Fed by Tenderness - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I panicked.

I turned to run, but in my haste, I accidentally kicked a stone.

The stone flew right to the woman’s feet and even tapped the toe of her shoe.

Thankfully, she didn’t notice. She packed up the offerings and left.

Only after she had walked far away did I finally let out a breath.

I still wasn’t full, but one egg burger was enough to get me through the day.

Just like that, I carefully ate for seven days in a row.

Every time I ate from a grave, I made sure to remember the name of the person buried there.

The grandmother whose apples and bananas I stole on the first day was surnamed Zhang. The grandfather whose egg burger I stole on the second day was surnamed Chen.

I also ate Uncle Ding’s fresh meat pie, Aunt Zhao’s fried fish pieces, Grandpa Wang’s red crabapples, and Sister Sun’s big peaches.

All seven times, I was lucky. I never ran into the staff again. Sometimes when I arrived a little late, I still happened to catch the offerings before they were taken away.

When it came to eating offerings, the first time was unfamiliar, the second time easier, and by the third and fourth, I was practically an expert.

The more I ate, the lighter the guilt in my heart became, and the more readily my hand reached out.

I ate with care. I ate with gratitude. I ate with a heart full of reverence.

Until the eighth day, when Grandpa Chen’s grandson came again.

Last time, he’d brought Grandpa Chen grilled cold noodles, an egg burger, roasted pig’s trotters, crispy pork bites… This time, he brought a cake, a roast chicken, a whole pork hock, and a big bottle of liquor.

“Grandpa, today is your birthday. I bought you a cake, so make sure you eat plenty!”

I hid quietly on the other side. Only after the incense had burned out and he had left did I move closer.

I lowered my head and looked at the cake.

For as long as I could remember, no one had ever celebrated my birthday, and I had never eaten cake before.

The cake in front of me was topped with lots of fresh fruit. The mango smelled rich and sweet, the grapes were green and glistening, and there were bright red cherries too.

I swallowed my drool. I couldn’t hold back anymore and reached out to scoop up a piece.

Behind the tombstone, a wisp of smoke suddenly drifted up.

Under my terrified gaze, that smoke condensed into a translucent old man, who opened his mouth and shouted at me furiously:

“Eat, eat, eat! You come here stealing food every day! You’ll even eat things meant for the dead! Are you ever going to stop?!”

Chapter 4

My movements froze on the spot.

A mouthful of cake was stuck in my mouth. I couldn’t swallow it, but I couldn’t not swallow it either.

Oh my heavens!

Was I seeing a ghost?!

While I was still in a daze, I saw Grandma Zhang climb out of her grave too.

“Old Chen, what are you losing your temper for? You’ve already enjoyed the incense and the essence. So what if the little girl eats what’s left?”

Uncle Ding, dressed sharply in a suit and leather shoes, followed right after.

“Letting someone eat it is still better than waiting for someone to collect it and toss it all into the trash. Why are you being so stingy, old man?”

Grandpa Wang leaned on his cane, his face kindly.

“Oh, I know this little girl. After her parents divorced, neither of them wanted her. She lived with her grandmother in the countryside for a few years, and only after her grandmother passed away did her biological father and stepmother finally take her in, cursing and complaining the whole time.

“Her father drinks and plays cards all day and doesn’t care about her. Her stepmother deliberately starves her. At home, if she says even one extra word, her father beats her.

“She’s had a truly hard life.”

“…”

Grandpa Chen, who had just been scolding me, held it in for a long while before he couldn’t anymore.

“How was I supposed to know she had it so miserable… Damn it all, how can there still be parents like that in this world?!”

The ghosts talked back and forth for quite a while before finally noticing that I had been staring straight at them the entire time.

All the ghosts: “??”

“Wait. You can see us?”

Trembling, I swallowed the cake and nodded.

Then, still trembling, I ate another bite.

Sister Sun was speechless.

“You’re already this scared, and you can still keep eating?”

“Compared to you all, being hungry is still a little scarier…”

Grandpa Chen suddenly roared:

“If you want to eat, then eat! It’s not like I’ll miss one meal!”

“That’s right. Little sister, eat slowly. Don’t choke.”

I nodded silently, lowered my head, and ate in big mouthfuls.

Only, the feeling of my throat being blocked was a little uncomfortable, and my vision grew blurrier and blurrier. As I stuffed cake into my mouth, I wiped my eyes.

Grandma Zhang let out an “Oh dear.”

“Everything was just fine. Why are you crying now?”

“I’m not crying…”

It was just that the wind in the cemetery was strong, and it had blown dust into my eyes.

I definitely wasn’t being stubborn.