The youngest daughter's full moon banquet was about to begin, and Old Man Yun had to return early to make arrangements.
When the father and son returned to Dashui Village, Yun Wangcai's family had already left.
It was said that Lu Jinping had been beaten terribly.
Her eyes were swollen, her front teeth were loose, and her nose was flattened.
Yun Wangcai was also bitten by Xue Ling.
Oh, the scene was simply unbearable to look at!
Little Xi Tian's full moon banquet concluded in a joyful and lively atmosphere.
That evening, Old Man Yun gathered the family for a meeting.
"It's already autumn, and we've just settled in. We haven't planted any crops, so this winter will likely be difficult to get through!"
Old Man Yun sighed and tapped his pipe.
Yun Daman listened and said with a smile, "Dad, don't we still have some silver?"
"What, you want to eat through our savings?" Old Man Yun shot him a glance.
Zhao Guihua held Little Xi Tian and patted her gently, "It's alright if we suffer a bit, but we absolutely cannot let Tian Bao go hungry."
Little Xi Tian curved her lips and giggled.
Big sister-in-law is so good.
"Dad, tomorrow I'll go into the mountains with Big Brother to see if we can hunt some game!" Yun Erman said.
"Mm!" Old Man Yun nodded. "That's fine, but don't go near that lake. The village chief told me today that it's very strange there."
Yun Daman was confused. "Why?"
"Yes! It looks like there are a lot of fish in that lake. Why don't the villagers go fishing there?" Yun Erman asked.
Old Man Yun sighed. "It's said that there are many tu long (alligators) by the lake, and quite a few men from the village have perished there."
Little Xi Tian raised her eyebrows.
Alligators?
That's a bit strange.
"I heard there are many wolves in the mountains, so be careful when you go up the mountain," Old Man Yun cautioned.
"Understood, Dad!"
Gu Shi took out the three taels of silver from selling the monkeys. "When managing a household, one's pocket cannot be empty."
She gave Daman and Erman five hundred coins each, and a hundred coins to each of her two daughters-in-law.
Even Jinshan and Jinhe received thirty copper coins.
Liu Cuirong jingled the copper coins in her hand, displeased. "Mother, you're too stingy. What can these few coins buy?"
It wasn't even enough for her to buy a hairpin.
"Don't give it to me!" Yun Erman reached out to snatch it. "Fifty coins can buy two bags of corn kernels!"
Corn kernels boiled into coarse grain porridge, served with stinky tofu or fermented bean curd, was a delicacy.
The downside was that coarse grain porridge wasn't very filling.
"I'm not giving it to you! Hmph!"
Liu Cuirong put away the copper coins and pinched Little Xi Tian's tender little face. "Sweetie, second sister will buy you candy tomorrow!"
Little Xi Tian flashed a brilliant smile.
Thank you, second sister-in-law.
Getting along with her, she felt that this second sister-in-law also had her merits.
Although she was sharp-tongued, selfish, lazy, liked to stir up trouble, and caused headaches for the family.
She also always bullied her big sister-in-law and was as cunning as a fox.
The rest... were merits.
"Dad, Mom, I have something to say!" Yun Daman glanced at Liu Cuirong and slowly began.
"What is it?" Old Man Yun took a sip of tea and wiped his mouth.
Yun Daman pondered for a moment and murmured, "I ran into your mother, Second Sister-in-law, when I went into town yesterday."
"What?" Liu Cuirong's eyes widened, and she stood up with a 'swish'. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Where is my mother?"
When they fled from famine, the Yun family had left in a hurry and couldn't attend to her mother's side.
Liu Cuirong had planned to go back to find her relatives after settling down, but unexpectedly, her old mother had come looking for her.
"And your sister Cuijin, I met her in the county town," Yun Daman said truthfully.
He knew this matter couldn't be kept secret.
It was better to say it sooner than later, and it would also save Liu Cuirong from gossiping.
"Big Brother, why didn't you bring my mother and Cuijin back? Are you even human?" Liu Cuirong roared.
"You... you're the one who's not human!" Yun Daman retorted guiltily.
Liu Cuirong was very agitated, putting her hands on her hips and cursing, "It wasn't easy for my mother to raise me and Cuijin. If anything happens to her, I'm not done with you."
She would definitely strangle him.
"Alright, alright, what are you arguing about?"
Old Man Yun frowned and looked at Liu Cuirong. "Your mother doesn't want you as her daughter anymore, so why are you making such a fuss?"
Back in Feiyan Village, Lu Shi had frequently asked Liu Cuirong for money.
First, she wanted a few copper coins, then half a tael of silver, and finally one or two taels.
Her appetite grew larger and larger.
How could Liu Cuirong have so much silver to help her?
The mother and daughter had a big fight, and Lu Shi was enraged, calling Liu Cuirong a jinx and unfilial.
Later, they simply cut ties and she no longer recognized her as her daughter.
"But... she's still my mother, I can't abandon her!" Liu Cuirong lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
Old Man Yun snorted and went back into the house to sleep.
Gu Shi sighed slightly. "If anyone goes into town tomorrow, and they happen to meet them, give them some silver!"
This was all she could do to help.
As for bringing them to live in the Yun family, it was absolutely out of the question.
Yun Erman put his arm around his wife's shoulders and comforted her, "Mother must be fine, don't worry!"
He rarely treated his wife with such tenderness.
Liu Cuirong felt a warmth in her heart and decided that she must give him a daughter.
Little Xi Tian took a bite of the affection, reached out her little hand, and grabbed Gu Shi's collar. "Ah ah!"
She wanted to sleep!
Tomorrow, Big Brother and Second Brother were going into the mountains to hunt game, so she had to get enough energy to bring things out from the space.
The next morning.
After breakfast, the whole family went about their own tasks.
Old Man Yun took his two grandsons to the fields. Yesterday, the village chief had given his family quite a few seeds.
There were radishes and cabbage. If they planted them now, they could still harvest a crop before the first snow.
Zhao Guihua sat on the kang with Gu Shi, making cotton-padded jackets, pants, and shoes for the whole family.
The quilt covers and mattresses also needed to be changed. Fortunately, there was enough fabric, but the cotton was a bit scarce.
The village chief's wife, Liang Yueshui, and Aunt Zhang also came to help.
Their needlework was good, and they chatted about everyday matters while working.
Little Xi Tian lay on the kang, drowsy, her little face flushed, her consciousness already drifting to the space base.
The back mountain of Dashui Village.
"Big Brother, there's nothing in this mountain, is there? I haven't even seen any monkey head mushrooms or wood ear mushrooms."
Yun Erman, carrying a sack, was somewhat disappointed with this mountain forest.
Yun Daman wiped the sweat from his brow and looked ahead. "Let's keep looking!"
If this place were full of treasures, Dashui Village wouldn't be so poor, would it?
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, feeling cool.
Not far ahead, there was a 'swishing' sound.
The two brothers exchanged glances and walked quickly towards it.
They saw a clearing covered with dense hazelnut trees.
Full hazelnuts grew on the branches, shining crystal clear, and a thick layer was scattered on the ground.
Hazelnuts are a type of dried fruit, smaller than chestnuts, with hard shells.
After cracking them open, the kernels were fragrant and crispy, with an excellent taste.
The hazelnut trees were not tall, only reaching waist height.
After cutting them down, they could be bundled and carried back to be used as firewood.
"Oh my, why are there so many hazelnuts here!" Yun Daman was dumbfounded.
Yun Erman smiled knowingly. "Big Brother, don't just stand there, let's pick hazelnuts!"
He knew clearly in his heart that these hazelnuts and hazel firewood were sent by his sister.