She's not short of money now, so there's no need for her to eat this kind of meat.

Yan Xia removed the tiger's penis and patellar bone, the two most valuable parts of the tiger's body.

She plans to take it back to make medicinal wine, which she will then sell at a high price in a restaurant.

Then they cut off the edible parts of the tiger and put them into Yan Hecheng's basket. Luckily, his basket was big enough to hold it full.

She threw the remaining bones, entrails, and scraps of flesh aside.

Leave it for the small animals in the mountains to eat.

"Don't go into the mountains again. I've already bought this mountain. If you go into the mountains again, it's trespassing on my territory. This meat is enough for you to survive the winter if you take it back and sell or pickle it. Also, don't tell the villagers that you encountered a tiger, lest you scare away my helpers. Let's go, let's go down the mountain."

After doing all this, Yan Xia carefully instructed her father, then picked up her bamboo basket, shovel, and machete, and prepared to go down the mountain.

She didn't bring the whole tiger down the mountain because she was afraid it would scare the workers. What if they ran away in fear? The conscription for labor would begin in the spring, and she couldn't afford to waste time. In case Yan Hecheng let slip, Yan Xia reminded him several times before she was done.

Because she was used to walking fast, she was afraid that Yan Hecheng would not keep up, so she would always walk a bit and then stop.

Only when he saw the workers at the foot of the mountain did he feel relieved and leave without looking back.

The basket on her back was covered with weeds, making it impossible to see what was inside.

If an acquaintance asked her a few questions, Yan Xia would say that she had hunted a few pheasants.

After returning home, she cleaned the tiger skin and hung it to dry in the backyard.

After cleaning the tiger penis and tiger bones, I soaked them in the leftover wine at home.

Yan Hecheng then returned to his dilapidated temple.

He didn't leave the meat behind, but instead carried the bamboo basket to town.

He sold all the meat and got two and a half taels of silver.

When others asked, he would say it was wild venison.

He also used the money to buy some food for the winter, which was cheap brown rice, potatoes and sweet potatoes. He also bought a jar of salt and a small piece of pork fat. If he didn't eat any oily food, where would he get the strength to work?

This amount of pork fat can be rendered into a bowl.

If you're careful, it'll be enough for him to eat all winter.

The remaining silver was saved up.

He couldn't live in the dilapidated temple forever. When spring came, he planned to clear land at the foot of the mountain or rent two acres of land to farm.

Passing by a fruit shop, Yan Hecheng seemed to freeze. He remembered that when Yan Xia was little, her favorite food was dried apricots.

But the family was poor, and the money was controlled by Sun Yingyun.

He could only do odd jobs to save up some money to secretly buy a few sweets for his daughter.

This is a little secret between the father and daughter.

Then she thought of how her daughter cried and begged her before getting married.

Yan Hecheng felt very uncomfortable.

He did buy a bag of expensive dried apricots, so expensive that he could use it to buy food and live for another half a month.

He bought too many things; his old bones couldn't carry them all.

It weighed several hundred pounds, so we simply found an oxcart and took him back along the way, which cost us several coins.

Fortunately, there were two people from a neighboring village on the oxcart.

It's not too bad if the cost is split among the three of them.

It was already dark when we got back to the village.

The person driving the oxcart was also from a neighboring village.

The man was easy to talk to and escorted Yan Hecheng directly to the entrance of the dilapidated temple, even helping to carry the sacks.

"Thanks, bro."

Yan Hecheng paid the copper coins, watched the oxcart leave, and then went into the house.

He packed everything up and, without even eating, quietly placed a bag of dried apricots at Yan Xia's doorstep.

They left without even knocking.

Yan Xia wasn't home. She went to Sister Zhao's house to gossip after lunch, and by the time she came out it was already dark, and she happened to run into Yan Hecheng.

The father and daughter didn't say a word, and didn't even look at each other.

We just brushed past each other.

When Yan Xia got to her front door, she saw a bag on the ground.

She took it home and opened it up to take a look.

It's dried apricots.

Suddenly, memories surfaced from the depths of my mind.

The original owner liked to eat dried apricots.

so.....

It was probably bought by the original owner's father.

Yan Xia smiled gently.

"What a pity, your daughter has already passed away, so let me eat in her place."

After saying that, she picked up a dried apricot and took a bite.

It's both sweet and sour, and incredibly cloying.

It was sticky and Yan Xia didn't like to eat it, but she never wasted food. She could only frown and finish that piece before tying the bag tightly and not touching it again.

As expected, although they shared the same body, the original owner was worlds apart from her, and she could not replace the original owner.

Fortunately, the original owner had a bad relationship with her family.

Otherwise, some of her little habits would give her away.

Yan Xia stayed in Baihua Village for three days before leaving.

The task of supervising the perimeter wall can be left to Brother Qian.

When the villagers found out she had bought Gaoshan, they all secretly cursed her for being stupid, saying she had money to burn.

Yan Xia didn't care.

She returned to town and busied herself with her small shop and restaurant, living a very fulfilling life.

Winter is always long, with night dominating the day.

Ordinary people should be staying at home, leisurely chatting and warming themselves by the fire.

But the news that corvée labor would be conscripted in the spring chilled everyone's hearts.

Labor service is hard, and you work for nothing.

Not enough to eat, exhausted until late at night.

It was practically throwing their lives away to the authorities.

Most families were unwilling to let their children do this hard work, so they could only pay in silver, one tael per family.

For wealthy families, it simply means missing one restaurant visit.

But for farmers, it was a devastating blow.

My already meager savings have shrunk even further.

This has also created a phenomenon.

That's like a family that had separated suddenly making up, huh? They're not separating anymore!

This way, you can save several taels of silver.

This was an incredibly clever and audacious move, but the county magistrate turned a blind eye and let them all go.

Mid-January.

An ordinary day.

Yan Xia woke up at her home in Baihua Village.

My daughter-in-law has returned. The shop is too busy with people to take care of during my pregnancy, so I've handed over the restaurant and pastry shop to my two sons.

The two daughters also stayed at the pastry shop.

There are only three people in the family.

She, her daughter-in-law, and Xiao Ji.

Yan Xia goes to town every three days.

On ordinary days, he would stay at home, wrapped in his blankets, reading a newly bought storybook while leaning against the bed, or chatting with his daughter-in-law, Xiao Ji.

Occasionally, I would tell them ghost stories to scare them.

This made them afraid to sleep alone.

The three of them had no choice but to squeeze into one room.

It's warm, though.

The wall around the mountain has been built.

On the left and right, like two long dragons, they coiled at the foot of the mountain. The blue bricks, several meters high, were built tightly together. Even if you knew light-footed kung fu, you would have to climb over them obediently. There was also a large gate in the middle.

It's right in front of Yan Xia's house.

The gate was incredibly heavy, carved from a century-old tree.

The door bolt faces outwards.

There's another small house outside.

Similar to a modern security booth.

Used to guard those entering and leaving.

To prevent anyone from breaking in.

Yan Xia plans to hire four people to guard the area, alternating between day and night shifts.

The wages offered were one and a half taels of silver per month.

After the news spread, her doorstep was practically worn down by visitors; everyone in Baihua Village wanted to get on her good side.