Since she was feeling out of sorts, Tang Xiaonan had a legitimate reason to stay home and rest. Phoebe Huxley and Felix Thorne stopped mentioning school, and Tang Xiaonan lived a life of pampered luxury, sleeping in and eating only the best. When her second uncle, Frederick Thorne, who lived in town, heard she was under the weather, he made a special trip to bring her a can of malted milk.

In this era, malted milk was as rare as White Rabbit candy, if not more so. You couldn’t buy it in town at all. Lana Steiner had brought this batch back from a conference in Vessaria.

For the past few days, Tang Xiaonan got to drink a cup of fragrant, rich malted milk every morning. The taste was completely different from what she’d had in her previous life. The flavor now was so authentic, with a deep, mellow creaminess that was much better than any milk tea.

"Xiaonan, the malted milk is ready. Drink it once it cools down. Jim, you stay home and watch your sister. Don’t let anyone bully her. Go to your grandma’s for lunch!"

Phoebe Huxley mixed a steaming cup of malted milk, along with a small bowl of egg fried rice. After Tang Xiaonan declared she didn’t like rice cakes, her breakfast was changed to egg fried rice. In the entire township, Tang Xiaonan was probably the only one who was treated so well.

After giving Tang Xiaonan a kiss on the cheek, Phoebe Huxley and Felix Thorne both went to work in the fields. Farmers didn’t have weekends; they had to work every day, especially during the busy farming season. Things were a bit better now, but during the double rush season, they’d have to work around the clock, day and night. The sun would bake the skin right off you.

(The "double rush" only occurs in regions that grow two rice crops a year. During the hottest months of July and August, after harvesting the first crop, farmers must rush to plant the next seedlings. It’s incredibly exhausting work.)

Today was Sunday, so Jim Thorne and Amanda Chapman didn’t have school. However, the two brothers studying in town, Howard Thorne and Patrick Thorne, didn’t come back. Usually, they came home once a week because the food they brought with them only lasted a week. This time, however, they weren’t coming home. They didn’t have to worry about food, as Frederick Thorne would look after them. Besides, Lana Steiner taught at the middle school, so there was no way they’d go hungry. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Third Brother."

As soon as Phoebe Huxley and her husband left, Tang Xiaonan placed the cup of malted milk in front of Jim. She could clearly see his throat bob as he swallowed a few times. His eyes darted away as he said with feigned indifference, "You drink it, Xiaonan."

’Any longer and I won’t be able to resist. This smell is just too incredible.’

"It doesn’t taste good."

Tang Xiaonan shot it a disdainful look and went off to play. The malted milk was a privilege only she enjoyed; no one else in the family got to drink it. Several times, she had seen Jim secretly smelling the malted milk tin, but he would only smell it, never daring to take even a lick.

’My third brother must be absolutely dying for a taste. Poor thing.’

"How could something that smells so delicious not taste good? Xiaonan, you have to drink it to get better. Be a good girl!" Jim couldn’t believe it. ’My sister is such a picky eater! She’s turning her nose up at something as wonderful as malted milk. Would it take a feast fit for an emperor to get her to call something delicious?’

"If I’m not drinking it, I’ll just pour it out."

Tang Xiaonan motioned as if she were about to dump it out. Horrified, Jim scrambled to cover the cup with his hand, his heart pounding in his chest. This precious, fragrant drink couldn’t be wasted! Seeing that Tang Xiaonan genuinely didn’t want it, he reluctantly decided to drink it himself.

He took just one sip, and his eyes lit up. Without even pausing for breath, he chugged it down. GULP. GULP. GULP. ’I’ve never tasted anything this good in my whole life! My sister is pickier than the emperor. I have to find a rich man for her in the future; otherwise, no one will be able to afford her tastes.’

Jim even licked the bottom of the cup clean. Savoring the lingering taste, he smacked his lips, his mind still busy planning out Tang Xiaonan’s future marriage.

’My requirements for my future brother-in-law aren’t that high, really. He just has to be as handsome as me and as healthy as me. He also has to cherish and dote on Xiaonan. But most importantly, he has to make a lot of money. Otherwise, if Xiaonan marries him only to suffer, she’d be better off not marrying at all!’