In the weed-covered courtyard of the old house, Ding Youtian stared at the half-collapsed roof, his heart sinking. He then looked at the four children around him, all of them pale and thin, some sick, some injured. He had never felt so useless before.

His eyes were sore and he raised his head slightly.

His wife had warned him that if she saw him crying or making a scene again she would kick him to death.

"Daddy, don't be sad. I like it here. Mom must like it too, as do my second and third sisters and my brother. As long as we're not with grandpa and grandma, we'll be happy living in any shabby house."

The five-year-old girl already knows how to read people's expressions. She was also injured in many places in today's "battle". Ding Gui pulled out a lot of her hair, and there was a big bruise on her forehead. Her arms and legs were covered with new and old wounds. The sleeping Sanniu was carried on her back with a cloth strap.

To make her father happier, she asked Dabao, "Brother, you don't like living with grandpa and grandma either. You like it here, right?"

The big girl emphasized the last word, because she knew that Dabao would usually answer with the last word.

Jian Ning had given Dabao a fever-reducing injection and given him medicine with spiritual spring water. He seemed to be feeling better, but he still wasn't very energetic. When he heard Dabao ask him, he smiled a little, "Yes."

"Dad, I'm not wrong, brother likes it too."

"I don't like it." Erniu pouted, "It's so shabby here, Daddy, we don't want to live here, can we go back?"

"Second sister, when we get home, Ding Gui and Ding Quan always bully us. Grandpa and grandma don't like us either. Not only do they beat and scold us, but sometimes they don't even give us food. Wait for mom to come and we'll help her clean up this place so it won't break."

The girl looked like his mother, and looking at her, Ding Youtian couldn't help but think of Jian Shi in the past. Back then, their family still lived in the old house here. Seven-year-old Jian Shi always carried her three-year-old brother on her back in a cloth bag, helping her mother Meng Shi with housework from morning till night, and was often punished by not being allowed to eat.

Thinking of the suffering that the Jian family had endured, thinking of the family often going hungry, thinking of how he could only watch Sanniu being beaten but was unable to do anything, Ding Youtian once again felt deeply useless.

Food is the most important thing for people. Although Jian has come to her senses, even a good cook cannot cook without rice.

In the past, his father would hold up the sky if it fell, so he didn't have to worry about it. Now he is the head of the family, and the livelihood of the family will fall on his shoulders in the future. He has to make plans.

Otherwise, if he really reaches the end of his rope, he won't be able to rely on his parents at all.

As soon as they left, his father sent Liu to the field to call back his eldest brother Ding Youwang and immediately delivered the things that were to be distributed to them.

They won't even tolerate an extra day just to save a dinner. Where in the world can you find such heartless parents?

He suppressed the sadness in his heart, gathered his thoughts, turned around and told the eldest girl, "Dad will go get something for your mother, you stay here to look after Dabao and Ermei, Dad and Mom will be back soon."

"Daddy, go quickly. I will keep an eye on my brothers and sisters and won't let them run around."

Ding Youtian felt somewhat comforted by the eldest girl's understanding. For now, he could only take things one step at a time. Separating them was not entirely without benefits. At least he didn't have to worry about the kids getting beaten or bullied all the time.

"Brother Tian!"

After coming out of the old house, Ding Youtian walked a few steps and heard someone calling him. He glanced sideways and saw Blind Liu coming from the slope full of mountain flowers on the left, carrying a pot of wine.

His eyes flickered to the wine jug in Blind Liu's hand, his eyebrows raised, the haze in his eyes mostly dissipated, and a smile appeared on his face, "Old Blind Man, are you going to Constable Ma to drink again?"

Even though he was dressed in coarse cloth and stood with his hands behind his back as he walked to that station, it was difficult to conceal his outstanding elegance.

Blind Liu was stunned for a moment, and felt that his sudden smile made all the mountain flowers lose their color. At the same time, he also keenly caught a hint of ulterior motive in his smile.

Rolling his eyes, he held the wine jug in his arms, walked closer and asked gossipingly, "You're still smiling. Your whole family has been kicked out. Shouldn't you be worried about your future livelihood?"

Ding Youtian smiled but didn't answer. His eyes seemed to casually glance at the wine jug in his arms, and he said lightly, "I guess Constable Ma is taking a day off today. Go drink your wine."

In the entire Dingjia Village, only Constable Ma would listen to Blind Liu's drunken ramblings. Blind Liu was also the only one who could brew wine, and his wine was sweet, refreshing, full-bodied, and rich. Others didn't know, but Ding Youtian knew: this old man brewed it from the dew collected from the hillside behind the mountain.

The back mountain is called Yunwu Mountain. The mountainside is covered with fog all year round, but there is no trace of fog on the top and bottom of the mountain. The locals are no longer surprised by it.

Liu Xiazi was renowned for his winemaking. In his early years, he complained about the pungent, unpalatable quality of purchased wine. Later, through painstaking research, he successfully brewed a distinctive, fine wine. He never sold it, brewing it for his own consumption. Someone once offered him a high price for his koji recipe, but he flatly refused.

In the past, Ding Youtian would have been too impatient to move when he saw Blind Liu carrying a bottle of wine, insisting on asking for a few drinks before he would give up. But today, he didn't ask for a drink, and as soon as he finished speaking, he started walking briskly down the slope. The mountain breeze blew the blue kerchief holding his hair around his head, and the half-shirt he tucked into his trousers was blown back by the wind, causing it to bulge out and rustle.

Looking at his back, Blind Liu shook his head and mumbled something in his mouth, but it was all blown away by the wind.

Ding Youtian went down the slope and met Jian Ning halfway.

Jane Ning was covered with coarse cloth bags. He went up to her and took the two largest bags, hanging them on his shoulders, one on each side, and consciously kept a distance of three feet behind her.

You bastard!

Seeing the happy look on his face, Jian Ning couldn't help but curse in her heart, this bastard's face is really like the weather in June, sometimes cloudy and sometimes sunny.

Earlier, when they returned to the house and saw that Dabao was better, someone thought it was his own credit and praised himself harshly, grinning from ear to ear; then his eldest brother brought something and said that mother said she would not cook for the fourth room tonight. He immediately changed his face when he heard that, jumped up and scolded his parents and his eldest brother, and except for the sixth brother, he scolded all the members of the Ding family. His temper was like that of Meng, which made Jian Ning's head hurt.

Adhering to the principle of out of sight, out of mind, Jian Ning packed up some light things and sent him back to the old house with the four little ones. He was still gloomy when he left. He felt as if the world had fallen apart after being separated from them, like a toddler who couldn't be weaned and couldn't leave his parents. It made Jian Ning wonder if he would have to raise five children in the future.

As a result, the bastard went to the old house and wandered around, acting like he had found a treasure. What was he trying to do?

After secretly despising someone, Jane Ning was about to quicken her pace when she heard a panting sound behind her. Turning around, she saw that his face was red, which made her mouth twitch.

Should she consider rewarding such a useless person with a bowl of medicine?