Night fell quickly. The mother and son returned from outside, carrying a large amount of wild vegetables—or, more accurately, grass. I watched as she boiled water, threw the greens in for a quick boil, and ladled them into bowls. Then, she took two handfuls of wheat and started cooking that as well.
Once it was ready, I divided it into three portions. She hesitated to eat, telling me I could have some and that the little girl didn't need any; the greens were enough for her. She insisted the girl only needed wheat once every three days, claiming that eating more would be a waste. She said this was how she had grown up, and that it was the same for all the girls—a bit of wheat every three days, with wild vegetables filling the rest of the time.
It truly stung to hear that. I remembered my mother telling me she used to go hungry back in the day, and it seemed it was the absolute truth. When she became a princess, she was so happy to have steamed white flour buns every day. I had thought she was just naive, but now I realized her joy was genuine.
Chapter 48