In famine years, even if there was a harvest, it was still absolutely not enough to eat! With so many people in the family, who to feed and who not to feed, watching the food dwindle day by day, every single thing was like having your heart ripped out.

Can we still count on the officials? Natural disasters are terrible, but the man-made disasters that follow are even more disheartening; relief supplies never reach ordinary people...

Having experienced famine years firsthand, Fan's mother knew how terrible things could be. She yelled at her eldest grandsons, "Alright, alright, stop talking nonsense!"

"Quickly, spit it out! Say something bad, it won't work, but something good will!"

Dazhu and Erzhu did not listen to or follow their grandmother's advice, and Fan's mother did not truly blame Jin Sunsun.

For several years in a row, the weather has been favorable, with neither a bumper harvest nor a crop failure. It's impossible that next year's harvest will be poor.

Madam Fan only said to Shang Shuiqing, "Second son's wife, quickly give the jade pendant to Heizi so we can take him home."

She had originally hoped to expose the second brother so that the eldest brother could take over the business and she could also enjoy a life of luxury.

The business deal fell through, and she didn't like having Hei Zi as a source of income, but she was willing to take Hei Zi back for the sake of the jade pendant.

Bai Ziqian tugged at Shui Qing's sleeve and pleaded softly, "Aunt Shui Qing, I want to stay at your house. Would you still accept me?"

He knew that in Uncle Fan's family, the person in charge was Aunt Shuiqing. Uncle Fan's approval was useless; only Aunt Shuiqing's approval mattered.

Shui Qing laughed and said, "Sure, there are still many pits to be dug on the back mountain. If you're willing to dig them, you can leave them here."

Bai Ziqian's eyes immediately lit up, his face beaming with joy, "Okay! I'm willing to dig a hole!"

Digging holes is great! It's good exercise too. Digging big, round holes and planting fruit trees gives you a real sense of accomplishment.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Shui Qing turned to Fan's mother and said, "Hei Zi said he is willing to stay at my house, so please go back."

Sun Jinhua immediately became unhappy and was about to start cursing when Shui Qing preemptively said, "It's not like you signed a contract to sell yourself and received money for it. It's just about being provided with meals. You work for whichever family provides meals."

Sun Jinhua, unable to exhale her anger, pointed at Bai Ziqian and left, calling him an ungrateful wretch.

When Zhao Fugui left, Fan Damu's family slipped away quietly. Now that Hei Zi's matter was settled, Fan Qian and the others also left in a sorry state.

Seeing that the matter was resolved, the people who had come to help Shuiqing out of fear that she would be taken advantage of said goodbye and quickly left—they still had to pick mushrooms!

Bai Ziqian had only been back for a few days, but it felt like a lifetime had passed.

"Aunt Shuiqing, Uncle Fan, thank you for still accepting him."

Shui Qing's thinking was simple: Hei Zi's actions didn't count as betrayal. They had saved him, and he was giving them a jade pendant to repay their kindness.

He ate and drank at their house, and he also did chores.

He thought the outside world was better and wanted to try his luck there, so he went ahead. When he found out the outside world wasn't good and wanted to come back, we didn't force them to come back; instead, we helped them out.

Oh, right, it seems the black piece isn't actually black, but white.

But none of that matters. The most important thing is: "It's good that you're back. Hurry up and go dig a hole in the back hill!"

Digging holes is exhausting, especially after it rains. When you step on the muddy ground, your legs are covered in mud, and it's no exaggeration to say that even your hair can get muddy.

Fan Jin smiled gently, not mentioning anything about what had happened before, and only said with relief, "It's good that you're back."

Bai Ziqian was immediately moved to tears, feeling even more excited to return to the thatched hut than to the high walls and courtyards of the Bai family.