Yan Xia then recounted that set of lies.

"What? Wild boars have come down from the mountain? When did wild boars start appearing on the low hills?"

Zhao Dali didn't think about the high mountains, after all, the terror they brought made no one dare to set foot there.

"That's not a low mountain. After my divorce, I had no house or land, so I could only clear land at the foot of the mountain. That's where I encountered the wild boar. It's really dangerous there. Luckily, it wasn't a tiger coming down the mountain, or you wouldn't be seeing me today."

They were worried that the land would be coveted.

Yan Xia even pretended to scare him.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Zhao Dali's fear of Gao Shan intensified.

When the two returned to Hundred Flowers Village, the sun had just set.

"Thank you, Brother Dali. Why don't you stay for a meal?"

After the children carried the things from the oxcart home, Yan Xia exchanged polite words with Zhao Dali.

"No, Xia, you're too kind. My family must have a delicious meal waiting for me. I'm leaving now. If you need an oxcart in the future, just have Jinfu call me. It'll still be the same price!"

"Okay, thank you so much. Take care, Brother Dali. You've had a hard day." After watching him leave, Yan Xia closed the door of the dilapidated temple.

"Mom! How much did you get for the wild boar? Why did you buy so much stuff?" Guihua asked.

“It sold for a full thirty taels! As soon as people saw this wild boar, they said it was some kind of wild boar king, a once-in-a-century occurrence. Mother was originally thinking of selling it for fifteen taels, but luckily she didn’t ask for more. Of these thirty taels, Mother will take out ten taels to buy some things. We have nothing at home. Oh, by the way, you guys take Aunt Zhao’s pots and pans and wash them clean. We’ll return them to her after we finish eating. We won’t go now, she’s probably eating, and it’s not good for her to go during mealtime.”

Yan Xia originally wanted to attribute the Chen family's money to the wild boar, but then she changed her mind.

If the Chen family reports to the authorities that their silver has been stolen, and she happens to have a sum of money deposited into her account, the officials will definitely come to investigate her. If they investigate that family, and the officials ask Steward Wang, he will say that he only spent 30 taels, and the extra silver will be obvious.

It's practically an admission of guilt.

Therefore, Yan Xia put the Chen family's silver back into her spatial storage and decided to keep it a secret for the time being.

“Guihua, I bought some cloth. Take it and make two sets of clothes for each of you. Make the clothes for me more fitted so I can work more efficiently. Use the rest of the cloth as towels and washcloths. Oh dear, we’re running low on water. Jinfu, go and fetch some water with Jinlu. Also, take the vegetables to the river to wash them. Lamei, don’t just sit around. Come and learn to cook with me. Your sister’s cooking is much better than yours. Once I’ve taught you, I’ll hand over the kitchen to you siblings. My back isn’t good, so I can’t stand for long.”

She simply rubbed her back, and her children immediately looked guilty.

"Mother, I'll be right there. You should rest for a while, or I can cook when I get back."

"Big brother, go wash the vegetables with third brother. Your cooking is terrible, and what kind of man goes into the kitchen? Be careful your future sister-in-law doesn't want you." Lamei quickly stood next to Yan Xia and chased Jin Fu away.

Helpless, the two brothers took the basin and vegetables to the riverbank.

"Mother, these fabrics are all different colors, which one do you want?" Guihua turned the fabrics over and found that they came in all colors, and the needles and threads were also complete.

It seems that my mother really spent a lot of money. She had learned needlework from an aunt in the village for a few days before, and could barely make clothes, but the stitches were not very nice.

"Give me those two dark ones. You and Lamei are still young, so it's better for you to wear something colorful. You can discuss and choose the colors yourselves. As for your eldest brother and your third brother, they should wear black. They can't wear light colors for farm work. Black is dirt-resistant and durable. Remember to measure their height and don't make the pants too short."

"Yes, Mother." Guihua began to tidy up the fabric. It was already dark outside, but the firelight inside the house illuminated the entire dilapidated temple, making everything very clear.

After giving her instructions, Yan Xia took out the large iron pot, placed it on the firewood, washed it briefly with water, and began preparing to render the oil.

First, cut the pork fat into small pieces. Then, pour two bowls of water into a pot, put the pork fat in, bring it to a boil over high heat, and then simmer over low heat.

When rendering oil, be sure to stir it back and forth so that the bottom of the pot doesn't burn.

"Mother, why do we add water when rendering oil?" Wax Plum asked curiously.

She remembered that her aunt hadn't added anything when she rendered lard before.

"Adding a little water when simmering the oil will make it whiter and less likely to burn. I don't usually tell this method to just anyone."

"Lamei, you should learn more from your mother. Your cooking is so hard to swallow. Unlike your second sister, who can make even a simple stir-fried wild vegetable delicious."

Just then, the two brothers returned.

Jin Lu jokingly said that La Mei's cooking was terrible.

"Can my cooking be as bad as yours? Last time you cooked brown rice porridge that was half-cooked, have you forgotten how Grandma scolded you?"

The brother and sister teased each other and played around.

"Alright, alright, come and learn. There's no reason why men can't go into the kitchen in our family. Cooking is something everyone must know how to do. What if Mom dies in the future? Are you going to starve to death?"

When their mother spoke, everyone put down what they were doing and stood obediently behind Yan Xia.

The three of them stood side by side, watching intently.

Guihua was the only one who didn't need to learn; in the past, she and the original owner had basically handled all the kitchen chores.

Half a pot of lard had been rendered. Yan Xia asked La Mei to wash the rice and cook it in a clay pot. She poured the rendered lard into a newly bought basin, filling it to the brim.

After pouring in the oil, you don't even need to wash the pan; you can start cooking right away.

"Come on, Jinfu, sprinkle some sugar on this plate of pork cracklings and take it over for you and your siblings to share. It'll fill your stomachs, and it won't taste good when it's cold. This stuff has to be eaten while it's hot."

Yan Xia didn't really like fried pork cracklings, so she only tried two before putting down her chopsticks.

No matter how his children tried to persuade him, he refused to eat another bite.

"Mom must be trying to save food for us, sigh..."

"Brother, how about we leave half a plate for Mother?"

"No need, I already tried to persuade Mother, but she refused to eat. Let's finish it. Mother is right, this stuff doesn't taste good when it's cold, and it'll spoil in the hot weather. Don't let Mother down. Once the corn is planted, I'll go to town to find odd jobs when I'm free, and then I'll earn money to buy meat for Mother."

"Big brother, I want to go too." Jinlu ate with grease on his face, but he didn't forget how good his mother was to him. He also wanted to earn money to buy meat for his mother.

“Alright, we’re the only two men in the family, so we’ll have to support the family from now on. Jinlu, we have to work hard. Guihua, you and Lamei, you also need to take good care of Mother at home. I’m a man, so it’s not convenient for me to massage Mother. Before you go to bed tonight, you sisters can give Mother a good massage on her back.”

"Yes, brother!" the two sisters replied at the same time.

The group started wildly imagining things.

If Yan Xia knew, she would definitely sigh that this was truly a beautiful misunderstanding.