Before Chen Yu could speak, Niu Da picked up Niu Baozhu and said, "Of course! Mr. Niu said that only through studying can one understand reason. Even a girl can be just as capable! Even if she can't be a great success, at least she won't be cheated out of her money in the future!"

"Father hasn't held Baozhu in a long time, and she's gotten quite a bit heavier this time!" "Qiao'er, Ke'er, Heng'er, what do you want? I can buy it for you when I go to town tomorrow!"

"Uncle, we don't want anything!" Niu Ke'er and Qiao'er, like Xiao Heng and his other sisters, received five hundred copper coins of pocket money every month, which was enough to buy almost anything they wanted.

Little Fu Bao turned around and pulled out a string of copper coins from under his little pillow, saying, "Daddy, I want chestnut cake, osmanthus sugar, and spicy bean curd! Big brother, what do you want to buy?"

Xiao Heng frowned slightly and said, "I don't want anything."

After frying the vegetarian dishes, Shen Yu steamed a few white flour buns. Xiao Heng always ate very little, and Shen Yu assumed it was because he had a small appetite. No wonder this child, who was clearly ten years old, looked like a seven or eight-year-old. She pushed the white flour buns and vegetarian dishes in front of Xiao Heng and said:

"Boys should eat more!"

When Xiao Heng first arrived, he was pale and thin, looking malnourished. Although his complexion improved later, he still didn't gain any weight.

Xiao Heng is a very good-looking boy, but he is too thin, which is a bit of a flaw.

Xiao Heng was a reserved child, probably because he was afraid that if he ate too much, he would be disliked by the Niu family. He was a poor child, and in the past, he was a petty thief, which made him disliked by everyone.

Actually, he wasn't afraid of being disliked... he was the future regent! He was just worried that if he ate too much and got too fat, what if his little Lucky Baby stopped liking him?

Little Fu Bao saw this and said with a smile:

"Little brother, my mom's pickles are so delicious! Try eating another steamed bun with them and see what happens!"

Just now, Xiao Heng had only eaten two pieces of vegetarian food and hadn't even had a steamed bun yet. He turned his head slightly to look at Xiao Fubao, who was looking at him expectantly, and said:

"All right!"

Pickling vegetables takes time, and the previous pickled vegetables have already been sold by Weixiangzhai. These pickled vegetables were only made a few days ago.

Xiao Heng ate another steamed bun. Perhaps the pickles were too delicious, because Xiao Heng ate three more white steamed buns in a row, forgetting his restraint, and stuffed his stomach until it was round and bulging, attracting the attention of more than a dozen people of all ages.

He suddenly realized that he seemed to be eating too much. If he got fat, his little baby would definitely dislike him!

Shen Yu laughed and said, "You silly child, you've been so reserved these past few days. Now that you're here with us, you're like our own son. Eat whatever you want! If you like pickles, eat more of them!" "In a few days, the meat we made earlier will be ready. You and your second uncle can each take a jar to school to eat!"

"Before you came, all the sisters in the family had new clothes for the New Year, except for you. So I made two sets for you these past few days. The shoes were bought, and I don't know if they'll fit! Try them on in a bit!"

"Thank you, Mother! Thank you, Father!" This was the first time in so many days that Xiao Heng had called them Father and Mother.

The Spring Festival in Niushan Village is quite lively. Although most of the villagers are not well-off, there are many people and it is very lively. Even the children from poor farming families are wearing new clothes for the New Year and have sweet candied hawthorns in their mouths.

Every household was either stewing fish, stir-frying meat, or slaughtering chickens.

"Mother, let me do it!" Xiao Heng said, taking the chicken and knife from Chen Yu's hands as she prepared to kill the chicken.

The chickens in Niu's family used to lay ten eggs a day, but they couldn't lay that many every day. They only laid eggs for about six months before returning to normal.

A year and a half ago, as the Niu family raised more and more chickens, they laid fewer eggs.

But in winter, the old hens we raised and the first batch of chickens we bought could still lay an egg a day.

The family already has two hundred chickens and sixteen pigs. Because the Niu family's land is relatively large, they also bought a piece of land from the Yuan family behind them and half a li of land from the Xiang family. So, their land is now about two square kilometers in size.

There are hundreds of fruit trees planted in the backyard.

It won't disturb the neighbors' nighttime rest.

Little Fu Bao wore the pink brocade jacket that Grandpa Zhuo bought for him, with two red ribbons tied into two little knots on his head. Everyone gathered around the fire to warm themselves and chat, and there were also some sweet potatoes roasting in the fire.

Niu Baolan was holding a hot roasted sweet potato, crying loudly because it was burned, but she just wouldn't let go... she wouldn't let go even if it killed her!

Little Fu Bao was much smarter; she used chopsticks to skewer the sweet potato and ate it in small bites.

Zhuo Ming stayed with the Niu family until the beginning of the new year before returning home.

On New Year's Eve, after all the children were asleep, Chen Yu took two small boxes out of the wardrobe and said to Niu Xiaomei:

"After the New Year, in two months, it will be your wedding day with Doctor Xue. This is the dowry your elder brother and sister-in-law have prepared for you! It contains two hundred taels of silver and a set of jewelry! This is your dowry, and the betrothal gifts that Doctor Xue's family sent before are also included!"

That box was one of the five treasure chests that Niu Da and Niu Er had dug up on the mountain before; the other one was the one Xue Huaimin used when he presented his betrothal gifts.

Niu Xiaomei pushed the box away, saying, "No, no, no, sister-in-law, this is for you and your brother. Two hundred taels of silver is no small amount. You and your brother should keep it for business. I'm a married woman, how could I need so much silver!"

"Little sister, just take it! You have to think about your two daughters. Although Huaimin is a good man, there will inevitably be arguments in the future. Besides, Ke'er and Qiao'er are not the Xue family's biological children. If they can treat them well, that would be good. Having this money in your hands gives you confidence, doesn't it?"

Niu Xiaomei burst into tears and said, "Sister-in-law, thank you! Thank you so much!"

Chen Yu gently patted Niu Xiaomei's hand.

When the college started in early March, Niu Da also sent Xiao Heng to school together. Niu Da, the scholar from the village, was a good person and extremely patient with his students.

Chen Yu and Niu Da were extremely busy making pickles, sauerkraut, and salted vegetables, as well as planting rice seedlings. Xiao Heng, Niu Cuihua, and Niu Er each carried a baby, along with Niu Baolan, Niu Baozhu, and Xiao Fubao, to listen to the teacher's lecture.

Xiao Fubao and Niu Baozhu were listening attentively, their little faces propped up by their hands. Only Niu Baolan was daydreaming. She had a box of pastries in her arms, and her little mouth was covered in them.

Xiao Heng looked at Xiao Fubao, who was sitting on his lap listening attentively.

Some students were dozing off in private. Niu Daxiu tapped his ruler, waking them up. "Niu Dashan," he said, "what is the essence of the university? Recite the first paragraph before you sit down."

Due to the scarcity of teachers, there are only two teachers in the entire Niushan Village, and each teacher has to teach two groups of students in the same classroom at the same time.

The child named Niu Dashan was the fifth son of the Da Tan family. He stood up and stammered, unable to recite a single word.