?Chapter 37: 37 is kind of cute. Chapter 37: 37 is kind of cute. Goudan scratched his head and grinned, “I’m the older brother.”


    Any tasty food has to be saved for the younger brothers and sisters.


    “What’s wrong with being the older brother?” Lin Tang didn’t agree with the claim that the older one must always let the younger one have their way.


    Everyone is a first-timer at life, so why should the older ones always have to give in to the younger ones?


    “Who said that an older brother must always yield to his younger siblings? Aren’t you a child too? Even Kong Rong gave larger pears to his older brother.


    You might be a bit older, and it’s fine to take care of your younger brother, but don’t wrong yourself.


    If you spoil Choudan and the others and they develop bad habits, they will only suck your blood when they grow up. Will you still be able to live your life?”


    Lin Tang didn’t care whether Goudan understood or not, she just gave him a lecture.


    In the place she came from, she had met such a person.


    As the eldest in the family, from childhood to adulthood, he selflessly made sacrifices without complaint.


    The two younger brothers didn’t do any productive work, did nothing, and developed a laziness that was nurtured by dependency, only knowing how to ask for more from their eldest brother.


    When the eldest brother got married, the two younger brothers kept making trouble in every way they could, turning the eldest brother’s good life into a total mess.


    In the end, the eldest brother’s wife ran away, and his son was taken from him, resulting in a situation of being abandoned by both wife and child.


    It was a human tragedy.


    Lin Family’s roots were strong, so such a situation should not arise.


    Yet, wasn’t Goudan aggrieved?


    Goudan was confused, but he knew his little auntie meant well, so he unwrapped the milk candy and ate it.


    The sweetness filled his mouth, and a big smile appeared on the child’s face.


    “Little auntie, the candy is really sweet!”


    Exceptionally sweet.


    Lin Tang ruffled Goudan’s little head, “Hmm.”


    Goudan was a good child, and even more so, a good brother.


    But a good child doesn’t have to sacrifice himself.


    Isn’t everyone a baby in their own right?


    This was just a little interlude before dinner.


    After Zhou Mei’s high-pitched ‘Dinner’s ready, time to eat,’ everyone in the Lin Family became active.


    Those washing hands washed hands, those serving rice served rice, those getting chopsticks got chopsticks… The enthusiasm was extraordinarily high.


    Li Xiuli came out of the kitchen and saw that everyone was already sitting down, just waiting for her.


    Even Lin Qingmu, who delivered meat to the old mansion, was back.


    Li Xiuli smiled and said, “I don’t see such enthusiasm at normal meals.”


    It wasn’t that they weren’t enthusiastic on other days, but today they were all actively serving rice and getting chopsticks.


    It truly was a rare occasion.


    Lin Qingmu, eyeing the meat on the table, swallowed salivate and said loudly, “Anyone who isn’t enthusiastic about eating is out of their mind!”


    Zhou Mei nodded her head like pounding garlic, nearly throwing her head off.


    Li Xiuli was in a good mood and chuckled, “You would be!”


    “Hurry up and eat, it’s getting late.”


    The braised pork on the table had a bright, attractive color.


    Pieces were stacked in the dish, all uniformly sized.


    The well-cooked sauce was clinging to the braised pork.


    Some of it even flowed down the grooves of the meat into the plate, emitting an irresistible fragrance.


    Li Xiuli ladled a wooden spoonful each for Lin Lu and Lin Tang, and scooped some for the other little ones in the family.


    Looking at her three sons and two daughters-in-law, she said, “I won’t be serving today, you all help yourselves!”


    In the past when food was scarce, cooking was done in fixed portions, and she, the cook, would allocate the servings.


    But today, she decided not to divide, letting them eat to their heart’s content.


    The group paused for a few seconds.


    Coming to their senses, chopsticks uniformly reached for the enticingly ruddy braised pork.


    The meat was not cut very large.


    Equal in size, each piece looked as if it were coated in sugar.


    Simply tempting to behold.


    Lin Qingmu picked up a piece with both fat and lean parts, put it in his mouth, and his eyes lit up immediately.


    He gave a big thumbs up to his mother, his face full of amazement.


    “Mom, it’s delicious! Your cooking skills are incomparable.


    You truly are the best cook in our family, even better than the Braised Pork at the state-owned restaurant,” he praised.


    He had never been inside the state-owned restaurant, but he firmly believed that his mother’s cooking was second to none.


    Li Xiuli was particularly pleased by the flattery; suddenly, she no longer found her son annoying, and her weathered face was full of smiles.


    Though, she modestly said, “How can my cooking compare to that of a state-owned restaurant? They have professional chefs, and mine is merely edible.”


    Goudan, with his grease-stained mouth, objected, “The pork Mom makes is the tastiest.”


    The other children, with mouths full of meat, mumbled, “…Mom’s pork is tasty!”


    Choudan, with sauce smeared on his little face, nodded, “Super delicious!”


    “Oh wow–it’s yummy!” Niuniu also said softly.


    Hutou, who was burying his head in his food, thought: What’s left for me to say after all that you’ve said?


    Li Xiuli herself had several pieces and found them quite good too.


    She remembered Tangtang saying she had Braised Pork for lunch and was curious to know how her cooking compared to what her classmate ate.


    She didn’t ask directly but instead looked at Lin Tang with eager eyes.


    It wasn’t just young people who had a competitive spirit; older folks did too.


    Especially when it concerned her standing in Tangtang’s heart, Xiuli valued it very much.


    Lin Tang just needed to think for a moment to understand what her mom was thinking.


    This earnest and competitive Mom was somewhat adorable!


    The young girl’s eyes curved as she directly showed her approval by eating a large piece of meat.


    “Mom is amazing, to cook it so well on the first try, delicious!!”


    Li Xiuli’s smile grew wider out of happiness, feeling that the meat tasted even better.


    Her eyes looking at her daughter were exceptionally gentle.


    –


    After dinner, the Lin Family began discussing the pig farming plans for the next day.


    Li Xiuli suggested raising two pigs.


    She thought, raising one pig or two was the same effort, so better to raise two than just one.


    Lin Qingmu felt they should start with one pig to try things out, not to take too big a step. sea??h thё N??eFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a debate, Lin Tang learned about the pig farming task that had been assigned to the village.


    Her eyes lit up.


    It was as if she saw a prosperous Kantan Avenue laid out before her with pigs, sparkling white.


    “Let’s raise three pigs,” said Lin Tang.


    She had originally wanted to raise five.


    But remembering that the backyard could only accommodate three, she decided to settle for that for now.


    “Three, three pigs?” everyone was surprised.


    “Yeah, three. I read a book about pig farming, and I think this is an opportunity for our family,” she explained.


    To the brigade, it might also represent an opportunity.


    That’s what she thought, but Lin Tang didn’t blurt it all out.


    She liked to let the facts speak for themselves.


    Once the pigs were grown, the fat on their backs and the numbers on the scale would say it all.


    Lin Lu took a few puffs of his homemade cigarette rolled from scrap paper, hope flickering in his eyes.


    Looking at Lin Tang, he said, “Let’s go with Tangtang’s idea!”


    Tangtang was the only high school student for miles around.


    Her words were sure to hold wisdom.


    If they could really succeed in raising them, their family would have an additional source of income, and the brigade’s life would also improve.


    Li Xiuli hadn’t expected Tangtang to have read a book on pig farming and felt a burst of surprise.


    Her confidence in their big pig-raising plan grew.


    “Tangtang, we’ll leave the pig farming to you then,” she said.


    “If there’s any tough or tiring work, you call on your three brothers, don’t overexert yourself.”


    Lin Tang smiled, looking at Lin Qingmu and his two brothers, playfully giving a fist-and-palm salute.


    Not the least bit shy, “Then I’ll have to trouble my brothers.”


    The Lin brothers were stuck in a feeling of insignificance.


    But at the sound of their sister’s words, their spirits instantly lifted.