The Right to Eat One's Fill

The bean porridge in the pot was a mixture of half water, half brown rice, and beans. Scooping a ladle down, she got a bowl of thick porridge with very little water.

For some reason, her appetite was immense, just as it had been in her past life. When she was at the Fu family, even though Madam Chu cooked substantial meals and even prepared sweet potatoes for her to snack on after dinner, no matter how much she ate, she always felt hungry.

While at the Fu family, she hadn't wanted to appear too gluttonous, so she had restrained herself.

But now, back at the Yu family, she no longer needed to hold back.

In the Yu family, the Second Branch was always treated harshly. The others at least got to eat their fill, while the Second Branch was constantly starved. Only Yu Lao Er, because he worked in the fields, was fed slightly better. Madam Liu and her four daughters were always in a state of deprivation.

Despite this, they were often scolded for eating too much, accused of being both lazy and greedy, and wasting food.

Recalling these memories, even though Yu Li was not easily angered, she still could not suppress the rising tide of indignation.

Were daughters not human? Did daughters have to be treated so harshly?

None of the daughters here were lazy; in fact, they did a vast amount of work and even knew how to embroider to earn money, sometimes bringing in more than the males. Yet in the eyes of the family, they had no value and were seen as mere parasites.

Right before everyone's eyes, Yu Li proceeded to eat several bowls of thick bean porridge in a row. More than half the pot of porridge disappeared into her stomach.

Not only did she eat, but she also turned to her three younger sisters and asked, "Do you girls want to eat?"

Yu Jin, Yu Yin, and Yu Zhou all shook their heads.

They were accustomed to hunger and did not have large appetites; the single bowl of rice with cured meat from earlier had already stuffed them to the brim. Had they not worried about having nothing to eat in the future, they wouldn't have forced themselves to eat so much.

Seeing Yu Li repeatedly ladling bowl after bowl of thick porridge, everyone in the Yu family began to lose their composure. That was their lunch; how could they let her eat it all?

Yu Jingyi, huddled in his father's arms, could not resist his hunger and began to sob quietly. He wanted to eat too... But the moment Yu Li's gaze swept over, his sobs caught in his throat, leaving him with only a loud hiccup. The image of Yu Li smashing the house pillar with a bench was still deeply engraved in his memory, making him look at his eldest sister with sheer terror.

Old Master Yu suppressed his anger, his face dark as he said, "You must not go too far!"

Hearing him speak, the three sisters trembled in fear, and Yu Lao Er and his wife could not help but tense up. The Old Master's authority had accumulated over many years; it was not something they could easily overcome.

Yu Li looked up at him, noting that he had sat down at some point. Old Madam Yu sat beside him, her face tense and defensive. As for the members of the Third Branch, everyone was watching her warily.

"Am I going too far?" Yu Li asked, looking genuinely puzzled. "Wasn't this how you always behaved before? You all ate and drank your fill while we had nothing, unable to even drink the thin gruel water, forced to drink plain well water..."

"The men must work in the fields; they must eat to have strength!" Old Master Yu's face darkened as he spoke stiffly.

"We work too!" Yu Li retorted. "Chopping firewood, carrying water, cooking meals, raising chickens, ducks, and pigs, cleaning the pens, washing clothes for the whole household, cutting wild grass for the pigs... Every single task requires physical strength!"

Old Master Yu did not consider those to be significant chores. In his eyes, those were all women's duties, not worth mentioning. Women were born to bear children and do housework; didn't everyone do the same?

Yu Li continued, "I don't care what you think. From now on, whatever you eat, the Second Branch will eat the same."

Madam Wang blurted out, "On what basis?"

But when Yu Li glanced over, Madam Wang fearfully shrank behind Yu Lao San.

Yu Li drank the last gulp of porridge, set her bowl down, and calmly replied, "On the basis that I am currently stronger than all of you."