Chapter 51: Hey! Why’s Your Hand So Itchy!

The child’s eyes lit up, and he let out a puzzled “Huh?”

His clear, round eyes looked at the egg drop soup. “I remember it didn’t taste like this at the beginning!”

Sitting next to Juanjuan, Bai Yun’an chuckled softly.

【Of course, it’s different. I added chicken bouillon to enhance the flavor. It must taste better now.】

Thinking this to himself, Bai Yun’an, eager to earn Favorability Points, sweetly said, “It must be because our Juanjuan is such a great cook! It’s so delicious!”

Juanjuan: …

Oh well, if Third Brother wants to say that, let him.

She knew why the soup tasted good, and it was enough not to attribute the credit to herself just because of Third Brother’s praise.

Juanjuan lowered her head and started drinking the soup.

Bai Yunqi, who couldn’t stay quiet, watched his younger siblings drinking soup and eating pancakes in silence. He decided to show off his wisdom a bit.

Time to enlighten these clueless little kids.

“Do you know why our parents sent us out?”

Juanjuan shook her head blankly, then scooped another spoonful of egg drop soup.

She glanced at her eldest brother, who had only taken a sip of soup before starting to chatter.

Is Big Brother silly?

Why isn’t he drinking the soup?

Didn’t he see that Second Brother and Third Brother were drinking the soup and refilling their bowls? The pot was almost empty.

Second Brother Bai Yunxing glanced at Big Brother. Even though he understood, he pretended not to: “Why?”

Third Brother Bai Yun’an put on an innocent, naive look, smiling silently as he quickened his pace of drinking the soup.

“Since you’re asking so sincerely, I will mercifully tell you!”

Bai Yunqi teased, building suspense while putting down his bowl.

After all, holding a bowl affects one’s demeanor.

The three younger siblings all turned to look at Bai Yunqi’s barely-touched egg drop soup.

Bai Yunxing: 【Does Big Brother not like the soup? Should I drink it for him?】

Bai Yun’an: 【Although I’m a bit put off that Big Brother drank from it, this egg drop soup is really good. Honestly, Juanjuan knows how to make soup. Even with chicken bouillon, it wouldn’t taste good if she didn’t.】

Juanjuan: Second Brother and Third Brother actually want to drink Big Brother’s soup!

Bai Yunqi lowered his voice. “Just now, Mother talked about the many benefits of Sweet Potato, and these benefits combined make it a national treasure!”

Juanjuan blinked. “Strength? Like the strength to work?”

Bai Yunqi: …

【Ignorant child.】

Bai Yunxing looked at his young sister, finding her truly naive and adorable.

Bai Yun’an’s hand had already quietly reached for Big Brother’s bowl of egg drop soup.

Just as he was about to touch it, someone suddenly slapped his hand.

“Hey!”

Bai Yunqi looked at his third brother, asserting his ownership. “This is mine! Why’s your hand so itchy!”

Bai Yun’an: …

How did he react so fast?

Bai Yunqi: 【What a joke, trying to make a move under a Cultivation Expert’s nose! Silly kid!】

Juanjuan: …

Sometimes listening to her brothers’ whispers was quite helpless.

“If this Sweet Potato is really as Mother said, and others don’t know how to use it, then the entire dynasty’s grain production will increase.”

“If the dynasty has grain, it has confidence. Even if it sends troops to attack other countries, it won’t fear at all.”

Bai Yunqi asked his siblings in front of him.

“Do you understand?”

Juanjuan: “I think I get it.”

Bai Yunxing nodded, thinking to himself: 【This Goudan is only eight years old and can think of so much? He’s quite promising.】

——

Juanjuan mistook the abstract idea of national strength (国力, guólì) for the literal concept of physical strength (力气, lìqi), interpreting the benefits of sweet potatoes as personal energy for labor rather than strategic power for the state.