Chapter 51: No More Wasting Food in the Future

The two little ones were also worried, but after so many years, they had grown accustomed to hiding their concerns—at least they wouldn’t show it as obviously as Wen Nuan Nuan.

“Has your Eldest Brother ever been injured before when he went into the mountains?” Wen Nuan Nuan hesitated for a moment but couldn’t help asking.

She had originally wanted to ask if Leng Xiao had ever injured his back, but then she thought that would be too obvious.

Leng Yun imitated Wen Nuan Nuan’s movements, tying knots for the wild onions in the wooden basin, and looked up to answer, “Yes, he often gets injured. That’s why Eldest Brother never takes us deep into the mountains and doesn’t allow us to cross the back mountain’s peak to gather herbs or hunt.”

This answer surprised Wen Nuan Nuan. She had thought the male lead would have special privileges—aside from that back injury, he wouldn’t suffer any other injuries, especially since there were no descriptions of other scars.

Since he had often been injured before, perhaps that back injury had already happened?

It might not necessarily be this time.

Wen Nuan Nuan felt a little relieved, her hands continuing to tidy the wild onions as she sighed, “The deep mountains are so dangerous.”

No wonder, despite knowing that the deep mountains were rich in medicinal herbs and wild game, and that money could be earned quickly and easily, so few dared to venture in. It was likely a case of having the luck to earn money but not the luck to spend it.

Leng Chen washed his hands clean and joined in to help. “Eldest Brother said he doesn’t want us to live such precarious and dangerous lives. Besides, the people in this village resent those who have more and mock those who have less. Eldest Brother forbids us from arguing with them, saying it would only warp our understanding. Only by becoming strong ourselves can we break free from them.”

Every time Eldest Brother returned from hunting or selling ginseng with silver, making their family slightly better off, many people in the village would speak to him with sarcastic and unpleasant remarks.

When their Mother’s illness drained all their savings, leaving them impoverished, hungry, and cold, these same people showed no sympathy but instead covered their mouths and laughed.

When he was younger, he never understood and would feel hurt and upset. After he couldn’t help but tell Eldest Brother, Eldest Brother said these people were inherently petty and useless, and there was no changing them. The best they could do was stay away from them.

Don’t let these people influence you and turn you into the kind of person you once despised and found most useless.

Wen Nuan Nuan had grown up in the countryside, so she understood the detestable nature of such people who resented others’ success and mocked their failures.

She remembered when someone in her village returned with money earned from working and borrowed funds to lease a fishpond, hoping to take care of their parents and children. However, just as the fish grew plump and were almost ready to sell, they woke up one morning to find all the fish floating belly-up, with pesticide bottles thrown nearby. The poisoned fish couldn’t be sold, and the couple, burdened with debt, cried bitterly. But after their tears, they had no choice but to leave their children and parents behind and return to the big city to work.

Back then, she didn’t understand. Leasing the fishpond and raising fish also required paying fees. Earning a hard-earned income didn’t hinder or affect anyone else, so why poison the fish? What good did it do them?

Later, after going to university and working, she read more news and analyses and realized it was simply jealousy. Some people had the right mindset, striving to improve themselves through hard work, while others, unwilling to put in the effort themselves, couldn’t stand to see others succeed.

It was a truth she only understood in her twenties, yet Leng Xiao had seen it clearly many years ago and made the most accurate judgment!

“Did your eldest brother mention that the power struggles among the upper-class nobility are even more intense? What should we do then?” Wen Nuan Nuan grew curious, wondering if the future powerful minister knew in his youth that he would face invisible, bloodless daggers in the future.

As the saying goes, where there are people, there is conflict.

The two things in the world that are hardest to look at directly are the sun and the human heart.

No matter where you are, power struggles are unavoidable.

So what then?

Leng Chen carefully rolled the wild onions and repeated his eldest brother’s words exactly as he had said them to his sister-in-law. “Eldest Brother said that the mice in the granary and the mice in the latrine live very different lives. One is exhausted, running around in a dirty, chaotic environment just to survive, while the other lives in a spacious place with plenty of food and can hide in one of many holes whenever there’s danger.

We are not mice, but whether we can have enough food and clothing also depends on our own planning.

There are power struggles at the top, but aren’t there also struggles at the bottom? Since that’s the case, why not aim for the top?”

Wen Nuan Nuan was stunned. This theory was exactly like saying that whether you earn a monthly salary of three hundred thousand or three thousand, there are still power struggles! And they’re just as intense—colleagues cause all sorts of trouble!

So it wasn’t that Leng Xiao became powerful only after becoming a high-ranking official; he was already capable enough to become one!

With his cunning insight and unwavering determination to achieve his goals, who else could succeed if not him?

Wen Nuan Nuan felt as if she were witnessing the beginning of Leng Xiao’s rise.

No wonder he still ventured into the dangerous mountains despite knowing the risks.

He clearly understood the importance of money and had experienced the hardship of being unable to move forward without it.

Wen Nuan Nuan was incredibly grateful that she had made the right decision from the start—to cling to this golden thigh!

Sometimes, making the right choice is more crucial than hard work. Wuwu, with her limited abilities, she relied entirely on picking the right side.

She was truly thankful she had read the original book. Even though their current life was just the prelude to The Prime Minister’s Overwhelming Power and not part of the main story, it didn’t matter. She wasn’t in a hurry; she just needed to make the most of their life now!

~

Wen Nuan Nuan became more and more skilled as she worked, and with the help of the two little ones rolling the wild onions, they finished much faster than expected.

She covered the bamboo tray and moved the wooden basin to an out-of-the-way spot to let the flavors marinate.

The aroma of rice wafted from the pot, and Leng Chen quickly removed the unburned firewood from the stove and transferred it to another stove.

He left a small amount of charcoal to simmer the rice.

Sister-in-law particularly loved crispy rice crusts, so the fire couldn’t be too strong and burn it, nor could it be too weak to form a crust.

Wen Nuan Nuan scooped two large ladles of well water into another pot and made a simple green vegetable egg drop soup.

When she lifted the lid, the fragrant aroma of the simmered rice wafted out, making even Wen Nuan Nuan’s mouth water.

Tonight’s dinner was a lazy person’s simmered rice—”whatever’s available” style!

She cut thick slices of pork belly and stir-fried them until the fat rendered out. Then she added chopped potatoes, cured sausage, mushrooms, and carrots, stir-frying until fragrant. She seasoned it with soy sauce, salt, and other spices, then poured in the rinsed rice. She added slightly less water than usual when cooking rice, and just like that, a simple, delicious lazy person’s simmered rice with meat and vegetables was ready!

The simmered potatoes were crispy on the outside, soft and glutinous on the inside, with a subtle sweetness. The rice grains were distinct and paired perfectly with the slightly salty, chewy cured sausage, accompanied by steaming hot green vegetable egg drop soup.

In the howling north wind and freezing cold weather, the two little ones ate heartily while praising:

“Sister-in-law, this is so delicious! Can we have this simmered rice again tomorrow?”

“Sister-in-law, I want to eat it again tomorrow too.”

Wen Nuan Nuan couldn’t help but laugh. Could she admit that she made braised rice out of laziness?

Yet it received unanimous praise from the two little ones.

She couldn’t let it go to her head—the two little ones were too easy to please. As long as there was food and they could eat their fill, they didn’t care what it was.

They had no demands of her either. No matter what she cooked, whether it was too salty, too bland, or even that one time when she didn’t add enough water while cooking rice, resulting in undercooked grains, they ate it with great satisfaction, insisting that a little undercooked rice was barely noticeable.

But she had tasted it herself—it was so hard to chew it practically grated against her teeth.

The two little ones had endured too much hardship. Even now, with ample food, they still couldn’t bear to waste even a tiny bit. They were thoughtful and considerate, urging her to eat more vegetables while they took care of the rice.

Thinking back on all the food she had wasted before, Wen Nuan Nuan felt ashamed.

She was grateful to the increasingly powerful Huaguo, which had allowed her to live a life of plenty for over twenty years.

Now, she too would follow the example of the two little ones, wasting not a single grain of food and preparing ample supplies in advance.

She couldn’t change the broader circumstances, but she could strive to ensure her small family was well-fed and clothed, doing her best to minimize suffering on their journey to the capital as refugees.