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

Yang Xiaobao obediently stretched out his arm, letting Tang Susu apply erythromycin ointment to the scratches.

The cool touch instantly relieved the burning pain of the wound. He raised his little face and looked at his mother's gentle profile as she looked down, feeling both happy and worried.

The good thing is that his mother no longer hits or scolds him, and she even applies medicine to his wounds, just like Qiangzi's mother in the village.

What worries me is that one day my mother might suddenly revert to her old, fierce self, and take all the good things in the house to my second maternal grandfather's house.

He frowned, his face full of confusion, and his fingers unconsciously picked at the hem of his clothes.

Tang Susu, oblivious to Xiao Bao's thoughts, held the pheasant's wing in her fingers, weighing it in her hand. Thinking only of the prospect of meat during a famine, which would surely make the children happy, she smiled and asked, "Xiao Bao, shall we stew this pheasant, or make mushroom and chicken stir-fry? Or Kung Pao chicken?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiaobao's eyes widened instantly, his face filled with horror.

He never intended to eat the pheasant; he had already planned it all out.

We need to build a small wooden fence in the corner of the yard, keep the pheasant inside, catch insects from the mountain every day to feed it, and wait for it to lay eggs so we can eat eggs every day.

"Mother..." He opened his mouth, his voice trembling with sobs, but he didn't know what to say.

Tang Susu ignored his strange behavior, only thinking that although the pheasant looked plump, it actually didn't have much meat and felt light in her hand.

At this moment, a system notification sounded: [Ding! A pure forest-grown red-bellied pheasant has been detected, weighing 2.1 jin (approximately 1 kg) and valued at 68 wen (approximately 38 coins).]

She started calculating in her mind: artificially raised chickens only cost 5 coins per kilogram, but this wild golden pheasant could be exchanged for a chicken weighing more than ten kilograms, and the price she could get from selling it to the system would be even higher.

But when she turned around and saw Xiaobao staring intently at the pheasant, she suppressed her idea of ​​selling it.

If we make the chicken disappear directly, Xiao Bao will definitely become suspicious, so let's wait and see.

Just then, Miao Yulan came running over hurriedly, carrying a basket full of purple clover. She stumbled and almost fell.

"Watch out!" Tang Susu reacted quickly and stepped forward to support her arm.

Miao Yulan was pregnant, but the original owner never treated her as a pregnant woman. She neither paid for a doctor to check her pulse nor let her rest. No one knew exactly how long she had been pregnant.

Tang Susu was worried that her journey into the mountains would harm the fetus, so her tone became a little harsher: "Slow down, don't run so fast while you're pregnant."

Miao Yulan steadied herself and, upon seeing the pheasant in Tang Susu's hand, instantly beamed with joy: "Big sister, this is... the pheasant Xiaobao caught?"

"Yeah, isn't Xiao Bao amazing?" Tang Susu nodded.

Miao Yulan nodded repeatedly, her eyes filled with joy.

The family hadn't had any meat for over a year. Even though this pheasant was skinny, she could still make a pot of soup, have a sip of hot broth, lick the oil off the side of the pot, and have some buckwheat porridge with it—that would be the greatest satisfaction for her.

She stepped forward and said, "Sister, let me kill the chicken. The feathers can be used to make feather dusters, and don't waste the blood and innards. They'll make a delicious soup with wild vegetables and mushrooms."

Standing to the side, listening to the words "killing the chicken" and "making soup," Yang Xiaobao instantly imagined the cruel scene of the pheasant being killed, and tears streamed down his face.

He was reluctant to part with the pheasant he had caught himself, but he was also afraid that if he didn't let his mother eat the chicken, she would revert to her old ways and take all the good things to please her second maternal grandfather's family.

She could only bite her lip, silently shedding tears, without uttering a sound.

When Tang Susu saw him crying, she thought he had been frightened by Zheng Dahu and his gang of kids. She reached out and patted his head, comforting him, "Don't cry. The pheasant wasn't stolen. It's all thanks to you. I'll let you have a few more pieces of chicken for lunch."

To everyone's surprise, Xiao Bao cried even harder after hearing this, his little shoulders trembling, and he secretly made up his mind: even if his mother wanted to eat chicken, he would never eat a single bite.

Miao Yulan watched Xiao Bao cry, but didn't dare to say anything more, and just waited for Tang Susu to speak.

Tang Susu didn't say anything more, picked up the pheasant, and led the two of them home.

Along the way, we encountered many villagers, most of whom were busy in the fields. When they saw Tang Susu, they instinctively avoided her and no one went up to talk to her.

The original owner had a terrible reputation and was extremely unpopular in the village, which saved Tang Susu the trouble of talking to people.

It was nearly noon when I got home.

There was a half-full water vat in the yard, which must have been carried by Tang Liqiang. He wasn't home, so he must have gone to fetch water from outside the village again.

Miao Yulan put down the basket and went to the kitchen to find a knife to kill the chicken.

Tang Susu quickly stopped her: "Yulan, don't do it."

Miao Yulan was stunned for a moment, looking at her nervously, wondering if she had done something wrong.

"You're carrying twins, killing is bad for the fetuses," Tang Susu explained. "Go boil a pot of water; we'll use it to pluck the chicken feathers later."

Miao Yulan was stunned, her eyes filled with disbelief.

She's been pregnant for so long, and the original owner of this body has never treated her like a pregnant woman, making her do all the dirty and heavy work. Now, Tang Susu is actually thinking about her unborn child.

She felt both warm and unfamiliar with the place, and quickly nodded, "Okay, I'll go right away."

Watching Miao Yulan walk into the kitchen, Tang Susu carried the pheasant around to the back of the house.

After confirming that no one was watching, she brought up the system screen and selected to replace the feed chickens with red-bellied pheasants.

The next second, the skinny pheasant in her hand turned into a large, fat chicken weighing nine pounds with similar plumage, and the system also notified her that she had earned an extra 23 copper coins.

Tang Susu smiled with satisfaction and carried the plump chicken into the yard.

As soon as I stood still, I saw Tang Lifu returning with a hoe on his back.

"Lifu, you're back just in time," Tang Susu called out to him. "Go check if Yulan's hot water has boiled yet, and bring half a basin over."

Tang Lifu put down his hoe, responded, and went into the kitchen.

Soon, he came out carrying a half-basin of steaming hot water.

Tang Susu handed him the plump chicken: "Kill the chicken, pluck the feathers, cut it into pieces, and take it to the kitchen."

She turned and went back to her room, bought a packet of fine salt from the system, poured it into a dry, coarse porcelain bowl, and hid it at the very back of the cabinet.

There isn't a single decent seasoning in the house; packaged salt is definitely not something to be shown to others.

Although Xi Yan also attracts attention, she is the eldest in the family, and as long as she doesn't explain, no one dares to ask any more questions.

After arranging the chicken slaughter, Tang Susu walked to the kitchen door, pondering the lunch menu.

With six people in the family, just eating chicken is definitely not enough. Why not make chicken stew with mushrooms and add some vegetables?

She wanted to add some potatoes, but she wasn't sure if they existed in this era, nor did she know the condition of her own vegetable garden, so she had to put the idea aside for the time being.

At this moment, she saw Yang Xiaobao still standing in the corner of the yard, his little hands were covered in black soot, his face was smeared with streaks like a little kitten, his eyes were red, and he was still sobbing softly.

Tang Susu smiled helplessly, thinking he was still worried about the pheasants being stolen.

She scooped up half a bowl of water, walked over, squatted down, dipped her sleeve in the water, and gently wiped his face: "Still crying? The pheasant is safe, don't cry anymore."

Yang Xiaobao sniffed, fighting back tears, and choked out, "Mom, I won't cry anymore."

In his heart, the pheasant he considered a friend was gone, and crying wouldn't help.

Tang Susu took out five copper coins from her bosom and stuffed them into his hand: "Take this and go to your grandma's house to exchange it for some vegetables, preferably a cabbage. We'll make mushroom, cabbage, and chicken stew for lunch; it'll taste delicious."

Yang Xiaobao held the copper coin, still determined not to eat the chicken, but he didn't dare to object, so he could only nod and say, "Okay, Mother."

After saying that, he clutched the copper coin, turned around, and ran towards the direction of the Yang family's ancestral home.

The Yang family's ancestral home was located at the back of the village, and it was much more spacious than the dilapidated house where Tang Susu lived.

Upon entering, there is a large courtyard with two side rooms on the east and west sides and a main hall in the middle. Vegetable gardens have been cultivated in the front and back of the courtyard, and two old hens are kept in the corner.

During this severe drought, many families in the village had to abandon their vegetable gardens. The Yang family, however, managed to salvage their harvest thanks to their abundant labor.

It wasn't mealtime yet, and only Old Mrs. Yang and her second daughter-in-law were at home in the ancestral house.

Old Mrs. Yang was sitting on a small stool in the yard, holding a kitchen knife in her hand, chopping wild vegetables on the cutting board, preparing to make pickled vegetables.

This year's harvest is definitely not good. She has to take advantage of the fact that there are still wild vegetables to make more pickled vegetables and store them, otherwise her family of more than ten people will probably go hungry in the winter.

"Grandma!" Yang Xiaobao's voice came from outside the courtyard gate.

Old Mrs. Yang stopped what she was doing, looked up at the door, and asked, "Is that Xiao Bao? What brings you here? Do you need to see Grandma?"