With only a dozen days left until the Lunar New Year, Xiao Yunying asked Chen Yuancheng about Huiweilou's usual business model. She learned that during the Lunar New Year, the restaurant staff would be given a holiday, somewhat like the annual leave in her previous life.

Xiao Yunying then discussed with him that since the business had only been open for a few days and the New Year was approaching, the excitement would soon fade. She suggested that they reopen after the New Year and she could come up with a grand opening event to attract customers and keep the buzz going for a long time.

Chen Yuancheng agreed immediately, telling her to do whatever she wanted.

Huiweilou has been renovated and is not open to guests for the time being. Everyone is cleaning and will move the tables, chairs and decorations in to redecorate after it is cleaned.

Xiao Yunying thought about the dishes she would make tomorrow and said to Mu Lianrong, "Mother, do we have enough silver frost charcoal at home? Come and get some more when we run out."

After witnessing how a stove could heat up several rooms, her mother and Aunt Yang also became interested in it.

Xiao Yunying offered to draw up furnace blueprints for them. She measured the length, width, and height of the two families' houses and designed a furnace pattern based on her experience, so that they could order it from a blacksmith's shop.

After the stove was built, holes were drilled in the wall of the room to run iron pipes through it, and a separate exhaust pipe was installed outside the wall. The gaps were sealed with yellow mud to prevent air leakage. It has been used for more than half a month now, and the effect of warming the house is indeed very good.

"No need, let your dad go to the city to buy it."

Xiao Yunying's parents originally planned to burn firewood like the Yang family, but she felt that firewood would burn too quickly and that it would be too much trouble for her father and brother to go up the mountain to chop firewood in the cold weather. So she had her eldest brother carry two large baskets of silver frost charcoal back. She had been too busy to do it recently, and now she figured they should have used it up.

Xiao Yunying deliberately asked, "You've run out of charcoal, haven't you? Did Father manage to buy any?"

“Your father went to ask, and there are several families ahead of us waiting. They can’t even buy white charcoal, let alone silver charcoal, and you won’t let us use black charcoal.”

"Charcoal is no good. It burns very quickly and leaves ash everywhere, which not only makes the house dirty, but also makes you sick if you inhale it."

Xiao Yunying finished her food. Her mother had been bringing her meals frequently lately and had figured out her appetite. She knew that Xiao Yunying didn't like eating hot food from a second meal, so she always brought her just the right amount.

Seeing that she had finished eating, Luo Chen came over to clear the dishes.

Xiao Yunying patted his head: "Thank you."

Luo Chen didn't flinch when Luo Chen touched her head. After she put her hand down, she quickly left with the bowl and plates.

Xiao Yunying noticed his reddened ears and muttered softly, "He's shy again."

Mu Lianrong said to her, "The firewood we burn at home now is quite warm."

Xiao Yunying took a sip of tea, put down the cup and said, "Mother, can you please feel sorry for Father and my brothers? They have to go up the mountain to chop firewood. The snow on the mountain hasn't melted yet. It's not only cold, but what if they fall and get hurt?"

"How can I not feel sorry for your father? It's just that we can't buy charcoal."

"That's why I asked you to call my older brother to come to my house to move it. It's too cold here in winter, and there's only one charcoal workshop in Donglin City. The charcoal they produce can't keep up with the demand. Besides, they don't do business with individual customers in winter. They sell in batches of 1,000 catties. There's no place to store it at home. Even I buy it and store it at Yuancheng's place. I'll go get it when I'm done."

"How can we keep using what you bought?"

“Why can’t I use it? I’m your daughter, not an outsider. My parents help me manage the vegetable greenhouse, take care of my children, and bring me meals. I haven’t been polite to my mother at all. What’s wrong with using a few hundred kilograms of charcoal? Isn’t it my way of showing filial piety to my parents?”

Mu Lianrong said with a smile, "Okay, okay, I'll listen to you. I'll accept your gift and have your brother come and move it tomorrow."

Xiao Yunying specifically instructed, "Bring an oxcart to carry more back, so we don't have to make multiple trips. We're running low on white charcoal for the greenhouse. Charcoal will be delivered tomorrow, so we can make more room for the new charcoal."

Mu Lianrong stood up: "Mother knows. It's getting late. You've had a long day. Go to sleep early. Mother is going back now."

Luo Chen took the clean dishes and put them into the food box that Huiweilou had specially given to Xiao Yunying. Mu Lianrong picked up the food box and asked, "What do you want to eat tomorrow night? Mother will make it for you."

"Mom, you don't need to bring me dinner tomorrow night. I've almost finished with everything. All that's left is to clean up and move the tables, chairs, and decorations inside. You don't need me to watch over it all the time. I can come home earlier from now on and cook for myself."

"Then I won't take this food box."

"Mom, take it. You can use it to deliver meals to Dad and my brother during the busy farming season. We have one more at home, that's enough."

There was no need to shove a food box, so Mu Lianrong said, "Alright, Mother will take it."

Xiao Yunying saw her mother to the door, but Mu Lianrong wouldn't let her come out: "Your mother isn't old enough to have failing eyesight yet. She can see the road clearly. You don't need to see her off. Go back quickly, it's terribly cold."

After saying that, he closed the door from the outside.

Xiao Yunying called softly through the door, "Mother, watch your step."

Mu Lianrong's voice could be heard from afar: "Mother knows, go inside quickly."

Xiao Yunying breathed a sigh of relief, exhaled a puff of white mist, shivered, quickly locked the door, and returned to the waiting room.

While the children were practicing calligraphy at the table or playing with the dog under the table, she went into the kitchen, took out a bag of puppy food, and poured it into a cloth bag.

He carried out a cloth bag and handed it to Luo Li: "The puppies are a little over a month old and can start weaning. This is dog food. When feeding them, soak the dog food in goat milk to soften it. Feed each puppy about half a cup at a time, and gradually increase the amount later."

We stopped using baby bottles a long time ago; we let the puppies drink milk on their own as soon as they could run and bark.

Luo Li took the cloth bag: "What's dog food?"

"It's dog food."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!