Song Darong had his own judgment. He knew his mother was an extremely domineering woman; all four of his children and three wives had to bow down to her. How could three little kids possibly scare their mother? Nonsense!

He scolded Song Dalong and then went home.

Fang Jie washed her face and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner with Song Yaohui.

The dishes were ready in no time.

Fang Jie brought over a large bowl, and Song Fanxing leaned over to see what it was. Tonight, her mother had made a big stew.

Eggplant, green beans, potatoes, peppers, and corn cut into small pieces were stewed in a big pot.

Another dish was a dipping sauce vegetable dish, consisting of cucumber, green pepper, scallions, and cilantro, which filled a large bowl and was served with a bowl of soybean paste.

Song Fanxing is a typical southerner and has no particular fondness for this type of dish; she prefers to categorize and cook vegetables according to their type.

But vegetables irrigated with the spiritual spring water taste good no matter how they're cooked, and she can eat them. Besides, her mother, Fang Jie, is a good cook and makes delicious dishes.

Song Darong's eyes lit up when he looked at the two dishes.

"I love this so much, I want to die."

Sure enough, Song Darong thoroughly enjoyed his meal at the dinner table.

After dinner, Song Yaohui and Song Yaohua went to wash the dishes, while Song Darong held Song Fanxing and talked with Fang Jie in the yard.

Now that there are outsiders in the house, the couple can only have private conversations outside.

Song Darong put Song Fanxing down and took out a wad of cash from his pocket to give to Fang Jie.

He said, "Pay the children's tuition fees and my mother's medical expenses later, they're all here."

Fang Jie: "The tuition has been paid. I've collected 5 yuan for my mother's treatment and given it to her second uncle. Each of our families will contribute 5 yuan, which is 15 yuan. If we don't have enough, we'll discuss it further."

Song Darong asked in surprise, "Where did you get the money?"

Fang Jie said, "I collected some mountain products a while ago and sold them on the black market."

She didn't tell anyone about her daughter; it was a secret between her and her daughter.

Song Darong held Fang Jie's hand and said, "Wife, you've worked so hard."

Fang Jie glanced quickly at Song Fanxing, withdrew her hand, and said coquettishly, "The child is still watching."

Song Darong blushed; he had forgotten.

Song Fanxing smiled and said, "I didn't see anything!" Then she slipped away to the kitchen to find her two older brothers.

Fang Jie laughed and scolded, "You little rascal! Xingxing looks so pretty in a dress, I'll buy you two more next time you come back."

Song Darong replied, "Okay."

I glanced at Fang Jie's old, patched clothes.

Song Darong took out a stack of receipts and stuffed them into Fang Jie's hand along with a stack of money.

Fang Jie was overjoyed, "So many votes!"

"Well, some were given to me by others, and some I exchanged for tickets I didn't need."

The moon was particularly round tonight. Fang Jie carefully examined each coupon by the moonlight. There were grain coupons, cloth coupons, oil coupons, diesel coupons, and meat coupons.

Fang Jie said, "That's great. Although we haven't run out of food in the past six months, we've been out of oil for a long time, and the children haven't had any oily food in a long time."

The only time I ate meat was last month.

Song Darong grasped Fang Jie's hand, and this time Fang Jie did not pull away.

"Wife, wait a little longer. When conditions there are better, I'll bring you and the four of you over there. Then our family will be together again, and we won't be separated."

Fang Jie nodded, her eyes moist.