Watching her daughter dish out the rice, Mom Fu felt a little more at ease. Finally, the rice wasn't being scraped flat. Every other time, one person ended up eating just the top while another got whatever was stuck to the bottom—how could anyone dish out rice like that?
Still, she couldn't help nagging a bit, "From now on, dish out the rice just like you did today. Use the rice paddle vertically so everyone gets a mix of the top and the bottom."
Fu Ying didn't answer, muttering to herself, *Isn't this habit just the result of you yelling at me every single day? Back then, I didn't care what the difference was between the top and bottom of the pot! You nagged at me so much that I started doing it just to avoid getting yelled at.*
Mom Fu gave her daughter a strange look. Why wasn't she talking back today? Usually, for every comment she made, Fu Ying would snap back with a few of her own. But she was too tired from work and pressed for time, so she just focused on eating, telling Fu Ying to scoop out some rice and dishes to save for her younger brother.
Looking at the food, even Fu Ying, who wasn't a picky eater, had zero appetite. In "reality," she and her boyfriend were frugal, but they practically never had leftovers and ate fresh meals every single time. This food had been sitting around for multiple meals; if her boyfriend were here, he definitely wouldn't let her eat it and would have sneaked off to dump it straight into the trash.
Fu Ying picked up some sour soup, which she hadn't eaten in years, and found it tasted pretty decent when paired with the dipping sauce. Healthy? Better not look into that too closely. She replied to Mom Fu, "Why bother packing up leftovers for him? If we just finish it all, he can at least have something fresh."
Fu Ying earned another glare from her old lady, but she didn't care. Getting a full stomach came first; worst case, she could just fry up some egg fried rice for her younger brother. She still remembered back in junior high, having to ask for permission just to eat egg fried rice. Dad Fu and Mom Fu firmly refused to eat it themselves, thinking it wasted both cooking oil and eggs. Only she and her brother got to have it on rare occasions, and it genuinely felt like eating a grand feast.
Mom Fu hurried off again as soon as she finished eating. She only had a half-hour lunch break, getting off work at 5:30 PM and having to rush back for overtime by 6:00. Usually, she worked overtime until 10:00 PM, and on Saturdays until 8:30 or 9:00.
Dad Fu had to work overtime too, but he got a one-hour break in the middle and usually came back around 9:00. Dad Fu had always been a man of few words; seeing that his younger daughter was fine, he didn't say anything, and the two of them ate in silence.
As soon as they finished eating, Fu Ying automatically started washing the dishes. The leftover food was just left sitting on a side table, covered upside down with a bowl. While cleaning up, she checked and noticed there was no refrigerator in the house—that must have been something they bought a few years later.
After washing the dishes, she watched Dad Fu leave for work. Having nothing to do, Fu Ying could only sit on a small stool and stare blankly outside. Smartphones weren't widespread yet, and basic feature phones weren't cheap either; only Dad Fu and Mom Fu had them. Even the television was a precious luxury item. In short, there was zero entertainment to be found.
Fortunately, the house had a round wall clock. As it neared 7:00 PM, the sound of running footsteps grew closer from afar, and a thin, small, Little Black Charcoal ran inside.
"Second Sister, is there any food left?" asked Little Black Charcoal. Sure enough, everyone in this family had a loud voice, even inside a dream.
"In the bowl. Eat it cold, or heat it up with some rice yourself," Fu Ying said, not moving from her spot as she continued daydreaming. It was hot in Guangdong Province, and the food wasn't exactly cold right now anyway. Heating it up again would only make it taste even worse, so she might as well just eat it as is.
Fu Zhe dished himself a bowl of rice and ate it directly with the sour soup and pieces of cured pork so hard they could crack teeth—something only their dad loved. After quickly devouring two bowls of rice, he wanted to go out and play again, but Fu Ying stopped him.
"It's already this late, where are you going?"
"To find Yang Bo," Fu Zhe said, giving his Second Sister a strange look. He always went out to play with him on weekends, whether it was playing billiards or going to shady internet cafes. Didn't Second Sister even sneak off to browse the internet with him a few times?
Yang Bo? She seemed to have a vague memory of him. Their relationship had stayed remarkably close all the way until her younger brother got married. But heading out at this hour—the neighborhood was entirely surrounded by factories, there was nothing fun to do, and it was dangerous at night. After thinking it over, Fu Ying ultimately refused to let her younger brother run wild outside.
Going out to play was a waste of time compared to visiting her oldest sister's place. Her older sister had always been exceptionally good to her younger siblings, frequently helping out her parents' family even after getting her own home. When Fu Ying was young and lacked the ability to repay her sister, she only started buying things for her sister's kids to show her gratitude once she started working. In "reality," those three nephews were already in junior high school, and she still had a few adorable photos of them from when they were little.
Dragging her brother along, she locked the door and headed straight for her sister's house, less than 200 meters away.