After the meal, Erniu drove the donkey cart to take his wife back to her parents' home.

Zhang was squatting in the yard, washing clothes for Ya Ya. Inadvertently, she grabbed a handful, and with a ripping sound, a large piece was torn off.

Zhang was so frightened that her face turned pale. She quickly got up, but Liang Shuyan, who was standing to the side, saw her and came over to look at the fabric: "This is too flimsy. How long has she been wearing it!"

“Mother, these are clothes that Dashan wore when he was a child. His daughter-in-law saw them and thought it would be a waste to throw them away, so she altered them for the child.”

"Where are the clothes your grandma made for the children last time? Why don't you take them out and let Yaya wear them?"

Zhang's hands trembled slightly: "Mother, the one Grandma made last time was a bit too big. I think it's a waste to wear it now. I'll wait until I'm a little older!"

Liang Shuyan nodded: "Alright, this fabric is no good either, let's throw it away as soon as possible. The days when our Jin family children wore old clothes are over, and so are you. Buy what you need and spend what you need to spend, don't be so demanding."

"By the way, those sprouting potatoes you took out of the cellar last time, I asked you to dry them. How did they go?" Liang Shuyan seemed to remember something again.

Zhang said "Oh," poured out the water from the basin, and then climbed onto the roof.

On the roof, in a winnowing basket, were some potato slices drying. They were white and crisp. She squeezed one with her hand, and they all crumbled instantly, showing that they were completely dried.

"Mother, what are you doing? What are you planning to make?" Zhang asked, looking at her mother-in-law's thoughtful expression. She guessed that her mother-in-law was researching new dishes again.

"Go to the backyard and see if those spinach plants are still there. If they are, pull them all up. I need them!"

Zhang responded and went out carrying a bamboo basket.

In the yard, Sanwang brought over the mixed dog food and handed it to Dahei. Dahei wagged its tail, and Sanwang seemed to enjoy it, gently stroking its smooth fur with both hands.

To be fair, Big Black has done a good job. At night, it can at least guard the house well. In Daling Village, countless families have been burgled. Even though there is not much food at home now, no family wants to be burgled.

The kitten hid in the house where there was food, refusing to come out, and focused on catching mice. This kitten really played a significant role; since the kitten was brought back, there have been very few mice in the house.

The old woman, carrying a bamboo basket, glanced at the sky and muttered, "The sky is so foggy, is it going to get windy again? I need to hurry up and fill in the kang (heated brick bed), so my legs won't be freezing cold and I'll have nowhere to put them!"

Li Lanfang's legs, which had suffered from arthritis for many years, were more sensitive to changes in the weather than the weather forecast. Not wanting her daughter to worry about her, she quickly went to fill in the kang (a heated brick bed) when she saw that the weather was not right.

In rural northern China, people use dried cow or donkey dung to fill the kang (heated brick bed), so that the house is warm even when the weather is cold.

Niu Niu, holding a pen, wrote her name on a piece of paper in a crooked and messy way, then ran towards San Wang: "Third Brother, look, is this how you write the two characters 'Niu Niu'?"

Sanwang glanced at the two words on the paper and burst into laughter: "Haha, you wrote 'Nü Chou, Nü Chou,' not 'Niu Niu'!"

After being upset, Niu Niu burst into tears: "Mom, my third brother is bullying me because I can't write, Mom!"

Hearing Niu Niu crying, Liang Shuyan quickly ran out of the house.

"What happened? Sanwang, how could you bully your sister?"

Sanwang's face flushed red as he handed the piece of paper to Liang Shuyan: "Mother, I'm not kidding, but look, Niu Niu wrote her name as 'Nü Chou, Nü Chou'!"

Liang Shuyan glanced at it and saw that it was indeed the case. She suppressed a laugh and beckoned to Niu Niu, "Come here, come to Mommy's side!"

Niu Niu glanced at her mother before walking over, rubbing her reddened eyes: "Mom, is something wrong?"

"Look, Niu Niu, these two characters, 'woman' and 'ugly' should be close together, just like you and your mother, they can't be separated, understand? Separate them and it becomes what your third brother calls 'woman ugly, woman ugly,' understand?"

Niu Niu nodded, took the paper, and walked away with her short legs.

"Sanwang, come here right now!"

Sanwang looked at his mother with a puzzled expression: "Mother, what's wrong? Is what Sanwang said wrong?"

Liang Shuyan said very patiently, "Look, it's not that what you said is wrong, but you can't laugh at Niu Niu like that. Niu Niu is just learning to write. You should encourage her more and not laugh at her, okay?"

"Yes, Mother, Sanwang understands."

Liang Shuyan turned around and went back to the kitchen. In the kitchen, the eldest daughter-in-law had already added water to the pot and prepared the vinegar water according to her mother-in-law's instructions, and set it aside.

"Mother, your daughter-in-law has prepared the vinegar water as you instructed."

Liang Shuyan glanced at the spinach on the ground and said, "Wash this spinach clean now, blanch it in a pot of water, and then take it out and let it cool."

Next, Liang Shuyan found a gong (used for filtering dirt) and filtered the crushed potato starch to remove the residue. She poured the residue aside and fed it to the donkey; it was excellent feed.

She squeezed the filtered potato starch with a rolling pin and rolled it out until no white granules were visible. Then she filtered it again. This was the third time. This time, the potato starch was much finer and whiter.

She prepared a porcelain basin, poured in the filtered potato starch, added a little salt to increase its elasticity and clean the starch impurities, ensuring that the jelly would be flawless.

This time, she plans to make two colors: one green made with spinach juice and the other the original starch color, which is transparent and shiny. If the color and texture are good, she plans to make them in batches. In that case, she will select and purchase high-quality starch from the system. As for the seasoning water, she will also prepare it herself according to the system's standards.

"Elder sister, squeeze the spinach juice with your hands and squeeze out the spinach juice. Hurry up."

Liang Shuyan took chopsticks, scooped out some starch and set it aside. She then poured in the spinach juice that Zhang had squeezed out, stirred it continuously, and added some water. She stopped stirring when it was almost smooth and free of lumps.

"Mother, what are you making? How are you supposed to eat this?"

After diluting and stirring another portion of starch, Liang Shuyan washed her hands, tidied up the tools on the cutting board, clapped her hands, and said, "It's just a cold snack, it's pretty good. Try it when it's done. Okay, now start boiling water, I'm going to start making it!"

Since Dahei came, few people have come to the Jin family's courtyard. Sanwang also habitually keeps the gate closed, afraid that if the kitten runs out, it will be caught by someone else.

In the kitchen, amidst the swirling smoke, Liang Shuyan took a rolling pin, rinsed it with cold water, and began stirring. The starch, infused with spinach juice, had an even more vibrant color in the pot. She stirred vigorously; only with even heating and the right amount of water could the resulting jelly have a good texture. Too much water would make the jelly too soft, and too little water would make it too hard. Furthermore, controlling the heat was crucial; this process was key to making successful jelly.

The flames of the stove flickered and danced. Zhang Shi eagerly stood up, glanced at the cold noodles in the pot, and said happily, "Mom, it looks so beautiful! Is it going to be a success?"