When Elena and Lucy finished work, they passed by Roan’s house. They heard the clanging and banging of pots coming from inside. Elena couldn't help but peek into the yard.

  “Sister Elena, Sister Lucy!” Sofia greeted them, having recognized their footsteps.

  “What’s going on?”

  Elena thought Roan was beating Marco. But as she walked a few steps further, she saw the two brothers standing by an aluminum pot, looking completely helpless.

  “I...” Roan was about to explain, but Sofia spoke first: “My brothers want to make jam, but they can't do it. Sister Elena, can you teach them again?”

  If it were Roan asking, Elena might not have agreed.

  But since Sofia asked, Elena would definitely say yes. Elena had seen the three of them eating before. There were burnt beans, and the green vegetables were boiled until they were mushy, just like pig food.

  It really wasn't easy for Sofia to grow up eating such food.

  It was understandable that a child wanted to eat jam again.

  Elena started explaining from the step of handling the snake berries. She demonstrated as she worked:

  “Snake berries have bristles. You must pick the hard bristles clean. Otherwise, the jam will have impurities. It will look bad, and it might prick your mouth when you eat it.”

  Roan and Marco leaned in on either side of Elena. They listened as seriously as good students.

  “Wood ash is alkaline. Soaking them in wood ash water not only kills bacteria but also removes acidity. It extends the shelf life and makes it sweeter.”

  “Soaking in salt water is also for sterilization.”

  “Next is mashing and simmering. Anyone can mash, but it's best to use a stone mortar. The finer it is, the easier it is to get an even color.”

  “Simmering is also very particular. You must simmer until the bubbles at the bottom of the pot can't move easily.”

  “How much sugar you add depends on your taste. If you want it sweet, add more. If you want it sour, add less.”

  In half an hour, Elena had made another small pot of jam.

  The three siblings each tasted a small spoonful. Marco, who loved sweets, was the first to shout: “Wow! Sweet with a bit of sour. It’s so delicious!”

  Roan: “...”

  On the way back, Lucy bet that the two of them still hadn't learned.

  Elena basically agreed. When she was a child, her mother forced her to make jam. If she made even a small mistake, she would be whipped.

  She didn't know how much bitterness she had endured to finally learn this craft.

  Back at their small yard, Elena took charge of tidying up, and Lucy took charge of cooking. They didn't even need to discuss it; they just did it.

  The chestnuts they picked yesterday were drying in the yard. They needed to dry for about ten more days before they could be stored to eat until next spring.

  The best partner for chestnuts was chicken. Elena was making plans as she looked at the chestnuts. In her past life, she suffered and had no money for nutrition, which led to her illness never healing. In this life, she must be willing to eat well. She would buy a chicken to cook with chestnuts this weekend.

  “Chestnut braised chicken for the weekend, hehe.”

  Lucy, who was washing rice, heard Elena talking to herself. She wasn't happy; instead, her face was full of worry.

  Lucy’s family was poor; they couldn't afford chicken.

  Elena had some money, 2000 pesos, but it wasn't really much. Moreover, Elena’s family would never give her money again.

  Think about it—Octavia asked for money as soon as she wrote a letter.

  Lucy made a secret decision. If Elena insisted on eating chicken, she must find a way to hide. She couldn't eat the expensive ingredients Elena bought for free.

  ...

  While everyone else was cooking, Sienna was by the pond near Matthew’s door catching dragonflies.

  As long as a dragonfly landed somewhere, she would quietly approach.

  But most likely, she couldn't even touch the alert little things.

  However, Sienna was enjoying herself. She didn't care if she caught a dragonfly. The "dragonfly" she wanted to catch was the man, Matthew.

  The guy with the slightly balding "Mediterranean" head, who stayed home all day and was thin and weak.

  Whenever someone passed by, Sienna would greet them loudly. So, very quickly, she waited until Matthew came out.

  “Why are you here?” Matthew specifically boiled an egg before coming out to see Sienna.

  His mother had forbidden him from seeing Sienna for a month. But his liking for her was purely biological; how could he possibly hold back?

  Sienna held Matthew’s arm with one hand and ate the boiled egg with the other.

  The two of them walked on the deserted road at dusk. She told him all about how Matthew’s mother watched her too closely while she did farm work.

  Matthew wasn't stupid. His mother was his mother, and Sienna was Sienna. The two couldn't be mixed up.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  The person who treated him best in this world was definitely his mother.

  As for Sienna, he would just coax her a little. He wouldn't be so foolish as to listen to Sienna and go argue with his mother.

  That would be turning his arm outward against his own family.

  Sienna thought Matthew was convinced by her: “So, can you help me talk to your mother?”

  “Sure, no problem.”

  Matthew promised quickly. In fact, he didn't plan to intervene at all.

  The sky grew dark. Elena and Lucy were about to eat when Marco came again. He was still carrying a vegetable basket, sneaking into Elena’s yard mysteriously.

  Elena was about to say they hadn't finished the vegetables yet. But Marco pushed aside the greens, revealing half a pheasant that had already been slaughtered.

  Elena: “...”

  “Brother said this chicken died by falling off a cliff itself. Don't tell anyone after you eat it.”

  Marco was so funny. Every time his big brother told him to make up a reason, he always came up with something unreliable.

  Every time his big brother said it was best to use Sofia as the reason for giving gifts, Marco would unknowingly sell out his brother again.

  Elena secretly wanted to laugh, but she also felt grateful in her heart.

  She knew Roan had just gone to the county town yesterday, and it was impossible for him to go tomorrow. The killed pheasant couldn't be sold, and it would be a waste not to eat it.

  But they shared half with her when they ate it. Although they said it was to repay the favor of teaching them how to make jam, this thank-you gift was a bit too heavy.

  Jam wasn't even worth as much as a chicken leg; that’s what Elena thought.

  Because she felt the gift was too valuable, after Elena made the chestnut braised chicken, she had Lucy send a portion to Roan and his siblings.

  When Lucy came back, she said with a smile that the three of them ate very happily. For the chicken these three made themselves, they only knew how to boil it.

  Cooking skills? Non-existent!

  Funny as it was, pity appeared on Lucy’s face again: “No matter how poor my family is, my younger sisters have parents who love them. These three children grew up by themselves. It’s so pitiful.”

  Elena’s perspective was completely different.

  She envied the three siblings. She envied how they could love each other so much. Unlike her own family—even though she had a sister and a brother, they were like enemies.

  And her parents were so biased that it felt like she wasn't their biological child.

  ...

  By this time, Antonio was slightly drunk. His neck and face were bright red.

  He had been drinking with Bernardo since before work ended, through the time the officers crowded in to eat, until now when it was dark and everyone had left.

  How others saw him—Antonio had no chance to care now. He just wanted to act "clingy" with Bernardo.

  They had already talked about their families and their childhood experiences. Now, they finally moved on to their relationship with each other.

  “Commander Bernardo! You think highly of me. From now on, I’ll listen to you,” Antonio said in a blurry, drunken state.

  Bernardo wasn't drunk at all. He thought, Shouldn't you be listening to Ricardo? But he suddenly remembered that Antonio had made the front-page headlines and might have already offended Ricardo.

  That old man might be too rigid and had pushed Antonio to his side.

  This was a good thing!

  Bernardo couldn't refuse. He said in a soft voice, “Silly child, you finally know who treats you well.”

  “You treat me well!” Antonio pretended to be stupid, pointing at Bernardo and laughing.

  Bernardo almost wanted to curse.

  Isn't that obvious? Anyone who gives me mineral shares worth 20,000 dollars—I can also think they treat me well!

  But whether these shares counted or not would be up to him in the future. Bernardo wanted to observe for a while longer to see Antonio’s performance.

  Whether he could go to his house to drink was the important evaluation standard.

  “Since you treat me well, can you give me a person?”

  Regarding Antonio’s drunken request, Bernardo found it a bit unbelievable. “Who? What do you want to do?”

  “I want the most handsome guard to be my escort. Dante Valeriano.”

  “...” At this moment, Bernardo felt like ten thousand arrows were piercing his heart.

  What does this mean? You like handsome men? You don't like women?

  Bernardo couldn't say no. If he didn't agree, there would be no next step. He said with a cold face, looking a bit annoyed:

  “If you like him, just transfer him. Don't ask me. A small matter like transferring a guard—you, as a Division Commander, can make the decision yourself.”

  “Great...” A flirty smile played across Antonio’s face.

  In reality, he was roasting his own performance in his heart: I’m quite the actor.