He opened a shop to sell vegetables.

Cai Damei is not optimistic.

"Let's not open a shop yet. We can set up a small stall next to Xu's noodle shop and sell our homemade side dishes," Ye Yunniang suggested.

"I'll think about it." Cai Damei was somewhat tempted.

"Hmm, Mother will think about it." Ye Yunniang didn't try to persuade her any further.

Cai Damei carried a basket on her back to buy jars.

Ye Yunniang was at home taking care of Pan'er when Liang Maimiao arrived with two children.

"They'll come to play with Pan'er after they finish eating."

“Pan’er is also talking about going to find Da Lei and Er Lei to play.” Ye Yunniang got up and offered her stool to Liang Maimiao.

They went inside, brought out two stools, and served tea and snacks.

"Sister-in-law Mai Miao, have some water and some jujube cake." Ye Yunniang called to Liang Mai Miao, holding jujube cake in her hand and giving it to the three children who were playing.

"Yunniang, you're too kind," Liang Maimiao said, picking up a jujube cake and taking a bite. It tasted really good.

Ye Yunniang and Liang Maimiao ate jujube cake, looked at the child, and talked about recent events.

Liang Maimiao was the one doing most of the talking, while Ye Yunniang listened.

Ye Yunniang rarely goes out and doesn't know much about the neighborhood. There are some things Cai Damei doesn't feel comfortable discussing with her.

Liang Maimiao takes care of her child and rarely goes out. It's a rare treat to meet someone she can chat with, so she naturally has a long and enjoyable conversation.

Ye Yunniang knew that the Zhang family in courtyard number 6 was not as harmonious as it seemed on the surface.

Zhang San's wife, Qiu Fang, was introduced to Zhang Er by a matchmaker. Qiu Fang didn't like Zhang Er, but immediately took a liking to Zhang San, who had accompanied him.

Zhang San and Qiu Fang got together.

Out of spite, Zhang Er married Qiu Fang's cousin, Xiu Mei.

Xiumei was unaware of these things at first. After marrying into the Zhang family, she learned about them, which made her resentful and caused her to keep a close eye on Zhang Er.

As soon as Qiu Fang and Zhang Er get even a little close, they start making a scene.

The Zhang family's courtyard was so small that even though the two tried to avoid each other, they would still run into each other two or three times a day.

After causing a ruckus for a while, Zhang Er got fed up and took on a job buying pigs. He spent all his time running around the countryside, buying pigs everywhere.

Zhang Er was rarely home, and Xiu Mei, who never saw a man, blamed Qiu Fang, feeling it was all her fault.

Zhang San couldn't stand seeing Qiu Fang being bullied, so he proposed dividing the family property. Granny Zhang disagreed, stating bluntly that she would only do so if she died.

Having no other choice, Zhang San went out and found a job as a guard, and moved out with Qiu Fang.

Zhang Yishan and Qiufang moved out. Xiumei thought her husband would come back, but Zhang Er was still not home.

“Xiumei’s room is close to mine, and I hear her cursing the children and cursing the men every night.” Liang Maimiao found it amusing at first, but she got fed up with it after hearing it every day.

"If you ask me, Granny Zhang shouldn't have let Zhang Er marry Xiu Mei just to save on the bride price."

"Bride price?"

"Yes. Mother said that Granny Zhang's husband died of illness. The Zhang family spent a lot of money and incurred a lot of debt."

When her three sons got married, Granny Zhang chose the one who asked for the lowest dowry.

Because of what Cai Damei had said before, Ye Yunniang had a good impression of both of them. But after hearing Liang Maimiao's story, their impressions changed.

As expected, things didn't go as planned, and we only listened to one side's opinion.

"Murder! Help! Murder! Someone's been killed! Help! Someone's been beaten to death!"

"The sound of Niu Dajiao!" Liang Maimiao ran out to see what was going on.

The three children playing in the yard heard the commotion outside and ran out as well.

"The three of you can't go." Ye Yunniang slowed down a step and walked to the door. She grabbed Da Lei, who had already run outside, and pulled him back into the courtyard.

"Aunt Yunniang asked me to go and see?" Da Lei wanted to see what was going on.

“You’re too young to squeeze in with the adults. Let’s go to the kitchen, and your aunt will cook something delicious for you.”

The three little ones are barely tall enough to reach your thighs. It wouldn't be good if someone stepped on them.

"What delicious food is there?" Erlei was attracted by the food.

Pan'er looked at Ye Yunniang with bright, sparkling eyes, "Mother, I want to eat something delicious."

"Sweet egg soup, so sweet and fragrant, it's delicious."

"I want to eat it." Erlei is most unable to resist sweets.

"I want to eat!" Pan'er called out.

"If you want something to eat, come with me to the kitchen." Ye Yunniang took Pan'er and Erlei's little hands and led them towards the kitchen.

Da Lei wanted to see the commotion outside, but he also wanted to eat the sweet and fragrant scrambled eggs that Ye Yunniang had mentioned.

"Ah—" A scream startled Da Lei, who shrank back. "Auntie, I want to eat sweet egg soup too."

"Okay, but you have to help me start the fire."

"Okay." Da Lei ran to the kitchen.

Ye Yunniang started a fire and asked Da Lei to watch it.

She went to the stove, washed the pot clean, and added water.

Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to low and crack in the eggs. Once the eggs have set, turn the heat to high and cook until set and float to the surface.

Take out three bowls, put in brown sugar, dissolve it with hot soup, and then add eggs.

"One bowl per person, be careful it's hot, eat slowly."

While the three children were eating, Liang Maimiao returned looking like she hadn't had enough.

I saw Da Lei and Er Lei eating sweet egg soup.

"Yunniang, why are you still making brown sugar water with eggs?" Liang Maimiao felt embarrassed by the combination of jujube cake and brown sugar eggs.

Ye Yunniang handed Liang Maimiao a bowl of brown sugar water, "Sister-in-law, what's going on outside?"

Liang Mai Miao took the bowl and drank a sip of brown sugar water; it was really sweet.

After drinking the sweet soup, Liang Maimiao talked about what she had seen outside.

Three families live in courtyard number 2, sharing the kitchen, woodshed, and other facilities. Since things are stored together, sometimes people unknowingly use other people's belongings.

Today, a woman discovered that her newly purchased firewood was significantly less than usual. She suspected that two other families had stolen her firewood.

Those two families definitely wouldn't admit it. The three women started arguing, one after another.

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