A young boy from the 1970s, separated from his family, fled famine and led his younger brother into

The sweet potatoes were brought back by Su An from his post. There was a basket full of them, and they were all different sizes. The largest one was as thick as Su Nianci's fist, and the smallest one was about the size of Banxia's finger.

Su Nianci picked out a few medium-sized ones, washed them clean, and stuffed them under the stove to roast slowly with the remaining embers.

Half an hour later, the sweet aroma wafted out from the cracks in the stove and filled the entire kitchen.

Pinellia ternata has a nose more sensitive than any other medicinal herb.

She ran into the yard, losing one of her shoes in the process.

"Mom, the sweet potatoes are ready!"

Su Nianci used tongs to take the sweet potato out and put it on an iron plate to cool.

Four, all about the same size.

Banxia reached out and grabbed two, one in each hand. They were so hot that she hissed and gasped for breath, but she didn't let go.

Hoshino followed her in and saw that there were only two left on the plate, then looked at the two in Banxia's hand.

His brow furrowed slightly.

"Banxia, ​​you took two."

"Um."

"There are four in total. You take two, I take two, and we'll split them evenly."

Banxia held the two sweet potatoes to her chest and took a half step back.

"No, I saw it first."

"Seeing is not the same as owning."

"I smelled it first."

"Smelling it doesn't mean you own it."

Banxia pouted and hugged the sweet potato even tighter with both hands.

"I can run faster than you, first come, first served."

Hoshino's expression was calm, with his hands behind his back.

"The distribution of supplies should be based on the number of people. Two people, four sweet potatoes, two for each person. You have two in your hand now, and there are two more on the plate. The quantity is correct, but your act of taking them first undermines the fairness of the choice."

Banxia blinked.

"What did you say?"

"I said you should let me choose one first, then you choose one, then I choose one, and then you choose one. That's fair."

"Why should you choose first?"

"Since you've already taken two, it should be my turn next time."

Banxia's face turned red.

"But there won't be a next time! This is it!"

"So you have to put one back so I can choose."

"I won't let go!"

"That's not fair."

"That's none of your business!"

Two three-and-a-half-year-old children stood facing each other, with an iron plate between them.

Banxia was holding two sweet potatoes, while Xingye was empty-handed, but she was in no way inferior in terms of momentum.

Su Nianci stood behind the stove, the fire tongs in her hand resting on the cutting board, looking at the two people, her mouth opening and closing twice.

Lu Xingzhou walked into the kitchen at some point and glanced around.

"What's wrong?"

Banxia immediately turned to him.

"Dad! My brother stole my sweet potato!"

Hoshino also turned to him.

"Dad, she took one too many."

Lu Xingzhou glanced at the two in Banxia's hand, then at the two on the plate, and made a judgment like a soldier.

"Banxia, ​​give one to your brother."

Banxia took a step back while holding the sweet potato.

"Dad's biased!"

A brief look of confusion crossed Lu Xingzhou's face.

"I didn't show favoritism. Four are divided among two people, two for each person—"

"But I got it first!"

Hoshino chimed in from the side.

"Dad, getting it first doesn't mean you have priority. In the army, when supplies are distributed, it's not like whoever runs the fastest gets more, right?"

Lu Xingzhou's lips twitched.

He suddenly found himself caught in a pincer movement, with the emotional Banxia on the left and the logical Hoshino on the right.

There are two fronts, and neither is easy to fight on.

He looked at Su Nianci.

Su Nianci leaned against the stove, arms crossed, her expression saying three words: "Do it yourself."

Lu Xingzhou turned around, squatted down, and tried to resolve the conflict in the gentlest way possible.

"Banxia, ​​look, you and your brother each have two, so everyone gets one. Isn't that great?"

Banxia looked at him for two seconds and wrinkled her nose.

"You're just biased towards your brother; you always side with him."

Lu Xingzhou looked back at Xingye.

"Hoshino, don't hold it against your sister. It's okay if she has one more."

Hoshino pursed her lips.

"Dad, your statement is contradictory."

Lu Xingzhou was trapped on both sides, squatting in place with his hands on his knees, looking like a lone soldier trapped in an encirclement.

Su Nianci decided to take over.

She walked over and squatted down between the two children.

"Banxia, ​​Mom has something to tell you—"

Banxia looked up, her eyes red.

"Mom, you're biased towards my brother too."

Su Nianci's words caught in her throat.

She opened her mouth, but no word came out.

Banxia's tears began to fall, landing on the sweet potato skin, where they hissed and steamed.

Just three seconds before the situation completely spiraled out of control.

A loud bang came from the kitchen doorway.

Snapped!

Su An slapped the door frame, causing one of the garlic braids hanging on the frame to fall down.

He strode in with his long legs, walked to the iron plate, and reached out to pick up one of the two sweet potatoes on the plate.

"Alright."

He took a bite of the sweet potato, his cheeks bulging, chewed it a couple of times, and then spoke in a muffled voice, still half-chewed.

"I'll eat this, you two each pay me one piece."

Banxia stopped crying.

Hoshino's expression changed.

The two children turned to look at the sweet potato with a bite taken out of it in Su An's hand.

Banxia was the first to react.

"Uncle! Those are ours!"

"It's mine now."

Su An took another bite.

"If you two don't divide it up, I'll eat the rest too."

Hoshino and Banxia exchanged a glance.

That eye contact lasted only 0.3 seconds.

Then the two of them turned around at the same time and rushed towards the bottom of the stove.

"Mom, do you have any more sweet potatoes?"

"I'm going to bake one to make it up to my uncle!"

Two little heads crowded around the stove, vying to stuff sweet potatoes inside. The earlier battle had vanished, replaced by a joint effort to protect the sweet potato reserves.

Su Nianci stood to the side watching, laughing so hard she bent over, her hand on the stove as she gasped for breath.

Su An stood there, chewing the sweet potato in her hand a couple of times, her expression gradually changing.

He looked down at the cross-section of the sweet potato in his hand.

Dark black.

It's all burnt.

He chewed a couple of times; it was bitter and astringent, and the carbonized fibers made his throat itch.

Su Nianci laughed even harder, tears welling up in her eyes.

"How is it? Is it delicious?"

Su An gritted his teeth and swallowed the sweet potato in his mouth, his expression heroic.

"It's good, it has a unique smoky flavor."

Banxia raised her head from under the stove.

"Uncle, you can really eat! Those were the ones Mom picked out because they were burnt."

Su An's lips froze.

Su Nianci squatted next to the stove, laughing so hard she almost couldn't hold the spatula.

That night.

At nine o'clock, the two children were ushered into the bedroom.

Banxia's small bed was on the left, and Xingye's small bed was on the right, separated by a low bedside table with a small nightlight on it, the orange light just enough to illuminate the two of their pillows.

Su Nianci covered herself with the blanket, bent down and kissed each of them on the forehead.

"sleep."

The lights are off.

The door was closed.

The footsteps in the corridor faded into the distance.

The room was quiet for about two minutes.

Banxia moved first.

She turned over, facing the bedside table, her voice barely audible.

"Brother, are you asleep?"

Hoshino's voice came from the darkness, even softer than hers.

"no."

Banxia flipped through it again.

"I'll share half of my sweet potato with you tomorrow."

"No."

Why?

"Because I secretly baked two pieces in the kitchen and hid them under your pillow."

Banxia reached under the pillow.

Round and warm.

two.

Her eyes lit up in the darkness, and she grabbed a sweet potato, peeled it, and stuffed it into her mouth.

The same noise was heard from Hoshino's side.

bang.

Crunch, crunch.

The two little devils were munching on sweet potatoes in their respective blankets, chewing with great relish, leaving sweet potato crumbs all over their pillows.

In the corridor outside the door.

Su Nianci stood in the darkness, her ear pressed against the crack in the door, listening for a long time.

Lu Xingzhou stood next to her and listened for a long time.

The two people looked at each other.

Su Nianci turned around, and Lu Xingzhou followed suit.

The two walked back to the bedroom silently, one after the other.

The door closed gently behind me.

No one made it public.