Two days later, at the entrance of Peach Blossom Village in the neighboring town.

Su's mother, carrying a pile of things, thanked them, saying, "Thank you so much, Uncle."

The old man driving the cattle waved his hand and said, "Go on, your parents have been talking about you for the past few years."

Once the oxcart was gone, Su's mother picked up the things on the ground and said, "Let's go, it's just ahead."

The three of them walked for two days, and since they couldn't bear to stay at an inn, they slept in a haystack for one night. Fortunately, the local customs had been good in the past two years, and nothing went wrong.

Liu Huan didn't dare to sleep last night, fearing that someone might rob her or there might be wolves. Su's mother was also on high alert. It was all because of their lack of money.

Today, I met an old man from Peach Blossom Village who was driving an oxcart to finish work on the road, and that's how I arrived before dark.

The Liu family's house is at the entrance of the village; you can see it just by walking a little way over.

As the sun set, every household kept their doors tightly shut. Su's mother, with her child, stopped in front of the Liu family's house. "Xiao Shi, take the basket, I'll knock on the door."

Two loud thuds.

"Who is it?" a childish voice asked from inside.

Upon opening the door and seeing who it was, they were taken aback. "Who are you looking for?"

Grandma Liu came out from behind, "Feng-ge'er, who's here?"

The boy, Feng Ge, turned around and replied, "Grandma, I don't know her."

Upon seeing the person who arrived, Su's mother was already choked with sobs, crying uncontrollably: "Mother~"

Grandma Liu stood there stunned, only reacting when Su's mother was already kneeling in front of her.

"Little Flower?"

Little Flower was Su's mother's nickname.

Mother Su hugged Grandma Liu and nodded, "It's me, Mother, your daughter is unfilial."

Grandma Liu squatted down, hugged her daughter, and burst into tears, "My child, I've missed you so much!"

Liu Huan and Xiao Shi watched with red eyes. Xiao Shi sniffled and said to her, "Huanhuan, I want to cry too."

Liu Huan held his hand, offering silent comfort.

They only recovered after a thin woman came out and helped them up.

"Mother, my little sister just got back, and you're letting her cry in the yard?"

Grandma Liu wiped away her tears: "Yes, come inside quickly."

Excitedly holding onto Su's mother's hand, Liu Huan left the two younger children outside. She had to remind them, "Grandmother, there's still me and my little brother."

The old lady was malnourished and had some night blindness; she couldn't see clearly when it got a little dark: "Oh dear, Grandma's precious child, I almost forgot about her, hurry up and come inside."

They had already eaten, and the aunt took her daughter to start a fire, giving them some space to be alone.

Grandma Liu led them into the house, where Grandpa Liu was also there. Upon seeing his daughter, he couldn't help but wipe away tears: "Why have you come today? Is there some trouble at home?"

Mother Su wiped away her tears and explained, "Your daughter has been unfilial all these years and has never come to see you two. This year, I finally had some free time, so I thought I'd bring the two younger ones to visit."

The chicks in the basket were probably hungry, as they kept chirping.

Grandma Liu lifted the cloth covering the basket. "Why did you bring so many chicks? Take them with you when you go back. We don't want them."

Chicks are already selling for eighteen coins outside, and my daughter brought five, so it must have cost her quite a bit of money.

"Mother, it's not much, they're all hatched by ourselves, we didn't charge them."

Grandma Liu was delighted to hear this: "You know how to cook this? That's great!"

Mother Su then took out the mushrooms she had brought, saying, "These are mushrooms I picked up on the mountain. As long as they're cooked, they're not poisonous. The rich people in our town love to eat them."

My aunt came in carrying a bowl of noodles, and when she saw the chicks, she couldn't help but smile: "You've come all this way, and you've brought so much stuff with you."

After saying that, he put the dough pieces away and picked up the basket to go out.

"Now that I've brought it, I'll go get something to eat first, or I'll starve."

Grandma Liu acquiesced, and seeing the two children swallowing their saliva, she quickly urged them, "Eat quickly, heavens have mercy, you must be starving."

Liu Huan and the other girl thanked their grandmother and began to eat heartily. The hot soup made them feel alive again.

Before they had even finished eating, the two of them were already starting to doze off. The child was still young, and they were exhausted from traveling for the past two days.

As they finished eating, they nodded like chicks pecking at rice, almost falling off their stools. Su's mother quickly helped them up, saying, "Mom, let me take them to bed first."

Grandmother also felt sorry for you, "Quick, take you to the room where you used to sleep."

After settling the chicks, Aunt came in and, seeing the situation, picked up Liu Huan, saying, "Little sister, come with me."

Liu Huan woke up naturally and found her feet draped over Xiao Shi. She raised her hand and nudged him, saying, "Brother, wake up."

Xiao Shi smacked his lips and muttered about the candied hawthorn, probably dreaming about it.

Liu Huan stopped calling him, got up and went out, and found Su's mother chatting with him through the door.

As soon as she entered, she went to Su's mother's side and said, "Mom~"

Su's mother straightened her clothes, "Call someone, is the young master still sleeping?"

Liu Huan rubbed her eyes and sweetly called out, "Grandmother, Grandfather."

"Good girl, come see Grandma."

She had already learned about Liu Huan's background from Su's mother and felt great pity for the child.

He asked in a low voice, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Very good, the quilt from Grandma's house smells so nice." It has a peach blossom scent, which she likes very much.

"You have such a sweet tongue. Hurry up and eat. Once your brother wakes up, your cousin will take you out for a walk."

Peach Blossom Village lives up to its name, with peach blossoms everywhere. Although the flowers have faded, the green peaches hanging high still exude a fragrant aroma.

"Huanhuan, why don't we have this in our village?"

The peach trees he mentioned, apart from locust trees, are the only other trees in Maocao Village.

Feng said proudly, "We not only have peach trees here, but also a river. Come on, I'll take you there."

The river is huge and the water is very blue. Although it doesn't reach the standard of the sea, it has small sandy beaches and connects all the way to the dock in Maocao Village.

Liu Huan excitedly picked up the pebbles on the beach; they were especially beautiful. "I want to pick them up for the stones, my sister, and my older brother."

Seeing their expressions, Feng Ge'er wanted to show off in front of them, "Wait, I'll show you how to swim."

After saying that, he jumped into the water with a splash and didn't come out for a long time.

Liu Huan shouted anxiously from the shore, "Cousin, cousin!" When he still didn't come up, she was so frightened that she burst into tears, "Waaaaah, cousin, help me!"

A head popped out of the water with a splash. "I'm here. I was just teasing you. Wait, I'll go catch you a fish."

Xiao Shi stared at it enviously, "Huanhuan, I want to go too."

Liu Huan refused without even thinking: "No, we won't, we'll drown."

Seeing that his eyes were fixed on the water, I had no choice but to take him to the shore and sit on a rock with his feet in the water: "Don't jump in."

Little Stone happily kicked the water with his feet: "Hahaha, this is so much fun..."

In just a short while, they saw Feng Ge'er struggling in the water. Liu Huan could tell at a glance that he was drowning. He quickly pulled Xiao Shi to a place far away from the water and started shouting loudly, "Help! Someone has fallen into the water!"

...

Aunt: "You're really something, taking your younger siblings to the river and even going into the water yourself. If something happens to them, how are you going to explain it to your aunt?"

Because Liu Huan shouted early, a passing villager went down and lifted him up, taking him directly to Liu's house. His uncle and aunt then gave him a double beating.

Grandma Liu was still shaken and took Liu Huan's hand, saying, "Don't go to the river next time. You're still young, and the river doesn't discriminate."

Liu Huan nodded obediently, "Yes, Grandmother."

Su's mother actually had another selfish reason for coming: to teach her family how to hatch chicks and how to identify mushrooms. Although Peach Blossom Village was located by the river, families without the means to do so were also very poor, including the Liu family.

Aunt: "I knew it! I was wondering where the chicks came from. Turns out, you need a rooster. My little sister is so clever."

After mentioning that earthworms could be used to feed chickens, my aunt's smile widened even more.

Then Su's mother took them to identify mushrooms.

"These are all edible; you only need to pick these few."

After a few days, Liu Huan couldn't stand it anymore. She missed Shi Tou and the chili seedlings at home.

Xiao Shi's initial excitement wore off, and he started clamoring to go home. Grandma Liu's attempts to coax him were futile, which caused the group to burst into tears.

Su's mother could only take the dried vegetables given to them by Grandma Liu and lead them back.

Walking along the road, Su's mother forced herself to say, "I'm also worried about the chickens at home. It's good to go back early."

Liu Huan comforted her, "Mom, when we have money in the future, we can come more often."

Su's mother choked out a single "hmm," afraid that her child would hear her crying.