Chapter 4: Chapter 4 Chicken Soup_1
Xia Ningxing hadn't even reached home with her brothers when she smelled the rich scent of chicken soup.
How delicious!
"Bao'er, drink it while it's hot," Mrs. Xia said, scooping up only one bowl from a large pot and passing it to Xia Ningxing.
The bowl was full of chicken meat.
As for her five brothers, each of them had a bowl of mushy porridge and tough, chewy bread, without even a piece of chicken bone.
They ate while silently drooling over the chicken soup and chicken meat in front of Xia Ningxing.
They all really wanted to eat it, but they sensibly didn't say anything, because they knew their sister needed the chicken soup even more, having just woken up from several days of unconsciousness. How could she recover without it? Hadn't they noticed that she had lost weight all around, even the extra flesh on her belly was gone?
Seeing how understanding her brothers were, Xia Ningxing suddenly found it hard to swallow her share of food.
To Xia Ningxing, who had tasted all sorts of delicacies from around the world, chicken soup was nothing special, but for a poor farming family in that era, it was something they might not even have once a year during the New Year celebrations.
"Bao'er, why have you stopped eating?" Seeing her suddenly pause, Mrs. Xia looked at her with concern, and when she followed Xia Ningxing's gaze, she thought the five boys were affecting her meal and immediately scolded them sternly, "What are you looking at, you worthless bunch? If you don't want to eat, then scram and don't disturb your sister's meal!"
The five little boys were so frightened that they shuddered and uniformly diverted their gazes away from the chicken soup.
"Mom, serve some for the brothers too," Xia Ningxing sighed softly.
Mrs. Xia rolled her eyes and said in a soft voice, "Serve that bunch of good-for-nothings? Good Baby, drink up while it's still hot, don't worry about your smelly brothers."
Good-for-nothings...
Even though she knew the original mother was biased, seeing was believing beyond hearing a hundred times.
"That's right, little sister, don't worry about us."
"We don't like chicken soup."
"Little sister, drink up and grow tall."
Despite their craving, the brothers were unwilling to part with the chicken soup meant for their sister's recovery, as they all shook their heads in refusal.
Xia Ningxing felt even worse at heart, but Mrs. Xia had a resolute attitude about not serving the boys.
In the end, Xia Ningxing could only resort to childish threats, "Mom! If my brothers don't get any chicken soup, I won't drink either!"
Children who grew up in such unequal households were highly likely to develop psychological and mental health issues. What if her brothers turned bad and plotted against her in the future?
"Good Baby, stop it," Mrs. Xia couldn't bear to waste such good food on the pesky boys.
Just for Bao'er to herself, this pot of chicken soup could last three days. If she shared it with them, what would her precious Bao'er drink tomorrow?
"Anyway, if my brothers don't have chicken soup, I won't drink it either. A child who eats alone isn't a good child!" Finally, after Xia Ningxing's persistence and her whiny coaxing, Mrs. Xia finally caved in.
Her face twisted with anguish, she conceded, "Alright, alright... Drink up, Bao'er. Am I not going to serve them now, is that not enough?"
With that, she got up and went to the kitchen.
When Mrs. Xia brought the chicken soup, her face was a picture of distress, her teeth gritted in pain, "Each and every one of you is so greedy, what sin did I commit to have born you five good-for-nothings!"
The five brothers wore sheepish and fearful expressions, not daring to reach for the chicken soup.
Xia Ningxing held her forehead with a look of helplessness, "Mom, no more scolding the brothers!"
As soon as Mrs. Xia's beloved daughter spoke, she swallowed back all the curses bubbling up in her throat and acquiesced, "Fine, fine, I won't scold anymore. Eat, everyone keep eating."
Only then did the five brothers dare to pick up the chicken soup in front of them. However, they didn't drink it right away but instead found a large bowl to pour out more than half from each of their servings.
After doing so, they cautiously brought the bowls back to their lips and sipped gently as if they couldn't bear to just drink it, savoring every taste.
Xia Ningxing didn't understand their actions, "Brothers, why did you pour out half of it?"
"To save it for little sister to drink tomorrow!" the five brothers said in unison.
"No need, really no need, there's still some in the pot!" Xia Ningxing hurriedly waved her hands, shaking her head.
But the stubbornness of the five brothers exceeded her imagination, "That won't do!"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone