Chapter 17 - 016 Quality and Quantity
Tian Sangsang paid no attention to the various stares around her; all her focus was on the little boy in her arms. Tilting her head, she looked at his tiny, palm-sized face and asked, "Yanyan, are you full from breakfast?"
The mother and son had only shared some watery porridge in the morning—so thin it was almost like plain water, without even a single bite of pickled side dish to go with it. Thinking about this made Sangsang's heart ache. Look at her son. Previously, when he was being raised by his great-grandmother, it couldn't be said he ate extravagantly, but at least he was never hungry. His little face used to look like a steamed bun, soft, white, and tender, showing his baby fat. But now that he was with her, he had noticeably slimmed down. Thankfully, he had not yet reached the point of being gaunt and sickly.
"Very full!" Meng Shuyan nodded vigorously, though in truth, he wasn't that full. Perhaps worried that she might catch on, he added with conviction, "Not even a little bit hungry! But... Mommy, you didn't eat enough..."
"Mommy's not hungry either." Sangsang smiled faintly, her eyes misting over, bittersweet emotions welling up inside her.
She swore to herself that one day, someday, when she became capable, she would fatten her son up into a proper little dumpling.
Completely clueless about the "dumpling plan" awaiting him, Meng Shuyan obediently nestled into Sangsang's embrace.
Tian Sangsang's father used to have his own plot of land. However, after her father's passing and given her mother's overly soft nature, the land was taken away, and she had no choice but to endure it in silence.
So now, the land they tilled belonged to her maternal grandmother's family. Her grandfather had passed away early, leaving her grandmother to live alone. Her grandmother didn't have many children—just Sangsang's mother. The family wasn't abundant in relatives; misfortune had struck during a famine long ago, and many perished from hunger. Back then, after the family divided their assets, Tian Sangsang's father's house ended up close to her grandmother's, with their fields not far apart either.
Looking at the vast, lush fields stretching before her, Tian Sangsang felt a surge of happiness. She placed her son down and patted his head. "Yanyan, you sit here and watch. Next up, just watch Mommy do her magic~"