A Jiu took out the ox horn knife and dug out the watermelon flesh like a little girl, putting it all into the large iron pot, saving some for lunch.
She was responsible for peeling the watermelon rinds, which were valuable. Cai Lihua had instructed them not to discard them.
All the rinds were cut into thin slices, as thin as possible, and left to sun-dry under the afternoon sun.
The watermelon flesh was all loaded into the only large iron pot, which was then placed inside the house, its bottom resting precisely on the broken wooden plank.
Meng Shaode exclaimed, "Eat up, everyone. Once we're done, we need to get moving."
Wu Dalei's eyes lit up. "This is... watermelon?"
"Yes, my daughter found it." Meng Shaode was also contemplating the matter of heading to the cave later.
"Son, quick, help me up. Mother is hungry." From the corner, Wu Shi craned her neck to peer into the pot, gnashing her teeth as she crawled forward.
Hearing this, Wu Dalei quickly got up and lifted his elderly mother, placing her by the pot. At this moment, no one cared where it came from; being able to eat was the top priority.
"Everyone, have some." Meng Shaode had already eaten a fair amount and couldn't manage any more.
However, he worried about wasting it if they didn't eat it now. Fleeing famine meant starving one day and overeating the next, which would be a laughingstock if word got out.
"Brother Meng, you are truly blessed. Little Jiu is incredibly lucky."
As Wu Dalei spoke, he picked out the smallest piece of watermelon and popped it into his mouth. Then, he took a slightly larger piece and offered it to his wife's mouth.
"Zhao Di, all of this is the kindness of Brother Meng's family. We must remember it."
Just as he helped Zhao Di to sit up, Wang Shi, with a sudden move, plunged her head into the pot, stuffing handfuls of watermelon into her mouth with both hands.
This scene bewildered A Jiu, and Meng Shaode froze mid-chew.
"Cough, cough, cough!" Wu Shi choked, her face turning red as she coughed violently, juice splattering like a wound.
Meng Shaode felt awkward to scold her and looked helplessly at Wu Dalei.
Wu Dalei's face darkened upon seeing this. "Mother, what... what are you doing?"
He pulled Wu Shi aside, patting her back to prevent her from choking while admonishing her.
"If it weren't for Brother Meng's family, we would have died yesterday. How could you... eat it all by yourself?"
With their own family scolding her, others felt embarrassed to speak up.
A Jiu's mind cleared. She seemed to understand why the Wu family members had different merit values.
It must be related to their hearts. Wu Shen wanted to live but wasn't greedy. The child, having just been born, had no desires, hence the child had the highest merit.
Perhaps, throughout life, only infants were truly pure. As people lived, they developed desires like greed, anger, and infatuation, which tainted their hearts.
"Sigh..." A sigh echoed from the rafters.
A Jiu didn't look up. Perhaps Grandma A had eaten her fill; otherwise, she might have jumped from above into the pot.
"I'm sorry, truly sorry." Wu Dalei was mortified and apologized profusely.
"Ah!" Cai Lihua, who had just come in after finishing her chores, saw the chaotic mess in the iron pot, with much of the watermelon hanging over the sides.
"Who did this?"
Cai Lihua's gaze fell upon Wu Shi, who was still coughing, watermelon flesh clinging to her face and hair, with a few seeds stuck to her cheeks.
"You old woman! We helped you, our Meng family, and shared our food, yet you hoard it for yourself."
"Lihua, forget it." Meng Shaode handed the half-eaten piece of watermelon to Cai Lihua, saying with a troubled tone,
"Brother Wu also spoke to Old Madam. Don't be angry. Besides, aren't there still several more in the sacks we packed?"
"Forget it?" Cai Lihua pushed Meng Shaode away.
"What's the difference between you and bandits? Do you know how precious this food is right now? Yesterday, my daughter didn't even want to eat the chicken herself and gave it to your wife. What? Have you so quickly forgotten our kindness?"
As she spoke, Cai Lihua's eyes turned red. Why bother being a good person?
She wished her daughter would become selfish, only looking out for herself, and stop trying to be a good person.