Ye Yunniang married Li Yong at the age of 17.

Three days after the wedding, Li Yongzheng left for the army.

One month later, Yunniang became pregnant.

Eight months later, she gave birth to Li Jun, nicknamed Pan'er. She hopes Li Yong, who is serving in the military, will return home soon.

His family's hopes were dashed, and a fellow villager brought back Li Yong's blood-stained clothes and suicide note.

Li Yong died on the battlefield, and his body was never found.

Li Yong was buried with his clothes soaked in blood. His father-in-law fell ill and passed away a month later.

The Li family held another funeral.

Without the breadwinner of the family, orphans and widows are easily targeted by others.

The mother-in-law was decisive; after three weeks, she sold the family's land and house. With the money in her pocket, she took her daughter-in-law and grandson to Jiangcheng to seek refuge with her sister.

After a ten-day boat trip, they traveled for another five days by oxcart to reach Jiangcheng.

After checking that there were no problems with their household registration and travel permits, and paying the city entry fee, the three women, mother and daughter-in-law, asked around and found their way to Zhou's shop.

Cai Xiaomei was at the shop entrance, playing with her grandson using a rattle drum.

"Little sister."

Cai Xiaomei paused in her hand as she shook the rattle drum, then looked up.

"Big sister!"

The two sisters hugged each other and wept bitterly.

With the encouragement of her family, she stopped crying.

During their reunion, Cai Xiaomei learned that so many things had happened to her elder sister's family.

Cai Xiaomei arranged for Cai Damei, her mother-in-law, and her daughter-in-law to stay.

Cai Xiaomei's husband's surname is Zhou. He runs a clothing shop in Jiangcheng. Her parents-in-law have passed away.

Cai Xiaomei and her husband have a son and a daughter, both of whom are now married. They also have two grandsons and one granddaughter.

The Zhou family lived behind the shop, in a main house with three rooms and one and a half rooms each in the east and west wings. They squeezed out one room for Cai Damei and her two daughters-in-law.

After feeding Pan'er at night, Ye Yunniang went to Cai Damei's side, who was lying down, and spoke to her softly.

“Mom, you mentioned you wanted to settle down in Jiangcheng. I noticed my cousin-in-law looked a little unwell. How about we rent a place and move out first?”

"Do you know why I had to sell my house and come to Jiangcheng?" Cai Damei didn't answer, but asked Ye Yunniang instead.

Ye Yunniang shook her head. Her husband was gone, and then her father passed away.

Ye Yunniang had to take care of the child and also observe mourning with Cai Damei. She spent her days in a daze.

Ye Yunniang was surprised by Cai Damei's decision, but being gentle and always obedient to her mother-in-law, she didn't think too much about it. She packed her bags, held her child, and followed her mother-in-law all the way to Jiangcheng.

No matter what decision Cai Damei makes, Ye Yunniang knows one thing in her heart: her mother would never harm her or Pan'er.

“It was your father who made me do this.” The night before he left, Li’s father gave Cai Damei a detailed analysis.

After he left, the only male members of the family were the infants who relied on breast milk, and everything depended on Cai Damei and Ye Yunniang for support.

Cai Damei and Ye Yunniang married into the Li family, but they never worked in the fields, let alone tilled the land.

It would be difficult for the two to raise Pan'er on the land.

In addition, there's Ye Yunniang's greedy father and stepmother. And then there are the Li family's uncles and cousins ​​who want to exploit the family's extinction.

Cai Damei and Ye Yunniang couldn't protect the fields, nor the house, and they couldn't even protect Pan'er.

After arranging his funeral, Li's father instructed Cai Damei to sell the land and house as soon as possible and bring Pan'er to Jiangcheng.

Cai Xiaomei was raised by Cai Damei. When she got married, Cai Damei and Li's father paid for her dowry.

Cai Xiaomei always remembered Cai Damei's kindness. Although they lived far apart and rarely met, she would send letters and gifts every year.

“Yunniang, we don’t have much money. Let’s stay at your aunt’s house for now, and move out once we find work and earn some money,” Cai Damei said, revealing her plan. “As for your expression, just pretend you didn’t see it.”

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say, Mother. I'll do whatever you tell me to do." Ye Yunniang stopped overthinking.

"These days, you need to take care of Pan'er, and you also need to take care of this old woman. Go to sleep."

Ye Yunniang hummed in agreement and lay down to rest.

After resting for two days and recovering, Cai Damei and Cai Xiaomei shared their plans.

"Sister, this is your home. You can stay here as long as you want; let's see who dares to say a word against it." Cai Xiaomei said, glancing at her daughter-in-law who was sewing shoe soles beside her. She wondered if she had said something to her.

"As a mother-in-law, I still can't change my loud and boisterous nature. I've been living here all this time, so I guess I'll just stay here."

"But Yunniang and Pan'er still have a long way to go. I have to think about them." Cai Damei paused here.

“Jun’er passed away early, and the Li family only had Pan’er as their sole heir. Your brother-in-law couldn’t close his eyes before he died. It was only after I promised him that I would raise Pan’er to adulthood that he closed his eyes.”

"Big sister." Cai Xiaomei gripped Cai Damei's hand tightly.

Cai Damei grasped Cai Xiaomei's hand and patted it twice. "I'm still healthy and strong, so I'm thinking of earning some money for her and her daughter. After I'm gone, Yunniang and Pan'er will have an easier time."

After Cai Damei finished speaking, Cai Xiaomei stopped trying to persuade her and wiped away her tears. "Don't worry, big sister, I will definitely find you a good job."

"I can do any kind of work, good or bad." Cai Damei is happy as long as she has work to do and can settle down in Jiangcheng.

Cai Xiaomei mobilized her entire family and relatives to help find work for Cai Damei.

Cai Xiaomei couldn't find a job, but her daughter-in-law Zhang Cai'er introduced her to one.

It wasn't for Cai Damei, it was for Ye Yunniang.

“If Yunniang becomes a wet nurse, what will happen to Pan’er?” Cai Damei disagreed.

Cai Xiaomei sighed, "Elder sister, I don't want Yunniang to do manual labor either. But, the work you can do is enough to support yourself. But if you want to rent a courtyard and support Yunniang and her child, then..." Cai Xiaomei didn't finish her sentence, but Cai Damei understood.

"I'm sorry to have put you in such a difficult position, sister."

“Sister, you’re being too polite. We’re sisters, and I’m happy to help you,” Cai Xiaomei retorted. “Pan’er is eight months old and can be weaned. Yunniang’s milk is good; she can work as a wet nurse at the Jiang family for a year and earn enough for you and your grandson to live comfortably for five years.”

Cai Xiaomei raised five fingers as she spoke.

"So many!" Cai Damei exclaimed in surprise.

"The Jiang family is the wealthiest family in Jiangcheng," Cai Xiaomei told Cai Damei in detail what she had found out.

The one who needs a wet nurse is the son of the most favored fourth master of the Jiang family.

The Jiang family originally prepared four wet nurses, but two of them encountered some unforeseen circumstances. Now, they need to recruit two more wet nurses to replace them.

Zhang Cai'er's mother's cousin was guarding the side gate of the Jiang residence. Knowing the news and that Zhang Cai'er's sister-in-law had just given birth, she sent a message to the Zhang family to prepare to send someone over.

Zhang Cai'er's sister-in-law couldn't go because she didn't have enough breast milk.

Zhang Cai'er went home to visit her sister-in-law who had just given birth, and upon hearing the news, she told her mother about Ye Yunniang.

"The Jiang family is a generous household. Any wet nurse who cannot be hired will receive 500 coins as a fee. If hired, they will receive 2.5 taels of silver per month, and will also be provided with two sets of clothes for each season. When the young master stops nursing, there will be additional payment upon departure."

“Wealthy families have many rules. I’m worried about Yunniang.” Cai Damei’s tone softened slightly.

“You watched Yunniang grow up, don’t you know her personality? She’s the most honest and upright person.”

Yunniang went to the Jiang family not to be a maidservant vying for favor or anything like that. As long as she honestly and dutifully nursed the child well, even a small amount from the Jiang family would be enough for you to live on for a lifetime.