"Why are you crying? Look at your dramatic behavior. Didn't you want to stay in the first place? Now that I have money, you regret it. No wonder I'm angry. I'm angry too. Since you chose to stay in the Chen family, you should be a good grandson of the Chen family. Why did you come back? I don't only have you as my son. She has long since lost faith in you."

Winter plum blossoms were not fooled by his trick.

Let her cry, it's none of her business.

All she knew was that she wanted to eat pork rib wontons sold at the end of the street across the street for lunch.

I don't know if there are many people here now.

"They must be sold out, she needs to hurry."

After saying that, he turned to leave, but Jin Shou grabbed him.

"Sister, I beg you, I'll kneel down and help me. I really know I was wrong. I can't even get a decent meal at the Chen family's house. We're siblings, born of the same parents. Look how thin I've become."

Jin Shou actually knelt on the ground.

He rolled up his sleeves, revealing two thin, bony arms to Lamei.

It's only been a few months.

She's gotten so thin!

Does the Chen family really intend to starve him to death? Although Lamei is usually carefree, she is still his own younger brother.

She was still moved.

"Get up first. There's nothing I can do to help you. Your mother's temper has changed too much. If she doesn't forgive you, nothing I say will make a difference. I suggest you leave the Chen family. Even if you just do odd jobs, you can support yourself. Here's 50 coins, my own savings. Go buy a bowl of noodles to warm yourself up. There's an old lady selling cloth shoes at Shuangqiao. They're cheap and durable. Go buy a pair. Don't wear straw sandals anymore. Be careful not to freeze your feet. It's such a waste to wear only two thin layers in this cold weather. Oh, here you wait. I'll go to the shop and get you some clothes."

Lamei didn't even eat her favorite pork rib wontons. She ran back to the shop. Because it was close to the backyard, she didn't go through the front of the shop. She found a thick coat that had been stored away in the storeroom. It was an old coat that her third brother used to wear. Now, her mother wouldn't let her eldest and third brothers wear coarse cloth clothes anymore.

They said it would be a disgrace to the shop.

These clothes were never taken out again; leaving them there would be a waste.

The fifth brother and the third brother were about the same size.

Why not let him wear it?

Not only that, Lamei also pulled out two more thick trousers.

Finally, she had everything. She stuffed her coat and trousers into a sack, hoisted it onto her shoulder, and left through the back door.

When Guihua closed the back gate, she had just finished her work at the front shop. When she came to the backyard, she caught a glimpse of Lamei's back. Guihua was a little puzzled. Why did Lamei come back without buying wontons?

They assumed she had forgotten to bring money back to ask for it back.

"Hey, there aren't many people in this alley. Hurry up and put on your pants and coat so you don't get cold. What about your old clothes? They weren't very thick, but you shouldn't be wearing just a thin shirt."

“Grandma took the cotton out and stuffed it into Tiangui’s quilt. You know how much the Chen family cherishes him, treating him like an ancestor. As a child without a father to support me or a mother to love me, I naturally have to stand aside.”

Jin Shou gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Actually, he dressed like that on purpose. Although the Chen family treated him badly, he was often hungry and had to work a lot, they never skimped on his clothes.

This was all to soften the heart of the winter plum blossom.

"Look at you, you tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead. It would have been so much better if you had come with us. You had to be so clever. Don't you know the Chen family? Haven't you been bullied enough over the years? Now you come to me crying. Sigh, I thought you were so smart. Actually, you're the dumbest of the five of us. Put your clothes on properly. I'm leaving. I need to buy some wontons. Remember to buy shoes so you don't get cold. If you really want to come back, go and beg your mother. Begging me won't help."

Wax Plum didn't seem to care much about him.

She doesn't care whether she comes back or not.

She did whatever her mother told her to do.

After all, back in the Chen family, her relationship with her fifth brother was only so-so.

Only her eldest and third brothers would help her and support her.

To reduce the beatings and scoldings she received, he would even help her and her second sister secretly dig wild vegetables and pig feed.

"Sister, I'm going back now. Please don't tell Mom about what I came to see you about today, okay? I know she hates me right now and doesn't want to hear my name. I'll try to make her happy. Don't tell anyone about what happened today."

Jin Shou looked at La Mei with pleading eyes.

This gave the winter plum a goosebumps.

She hadn't seen her fifth brother for only a few months, so how did he end up like this?

There's a feeling I can't quite describe.

"I didn't tell anyone. I also went through the backyard when I came back to the shop. Don't worry, I'm leaving now. If I chat with you any longer, my wonton stall will be closing up shop."

The winter plum blossoms started to jog.

Fortunately, they managed to save the wonton stall owner at the last minute.

She cooked three bowls of wontons: one for her eldest brother, one for her second sister, and one for herself.

As for her third brother and sister-in-law, they are not under her control; the restaurant has no shortage of food and drink.

Jin Shou watched as the figure of the winter plum blossom gradually disappeared into the distance.

The smile on his face also became strange.

"What kind of rubbish are you? Do you really think I'm a beggar? We're all from the same mother, so why do you get to eat and drink well while I have to be given charity and pitied by you? Do you really think I can't see the silk clothes you and my brother are wearing? Heh, they're nothing good either. Whatever you have, I want too, and I want it all!"

Jin Shou muttered to himself.

If someone suddenly enters the alley at this moment.

They'd be scared to death.

His eyes were ferocious as he vigorously rubbed his cotton-padded coat with both hands.

It wasn't over until the clothes had a large tear and cotton lint was flying everywhere.

Jinlu threw away the clothes along with the sack; he preferred to wear a single layer of clothing rather than someone else's tattered clothes.

As for the noodles, he didn't eat them. He just bought two meat buns, wolfed them down on the street, and then left.

Jin Shou wiped his mouth, composed himself, and put on an honest face as he left the alley.

But as he passed by his own shop, he inadvertently saw the sign of a restaurant on the right.

The sign above reads "Yan's Restaurant".

Yan family?

Restaurant?

Could this restaurant also be owned by my mother?

Jin Shou was illiterate, but he was clever and could remember anything he saw at a glance.

When he was little, his mother would always use a twig to write and draw on the mud.

The character "颜" was taught to him by his mother, and it was the first character he learned.

He had a childhood friend in the village, but his friend's family became wealthy through business and moved to a neighboring county when he was 11 years old.

Before he moved, he had several books at home.

Jin Shou would secretly look through his things every time he went to visit him.

They would point to the words and ask him how to pronounce them, until they annoyed their friends.

But after asking around, he could only recognize a few dozen characters; everything else was just guesswork.

Just as he was in a daze, a familiar voice rang out from the second floor.

"Qian Hua, tidy up the tables upstairs."

"Alright, coming right up."