Tao Yao didn't accept Yun Ling's flattery, or rather, she didn't have the time to be polite with Yun Ling. Tao Yao picked up her pipa and began composing music.

With a flick of her slender fingers, the pipa's notes fall like pearls onto a plate, or like raindrops on a banana leaf, instantly captivating the viewer's attention. Tao Yao is naturally charming and loves to wear brightly colored clothes. When she plays the pipa, her talent shines through, making it impossible to look away.

Just as Yunling was about to close her eyes to appreciate the sight, she heard a "quack quack quack" sound. She took a few steps back, leaned out, and looked outside. Six ducks were patrolling the yard, quacking as they strolled around.

Little White was very curious, but when Grandma Yun was raising chickens before, it almost got pecked on the butt by a chicken because of its naughtiness. Luckily, Grandma Yun caught the chicken in time, otherwise the chicken's beak could have pecked the intestines out of Little White's belly.

Because it was afraid of creatures that could walk and bite, it only dared to follow behind the ducks and sniff their rear ends from time to time, despite its curiosity.

"Hey you stupid dog, you're so cocky. Don't think your duck beak isn't sharp enough. You'll bite your nose off in a minute."

"Little Bai isn't afraid at all. Grandma's here for everything. By the way, where did this duck come from?"

Grandma Yun gave a soft "shh," then bent four fingers, signaling Yun Ling to come over for a private talk.

Yunling didn't know what tricks Old Lady Yun was playing, but it was only a few steps away, and she was happy to play along with this little old lady. However, just as she happily leaned closer, her left ear was suddenly grabbed hard, and then Old Lady Yun's voice rang in her ear.

"It's all your fault, you little brat! You brought our benefactor back without telling us beforehand. We ate everything in the house, so I had no choice but to take out the six ducks that were left in the Xia family's house."

"On the way back from the Xia family, those stinky ducks were all so sloppy, quacking and running around. It made me, this old woman, sway left and right like I was dancing on the road. Tomorrow, the whole village will probably be talking about how this old hag is flirting and shameless. It's all thanks to you."

Just listening to this explanation, Yun Ling vividly pictured her mother swaying and twisting as she herded ducks, and to be honest, it was quite funny.

Yunling burst into laughter, and her other ear was immediately pulled up as well.

"You're still laughing? You still have the nerve to laugh? You'll be the one plucking the duck feathers later."

"Oh dear, Grandma, you've really misunderstood me. I wasn't making fun of you, I was just giving a wry smile. You don't know, Grandma, our benefactor has been spending the last two days with us."

"What? Good heavens, good heavens, you little brat, you should have gone to the city to buy things. Besides, you should have mentioned it when your aunt went out. Right now, there are only six ducks, a bunch of them starving. Even a mouthful of duck feathers isn't enough for each person to eat."

Yunling directly wrapped her arm around Old Lady Yun's arm and said in a serious tone:

"Grandma is wrong. We have plenty of food at home: mushrooms from the mushroom house, stuffed dace meat from the end of last year, and fresh vegetables from the front door. They're all delicious."

"Keep dreaming. What dace meat? We'd better finish it sooner rather than later. Who would eat preserved meat in this sweltering heat?"

Yunling was really confused. It seemed like she had just eaten the mud carp meat. There was still a whole jar of it when she ate it. How could it be finished so quickly?

When Grandma Yun saw Yun Ling's appearance, she gave her a "hard" tap on the head.

"Alright, alright. If I relied on you, I'd be starving. Just now, while we were herding the ducks, I heard the Lin family and the monk's family carrying soybeans, saying they were going to grind them into soy milk. I'll go see if they sell tofu or dried tofu."

"Make soybean milk? Where?"

"You don't even know? What a waste that you've lived in the village for so many years. There's a big courtyard next to the village chief's house. That's Old Wang's tofu workshop. If villagers buy from there, it's two coins cheaper than in the city."

Yunling really didn't know about this, which was normal, since she rarely interacted with the villagers and most of the time others came to her. So she really didn't know anything about it. If you asked her where to buy tofu in the city, she might be able to tell you a thing or two.

"Grandma, shall I go with you to take a look? I've never seen anyone grind soybeans before, I'm very curious."

"What are you doing? You're just leaving your guests here!"

Yunling looked towards the woodshed. Although the angle prevented her from seeing inside, the pipa music sounded disjointed, with occasional pauses, suggesting that Taoyao was still composing.

"Grandma, it's not ready inside yet, so I'll go take a look. Besides, if you want to buy this or that, I can lend a hand and help carry things."

After thinking about it, Grandma Yun realized that it made sense. Seeing Yun Ling follow, she took a wooden basin and a wooden bucket.

The two headed towards the tofu workshop, and as they approached, they smelled a strong aroma of soybeans. Yunling couldn't help but swallow her saliva, but then her throat started to ache slightly.

She never expected that even with a different body, she still couldn't drink soy milk.

In the end times, every New Year, people would distribute various New Year's goods to create a festive atmosphere and encourage people to continue living bravely.

Because of her thin and short stature, Yunling only received soy milk or milk. Even though the soy milk and milk were very thin, she would either have a sore throat or a stomachache after drinking them. So she would always exchange them with others. Even though she was happy to get a thumb-sized apple in return, she was still happy.

“Chun’er’s mother, you’re here to grind soybeans too? It’s good that the three of us grind them together, so that old Wang won’t complain about losing a penny all night long.”

The speaker was none other than Old Lady Lin. Ever since Yun Ruochun became a female yamen runner, her address to Old Lady Yun had changed from "Hua Ge'er's mother" to "Chun Jie'er's mother," which was quite astute.

Although Old Lady Yun disliked Old Lady Lin, the woman had changed her ways after her daughter took a position at the county government office. She no longer caused trouble for the Yun family. Now that Old Lady Lin had taken the initiative to greet them, they certainly didn't intend to ignore her.

"I won't grind the soybeans. I just wanted to see if you have any tofu or dried tofu for sale. If you have extra soy milk, I'd like to buy a bucket to take home."

Old Lady Lin immediately sidled over, grinning with her uneven teeth, and said:

“Yes, even if Old Wang doesn’t sell to you, I will. My soybeans are soaked thoroughly and are plump. The soy milk made from them will be smooth, fragrant and thick. It’s a bargain for Old Wang. He can get 20% for free.”

"Oh, what are you saying? If you don't want to, go home and complain to yourself. I'm not going to put up with this."