BDSMST -Chapter 10 The First Full Meal Earned by Pulling Weeds

The sun slanted westward, casting a warm golden glow over the barren estate.

Gu Xuan dropped heavily onto the ground, feeling as though his entire body was about to fall apart. From his neck down to his ankles, there wasn’t a single place that didn’t ache. The hands that once held only calligraphy brushes and jade chopsticks were now red and swollen, with several shiny blisters rubbed raw.

He looked at the small patch of land he had cleared—barely the size of a bed—and was so exhausted he didn’t even want to lift a finger.

Though it was far from the “assigned workload,” this was already the result of his absolute best effort.

All day long, aside from two bowls of water, he had eaten nothing. Hunger and exhaustion pressed down on him like two mountains, leaving him breathless. Lying on the soft earth, breathing in the scent of soil, he had only one thought in mind: I’m so hungry. I want to eat.

He didn’t know whether that bad woman would keep her promise. After all, he hadn’t completed the task she had given him.

Uneasy, he secretly glanced in Jiang Suisui’s direction.

Jiang Suisui had also stopped working. The land she had cleared today was more than ten times what Gu Xuan had managed. Straightening up, she rubbed her sore lower back, then carried her hoe and walked toward him.

Gu Xuan’s heart leapt into his throat.

He watched as she stopped in front of his “dog-chewed-looking” results and lowered her head to inspect it.

His fingers tightened nervously in the hem of his clothes. What would she say? Would she scold him for being useless and announce that he would go hungry again tonight?

Jiang Suisui studied it calmly for a moment before speaking, her voice revealing neither approval nor anger. “The roots aren’t fully removed, and the soil isn’t turned deeply enough. But for your first time, this barely counts as a pass.”

A pass?

Gu Xuan shot upright, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

“Let’s go,” Jiang Suisui said simply, turning toward the courtyard. “Time to eat.”

Eat!

At that moment, those two words sounded like heavenly music.

He scrambled to his feet, not even bothering to brush off the dirt. Grabbing his precious little hoe, he staggered after her. It felt as if fresh energy had suddenly been poured into his small body.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, a rich aroma—completely unlike anything he had smelled since coming here—forcefully invaded his nose.

It wasn’t the bland scent of wild vegetable porridge. It was the pure, intoxicating fragrance of rice!

Following the smell, he saw the cracked clay pot set over the fire in the courtyard. It was bubbling vigorously, steam rising as the rich aroma of white rice poured out from within.

Chunxing stood nearby, stir-frying freshly picked tender wild greens with just a little oil and salt, making a vibrant green dish.

White rice! Fragrant white rice!

Gu Xuan’s eyes widened. How long had it been since he’d seen white rice? Ever since arriving in this miserable place, he had eaten nothing but coarse buns and wild vegetable porridge. He had dreamed of the soft, fluffy rice from the Marquis’s residence.

“Ma… Madam…” Chunxing looked at Jiang Suisui with both surprise and confusion. “Where did you… get the rice?”

She clearly remembered that they had long since run out.

“The Mountain God saw we were pitiful and sent it,” Jiang Suisui replied casually. She took a bowl from Chunxing and first filled a large one for herself after a long day’s work.

Each grain was distinct and crystal clear—clearly no ordinary rice. It was the “Purple Jade Rice” she had taken from her space.

Then she filled another bowl just as full for Gu Xuan and handed it to him.

Gu Xuan stared blankly as he accepted the steaming bowl. Feeling the warmth through the bottom of it, his nose suddenly stung, and tears nearly spilled over.

He looked down at the white rice, steam curling upward. Tentatively, he reached out and touched it—only to pull his finger back quickly when it burned him.

This wasn’t a dream.

It was real.

“Eat,” Jiang Suisui said, seeing his dazed expression. She added a chopstickful of stir-fried greens into his bowl. “You earned this today.”

Earned it… myself?

Gu Xuan looked at the food in his bowl, then at his dirty, aching little hands. So this was what it felt like to eat food earned through his own labor.

Unable to hold back any longer, he picked up the chopsticks—crudely carved from tree branches—and awkwardly lifted a small mouthful of rice to his lips.

The moment it entered his mouth, an indescribable fragrance and sweetness burst across his tongue. It was softer and more delicious than any tribute rice he had ever eaten in the Marquis’s residence. Each grain seemed alive, dancing on his taste buds.

It was so good!

Gu Xuan nearly moaned in happiness. Forgetting all about the refined manners of a young heir, he began shoveling rice into his mouth in large bites. Even the stir-fried wild greens he would never have touched before now tasted unbelievably delicious paired with the fragrant rice.

His little face became messy like a kitten’s, grains of rice sticking around his mouth, but he didn’t care in the slightest.

This was the most delicious meal he had ever eaten in his life.

Because it was earned with a full day of sweat and pain.

Watching him wolf down the food, Jiang Suisui’s lips curved almost imperceptibly. From this moment on, the poisonous tumor in this spoiled child’s heart—the belief in getting something for nothing—had been chipped away by her own hands.

There was still a long road ahead before he would truly change.

But today was a very good beginning.

After finishing, Gu Xuan held his round belly and let out a satisfied burp. Exhaustion washed over him again, but his heart felt steadier than ever before.

That night, Jiang Suisui took out a small jar of ointment from her bundle and tossed it to him.

“Pop the blisters on your hands yourself and apply the medicine. Tomorrow, we continue.”

Gu Xuan looked at the jar emitting a cool medicinal fragrance, then at the blisters on his hands. For the first time, he didn’t argue. He simply gave a muffled “Mm.”

Lying on the straw pile, his whole body aching, he didn’t cry or throw a tantrum as before.

When he closed his eyes, his mind wasn’t filled with the glory of the Marquis’s residence, nor with resentment toward Jiang Suisui. Instead, he thought of swinging the hoe in the fields, and of that bowl of rice so fragrant it made him want to cry.

He seemed to understand, just a little, what that bad woman had meant.

Here, if you wanted to eat, you had to work.

And that rule… didn’t seem so impossible to accept after all.