.

"Xiao Bao, you wait here. Your sister-in-law and I are going to pick some things," Tang Susu said, making sure Yang Xiao Bao wasn't curious and causing trouble.

Then, she carefully picked the mushrooms and put them into her basket.

I had just placed the mushrooms in the container when the system notification sounded again:

[Ding-dong! Two ounces of wild morel mushrooms, valued at 36 coins; one ounce of wild red pine mushrooms, valued at 10 coins. Would you like to sell?]

"For sale," Tang Susu silently thought to herself.

The next second, the mushrooms in the basket vanished instantly, and she felt the purse at her waist become heavier—she reached out and touched it, and found a few more copper coins inside.

She was secretly delighted: she hadn't expected mushrooms to be so valuable. She had earned 46 coins from just three ounces. At this rate, she was one step closer to her goal of building a new house!

Yang Xiaobao, who had been waiting nearby, couldn't help but come closer when he saw Tang Susu smiling at the empty basket. He craned his neck to look into the basket and asked in confusion, "Mommy, what were you picking up just now? I didn't see anything!"