Chapter 12: Finally, Someone in the House Cooks Better Than You
There was one person left: Su Yun. He watched with eager eyes as Su Wan filled a bowl of pumpkin rice. He assumed she would hand it to him, but instead, Su Wan sat down holding the bowl herself. Su Yun, feeling discriminated against, was nearly furious.
He silently clenched his fists. This Su Wan must have been sent by the heavens to mess with his head.
“Sister Wan, these potato pancakes look delicious!” Su Yi laughed.
“Hmph, what’s the use of them looking good? They have to taste good too!” Su Yun retorted ruthlessly. Yueyue never cooked at home, and when she did, it didn’t taste good. He was the best cook in the family.
As a pampered young lady, what kind of decent food could Su Wan possibly make?
Ignoring Su Yun’s sarcasm, Su Wan handed a pancake to Su Jing. “Big Brother, have a taste and see if it’s good!”
“Thank you, Wan-wan!” Su Jing reached out to take the bowl.
“You’re welcome, Big Brother!”
Su Jing took the first bite. His eyes lit up instantly. The pancake was soft, glutinous, and fragrant, with just the right amount of salt—no hint of burning at all. It was the best pancake he had ever eaten, even better than the ones sold in town.
Both the presentation and the flavor were excellent. Everyone looked at their eldest brother with anticipation, especially Su Yun, who was ready to smirk the moment Su Jing frowned. He was sure the taste would be underwhelming.
“It’s delicious! Everyone, have a taste!” As soon as these words left his lips, Su Yun’s face nearly collapsed.
Hearing this, everyone grabbed a pancake and started eating. The first bite was tentative, but once they tasted it, they began to eat ravenously.
Although no one spoke, the way they ate said everything. Unconvinced, Su Yun grabbed one to try, then shot Su Wan a meaningful look. Su Wan just raised an eyebrow at him.
How is this possible? How could a pampered young lady make such rustic food, and do it so well?
The pumpkin rice was fragrant and sweet. They rarely tried cooking it this way and found it quite refreshing. Each of them finished two bowls of pumpkin rice and two pancakes, and even the refreshing purslane dish was polished clean.
Su Yun hadn’t even regained his composure before everything on the table was gone—cleaner than ever before. There wasn’t a single grain of rice left in the pot, while Su Wan had only finished a small bowl of pumpkin rice before she was full.
Su Yi patted his stomach and teased Su Yun: “Fourth Brother, looks like there’s finally someone in the house who cooks better than you!”
Su Yun shot him a vicious glare: “Shut up!”
These twins shared none of the typical twin-bond or unspoken understanding. They spent their lives annoying each other, constantly bickering. It was said they even fought while still in the womb; when Mother Su was pregnant with them, she had to endure such violent kicks and jabs that her belly was constantly bulging in scary, misshapen lumps.
After the meal, Su Wan started to clear the dishes, but Su Jing held her hand down. “Wan-wan has already done the cooking; leave the dishwashing to your brothers. Su Yun, you wash them!”
Su Yun, still sulking, was suddenly assigned a chore. Big Brother had such a smooth way of speaking—he didn’t do it himself, but turned around and dumped the task on him!
“Why me? You all ate more than I did!”
“Because you look the least tired. You’ve been working all morning and still had enough energy to find fault, so if you don’t wash them, who will?” Su Jing said sternly.
“Pfft…” Su Wan let out a laugh, unable to help herself. Big Brother was definitely avenging her!
Seeing Su Yun’s bitter expression, Su Chen and Su Yi both laughed, and even the usually taciturn Su Mu curled his lips in a rare smile.
“Laughing at what!” Seeing Su Wan smiling like a blossoming flower, Su Yun haughtily got up and snatched the chopsticks from her hand.
“Fine, I’ll wash them!”
The midday sun was at its most blistering, so the five brothers rested at home for a while before heading back to the fields. Su Wan boiled some licorice water for them to drink during their afternoon work.
The brothers went to their rooms for a nap, but Su Wan couldn’t sleep. The Su home was destitute; she needed to find a way to improve their living conditions.
Next spring was the imperial examination. Su Jing needed a large sum of money to travel and take the test. In the original story, to raise money for him, Father Su worked in the mines day and night, only for a collapse to crush his legs. This catastrophe made the already poor Su family’s situation dire. Su Jing gave up on the exams again. At that time, Gu Yue, ignoring her family’s objections, insisted on helping the Su family, solving their immediate crisis. She even caused a rift with her own mother to do it. Back then, Father Su accepted Gu Yue’s money because he desperately needed life-saving funds.
Afterward, Su Jing could never get over that hurdle of guilt, and as his official career flourished, he treated Gu Yue with absolute devotion regardless of the cost.
As the female lead of the book, whenever the Su family hit a crisis, Gu Yue would appear at just the right moment, solving the problem and cementing her status in the Su family as unshakable.
Thinking of this, Su Wan didn’t dare to imagine: if she couldn’t win the sincere affection of her brothers, would she be unable to change her miserable fate?
Su Wan felt the heavy gold ring hidden under her pillow, thinking of pawning it. But she reconsidered—that wouldn’t be appropriate. She had just returned to the Su family; the relationship was still tenuous, and the Su brothers were proud men. If she just pawned the ring, they might assume it was money brought from the Gu family, and they wouldn’t use it—they might even see it as an insult.
Never mind. I have half a year. I’m a modern person; surely I can survive in this ancient era?
This gold ring was something she brought from the modern world, her only memento. She wouldn’t use it unless absolutely necessary.
In the afternoon, the five brothers went back to work. Su Wan had prepared two jars of licorice water for them; it should be enough.
“The sun is strong outside, brothers, make sure you wear your straw hats properly!”
They each put on a straw hat. Their clothes were covered in patches, stained with mud, and faded from many washes. Who would have thought that in the future, each of them would become a powerful leader?
Su Yun looked a bit wilted, less energetic than he was in the morning. Perhaps he had just woken up?
“Wan-wan, just wait for us to come back to make dinner. You just arrived, so take your time getting used to country life. Don’t feel burdened if you don’t do everything. The daughters of our Su family are meant to be pampered. With so many brothers, you just need to stay at home like Yueyue and grow up safe and happy!”
Su Jing felt that although Wan-wan had returned to the countryside and life wasn’t as good as before, they wouldn’t let her suffer or endure grievances.
“It’s just cooking; I’m not tired. Big Brother, don’t think of me as so fragile!”
Su Wan didn’t want to be a lazy person. Being diligent was a way to adapt to rural life. Besides, she couldn’t just assume they meant it when they told her to rest; she had to be self-aware to be well-liked.
