The eldest brother searched the whole village, but no one said they had seen it, so the matter was left unresolved.

Qin Yao followed Da Lang to the village well. Er Lang saw her walking away and immediately rushed to the fire. He shared the roasted taro Qin Yao left with his younger brother and sister, and took one for himself. While eating, he reminded them: "Eat slowly, don't choke."

Sanlang and Si Niang's cheeks puffed up, and they moved their mouths like hamsters, nodding vaguely, "Hmm!"

Soon, the small pile of taro was eaten up by the three siblings.

Erlang asked Sanlang to watch the taro buried in the fire to prevent it from getting burnt. He sat down on the doorstep, leaning his head against the door frame, rubbing his belly with one hand and rubbing Si Niang's bulging belly with the other.

The brother and sister looked at each other and laughed. It felt so good to be full.

Qin Yao, carrying a wooden bucket, followed behind her eldest son, and the two of them walked towards the village in silence.

Qin Yao was not a talkative person, and Dalang was not familiar with his stepmother, so he didn't know what to say to her and could only remain silent.

There is a well in the village. The water in the well is clear and sweet, and the villagers come here to get water.

If they wanted to wash clothes, they would go to the village entrance, where the river water was intercepted and gathered into a small pond, where cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, as well as vegetables and clothes could be washed, could all be washed in the same place.

Because it is running water, it is not dirty, but people who live not too far from the village well will not go to the pond to fetch water for drinking.

Liu Ji was ostracized in the village. After he moved out of the Liu family's old house, he built a house on a low slope in the north of the village. His home was upstream of the river, so it was closer to the river to fetch water.

But Dalang brought her to the village. She was new there and didn't know the village well, so it was better for her to follow him first.