Motherly Love and Filial Devotion, The Silly Girl — Profiting from War /

“Wah…”

The little nephew woke up from the pitch-black room, smacking his lips, which still carried a faint smell of alcohol.

He sat up and heard the sounds of cooking from outside, along with a wafting aroma of food.

“Time to eat!”

At the thought of food, the little nephew instantly switched from standby mode to active mode, perking up, hopping out of bed, and heading outside.

Creak.

The wooden door let out a sour groan.

“Oh, you silly girl, silly girl, silly girl…”

“Slap slap slap…”

“The oil isn’t even hot yet, why are you putting the vegetables in… Huh? There’s mud on these vegetables? You didn’t wash them?”

“Wash? Do these even need washing?” Tang Yuyao looked puzzled, holding the spatula as she kept stirring the pot, her confidence notably lacking.

Tang’s Mother: “…”

Boom, a thunderbolt from a clear sky. In that moment, Tang’s Mother felt the sky had collapsed—unwashed vegetables were being stir-fried just like that. Wouldn’t eating them upset their stomachs?

“Slap slap slap…”

“You silly girl, silly girl, silly girl…”

Tang Yuyao: “…”

The drop rate was really high—another round of motherly love ten-pull. Tang Yuyao’s scalp went numb as she kept fiddling with her spatula, the kitchen overflowing with wholesome mother-daughter bonding.

The little nephew: “…”

So it was Little Aunt cooking… that explained things.

Silently, the little nephew prepared to sneak away.

The two ladies in the kitchen, still in the midst of their bonding, heard the noise and looked over. Tang Yuyao’s eyes lit up.

“Xiaobao, perfect, you’ve come just in time! Come quick, Little Aunt just made something delicious!”

Hearing this, the little nephew only ran faster. He wasn’t stupid—he’d heard everything clearly. The vegetables hadn’t even been washed, and she wanted to feed him this?

Wasn’t she just using him as a taste tester?

What a vicious, malicious Little Aunt!

“Huh? Still trying to run? Get back here, Tang Xiaobao!!!”

Seeing the little nephew disobey, Tang Yuyao’s face darkened instantly. She put down the spatula and chased after him outside.

A moment later.

The little nephew was tied to a pillar, while Tang Yuyao continued cooking nearby, with Tang’s Mother guiding her.

“Oh dear, girl, you’ve put too much salt…”

“It’s burning, burning! And this side hasn’t been flipped—the vegetables are still raw. Eating that will upset your stomach…”

“What about ginger and garlic? Are you only using salt?”

The little nephew: “…”

A look of utter despair crossed the little nephew’s face. This black Friday would be seared into his memory forever. The saying “drinking leads to trouble” was absolutely true—maybe this was just his punishment for drinking.

Pain, such agony!!!

Soon, another dish from Tang Yuyao was done: sweet and sour cabbage. Well… it was black and yellow, and burnt.

“Looks pretty good, right? Come on, Mom, give it a try!” Tang Yuyao’s face was smudged with black soot, her expression exhilarated, like a blackened toothpaste ad.

Tang’s Mother: “…”

“Ahem, well… Mom’s stomach hasn’t been in great shape. I still haven’t fully digested what I ate earlier today, so I’m not hungry right now. No need.”

Tang’s Mother very “politely” turned down her daughter’s offer.

She felt that if she took one bite, she’d cut her life short by at least two years. This wasn’t about maternal affection anymore—even the rose-tinted glasses of a mother’s love couldn’t help; it was just impossible to stomach.

Tang Yuyao looked disappointed… then her eyes lit up as she stared at the little nephew tied to the pillar, who now wore an expression of total resignation.

Seeming to sense something, the little nephew, still in his emo mood, lifted his head and looked in a certain direction. He spotted a pair of terrifying eyes staring at him, and a chill ran down his spine.

"Little Aunt, why are you looking at me like that?"

The little nephew gulped hard. He froze when he saw a plate of black, unrecognizable stuff in his aunt's hands, and then the confusion and fear in his eyes turned into despair.

Was this supposed to be food?

Tang Yuyao raised an eyebrow. "Xiaobao, your Little Aunt’s been good to you, hasn’t she?"

The little nephew: "..."

He shook his head.

"Oh? In that case, finish this dish, and I'll send you off nice and quick!" Tang Yuyao snorted coldly.

The little nephew trembled in fear and quickly nodded.

Tang Yuyao's icy expression softened into a gentle look. "Then how about doing your Little Aunt a favor?"

The little nephew shook his head.

"Reject a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."

The little nephew: "???"

"Grandma, save me!!!"

With a terrified face, realizing there was no escape, the little nephew sent out a distress signal to his grandma. Tang's Mother looked at him reluctantly: "Yaoyao, maybe it's really not..."

"Then Mom, you eat it." Tang Yuyao promptly shoved the massive plate of black goo toward her mother.

Tang's Mother: "..."

"Xiaobao, you can’t judge a thing by its looks. Sometimes you have to try it to know. How could you know your Little Aunt’s cooking is bad if you don’t try?" Tang’s Mother said earnestly.

The little nephew: "???"

Grandma, are you serious?

This isn’t about looks anymore—if I try it, I’ll be taking a one-way trip.

"Okay, Xiaobao, your Little Aunt won’t make you eat for free. I’ll give you a hundred bucks."

"Little Aunt, the truth is, I love eating black, gooey stuff!"

The little nephew switched faces in a flash, even his expression looking a bit brighter. There was no other way—his aunt was way too generous, a sharp contrast to his dad’s side.

Waking him up once only earned him five bucks, plus it came with a high risk of getting hit. On his aunt’s side, a hundred bucks was the reward—that was twenty wake-up services.

No matter how you looked at the math, it was a sweet deal.

Screw it—chow down!

Grabbing the money for the job, the little nephew bravely took a bite, then... laid down his life heroically, collapsed on the ground, twitched twice, and passed out cold.

Tang Yuyao: "..."

Tang’s Mother: "..."

"Is it really that bad?" Tang Yuyao pouted in dissatisfaction, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and tried a bite herself...

Then: "Ugh!"

Tang's Mother: "..."

Good thing she didn’t eat.

Well... she used to think her own cooking was talentless enough, but here came a real pro—her own daughter was a true master of kitchen disasters.

Sure enough, there was a price to pay for being spoiled. If she had nagged her into learning to cook back in the day, things wouldn’t be so rushed and desperate now.

Back then, when she tried to get her to learn, she said, "Why should I bother serving anyone?"

Now? She comes running, "The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Mom, teach me to cook right now—I need to make a good impression today!"

And this... was the so-called good impression?

It’d been hours, and she was finally grasping the basic logic of cooking, like the fact that you have to put oil in the pan before cooking and heat it up...

Just knowing this basic logic wasn’t enough—there was also salt, MSG, seasonings... all kinds of magical combinations.

After many complicated steps, it would finally turn into what looked like an ordinary dish... Of course, that was how Tang Yuyao understood cooking—no different from solving math problems or performing surgery.

Still the mindset of a science student.

The end result? Talking to a brick wall.

Tang’s Mother: “...”

“Silly girl, silly girl, silly girl...”

Tang Yuyao’s health bar: -1, -1, -1...

A few minutes later.

The little nephew, who had been rolling his eyes, was revived, grinning happily as he clutched the “taste-test fee” he’d just gotten from Tang Yuyao—a full one hundred!

“Whoosh!” The little nephew’s mouth corner curled up uncontrollably, already imagining himself splurging wildly—a CEO experience card for a day!

His first thought after getting the money was to spend it.

It was still early, so he could head out, buy some snacks, and come back.

That was his plan as he walked toward the door. But when he reached it, he stopped, staring at the group of older siblings and cousins lying in wait.

The little nephew: “...”

“What are you guys doing?” The little nephew blinked his pea-sized eyes and asked curiously.

Following the gazes of his siblings, he spotted Uncle-in-law and Grandpa playing chess under a tree not far away.

“Shh, Xiaobao, come here. Don’t talk.”

The brothers skillfully grabbed their younger sibling, covered his mouth, and forcibly pulled him into their camp.

The little nephew: “...”

Such a familiar trick—so sneaky!!!

The little nephew struggled fiercely, but his brothers casually pulled out some snacks. His expression softened, and he immediately shut up.

“Munch munch munch, what’s so fun about watching chess? Munch munch munch...” The little nephew muttered, eating whatever his brothers had handed him.

“Hey, what does a little kid like you know... Huh? Wait, Xiaobao, weren’t you home all day today?”

At that, all the siblings’ eyes locked onto the little nephew, who was still munching away. He stopped chewing and took a half-step back.

“What do you guys want?” The little nephew’s eyes were filled with panic.

In the end, they struck a deal: one question, one yuan, no credit. Payment could be cash or scanned—flexible services.

The little nephew opened his kids’ smartwatch and displayed his payment QR code.

“Go ahead. One question, one yuan.”

A pretty reasonable price.

“Beep!”

“WeChat received one yuan!”

“Xiaobao, what time did Uncle-in-law come today?”

“Around noon, I think. I was the one who opened the door for him,” the little nephew said with a note of pride.

“Beep!”

“WeChat received one yuan!”

“Little bro, who’s more handsome—me or Little Aunt’s boyfriend?”

“Bro, isn’t that obvious? Uncle-in-law, of course. Take a look at yourself.” The little nephew rolled his eyes. He never lied when it came to paid business.

Unconvinced, the older brother scanned another ten yuan.

“Little bro, this ten yuan is yours. Let me ask you again—who’s more handsome?”

“Need I say? My dear brother, of course!”

The others: “...”

Not to be outdone, a couple of the girls also scanned ten yuan to the little nephew.

“Xiaobao, give us the real answer.”

"Hey, you can't look a gift horse in the mouth. Sis, you know me—I hate making money off this kind of shady stuff... but of course, Uncle-in-law is the best-looking!"

The older brother who had just scanned the QR code: "..."

Young as he was, the little nephew had already discovered the joy of profiting from conflict. He played both sides and ate well!

His little stash of cash grew rapidly.

Meanwhile, under the big tree, the chess match between Ye Cheng and Old Master Tang had reached a critical point... or rather, Old Master Tang had entered a critical point all on his own.

As the game deepened and he thought more carefully, Old Master Tang realized he... seemed to have no way out?

No matter how he moved, he would lose. That one move that had seemed like a lifeline just moments ago now looked more like a deliberate trap—luring him in and speeding up his defeat!

Hiss... was he really that sharp?

Old Master Tang sucked in a cold breath. He was starting to regret the words he had just said. He shouldn't have provoked Ye Cheng. Now, sure enough, he had lost.

"Whew... Xiaocheng, you win. Truly impressive." Old Master Tang graciously accepted his defeat and didn't hold back in praising Ye Cheng.

Hearing that Old Master Tang was done, Ye Cheng immediately put away his phone and flashed a very "businesslike" smile.

"Oh, Old Master Tang, you flatter me. It was a narrow victory, that's all—just luck..."

Old Master Tang: "..."

Do you really think I'm a three-year-old?

You never took more than three seconds to think before making a move, and you call that a narrow victory?

Old Master Tang's mouth twitched. He was about to start another game when he suddenly noticed several of his grandchildren gathered at the entrance.

They were surrounding the youngest grandson, tugging and pulling at him, seemingly arguing about something.

Old Master Tang frowned. "All of you, come here."

The group that had been roughhousing in the distance froze...