Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

"These steamed buns are so delicious!" Zhao Di stuffed her mouth full.

"Yes, it's delicious!"

Zhao Feng nodded repeatedly. This was the first time they had ever eaten white flour steamed buns; they had almost always eaten black flour ones before.

The family grew rice, but because they paid grain taxes, they didn't have much food to eat; they could only afford to eat porridge at most.

What was put into their bowls was a thin, watery soup, so thin that you could count the grains of rice.

Zhao Lian then took out the two pieces of black flour and handed them to Zhao Feng and Zhao Di: "Eldest sister, second sister, you two eat quickly. You can't stay too long, or they'll become suspicious."

Zhao Feng carefully tucked the flatbread into her bosom, swallowed hard, and said, "I just ate a steamed bun, so I'll keep this flatbread for now."

Zhao Lian picked up the ceramic bowl and added some pork cracklings to their plates, instructing them, "You have to eat these pork cracklings here, and you have to rinse your mouth afterward, otherwise they'll smell them when you get back."

As they ate the pork cracklings, Zhao Feng and Zhao Di felt completely satisfied. They couldn't remember the last time they had eaten meat.

Even during holidays, they couldn't get a decent piece of meat; they were basically left with only soup or scraps of meat.

I remember being able to eat a whole piece of meat, it seems like it was during Zhaofu's full moon celebration. At that time, because he had a son, my father was especially happy and begged my grandmother to hold a full moon celebration.

There were about ten tables set up, and some of the dishes contained meat. As soon as the dishes were served, everyone rushed to grab a piece of meat.

Zhao Feng remembers that she invited people from the same clan and some relatives. She heard from her grandmother that the cost of the banquet was about the same as the money she received in red envelopes, so she didn't lose much.

Thinking back now, Zhao Fu is already four years old, and they haven't been able to eat a single piece of meat. If there were meat available, Zhao Fu and the others would definitely get some.

The three sisters never ate meat; they were lucky to even have vegetable soup.

They never imagined they would have pork cracklings to eat; it was something they never dreamed of.

"Zhao Lian, you're amazing! Where did you get the money to buy meat?" Zhao Di looked at Zhao Lian with admiration.

Zhao Lian didn't hide anything and told them about her going up the mountain to find medicinal herbs and catching snakes to sell for money.

When they heard that Zhao Lian had caught a snake, Zhao Feng and Zhao Di were startled. They hadn't expected Zhao Lian to be so bold; they hadn't realized it before.

"Zhao Lian, you dared to catch that snake? What if you got bitten? You shouldn't do things like that again." Zhao Feng said with a worried expression.

Zhao Lian comforted her, saying, "Oh, it's alright, I know that snake isn't poisonous."

"In short, you shouldn't do such dangerous things in the future."

After they finished eating the flatbread and the pork cracklings, Zhaolian told them to go to the backyard to rinse their mouths.

Otherwise, if their mouths smell of lard, that old woman will smell it and they'll be the ones getting beaten up.

Zhao Feng frowned: "Zhao Lian, Grandma sent us to ask you for food. What will we do if we don't have any when we get back?"

Zhao Lianxin bluntly said, "Even if I had it, I wouldn't give it to her. It's because she's so biased. We sisters get beaten the most and eat the least, just because we don't have a mother."

Zhao Feng paused, then stammered, "But what she said isn't wrong. Although she didn't feed us very well, she still raised us."

"Big sister, what are you saying?" Zhao Di looked incredulous. "Have you forgotten? She just beat us up, beat us so badly, and cursed us so viciously."

"Humph!"

Zhao Lian sneered, "Big sister, what do you think she keeps us around for? Isn't it just so we can work for her?"

She was thinking of raising us until we were grown, then marrying us off to get money. Anyway, I haven't wronged that old woman, and now I have nothing to do with her. Don't speak up for her.

"Summoning Lotus~"

Seeing Zhao Lian's determined expression, Zhao Feng shook her head helplessly.

Actually, she also felt it was very difficult. Although her grandmother was not good to them, she still raised them.

Over there is her grandmother, and over here is her younger sister; she really doesn't know who to help.

To be honest, Grandma was indeed worse to my younger sister. When my younger sister was little, there were several times when Grandma wanted to throw her away or even strangle her.

It was all because she discovered it herself, cried and begged her, and finally alarmed her grandfather. After weighing the pros and cons, her sister's life was spared.

So much so that when her younger sister grew up, her grandmother never gave her a kind look, always calling her a jinx and never hiding her dislike for her.

Zhao Di looked at Zhao Feng and said with a determined look in her eyes, "Eldest sister, I won't help Grandma this time. Who told her to be so cruel to my sister? If she makes me leave, I will leave with Zhao Lian."

“When they severed ties with Zhaolian, they never thought about whether she would starve to death. Now that she has just found a little food, her grandmother is already eyeing her.”

"Ah~"

Zhao Feng sighed, "Alright, let's go back first."

……

Seeing the terrified expressions on He Yue'e's and the others' faces, and hearing that Zhao Lian was going to beat them, and that even Zhao Feng and Zhao Di had been beaten, Liang Shi and Gao Shi were still somewhat incredulous.

"Mother, it's true!"

Seeing that Liang Shi didn't believe her, He Fang repeated the story, adding that she had personally witnessed Zhao Feng and the others being dragged inside and beaten.

He Yue'e and He Fu also spoke with great conviction.

"Those two brats haven't come back yet? Could they be sneaking food somewhere?" Gao said with a suspicious look.

Just then, Zhao Feng and Zhao Di returned. Seeing Old Madam Yang sitting in the main room, they timidly called out, "Grandma~"

"You two still know how to come back. Tell me, why are you so late?" Old Madam Yang said with a gloomy face.

"We didn't get anything, and we're afraid Grandma will scold us!" Zhao Feng stammered.

“Grandma, Zhao Lian went too far. She even hit both of us. Look at the injury on my hand, she did it. She even said we have nothing to do with her.” Zhao Di said, pulling up her sleeve to show Old Madam Yang.

Liang was half-believing and half-doubting. She stood up and walked to Zhao Feng and Zhao Di, sniffing them.

Suddenly, Liang's eyes widened and she said loudly, "No, I smell pork cracklings on you two. Tell me, did you two eat pork cracklings?"

"Is this true or not?" Old Madam Yang looked over sharply.

Zhao Feng and Zhao Di knelt down. Zhao Feng shook her head repeatedly with a look of horror on her face, saying, "No, Grandma, it's really not true."

"However, when we went to Zhaolian's place, we could indeed smell the smell of pork lard. You can ask your younger siblings if you don't believe me."

He Yue'e nodded: "Yes, we did smell pork cracklings when we got there. She was probably rendering pork fat."

Zhao Feng and Zhao Di were sweating profusely with nervousness. Zhao Feng regretted not finishing the black pancake. If they searched her now and found out, she would be finished.

Fortunately, after glaring at them for a few minutes, Old Madam Yang finally said nothing more: "Alright, get up!"

"Mother, I never imagined that that brat wouldn't recognize anyone now. What should we do?" Li asked, looking at Old Madam Yang.

"Don't rush, let me think of a way." Old Madam Yang said, then thought for a moment and went into the room.