Xu Lanzhou felt that this was indeed the case, and sarcastically said, "You even know the meaning of 'obvious as to what is revealed'. You're really not stupid."

Xu Lanyin retorted, "My mother taught me to read and recite poetry since I was a child, so of course I know it. Do you think you're the only one who's learned?"

It had been a long time since the two siblings had joked with each other. Qin chuckled and said, "Zhou'er, don't look down on your sister. She was very smart when she was little..." She had changed since she grew up.

Of course, Qin didn't know how to say the last sentence.

Xu Lanyin went out to wash her hands, and then went to the west room with the winter melon candy.

Xu Lanting was still lying on her kang, looking at Xu Lanyin eagerly. He looked a little better than he had that morning. Xu Lanyin touched his forehead, which was still a little warm. She smiled and stuffed a long piece of winter melon candy into his mouth. "Is it sweet?"

Xu Lanting puffed up his cheeks and mumbled, "Sweet, delicious."

Xu Lanyin placed the small bag of winter melon candy next to his pillow and said with a smile, "Eat a piece of candy after drinking the bitter medicine soup, and you won't feel the bitterness." She added, "Sister also bought some delicious food and will make it for you tonight."

Xu Lanyin rested for a while, and as it was getting dark, she went to the field and picked a few green onions and a handful of leeks.

Xu Lanzhou started the fire, occasionally helping out. Xu Lanyin first sliced ​​the pig liver and soaked it in water. Then she cut the lard into pieces and boiled it in the pot.

A small oil lamp rested on a wooden plank protruding from the wall, its flickering light illuminating the kitchen and the two busy figures. The aroma of lard wafted out, and smoke drifted everywhere, making the dim light seem greasy.

For the first time, Xu Lanyin realized that having the air filled with cooking smoke was actually a sign of affluence. In her previous life, she had been blessed with so much, yet she hadn't appreciated it. Even though she had a powerful range hood installed in the kitchen, she was still fed up with the pervasive cooking smoke.

The lard was poured into a large bowl, and a few soft pancakes made of mixed flour including white flour and corn flour were baked, and some fried leeks, dried tofu and oil residue were also stir-fried.

Seeing Xu Lanyin putting the oil residue into the dried tofu, Xu Lanzhou frowned with distress, "What a waste! There are so many delicious foods, why waste the oil residue?"

Xu Lanyin said, "I want you to bring half a bowl of dried tofu to grandpa and grandma. They have helped the family a lot, so we should show some respect. Even a small gift can be a big gift."

Why didn't he think of it? Xu Lanzhou rolled his eyes and glanced at Xu Lanyin. This silly girl has really become smart.

Finally, we made pork liver soup. Apart from salt, green onion and ginger, there were no other seasonings at home. However, Xu Lanyin’s cooking skills were good and the food was green, so it still smelled delicious.

After cooking, she put some pork liver in the bowl of dried tofu and asked Xu Lanzhou to send it to the Xu family's eldest wife.

After serving the food on the table, helping Qin out and carrying Xu Lanting out, Xu Lanzhou returned. He smiled, and Old Man Xu praised them for their filial piety, saying that they were thinking of the elderly even when eating some pig liver.

Four people sat around the table eating, eating pork liver soup, dried tofu with oil residue, and soft pancakes. There was a layer of shiny oil floating on the surface of the soup. This was the best meal this family had after selling six acres of land.

A few people were polite and accepted each other for a long time over a few slices of pork liver.

A few slices of pig liver meant nothing in the previous life, but in a very poor family they were precious things and had to be added to the stomach when it was most needed.

Xu Lanyin discussed with Qin, "Mom, I'm going to make a rare dessert. I need to use white flour, white sugar, eggs, and milk or goat's milk..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Lanzhou said with bulging eyes, "Are you dreaming? Are you making such expensive snacks to feed Gu Wangchen again? I was wondering why you've been acting so abnormal these past few days. It turns out you want money to make delicious food for Gu Wangchen."

Xu Lanyin was also unhappy and said, "Can you let me finish what I'm saying? I came up with a dessert and wanted to sell it in the county town. Maybe I can make some money and help my family get through this difficult time."

Xu Lanzhou said unconvincedly, "What kind of snacks can you make? At most, you can make a steamed bun and a mixed-wheat bun, and bake a few pancakes..."

Qin also frowned and said, "Zhou'er, you're a boy, and the eldest in our family. You should be prudent in what you say and do. No matter what, you should listen to what others say." Then she said to Xu Lanyin, "Mother also doesn't agree with you making and selling snacks. You've only thought about it, but you haven't made it yourself, so I don't know if it will taste good. Our family is in financial difficulty right now, so where would we get the spare money for you to try making it?"

Xu Lanyin had no choice but to lower her head and keep silent. She couldn't say that I did it, right?

The family was reluctant to use too much lamp oil they had bought, so after washing up, they went to bed early.

The next day, Xu Lanzhou continued to rest at home, while Xu Lanyin went to the mountains behind the village to collect herbs. Although she didn't collect much, she did pick up a lot of firewood and wild vegetables.

After lunch, while the others rested, Xu Lanyin began searching for the small wooden plaque and box that Grandpa Zhang had given the original owner. She searched the main room, kitchen, woodshed, warehouse, even the outhouse and chicken coop in the backyard, but couldn't find them, leaving her extremely disappointed. She thought the original owner was a real spendthrift, and she'd probably just tossed those two things around. Fortunately, it was just the small wooden plaque and box; if it had been a jade plaque, she would have happily given it to Gu Wangchen. If that had been the case, wouldn't that scumbag have gotten away with it?

She didn't dare to look for it in Qin and Xu Lanzhou's rooms, for fear that they would suspect that she was looking for a deed or something.

These days, their family's meals were quite good. Every day, Xu Lanzhou would go to Xinghua Village and buy two taels of meat or a whole pig's liver, which he would bring back for Qin and Xu Lanting to make meatballs or soup. The hen that Old Lady Xu had given them was also quite good, laying an egg almost daily, which they steamed in the morning, each sharing half.

Every time Xu Lanzhou came back from buying meat, he would say that the old woman Gu was used to eating too much. Whenever she saw him carrying meat back, she would roll her eyes at him, as if the meat was bought with the money of the Gu family.

Old Mrs. Xu didn't believe that their family bought meat every day, so she came to inquire about it. Qin then told her about Xu Lanyin selling her dowry.

Old Lady Xu also felt that the sale was right. She said, "That little girl was right to do that. She was born in our family. If she were in another family, which girl would dare to sell the land secretly? Even if she was not beaten to death, she would sell it for silver."

By early August, Xu Lanting's cold had fully recovered, and he had moved back to the east wing to live with Xu Lanzhou. Qin's condition had also improved somewhat, and she could walk around the house and do some of the things she could.

During this time, Xu Lanyin went to the county town to sell medicine again. Because he did not go to Yefengling, he did not collect many herbs and only earned 66 coins, which was not enough to buy medicine for Qin and Xu Lanting.

On the sixth day of the eighth lunar month, they harvested the family's two acres of corn. With only two acres, and yields being low in ancient times, Xu Lanzhou and Xu Lanyin declined their eldest wife's offer of help, as the eldest wife had more land and was even busier. The siblings finished the harvest in a day and a half. Xu Lanzhou then brought the corn stalks home for firewood and tended the land until they could plant winter wheat.