“Then you gave both of yours to Older Brother, didn’t you?” Andrew Carter looked at the two bowls of porridge, clear as water, and said loudly, “Afraid that Older Brother would find out, you poured hot water into both bowls, right?”

What a silly girl. Andrew Carter, feeling sorry, hugged Younger Sister with one arm and Younger Brother with the other.

“When father and mother aren’t home, even if there’s only a single grain of rice, we should share it. If you give it all to Older Brother, what about you two?” Andrew Carter gently stroked Younger Sister’s head with affection.

Stephen Carter lifted her little face, tears on her cheeks, and said, “Older Brother is hurt. Grandpa Johnson said you need to eat well to get better quickly.”

“Grandpa Johnson?”

“Yes, Grandpa Johnson. Yesterday he dressed Older Brother’s wounds, and the eggs were from him too.”

Andrew Carter finally remembered—“Grandpa Johnson” was John Carter, the only servant of the The Carter Family. Actually, calling him a servant wasn’t quite right. In his early years, he had followed the ancestors of the The Carter Family onto the battlefield and was left disabled. He had lived with the The Carter Family for years, and was almost like family.

“So, Second Aunt only gave you two bowls of porridge?” Andrew Carter said in surprise.

Stephen Carter nodded and traced a line in the bowl. “Just up to here.” Still a big gap from full!

Andrew Carter was instantly furious. Three children, and only two half-full bowls. Stephen Carter had given almost all her porridge to Older Brother, and the two little ones could only take the leftovers and dilute them with water.

Bennett, you really are something!

You beat them and don’t even give them food—are you trying to kill someone?

Do you think the child mortality rate is so high that even if one dies, Charles Carter wouldn’t dare do anything to you when he returns? After all, it was Andrew Carter who lost the horse first, so the fault is his!

Clinging to a single mistake, is there any family feeling left at all?

Andrew Carter was both angry and upset, but he was badly injured and couldn’t get out of bed, so he could only grit his teeth in his heart, his resentment growing stronger. He pushed some of his own porridge to Younger Brother and Younger Sister, leaving only a small half bowl for himself, and split the remaining egg in two. Andrew Carter didn’t really know what else to do—he couldn’t let the two children worry about him.

“Be good, eat up. Otherwise, Older Brother will be unhappy.”

The two little ones saw Andrew Carter’s stern face and could only obediently pick up their bowls. They hurried through the meal, and the feeling of being half-full was even worse than being hungry.

Andrew Carter lay on the bed, his mind full of thoughts. He wanted to find the lost horse and clear his name, wanted to make money—at least enough to eat better—and also wanted to study, to mingle with the scholars… In his previous life, he wasn’t someone with great ambitions. After graduating from a third-rate university, he chose to write for a living just to do as he pleased. After several years of hard work, he only managed to scrape together a living, but he was happy and content.

Andrew Carter thought that if he could pass the imperial exam and become a county magistrate after a few years, it would be best to benefit the people. If not, he could at least earn some silver and live a comfortable life—that would be perfect.

His ambitions weren’t high, but if he couldn’t even meet the lowest expectations, Andrew Carter would explode. For example, in elementary school, there was a tall, strong student who had been held back and always bullied him. When Andrew Carter was pushed to the limit, he trained hard for half a year, cornered the bully against a wall, and beat him black and blue until he surrendered… Bennett, you’d better know when to stop—don’t really push me too far!

Andrew Carter thought angrily. Before he knew it, night had fallen. Andrew Carter still couldn’t get up, so he had to ask Younger Sister Stephen Carter to fetch dinner. After a full quarter of an hour, the little girl came back with a tear-streaked face, holding a plate with only two or three dark, unappetizing pancakes.

“This is dinner?”

“Mm, Second Aunt gave it to us. She… she said, since the horse was lost, the family has to scrimp and save.” Her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s.

Pah!

Andrew Carter was burning with anger. He grabbed one at random—hard as a rock! It was covered in spots, as if it was moldy. He struggled to break it apart, tasted a bit at his lips, and found it not only coarse and rough, but with a strange taste. Andrew Carter swore he had never eaten anything so disgusting in his life!

Bennett was clearly making things difficult. How long would it take to save enough money for a horse by skimping on food? Besides, there were adults in the other branches of the family—they certainly wouldn’t go hungry. Maybe Bennett was having a private meal in her room right now. She was just bullying the three of them, who had no one to rely on.

The more Andrew Carter thought about it, the angrier he got. He bit down hard, as if biting into Bennett’s flesh, chewing with all his might. Swallowing a mouthful, his throat burned as if scraped by sand. Stephen Carter carefully picked up a piece, took a small bite, and chewed slowly.

Samuel Carter, following Older Brother and Elder Sister’s example, took a bite and immediately spat it out.

“Don’t waste food!” Stephen Carter scolded.

Samuel Carter was startled by Elder Sister, so he took another bite and chewed, but couldn’t swallow for a long time, his eyes brimming with tears.

“Don’t eat it!”

Even Andrew Carter couldn’t swallow it, so he didn’t want to force Younger Brother and Younger Sister. He snatched the pancakes away and threw them hard on the ground, took a deep breath, propped himself up with both arms, and managed to sit up, his weak body breaking out in cold sweat.

“Wait here, Older Brother will go catch two fish.”

“No!” Stephen Carter said with concern, “Older Brother is hurt. Grandpa Johnson said you can’t get wet.”