Tang Yue got up and went to the window. Looking through the hole in the paper window, which was either damaged by the wind or poked by the children's little hands, she saw thick smoke billowing from a place in the middle of the village.

Tang Yue didn't know where she was, because due to her health condition, she had almost never left the courtyard.

Tang Bei looked outside from the doorway of the outer room, then turned to Lin Cuicui and said, "Mom, that should be Second Uncle's house."

Lin Cuicui put the pot lid on, walked to the gate of the yard, and saw that the place where the thick smoke was coming from was indeed Tang Shengli's house. She subconsciously looked down to find a bucket of water.

But remembering that Tang Shengli had taken advantage of the situation and almost killed the head of the household, Lin Cuicui turned and went into the house expressionlessly.

“Your father and sister are both unwell and lying on the kang (heated brick bed), so we don’t have time to go out and put out the fire. If we add another piece of firewood, the meal will be ready.”

"By the way, why haven't Ernan and Dongzi come back yet?"

Tang Bei looked outside and said, "Maybe Second Master Xu went to see a doctor for someone. Mom, I'll go check at the door."

After Tang Bei finished speaking, he prepared to go to the courtyard gate. Just as he stepped out of the threshold, he heard a soft thud coming from behind the house. Tang Bei turned around and went to the backyard.

Tang Nan, looking disheveled, was waving his hand to welcome Tang Dong down. Seeing Tang Bei approaching, Tang Nan was unsure whether to lower his hand or keep it raised. An awkward smile appeared on his face.

"Big brother, we..." Tang Nan's voice carried a hint of flattery.

Tang Bei glanced at his two younger brothers, but he didn't scold them. He just said calmly, "You're back. Go wash up first. Don't worry Mom. Dinner will be ready soon."

Tang Nan and Tang Dong exchanged a glance, knowing their older brother already knew. They stuck out their tongues in unison, then quietly followed Tang Bei into the house.

Inside the house, Lin Cuicui was serving rice from the stove, the food in the pot emitting its original aroma.

A small table was placed on the kang (heated brick bed) where Tang Shengkai was lying. Tang Yue sat at the table, her eyes twitching slightly as she stared at the food Lin Cuicui had prepared. What were all these things? She had never seen them before. But her stomach began to rumble.

Lin Cuicui and Tang Bei and the others got onto the kang (a heated brick bed). Lin Cuicui served each of them some boiled cabbage stalks in plain water. After setting the bowls down, Lin Cuicui looked at her three sons opposite her.

She noticed the corn stalk leaves clinging to Tang Nan and Tang Dong as soon as they came in, but she pretended not to see them.

She wanted to scold the second and third sons for not knowing their place, but Tang Shengli's actions were truly hateful, and the second and third sons also wanted to vent their anger.

After hesitating for a while, Lin Cuicui simply said, "You're still young. I'll take care of things at home. Don't go out and do anything dangerous in the future. Let's eat."

Tang Yue turned her head to look at her mother, her big eyes darting between her second and third brothers, as if she understood something.

Seeing that their mother didn't scold them, Tang Bei and the other two happily reached for the buckwheat pancakes. Lin Cuicui first gave a millet pancake to Tang Yue, and then took a buckwheat pancake for herself and started eating.

Tang Yue took the soup and took a bite. Hmm, it was a bit rough on her throat, so she quickly drank some soup. Tang Nan ate with the most relish, his face full of satisfaction.

Tang Yue broke off half of the pancake in her hand and handed it to Lin Cuicui, "Mom, can you eat some for me? I can't finish it."

Lin Cuicui didn't answer. "Yueyue, you're not well, eat more."

Tang Yue stretched out her short arms and forcefully shoved half a pancake into Lin Cuicui's hand, "Eat!"

Then she leaned over the table, reached for another millet cake, broke it into three pieces, and gave them to the three Tang brothers. Tang Bei wanted to refuse, but seeing his sister's earnest little expression, he could only give in.

Tang Nan was the happiest. "Little sister, are you sure you've had enough? Then I'll eat!"

"Okay, second brother, you eat."

Tang Dong glanced at his younger sister, a smile playing on his lips as he took a bite of the pancake.

Tang Nan and Tang Dong only managed to light the newly chopped firewood pile at Tang Shengli's house. Before they had even finished their meal, the fire at Tang Shengli's house had already been extinguished.

After a long day, everyone was exhausted. Lin Cuicui cooked some millet porridge and fed it to Tang Shengkai, then everyone rested.

Tang Yue and the three Tang brothers slept together in the west room. The three boys quickly fell asleep. Tang Yue wasn't used to resting her head on Tang Bei's arm, so she quickly lay down on the mattress while Tang Bei was asleep.

Looking at the mottled mud walls and the dark roof, Tang Yue began to contemplate life.

Everything else is secondary; the most important things are Tang Shengkai's illness and the family's livelihood. She's too young now, only four years old, and as thin as a stick. Even if there were any chores, her mother and brothers probably wouldn't allow her to do them.

What should she do? This family is so poor. Besides, she doesn't even know what kind of era this is. Looks like I'll have to try and get some information out of her second brother tomorrow.

Although he hadn't known the three brothers for long, Tang Nan was probably the most honest and simple-minded of them all. He could probably find out a lot of things from them if there was good food.

Without much thought, Tang Yue closed her eyes and began cultivating. To truly draw qi into her body, she first needed to nourish the chronic ailments within her body with spiritual energy, step by step, before opening up her meridians.

Judging from the spiritual energy here, it will probably take quite a few days, but Tang Shengkai's body can't wait; she needs to speed things up. Sigh, she had hoped to slack off in this new place, but it seems she still has to work hard at cultivation.

I hope Dad gets better soon, so that she'll have someone to take care of her.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Tang Yue's front door was pounded on from the outside.

"Tang Nan, Tang Dong, you two little brats, come out here! This is outrageous! You dare to burn down my house! I think you don't want to live anymore. I'm going to report you to the county authorities."

"Yes, Tang Nan and Tang Dong, you two come out here. You ill-mannered bastards, you even dared to set fire to your own uncle's woodpile, you're worse than animals."

Tang Yue woke up when the door opened, and Tang Bei and the others were also awakened by the noise outside. They quickly got up and dressed.

While putting on his cotton-padded coat, Tang Dong smiled and comforted Tang Yue, "Don't be afraid, little sister. Your second uncle and aunt just came here to cause trouble because they didn't get any advantage from our family yesterday. They'll leave when there are more people. Go to sleep."

Tang Bei patted Tang Yue's head reassuringly, "Little sister, don't be afraid. Big brother will go out and take a look."

Tang Nan also chimed in, "Don't be afraid, little sister. Your second brother will go out and beat up the bad guys. We'll chase them away in no time."

Lin Cuicui had already gotten up. It was winter now, and there wasn't much work to do in the production team, so most of the villagers were staying home to hibernate. But her family was running out of food, so she thought she'd go for a walk on the mountainside to see if she could catch any rabbits or pheasants.

Before they even left, Tang Shengli and his wife Li Yuanzi came looking for them.

She calmly went into the kitchen and came out with a kitchen knife in her hand. Now she understood that if she and her third brother hadn't always been tolerant and respectful of them, they wouldn't have developed the habit of looking down on them.

If she doesn't stand up for herself now, she and her four children will be left to be gnawed on.

When the three Tang brothers came out of the house, they saw Lin Cuicui holding a kitchen knife and about to open the door.

Tang Bei was shocked, "Mom!"

Tang Nan and Tang Dong also shouted, "Mom!"

Lin Cuicui turned to look at her three sons, "Get up, it's alright, Mom's here. You can wait at the door."

After speaking, she pulled the wooden door open from the inside with a forceful tug. Before the people outside could react, Lin Cuicui swung a kitchen knife at them.