I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

Day two.

It was almost noon and the Zhao family still hadn't arrived. Zhao Ningning even started to think that she was making malicious assumptions about others.

The weather was hottest at noon, and there were the most customers coming and going. Zhao Ningning was so busy that she didn't have time to think about this matter at all.

After a busy period, and with the students leaving the county school for lunch, Zhao Ningning's stall could finally catch its breath for a moment.

Ning's mother wiped the sweat from her forehead with a clean towel and reached out to fan the two children with a palm-leaf fan.

Another customer arrived, and Zhao Ningning was about to get up when her mother pressed her down.

"Take a rest," Ning's mother said, handing her a fan. Zhao Ningning took it and sat on the stool, fanning herself with her brother.

The customer handed over the money and stood in front of the stall exchanging pleasantries: "The weather is getting hotter and hotter, it's really weird."

"Yes, I watered the fields this morning, and the ground cracked as soon as I left." As Ning's mother spoke, her hands kept moving. She scooped up several spoonfuls of ice jelly, quickly added the toppings one by one, poured on the syrup, and handed it to the customer.

The customer smiled, carried the trembling bowl of ice jelly to a small square table next to the stall, sat down, and ate slowly and deliberately, praising as he ate: "Your ice jelly is still the best."

Cool and silky smooth, one bite instantly dispels the summer heat and dryness, leaving you feeling incredibly comfortable.

"Speaking of which, a place selling 'ice jelly' also appeared in our county the day before yesterday," a customer said. "My son was tempted by the one-cent discount and tried it, but he came back cursing the shop owner for being a scoundrel."

Zhao Ningning asked curiously, "Big brother, how does that company do it?"

"I don't know, I only know that the ice jelly they make..." The diner stopped halfway through his sentence, slurped down the remaining half of the jelly in his bowl, and then said, "I only know that it's milky white and tastes sticky like snot."

—Like snot?

Zhao Ningning pondered, the raw material used shouldn't be ice jelly seeds, she wondered what it was made of.

It's normal to have competitors, and it's also normal for imitators to appear. It's just that the competitors haven't figured out the secrets of ice jelly yet, so they can only learn the form.

Zhao Ningning smiled at the customer, then got up to collect the empty bowl and wash it.

The stalls don't do much business when the temperature hasn't risen in the morning, and customers are reluctant to go out when it's extremely hot.

Ning's mother felt sorry for her two children, who were so young and had to suffer. Since the family ran a business, she would often take advantage of the midday heat when business was slow to buy some food for the children from nearby stalls to help them recover.

Ning's mother untied her apron and draped it over the basket, instructing her two children, "You two stay here and watch over things, I'm going to buy some food."

"I want to eat steamed buns!" Zhao Ningning raised her hand, and her mother nodded in agreement.

No sooner had she left than the Zhao family appeared.

Leading the group was Granny Qian, followed by Madam Sun. Madam Wu, the third daughter-in-law, refused to come because of the heat, and the rest were her two sons.

Zhao Ningning became wary. Before she could speak, Granny Qian spoke first:

"Yo!"

"Wu Ya, this is quite a large operation."

Since Ning's mother wasn't there, Zhao Ningning didn't want to talk to them and cautiously put the lid of the condiment container back on.

Zhao Qi got up and blocked the small table with his body. Under the cover of his clothes, he used his legs to subtly push the wooden bucket inward.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Where's your mother?" Granny Qian fanned herself with her hand. The weather was unbearable; the midday sun had almost dried them out on their way here.

Fortunately, he didn't suffer from heatstroke. When he entered the city, Zhao Laosan wanted to spend two coins to buy a bowl of mung bean soup, but Granny Qian refused, saying it was a waste of money and that he should drink something from Zhao Laoer's stall later.

"What are you doing here?" Zhao Ningning said. "Didn't we separate the family?"

"Even if we're separating from the family, we're still family, bound by blood and flesh." Granny Qian smiled, her face crinkling with wrinkles. "Didn't we hear you three weren't managing, so we came to help today?"

"We don't need your help!" Zhao Qi stood protectively in front of his sister. "When my father injured his leg, you ignored him completely, and even kidnapped my sister to sell her while the adults weren't around. After the family property was divided, seeing that we were doing well, you finally come here like a weasel paying respects to a chicken!"

"You! You!" Although Granny Qian wasn't very literate, she still knew common rural slang. The third boy was openly accusing her of having ill intentions!

Seeing that something was wrong, Cao Niangzi, who ran a pancake stall nearby, quietly went out, told the stall owner across the street that she was on good terms with, and hurriedly ran into the street.

There were hardly any customers on the street to begin with, but passersby stopped when they heard the commotion, and as more and more people gathered, they eventually surrounded the stall.

Granny Qian was secretly delighted. It was good to have more people; with more people, they could take the opportunity to "make a scene."

"She's your own grandmother, she just wanted to help your family out! You have no conscience at all!" Sun Shi held onto Granny Qian's arm, and the two stood together, finding each other's support. Seeing that neither Sanxiaozi nor Wuya spoke, Sun Shi became bolder.

Old Zhao chimed in, "That's right, she's your grandmother! How can you talk to an elder like that!"

"Yes! You two are unfilial!" Granny Qian seized on this point and turned to the crowd of onlookers, crying out.

This family is like an unkillable cockroach; they usually live in the shadows of the sewers, but they occasionally come out to disgust people.

They had discussed the possibility of the Zhao family causing trouble last night, so Zhao Ningning wasn't flustered at all. She took her brother's hand and pulled him back, while she stood in front.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Zhao Ningning, though small, had a loud voice. After drawing everyone's attention, she pulled out a few pieces of paper from her pocket.

"We've been separated for over half a month now. Not only have we separated, but we also signed a document severing ties!" Zhao Ningning said. "Who are you trying to pressure with filial piety?!"

"Even if we split up the family, it won't change the fact that you're a member of the Zhao family!" said the eldest son of the Zhao family.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, how could a single document sever ties between relatives? Filial piety was of paramount importance. No matter what the other party did, as long as one invoked "filial piety," one would gain a three-tenths advantage.

"Oh?" Zhao Ningning said, "So this dissolution of kinship document was signed in vain?"

"When the family property was divided, you had over forty acres of land, but we only got two acres and a dilapidated house. Now that we've finally managed to earn a living with our own hands, you're thinking of coming here to pick our fruit?"

Standing on a stool behind the stall, Zhao Ningning raised her voice: "Listen up, everyone!"

"These people!" Zhao Ningning pointed at Granny Qian and her group. "The eldest son's family wants to get a wife for their son but doesn't have the money, so they're thinking of selling the second son's child to a mentally challenged man as a child bride! What do you think of this approach?!"

"This..." The onlookers whispered among themselves, "It's not uncommon for poor families to sell their daughters, but to sell someone's second wife's daughter to get a wife for their own child... that doesn't quite make sense..."

"That's right, besides, we have forty acres of land! We certainly won't be at the point where we can't afford to eat."

"Look at them," Zhao Ningning said. "They're adorned with gold and silver, dressed in the finest clothes. They don't look poor at all. I was arrested the first time, and then tied up the second time; I almost got sold!"

"My father broke his leg, and you would rather eat fish and meat every day than treat my father's leg. Now that our family has finally figured out a food business to earn a few coins to treat my father's leg, you are interfering with it."

Zhao Ningning's powerful voice pierced through the crowd, and the way everyone looked at Granny Qian immediately changed.

They sold grain a while ago, so the family is now financially secure. They also bought a lot of cloth to make clothes, and Granny Qian even bought herself a pair of gold earrings.

Today, in order to appear presentable in the county town, Granny Qian inserted the silver hairpin from her dowry into the small bun on top of her head and wore her own small gold flower earrings.

Meanwhile, Zhao Ningning and her brother were either setting up a stall or busy doing chores at home. The children's clothes were worn out quickly, having already been washed several times and patched a few times.

They had been lacking food and clothing for many years before, and when they first arrived, they were almost skin and bones. Even though Ning's mother went back to give them extra meals every day, they only gained a little weight.

In contrast, the women who worked as money exchangers were all burly and strong.

No matter how you look at it, Zhao Ningning is the one who deserves pity.

"The stall owner is right..."

"She looks like the kind of mean grandmother who loves to torment people..."

Granny Qian pointed at Wu Ya's nose: "You! What nonsense are you spouting? When have we ever had such a feast!"

When Zhao Lao Er broke his leg, his family only had a dozen or so taels of silver left. Where would they get any extra money for his medical treatment?!

During that time, the family was eating coarse food every day. When they got sick with this kind of illness that wasn't life-threatening, all I can say is that Zhao Lao Er deserved it!

"How could I be making this up?" Zhao Ningning said, feeling wronged. "Your precious grandson even took three taels of silver and gave it away to someone else for nothing."

"She'd rather sell her granddaughter than not get a wife for her eldest grandson. No wonder the village head made her sign a divorce decree." Zhao Ningning finished speaking, wiping her face with her small hands, and said in a tearful voice, "My dad broke his leg, and he's selling me, but it's to pay for his medical treatment!"

"You! Shut up!" Granny Qian stepped forward and overturned the small table.

The small spice jars on the table were broken and scattered all over the floor, their contents mixed together and getting covered in dust.

Zhao Ningning was heartbroken. She had bought the exact amount of toppings for the ice jelly seeds, and if this was spilled, she wouldn't be able to add any toppings for twenty or thirty bowls of ice jelly!

"How could you spread rumors about your elders!" Granny Qian overturned the table and, seeing that there was no longer any obstruction in front of Wu Ya, reached out to grab her arm.

"Come on! Come back with me. What are you two kids doing here while the adults are away!"

Zhao Ningning was prepared when Granny Qian overturned the stall. She jumped off the stool and nimbly dodged her hand.

Granny Qian grabbed at nothing.

"Go back with you? Where to? Didn't we separate from the family and sever ties?" Zhao Ningning stood behind, separated by shards of porcelain, and said with a sudden realization, "You want to capture us and take us back to get our food recipes?!"

"I... how could I do this!" Granny Qian was caught off guard and stammered as she spoke guiltily.

Zhao Ningning: "That's good."

Before Granny Qian could relax, Zhao Ningning said, "I know! You want to take us back, lock us up, and force my parents to hand over the food recipes!"

"Back in the village, the second time you kidnapped me while I was up the mountain, the village head gave you a severe beating, so you didn't dare cause trouble for our family in the village anymore," Zhao Ningning said with a smile. "That's why you came here."

"What are you laughing at!" Sun bared her teeth, clearly having been reminded of unpleasant memories by Zhao Ningning's words.

That night, the village head's family didn't allow children to be present. At first, Zhao Ningning didn't know exactly what had happened inside. It wasn't until her uncle accidentally let it slip that she learned that the village head had ordered the village women to beat Granny Qian and Granny Sun thirty times with a wooden ruler.

I heard that when they went out, their hands were so swollen that they hid in the house and dared not see anyone. It took a week for the swelling to go down.

A family in the village had abducted and sold their granddaughter, which affected the reputation of Wangli Village. The first time, the village head could turn a blind eye and let Old Man Zhao handle the family affairs himself.

But the two old women were still up to no good and wanted to cause trouble a second time in the village. If Zhao Ningning hadn't been quick-witted and knew to bury her head in her knees and remove the gag to call for help, she probably would have been sold by the two women.

This must not happen a third time, so the village head gave the Zhao family a stern warning.

This is why, after hearing the news last night that the second wife's family was doing business in the county town, Granny Qian was willing to brave the scorching sun to come to the county town to cause trouble.

Everyone in the village knew what she had done, and they couldn't use filial piety to pressure her. But the county town was different. The second wife's family was isolated and helpless there, and no one knew about their family's affairs...

As long as Granny Qian pressed her for answers, Zhou would have no choice but to hand over the prescription under pressure.

Unfortunately, Zhao Ningning exposed everything that happened in Wangli Village.

"You brat, you spew filth from your mouth and talk nonsense!" Granny Qian pushed the table leg aside and went straight to grab Zhao Ningning.

"Don't grab her!" Zhao Qi leaped to protect Ningning. In the blink of an eye, Granny Qian pushed Zhao Qi away with such force that he fell directly onto the cart next to her.

Granny Qian reached out her other hand, firmly grasped Zhao Ningning's wrist, and with a tug, easily lifted the girl over.

"You brat, I can't bear to hit you at home, yet you dare to spread rumors in front of so many people!" Granny Qian grabbed Zhao Ningning, feeling confident that she had seized control of the second branch of the family, and was extremely pleased with herself.

"Let me go! We're no longer related! You're not my grandma!" Zhao Ningning struggled, but her eight-year-old body could only make Granny Qian's pulling on her slow, deliberate movements pause for a moment.

"Come on! Come home with me!"

—What to do?!

Zhao Ningning anxiously looked out of the crowd, but her small stature only allowed her to see the passersby who had been watching the commotion making way for Granny Qian.

"Ningning!" Zhao Qi got up from the ground and hugged Zhao Ningning, trying to use his weight to support Granny Qian.

Seeing the three boys blocking her way, Sun decided to go all out and stepped forward, reaching out with both hands to pull them down.

With no one to stop her, Granny Qian simply pinned Zhao Ningning's hands behind her back, looking as smug as a fighting rooster. "Eldest brother, third brother, pack up the stall, let's go home!"

Granny Qian gave the stubborn Wu Ya a push and muttered, "You unlucky girl, you've wasted my breath. If only you had listened to me earlier..."

"Stop! Let go of Ningning!"

Hearing Ning's mother's voice, Zhao Ningning finally felt relieved.