Craving meat can make your hair turn white? What kind of reason was that!!

Just as they were imagining a romantic, legendary story, Ji Shuangyu pulled them back to reality. It was not only a buzzkill, but they also refused to believe it.

Jiang Sanjin, however, hesitantly stated that he had never heard of Ji Shuangyu having a sweetheart—although he was good-looking, with four dependents at home, he was so poor that all the girls in the alley could only offer their silent blessings.

It had been several years since his parents passed away. Neither romance nor filial piety seemed to fit.

Could it be... he really was just craving it??

The look in Jiang Sanjin's eyes changed. Upon closer inspection, there was a hint of... respect?

How should one put it? Craving meat sounded quite undignified and pitiful, but to crave it to this extent... was strangely awe-inspiring!

Even Xu Xinyue couldn't help but give him a thumbs-up. No wonder Ji Shuangyu had volunteered so bravely; he must have been starving.

As soon as Ji Shuangyu saw that thumb, his eyes drifted toward Xu Xinyue's room. He thought of that box of pastries.

'Since the boss pities me, then maybe...'

As if he knew what Ji Shuangyu was thinking, Xu Xinyue hastily poured the remaining tea from the thermos onto the ground, striking a pose as if he were frantically seeing a guest out. "You poor child, you just got paid, hurry up and go buy some meat to eat!"

Ji Shuangyu: "..."

How could he have the nerve to put on such a generous air? Boss, you gave me two packets of copper coins, not two packets of gold!

But Xu Xinyue was right, Ji Shuangyu had to hurry and buy food.

Outside, the north wind howled. A street vendor selling sweet potatoes would occasionally turn the ones on his rack. When a customer came, he would use a small broom to sweep the dust off the sweet potato's skin. Although it was a small business, it was a comforting sight.

Previously, a full day's work for Ji Shuangyu could only earn him that day's food money. Not only could he not save anything, but because there were five mouths to feed in his family, they ate things like sweet potatoes or "baipi." Baipi were just plain wheat noodles, with only a drop of soy sauce and vinegar. There was no money for fried sauce or gravy!

It was fine for a meal or two, but eating it for a long time made you want to cry.

This time, he didn't even glance at the steaming sweet potatoes. He headed straight for a restaurant, borrowed a container, and bought a large bowl of mutton soup, plus two coarse grain steamed buns. Passing by a pastry shop, he spent another ten copper coins on a bag of Jiangmitiao.

Xu Xinyue had given him two packets of copper coins, all of which were "worth-ten" coins, meaning one copper coin was equivalent to ten wen. The two packets totaled three hundred coins, which could be exchanged for about two yuan.

The soup, steamed buns, and Jiangmitiao cost a total of thirty-five copper coins.

The coal briquettes would last a few more days, so the remaining money would all be used to buy grain. Although the price of rice was high recently, over six yuan per dan, buying only coarse grains would ensure they wouldn't starve in the short term.

'I'll go again tomorrow, I can't carry anything if I'm not full...'

He walked slowly. The roads in Jingcheng were known to be "good for seven years, bad for seven hundred years," so he had to be careful not to drop the bowl.

There were asphalt and concrete roads, but they were limited to commercial districts and residential areas for the wealthy. The road to Ji Shuangyu's home was not one of them; it was either a gravel road or a dirt path. The alleys were even dustier.

He lived in a large, shared courtyard compound in Small Drum Alley. The place was called "Small Drum" because it was next to an old goods market. In those days, junk collectors would always beat small drums to announce their presence, and so the place got its name.

Upon reaching Small Drum Alley, Ji Shuangyu didn't rush home. Instead, he went to Jiang Sanjin's house to give him the bag of Jiangmitiao. He had earned a sum of money today and hadn't forgotten that he owed this opportunity to Jiang Sanjin's help.

Normally, he had no money to spare. Even though he didn't have much now, he had to squeeze out even ten copper coins. What he bought was just the most common Jiangmitiao from the shop, but it was the thought that counted.

Jiang Sanjin was a warm-hearted person who usually took everyone to find work as extras without taking a cut. But who wouldn't like someone who knew how to show gratitude? Besides, he had two gluttonous children at home, who were overjoyed to receive the Jiangmitiao.

After exchanging a few pleasantries at Jiang Sanjin's house, Ji Shuangyu returned to his own home.

......

"I'm back." Ji Shuangyu opened the door. The pitch-black room was lit only by the faint red glow of the coal stove. There was no furniture, just the stove, a basin, a bucket, a few pieces of tableware, two quilts, and some old books.

Three children, all under ten, were sitting on the brick kang bed. They looked smaller than their actual ages. They were dressed in either thin cotton clothes or his flannel pajamas. As soon as they saw Ji Shuangyu, their eyes lit up.

"Big Brother!"

The children jumped off the kang bed to greet him. His second brother took everything from Ji Shuangyu's hands. He was young but had done a lot of work, and his hands were steady.

"Hmm..." Ji Shuangyu scanned the room, puzzled. "Where's Third Sister? Is she still out picking coal cinders and not back yet?"

It was freezing in winter, but their family couldn't afford many coal briquettes, so whenever the children had free time, they would rummage through other people's ash piles for unburnt cinders to supplement their supply.

"Big Brother, I'm right here."

Third Sister's aggrieved voice came from behind him.

"Damn!!" Ji Shuangyu jumped in fright. Looking down, he saw Third Sister squatting right at his feet, gluing her shoes.

Of course, poor people couldn't just replace their broken shoes. They couldn't even afford a cobbler, so they would make their own glue from cowhide to patch them up and continue wearing them.

It was just this Third Sister...

Ji Shuangyu had been startled by her several times since he'd transmigrated. She was a bit dark-skinned, only nine years old, and very thin and small. She naturally had very little presence, often making Ji Shuangyu feel like she appeared and disappeared like a ghost.

And now, she had been right beside him, and he hadn't even seen her!

After all, the light in the room was terribly dim...

He missed electric lights.

Although electricity and lamps existed at this time, they were not something his family could afford. Some theaters even used having electric lights as a selling point in their advertisements.

"Ahem, alright, let's eat. I bought mutton soup, we'll heat it up." Ji Shuangyu heated the soup directly on the coal stove. He wasn't one for chores, but with his younger siblings being just children, he had to bite the bullet and do it.

It had been like this for the past few days. The most terrifying time was when his fourth sister wet the bed, and he had to clean it up. In the dead of winter, tears almost streamed down his face.

Ji Shuangyu took off his hat and its cloth strips to make it easier to work. The stove fire flickered, its faint red light reflecting off his white strands of hair, and the flames seemed to dance in his eyes.

In truth, the four children felt that their big brother, who they spent every day with, was a little different now. Outsiders wouldn't know, but they could sense it.

However, perhaps this really was the Ji Shuangyu of a parallel universe. They only felt that their big brother seemed to have changed, but it never occurred to them that this was not their original big brother at all.

Besides, being hungry every day, they really didn't have the energy to think too much...

Fourth Sister stared at Ji Shuangyu for a while, then even mustered the courage to say, "Brother, with your white hair, you've become even prettier."

Just as Second Brother was about to correct his sister, wondering how she could use such a word to describe their brother, he heard Ji Shuangyu quickly reply, "Obviously."

Second Brother: "..."

Ji Shuangyu was quite aware of his own looks, and he came from the more open-minded modern era. Being called pretty was nothing.

By now, the mutton soup had heated up and was gradually releasing its original fragrance. The thick, white broth was filled with tender mutton, offal, and some stewed-to-softness white radish.

The shop that sold the mutton soup was a century-old establishment. The mutton was prepared without any gaminess, and a sprinkle of Sichuan peppercorn powder made it even more fragrant and delicious.

The children were drooling. As the oldest after Ji Shuangyu, Second Brother thought just a little bit more. Staring at the meat, he asked, "Big Brother, how did you earn so much today?"

Ji Shuangyu thought, 'He's still a kid, after all. He thinks a little more, but only a little. Otherwise, he'd be suspecting his big brother of secretly being a kept man...'

"Took on another part-time job," Ji Shuangyu said calmly. Seeing that the mutton soup was warm, he gave everyone a share, then broke apart the white flour steamed bun he'd snagged from Xu Xinyue, and along with the coarse grain buns, divided them for everyone to soak and eat.

The steamed bun had frozen hard on the way home, but after soaking in the hot mutton soup, it became soft again. And it was only after breaking it apart that Ji Shuangyu discovered that the bun from Xu Xinyue wasn't a plain white bun; it had minced pork belly inside.

Normally, anything with a filling should be called a baozi, but this diced pork steamed bun was actually a kind of Jingcheng delicacy. The small amount of minced meat inside was what made it seem refined. Ji Shuangyu didn't know this and had thought he was being very considerate by just picking a steamed bun and leaving the other pastries.

—Of course, this in no way meant that Xu Xinyue wasn't stingy!

Ji Shuangyu first drank a mouthful of mutton soup to warm his stomach, then finished the mutton in two bites before starting on the soft little steamed bun and the white radish. The white radish was full of water and had absorbed the mutton soup during the stewing process, giving it a rich flavor.

With something warm in his stomach, his whole body warmed up. It was truly wonderful.

"Big Brother, you can have this too," Second Brother said, wanting to give his half of the bun to Ji Shuangyu. "You've worked hard. I've heard you talking in your sleep these past few nights."

"You eat it." Ji Shuangyu refused. As an only child, he wasn't quite used to this picture of brotherly affection.

Second Brother: "Big Brother has to work, Big Brother should eat."

Ji Shuangyu: "No, I prefer meat."

Second Brother: "..."

Each person only got a few pieces of meat, plus that tiny bit of minced pork. It had all been fished out and eaten long ago, leaving everyone wanting more.

Still, at least they had tasted meat again. As Ji Shuangyu savored the memory, he casually asked, "I talk in my sleep?"

He was so tired during the day that he slept like a log at night; how would he know if he did or not?

"The day before yesterday, after you cleaned up Fourth Sister's wet bed, not long after you lay down, you muttered a few sentences, something like 'I don't want to be a male mommy'." Second Brother looked at Ji Shuangyu innocently. "What does that mean, Big Brother?"

Ji Shuangyu: "..."

'Wuwuwu it just means Big Brother is really suffering! Big Brother really doesn't know how to raise kids!'

"I heard it too," Third Sister said suddenly.

Why use the word "suddenly" to describe it? Because although Third Sister had been squatting nearby the whole time, she was so dark she almost blended into the background, and her presence was so faint she nearly startled Ji Shuangyu again.

"What did he say?" Second Brother asked, wanting to see if he had heard it too.