After the family split up, my stepmother and scumbag father begged me to come home.

The eldest and second eldest sons of the Ding family next door returned carrying hoes.

"The rabbit meat will be ready soon. Wash your hands and eat quickly," Aunt Ding said, placing the dishes on the table while calling to her two sons.

"Rabbit meat?" Old Ding's eyes lit up. He leaned the hoe against the corner of the wall. "Mom, is this an improvement in our meals?"

"It was Tiger, Qianqian, and Along who went up the mountain. Qianqian caught a rabbit and gave one to our family," Aunt Ding explained with a smile.

"Qianqian? The Lin family next door?" Ding Lao Er asked, leaning over.

"The siblings moved out a few days ago and now live in that old house at the east end of the village." Aunt Ding placed a stack of wild vegetable pancakes on the table, then turned around and picked up a bowl of pickled vegetables. "These wild vegetables were picked by them, and they're very fresh."

Old Ding frowned, scrubbing his hands a few extra times as he washed them: "How old is Qianqian? How is she going to manage raising Along all by herself? The Lin family just kicked her out like that?"

"It was Qianqian who wanted to separate the family property herself," Uncle Ding said as he came in from the outer room.

"She brought it up?" Old Ding was skeptical. A twelve or thirteen-year-old girl, voluntarily wanting to separate from the family? This was the first time he'd heard of such a thing in the village.

"I was worried that the siblings wouldn't be able to make ends meet." Aunt Ding brought a pot of stewed rabbit to the table, steaming hot and filling the room with its aroma. "Now it seems that it's better that they've separated. At least there won't be any more trouble from the Ding family."

"Let's eat." Uncle Ding sat down first.

The family sat down around the small square table, chopsticks out, the rabbit meat stewed until tender, even the bones were infused with flavor.

"This rabbit meat is really delicious," Ding Lao Er mumbled after taking a bite.

"Mother, where's Tiger?" Old Ding asked, chewing on his meat, when he suddenly realized that someone was missing.

"He went to Qianqian's house to eat, so we don't need to wait for him," Aunt Ding said, while putting meat into the bowls of the three men and women with her chopsticks.

Ding Laoda picked up a piece of meat from his own bowl and put it into Ding's Aunt's bowl: "Mom, you eat too."

"That's right, don't just put food on our plates." Uncle Ding also put the fatty piece of meat from his own bowl, "There's so much, eat it all."

Aunt Ding looked at the pile of meat in her bowl, smiled, and didn't refuse any more. The family ate their meal under the dim light of the oil lamp, occasionally exchanging a few words. The rabbit meat in the pot bubbled and steamed, and the embers in the stove made the whole room warm and cozy.

The Lin family next door didn't have it so easy.

I'd only had a bellyful of thin porridge, and my stomach felt empty, without anything to fill it up. Suddenly, a strong, meaty aroma wafted over, so thick it seemed to seep in through the cracks in the doors and windows.

"Where's that meat smell coming from?" Lin Xiaorou had already lain down when she smelled the aroma, sniffed, and swallowed.

Lin Yutang pointed to the next room: "It came from the Ding family."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuxuan immediately protested, pouting and wailing, "Mom, I want meat too! I want meat!"

Wang Hehua quickly squatted down to coax him, "Xuan-ge'er, go to sleep. How about Mom cuts you a piece of meat to eat tomorrow?"

"No! No! I want to eat now! I want to eat meat!" Lin Yuxuan cried and rolled on the ground, kicking his legs and making dust all over the room.

Wang Hehua was furious at his outburst and slapped his bottom several times: "Cry! Cry! Cry! All you do is cry! Don't you know our family's situation? All the money is going to your uncle's schooling, where would we get money to eat meat?"

Lin Guozhong couldn't stand it anymore and pulled the child up from the ground: "Why did you hit him? The child didn't say anything."

Wang Hehua angrily threw down her clothes, said "I don't care anymore," covered herself with the blanket, and lay down.

In the main room, Old Mrs. Lin slammed her chopsticks on the table: "That damned woman, what does she mean? What does she mean by 'it's all going to Guoan's schooling'? I'm spending my son's money to support my youngest son's education, what's it to her?"

"Alright, that's enough." Old Lin ate his rice in silence, not even lifting his eyelids.

Lin Xiaohua glanced furtively at her mother's face and cautiously said, "Mom, we haven't had meat in a long time... How about we get some tomorrow?"

Grandma Lin was silent for a while, then hummed in agreement.

That "hmm" was so soft it sounded like a sigh; it was hard to tell if it was an agreement or just a response to the dull and tasteless days.