Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

The village head's wife and several neighbors gathered together, still talking about Tang Susu hiring a tutor.

Someone sighed and said, "In our Yangqu Village, we're lucky if we can even fill our stomachs, who has the mind to think about studying?"

The village head's wife chimed in, "I think my third sister-in-law is just sulking with her family in Xihe Village. Once she calms down, she'll stop causing trouble."

Everyone felt that studying was useless in this remote and impoverished area, and that Tang Susu's interest was just a passing fancy.

As night fell, Yangqu Village fell into tranquility, except for the sound of reading aloud coming from inside the Tang family's house.

Tang Susu sat in the middle, surrounded by Tang Lifu, Tang Liqiang, Miao Yulan, and Yang Xiaobao, who recited the Three Character Classic line by line with her.

"At birth, human nature is inherently good..."

Tang Susu was strict; she not only required everyone to memorize the characters but also to recognize each one, and even had them practice writing them on the ground with small twigs.

Yang Xiaobao was young, but he was very enthusiastic about learning and read along with him very attentively.

Tang Lifu and Tang Liqiang, however, looked worried and couldn't remember the crooked words on the ground. They were so anxious that they scratched their heads and cheeks.

Miao Yulan is thoughtful and patient. She learned quickly from Tang Susu and soon she could recognize several characters.

As the clear sound of reading aloud filled the air, the tranquil night slowly came to an end.

In the middle of the night, Tang Susu was fast asleep when she was suddenly awakened by the noise of chickens and ducks coming from the yard.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly threw on her coat and got up. As soon as she pushed open the door, she heard her neighbor, Aunt Liu, cursing: "You damned weasel! How dare you bite my ducklings! I'll skin you alive!"

Tang Susu walked quickly into the yard and saw Aunt Liu standing with her hands on her hips, cursing and swearing towards the village entrance.

When Aunt Liu saw her come out, she quickly said, "Su Su, you should check your chickens and ducks too! A weasel came and bit two of my ducklings. I told Xiao Yu'er not to chase it, because it's too dark to catch it."

Tang Susu's heart sank, and she quickly went to take stock of her chickens and ducks.

Counting them, two ducklings were bitten to death, their bodies lying on the ground, and a chick was missing, obviously also taken away by a weasel.

Yang Xiaobao was also woken up. When he saw the dead ducklings, his eyes instantly reddened. He silently squatted down and carried the ducklings' bodies to a secluded spot outside the village to bury them.

He took care of these chickens and ducks himself and developed a deep affection for them.

Tang Liqiang gritted his teeth in anger, clenching his fists, and said, "I'll sleep in the yard tonight and keep watch! If I run into that weasel again, I'll catch it and stew it for dinner!"

Aunt Liu shook her head: "It's no use. Weasels run too fast; you can't guard them by yourself. I think you should get a dog. Dogs can guard the house, and weasels are terrified of dogs."

Tang Susu thought this made sense and quickly asked, "Little Fish's Mom, do you know where I can buy paparazzi?"

"Maybe they have some back home," Aunt Liu said. "I'll go back to my parents' house tomorrow and ask. I'll let you know if I find out."

Even after asking Aunt Liu for help, Tang Susu still kept this matter in mind.

The next day, when she was delivering the goods, she made a point of looking around the street for anyone selling paparazzi, but after circling around, she couldn't find anything.

These past few days, Tang Susu has earned three or four taels of silver from delivering cold noodles. She gradually has a new plan in mind: when the weather turns cold and the cold noodle business slows down, she will use this money to buy that piece of wasteland outside the village, dig a pond to store water, and plant lotus roots next spring, which will bring in another source of income.

After delivering the goods, Tang Susu bought some daily necessities and various needles and threads. Just as she was about to have Yang Defu drive home, she suddenly heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats behind her.

Manager Yu of Fumantang in Qianjiang Town drove up in his carriage and called out from afar, "Miss Tang, wait a moment!"

Tang Susu stopped and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Manager Yu got out of the carriage, panting, and said, "Miss Tang, I've come to order some cold noodles from you."

He explained that his son, who was studying at Chongwentang, had mentioned her cold noodles. At first, he didn't pay attention, but later he discovered that Zuiyuefang had attracted many of his old customers who used to go to Kemanlou because of its cold noodles. That's when he hurriedly inquired around and found her.

"How much does Manager Yu want?" Tang Susu asked.

"My Fu Man Tang restaurant may not be as famous as Zui Yue Fang, but selling a hundred bowls a day shouldn't be a problem," said Manager Yu. "I'd like to order a hundred servings of cold noodles from you every day, at two copper coins per serving. What do you think?"

Tang Susu nodded in agreement: "No problem, I'll have someone deliver the jelly to Fumantang tomorrow."

Manager Yu was very straightforward and immediately took out thirty copper coins and handed them over: "This is the deposit. Please make sure Miss Tang delivers it on time."

Tang Susu accepted the deposit, secretly relieved: luckily she had hired Yang Fuqiang and Yang Fugui to rub the seeds and let Shen peel them in advance; if she had only relied on her own family, she wouldn't have been able to manage at all.

Now that the business has expanded, it can handle things with ease.

On the way back to Yangqu Village, as soon as we entered the courtyard, a fluffy little yellow dog suddenly darted out, pounced on Tang Susu's legs, rubbed against her calves, and kept wagging its tail cutely.

Yang Xiaobao ran over excitedly, hugged the little yellow dog, and said, "Mom! This is a puppy that Aunt Liu brought over! I named it Yang Xiaohuang!"

Tang Liqiang leaned closer, sized up the puppy, and said, "Calling it Yang Xiaohuang is too delicate. How about Yang Dahuang? That sounds much more imposing!"

Yang Xiaobao thought it made sense and immediately changed his mind: "Then let's call him Yang Dahuang!"

Tang Susu watched this scene, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

The family's hens are named Da Hua and Er Hua, and the rooster is named Zhuang Zhuang. None of them have been given surnames, but this little dog is special enough to have the surname "Yang" added to it.

She picked up Yang Dahuang and found that the puppy was only a little over a month old, very thin, and its fur was messy. She felt sorry for it and immediately decided: "From now on, we will feed Dahuang whatever we eat at home, and raise it to be strong and healthy."

Tang Susu asked Yang Xiaobao to take two eggs and follow her to Aunt Liu's house, intending to use the eggs as payment for the paparazzi.

When we arrived at Aunt Liu's house, we saw her making lunch in the kitchen. There was water boiling in a pot, cooking a dark, mushy porridge. Then she poured in a large bowl of chopped wild vegetables, stirred it all together, and that was lunch—without a single drop of salt.

Aunt Liu's husband, Liu Yingcai, went with the county magistrate to find a water source, leaving her and her four children at home: Yumi, Maisui, Xiaoyuer, and Sumi.

Tang Susu stuffed the eggs into Aunt Liu's hand and asked about the price of the paparazzi.

Aunt Liu quickly pushed the eggs back, waving her hand and saying, "Sister Su, take these eggs back! I found this dog when I went back to my parents' home. The old man at the village entrance was about to throw it up the mountain. I felt sorry for it and brought it back. It was free, so I can't take your money."

As she spoke, she urged Tang Susu to go home.

Tang Susu was unable to deliver the eggs and could only leave with a sigh.

She sincerely admired Aunt Liu, who, despite her poverty, never coveted anything from others and possessed an unyielding spirit.

After Tang Susu left, Aunt Liu carefully placed the eggs on the table and warned the four children, "This puppy hasn't had any milk since it was born, and the dog owner said it won't live for more than a few days. If I take Susu's eggs and the puppy dies, given her 'unruly' nature, she might cause trouble, and we can't afford to offend her."

When they got home, Miao Yulan had already prepared lunch, cooking fragrant white rice porridge, and even specially served Yang Dahuang a bowl of thin porridge, which she placed on the ground.

Yang Dahuang probably had never eaten anything so good before. He went over and slurped it all down. After finishing, he clung to Miao Yulan, wagging his tail and whining for more food.

Miao Yulan gently stroked its head and said softly, "Your stomach is delicate, you can't eat too much, or you'll feel uncomfortable. I'll give you an extra meal tonight."

Yang Dahuang seemed to understand her words, whimpered twice, and obediently walked to the big tree in the yard, curled up in the shade, and closed his eyes to rest.

Tang Susu noticed that Yang Dahuang's mental state was still very poor, and it looked listless. She was worried that it really wouldn't live long, just like Aunt Liu had said.

While her family wasn't looking, she quietly went back into the house, got some pet-specific glucose solution and antibiotics from the trading platform, found a small bowl, mixed the two things evenly, and brought it to Yang Dahuang.

Yang Dahuang sniffed the mixture in the bowl, probably thought it tasted pretty good, and couldn't wait to lower his head and drink the liquid in the bowl clean.

Not long after it finished drinking, it was like a completely different dog, instantly full of energy. It stopped clinging to Miao Yulan and ran to Tang Susu, hugging her leg and refusing to let go.

The midday sun is scorching and dazzling, the hottest time of the day, but also the most pleasant time to relax in Yangqu Village.

The Tang family members, having eaten and drunk their fill and feeling full of energy, put down their work and sat under the shade of the trees in the courtyard, chatting casually about everyday matters.