Jacqueline Spann didn’t find out about it until dinner. Phoenix Golding, righteously indignant, was cursing the Thorne family, while Vernon Spann kept his head down and ate in silence, mostly sticking to the vegetables and only occasionally taking a piece of egg.

There were only two dishes on the table: scrambled eggs with chives and stir-fried greens. Jacqueline Spann only ate the greens, as she wasn’t given any of the egg. But she wasn’t so docile. She was the one who fed the chickens, so only she knew how many eggs they laid. Every day, she would secretly hide one, roasting it in the stove’s firebox while cooking and eating it in secret. No one knew.

After her tirade, Phoenix Golding shot Vernon Spann a vicious glare for eating the eggs. She picked up the serving dish, portioned out half of the remainder for her son, Ulysses Spann, then dumped her rice onto the dish, mixed it with what was left, and began to eat. ’There haven’t been many celebrations lately, so Felix Thorne’s family has no fresh meat. I haven’t had meat in over half a month, and my stomach feels so empty. Eggs don’t really satisfy the craving, but I guess it’s better than nothing.’

Phoenix Golding wasn’t at all worried about whether Felix Thorne would still give her meat. She was extremely confident in herself. ’As long as Felix is butchering a pig, he’ll definitely save a piece of meat for me, just like always.’

Jacqueline Spann kept her head down, her brow furrowed slightly. Her appetite was gone. She picked at her food, a thoughtful expression on her face, her mind clearly elsewhere.

"Iron my new khaki jacket tonight. I’m wearing it tomorrow."

Having finished the food on her plate, Phoenix Golding set down her bowl and chopsticks and headed out. She was going to Sherman Golding’s house to pay a visit and show her deep concern, and while she was there, she’d also badmouth Phoebe Huxley. On that subject, she and Mandy York would certainly have a lot to talk about.

Jacqueline Spann mumbled an affirmative, her head bowed so no one could see the hatred in her eyes. Vernon Spann finished his meal and went out as well, leaving only the brother and sister at home. Ulysses Spann was a slow eater and was taking forever to finish. Frowning, Jacqueline suppressed her impatience and went into the other room to start ironing the jacket. If she didn’t get it done, Phoenix Golding would fly into a rage.

"Sis, I’m going out to play."

Children’s voices sounded from outside, calling for Ulysses Spann to come out and play. His mind was instantly on the fun to be had, and he lost all interest in eating. He dropped his chopsticks and slipped away, the rice in his bowl practically untouched. Jacqueline Spann came out and saw the eggs left in his bowl. A flicker of emotion crossed her face. She picked up the bowl and ate all the leftovers. The delicious flavor of the chive and egg scramble prompted her to get another helping of rice. Her stomach was full, but her sense of injustice grew even stronger.

’I have to get out of Millstone Peak. I’ll make a lot of money, enough to eat scrambled eggs with chives every day, and meat, too. And I’ll wear new clothes.’

’But I might not even be able to go to junior high. There’s nowhere for me to learn English, and I don’t have a single penny to my name. What am I supposed to do?’

Jacqueline Spann bit her lip. She decided to go to the Xavier family’s home again tomorrow to talk to Clayton Xavier. Ideally, she could get him to teach her how to identify medicinal herbs. That way, she could dig them up and sell them for money.

’To be honest, I don’t want to go to the Xavier’s at all. Verna Golding is dull and always gives me the cold shoulder. The one who truly frightens me is Old Mrs. Xavier. Though I’ve never dealt with her up close, she once looked down at me from the upper floor, and that piercing, profound gaze made my heart pound and a chill crawl up my spine. It makes me never want to set foot in their house again.’

’Clayton Xavier’s father, Storm Xavier, is actually very friendly to me, but Clayton and his father are distant. Besides, I look down on that man. He may be handsome and charming, but he’s not even as capable as my own father, Vernon Spann. Storm barely goes out to work all year long. At least my father can earn half a work-day’s credit; the paltry points Storm Xavier earns aren’t even enough to support himself.’

’But the thing that really repulses me about him is something else entirely. If it weren’t for Clayton Xavier’s sake, I wouldn’t even be willing to call him ’Uncle’.’