During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

"Ox cart!"

Li Chunyan's eyes widened.

Hiring an oxcart back to the village would cost at least several dozen copper coins per trip.

Good heavens, what kind of treatment is this?!

Even the village head's wife wouldn't be willing to spend so much money when going out!

The oxcart was loaded with grain and pork, and the family sat down around it.

Little Huanhuan hugged the bright red cloth with one hand and held a candied hawthorn with the other, licking it every now and then, and happily dangling her little legs in her mother's arms.

The adults chatted and laughed on the swaying oxcart for almost an hour and a half before finally arriving at Kaoshantun.

Ye Youliang stood at his doorstep, leaning on his cane, his eyes almost straining to see before he finally spotted an oxcart slowly making its way towards his house.

When the children saw him, they jumped off the oxcart and surrounded him, chattering away.

"Dad, we're back!"

"Dad! Second Sister bought a lot of grain, and meat too! Look..."

"Dad, why are you standing here in this freezing weather? Be careful not to catch a cold!"

……

Little Huanhuan, holding a new piece of cloth in one hand and a candied hawthorn in the other, happily jumped and danced in front of him.

"Grandpa! Grandpa, look! My aunt bought me new clothes and candied hawthorns!"

She didn't finish the candied hawthorns along the way; she wanted to save them to show off to her friends!

Upon seeing her grandfather, she would stand on tiptoe and strain to feed him the candied hawthorn into his mouth.

"Grandpa, have a bite! Grandpa, have a bite! The candied hawthorn is so sweet!"

"Grandpa eats, Grandpa eats..."

Ye Youliang pretended to take a bite out of the candied hawthorn.

"Huanhuan's candied hawthorns are so sweet! Let's hurry back inside and warm up on the kang (heated brick bed)!"

Looking at the children's smiling faces, he felt a momentary daze, as if he were dreaming.

Ever since Er Yatou jumped into the river and came back, she seems like a completely different person. In just a few days, she has brought the lifeless family back to life.

"Chunyan, Cuicui, you two quickly help your father back inside to warm up, so he doesn't get cold."

Ye Dali urged, "Let me unload the things from the car..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ye Dazhuang had already hoisted fifty pounds of rice and headed into the yard.

Ye Qingqing counted out forty copper coins from her purse and gave them to the driver. Seeing Ye Dazhuang return to carry more things, she quickly picked up two jars of wine and handed them to him.

"Brother Dazhuang, please take this inside for my dad."

Ye Dazhuang glanced at her with his deep eyes, took the item, and walked away silently.

He was injured, how could he carry such a heavy thing?

Ye Qingqing chuckled to herself.

With such meticulous care, once this "benefactor" regains consciousness, will she have even more affection for him?

Is it okay to take that as a thank-you gift later...?

Haha, I've made a killing!

"You bought so much food?"

Seeing Ye Dali carry in large quantities of rice and flour, and then slam half a pork onto the cutting board, Ye Youliang gasped, his eyes widening in astonishment.

"Dad, it's getting colder and colder, and the clerk at the grain shop says the price of grain is going to go up!"

Li Chunyan had just finished drinking a swig of water, and fearing her father would be unhappy, she quickly smiled and said...

"Er Yatou discussed it with us and bought a little more."

Although Er Yatou spends money lavishly, she buys grain and meat for the family to eat, not for herself.

Besides, Er Yatou was always thinking about her eldest brother's money for buying a son, and she only had four or five taels left, so she took out half of it!

As her sister-in-law, shouldn't she speak up for her and say good things?

Ye Cuicui also pulled out a handful of copper coins from her pocket, her whole little face beaming with joy.

"Dad, my second sister gave me a handful of copper coins! Look, so many!"

It's no exaggeration to say that this is the first time in her more than ten years of life that she has had so much money!

"Father, if Second Sister is willing to arrange the purchase, let her buy it."

Ye Dazhuang wiped away his sweat, smiled憨厚ly, and said, "I also bought new cloth and cotton for Huanhuan to make a winter coat!"

Ye Youliang, "..."

He casually asked, "Why is the whole family siding with the second daughter?"

In the past, only he and his wife were so biased towards Er Yatou!

"Alright, alright, Dad was just asking casually. If Second Girl is happy, then we'll buy it!"

Ye Youliang felt incredibly relieved and said with a smile, "She brought back both the wolf and the silly roe deer, and Father didn't ask... didn't ask!"

"father."

Ye Qingqing took out some wound medicine from her bosom and placed it on the kang (heated brick bed). "Here, this is for you."

"What?"

Ye Youliang picked up the gourd-shaped porcelain bottle, squinted at it, and immediately became anxious. "Golden Wound Medicine! Good heavens, this stuff is ridiculously expensive! Why did you buy this instead of something else?!"

I have some medicated oil; please let it go away quickly!

Ye Qingqing raised her eyebrows and glared, "I've already bought it, how can I return it? Do you expect me to walk twenty miles to the pharmacy again?"

Your medicated oil smells too strong, don't use it anymore, I can't stand the smell!

Behind him, Ye Dazhuang, standing in the shadows, curled his lips and unconsciously tightened his grip on the medicine bottle in his hand.

During their brief time together, he felt that Ye Qingqing was a girl with a bit of a fierce personality.

Yet beneath that fierce nature, there seems to be a touch of softness.

"That's way too expensive, Second Sister!"

Ye Youliang felt bad about wasting money, but was also afraid of upsetting her, so he could only grumble and say, "Why did you waste this money... You're not allowed to buy it again."

"I know! I've spent almost all the money. Even if you want to buy something, you'll have to wait until after the hunt."

Ye Qingqing smiled and brought over a jar of old wine, handing it to her father.

"Oh, right, Dad, I passed by a winery today and bought you a jar."

We bought rice, noodles, and meat. Tonight, I'll ask my sister-in-law to stew some pickled cabbage and pork, and stir-fry a couple of other dishes. How about my brother and I have a drink with you?"

"Hey, have a drink!"

Ye Youliang didn't know if he had gotten sauerkraut in his eyelids, but his eyelids kept feeling sore and he felt like crying.

His daughter, whom he had raised with great care for fifteen years, was now united with her family, and their lives were visibly improving!

"Dad, I'm going back to my room to pack my things."

Li Chunyan, clutching a quilt cover and carrying a heavy ten-pound bale of cotton, beamed with joy, her eyes sparkling with happiness as she repeatedly exclaimed...

"I'll go make some meat with Dali in a bit, and then I'll start stewing the sauerkraut!"

Sauerkraut and pork needs to be stewed for a while longer to really bring out its flavor!

Ye Youliang waved his hand, "Go ahead... Oh, Dali, get two jin of the fattest ones, and a few more jin of rice and noodles to take to your Uncle Shuanzi."

Tell them to stop lighting the fire and come over to my house for a drink tonight.

Ye Dali nodded, "Understood, Dad!"

As soon as it got dark, wisps of smoke began to rise from the chimneys on the rooftops.

The aroma of sauerkraut stewed with pork filled the entire courtyard, mingling with the rich fragrance of rice and the wheat aroma of steamed buns. The scent drifted down the street on the wind, making the villagers' mouths water.