"Your eldest uncle spends all his time in the military camp and rarely comes into contact with outsiders. When he occasionally goes out on business, people know his identity and don't make things difficult for him."

So what he saw, I don't think, was the whole North. The same logic applies to your father and your mother.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Xingmian felt as if the clouds had parted and the sun had shone through.

Mu Zhizhi continued, "So if Mianmian wants to understand the whole picture of the Northern Territory, her idea this morning was not wrong. She still has to go out and see for herself how they treat the weak."

Without the connection to the General's Mansion, and without revealing your martial arts skills and special abilities, go and see for yourself what this place is truly like. Don't just listen to what others say.

Shen Xingmian nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, Auntie, I understand."

If it were someone else, Shen Xingmian might have felt that the last sentence, "Don't just listen to what others say," sounded too much like a father.

But when Mu Zhizhi said it, she only felt tenderness.

She had only asked such a vague question, but her aunt had already seen through her doubts and concerns; she was truly very perceptive.

"I'll take Dao Dao out again tonight and see what different things we can see in that restaurant when there are a lot of people."

"Yes, although I know Mianmian is very capable, your aunt still can't help but remind you to be careful. No matter what happens, protecting yourself is always the most important thing."

Mu Zhizhi had a serene smile and a gentle tone, and her hands never stopped removing the pits from the hawthorns.

Shen Xingmian felt warm and motherly towards her cousin, and suddenly felt a little envious of her. But if her mother knew about this thought, she would probably want to beat her up.

Ha ha.

"Yeah, I know. If I go out with Dao Dao, and something happens, it'll be someone else in danger, hehe."

That is indeed true.

Both of them couldn't help but laugh. Xiao Yanyue, who was helping out, looked down and fiddled with the hawthorn pit in her hand, a smile curving her lips.

The three of them were very efficient, and the fruit was ready in no time. Next was boiling the sugar. Shen Xingmian was worried that she wouldn't be able to handle it well, so she handed it over to Mu Zhizhi.

She herself controlled the fire in the stove, even using fire-based abilities to try and maintain precise control.

Persistence pays off, and they actually succeeded in making it. Because of the cold weather, the sugary coating on the fruit froze solid in no time after being taken out, and it was incredibly crisp when you took a bite.

She absolutely loved the slightly sour hawthorn with the sugar coating!

"Wow, Auntie is amazing! Come on, let's go show everyone what we've accomplished, hehe."

As Shen Xingmian spoke, he picked up the tray and called Mu Zhizhi to help him distribute the candied hawthorns one by one.

This is the kind of thing that's best enjoyed by the whole family together. It also brings a lot of praise to my aunt and makes her feel that her efforts are worthwhile.

No one should be confined to the kitchen because of their love for their family. My aunt may enjoy cooking, but that's not her job.

Sure enough, as expected, these kinds of candied hawthorns that no one had ever seen before were very novel and received unanimous praise from everyone.

The only imperfection is that my maternal grandfather and eldest uncle are not home right now and couldn't share the joy with me immediately.

It's still a little disappointing.

"It's alright, Auntie. I can put some away first. I promise that when Grandpa and Uncle come back, these candied hawthorns will still be in their best condition!"

Mu Zhizhi hadn't paid much attention to it at first, but after hearing Shen Xingmian's suggestion, she felt that the child was being too considerate.

She couldn't help but stroke the fluffy little head and replied with a smile, "Okay, then I'll trouble you, Mianmian."

Shen Xingmian quickly shook her head: "No, it's not hard work at all!"

Mu Zhizhi sometimes felt that the child in front of her was so thoughtful and considerate that she was not like a child at all; she was too good to all her family members.

Even Yan'er, the older sister, is more childish than her younger sister most of the time, and doesn't consider things thoroughly enough.

Sometimes she even worried that Mianmian was too preoccupied and would exhaust herself. She wanted to remind her again that she didn't need to think so thoroughly about everything. Even if she made a mistake, her family wouldn't blame her, but would help her clean up the mess.

But then I felt that I, who lacked the ability to handle the aftermath, wasn't really suited to be the one saying those words.

Shen Xingmian felt her aunt's gentle gaze fixed on her, as if she had something to say but couldn't bring herself to say it.

She didn't know what had made her silent, but she didn't think of asking further.

People in ancient times had many rules and regulations in their minds, which she couldn't understand, and even if she explained them, she might not understand.

Let's take it slow.

When she returned to her room, she practiced her spatial and wood-based abilities alone for a while, as these two were currently the most useful.

The planting area in the space needs to be large for the wood-type ability to be used more effectively; otherwise, she would have to find a way to build a greenhouse.

There's no plastic here, and she doesn't know what material to use as a substitute.

She had collected some plastic in the space, but she didn't really want to take it out because she didn't know what to do with it after it became garbage.

She really didn't want these modern dregs to poison the ancient world.

Then we can only rely on our own strength.

The corn in the space is almost ready to be harvested. Tonight, we can have Dad and Grandpa... well, Grandpa is getting a bit old, so should we have Uncle instead?

She trusts her family a lot, but she'll ask her grandfather first tonight before making a decision.

For her next batch, she plans to plant sweet potatoes and potatoes. These two types of potatoes have short growth cycles and high yields, making them perfect for solving her immediate problem.

To plant these two, she first had to cultivate seedlings. She took out two bags of sweet potatoes, buried them in the soil, and let them grow freely. Once they became seedlings, she could transplant them into the ground.

For potatoes, cut off a piece with sprouts, mix it with wood ash, and then bury it in the soil with the sprouts facing upwards.

However, if you are only planting in a space, the step of mixing wood ash can be skipped.

She could have done all the work by herself, but she really didn't want to be a good person who did good deeds silently without leaving a name, so she decided to ask someone who had time to help her.

When I went out to look for them, I found that only my cousin, my aunt, and Daodao were at home. Suddenly, I missed the housekeeper and the others who were still far away.

┭┮﹏┭┮.

For convenience, I deliberately separated my family members from others. Now that I can't find anyone to work with, I realize how valuable labor is.

Oh wait, she's starting to develop into a capitalist!

Damn it.

Finally, to punish herself for having such an evil thought, Shen Xingmian did all the work by herself.

While working, he also silently reflected on his work.

By the time the family gathered for dinner that evening, she had already completed all the preparations.