Xiaoyue hurriedly put down her chopsticks, locked the door, and ran to the Ge family's house with the little boy in her arms. When she entered the Ge family's courtyard, she saw that the window of the main house was covered with a whole sheet of paper, which Xiaoyue had smashed that day.

There was hardly anyone in the courtyard, and the house was completely dark.

Xiaoyue asked the little boy, "Did your mother take her medicine?"

The little boy shook his head, and the four-and-a-half-year-old girl already knew what had happened: "Grandma broke the medicine, and she gave the medicine pot to Auntie to brew medicine, and it hasn't been brought back since."

Xiaoyue pushed open the door and entered the room. In the dim moonlight, she could only vaguely see the woman lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), her body hunched over and her voice hoarse from coughing.

The little boy grabbed Xiaoyue's arm, looking aggrieved, and said timidly, "After Aunt Xiaoyue left, Grandma hasn't given me any food."

Xiaoyue immediately understood what the little boy said.

"Grandma and Mom don't want me to look for you, but Mom is dying."

Xiaoyue used the moonlight to wipe Xiaodouding's face and put him on the kang (a heated brick bed). Lu Xiaomei heard the door open and coughed so hard she couldn't lift her head. She thought Xiaodouding had come back, so she didn't look up.

Xiaoyue pushed the door open and went out again.

Xiaoyue was familiar with the Ge family's kitchen and where they kept their eggs. But when she got to the kitchen door, there was a large padlock on it. Xiaoyue touched the padlock and a plan came to her mind.

When told to lock the door, Xiaoyue picked up a thin twig from the ground, curled the leaves off the twig, stuffed it into the keyhole, inserted the twig, and then broke it off.

Seeing that the keyhole was already plugged, Xiaoyue pushed up the kitchen window and jumped into the kitchen.

Xiaoyue took the only two eggs and a bowl of white rice, rinsed them with water, and then added oil and salt. She also peeled two potatoes and added them to the bowl of white rice.

There's nothing left in the kitchen.

She carried the basin and jumped out of the window to the west wing, took a bundle of firewood, lit a fire, and put only a ladle of water in the pot. The water boiled quickly. Xiaoyue beat the eggs, used hot water to make egg drop soup, and took some sugar from the kitchen to add flavor.

Then add water, pour the rinsed rice into the pot, cover the pot, bring it to a boil, and then let it simmer.

The egg water was almost ready to drink. When Xiaoyue brought the egg water to Lu Xiaomei, Lu Xiaomei was too weak to eat. Xiaoyue fed Lu Xiaomei spoonful by spoonful.

While giving Lu Xiaomei some egg water, Xiaoyue said as gently as possible, "Once the new house is built, we'll move to my place. If you stay here, you'll die sooner or later."

Lu Xiaomei weakly pushed the bowl away, indicating that she didn't want to drink anymore, and smiled: "What's the point of me going with you!"

Xiaoyue tugged at the cushion on the back of his chair so that Lu Xiaomei could sit comfortably for a while.

Xiaoyue hugged the little boy on the kang (a heated brick bed) and said seriously to Lu Xiaomei, "You don't care about life and death, but have you thought about it? If you lose the little boy, you will lose your mother. No matter how good I am to her, it can't compare to your importance in her heart."

"Since Ge Sanlin doesn't care about you anymore, you shouldn't think about him. If he cared about you, the Ge family wouldn't have let you starve to death or die of illness without their help."

"I have nothing, but I can still earn money. If your mother and brother heard about your death, they would be heartbroken. I asked Doctor Hu, and your illness isn't that serious. As long as you take your medicine on time..."

"You'll be better soon, and then you can cook for me and Xiaodouding. You know, Third Sister-in-law, I just can't cook."

Under the moonlight, Lu Xiaomei slowly smiled. "Why don't we leave tonight? Otherwise, if Grandma Ge finds out that I stole her eggs, she'll definitely make a scene for you again."

Lu Xiaomei laughed, "Let her make a fuss, anyway, I'm lying here, what can she do to me?"

Xiaoyue timed it and realized the rice was ready. She lifted the lid and saw plump, white rice. She mashed the potatoes and mixed them with the rice. Then she ladled out two bowls of rice, giving one to Lu Xiaomei.

One bowl for the little one.

After drinking the egg water, Lu Xiaomei had some strength left.

He sat up and ate a bowl of rice by himself.

Xiaoyue made two rice balls from the remaining rice and placed them next to Lu Xiaomei. After Lu Xiaomei and Xiaodouding finished eating, she washed the bowls and the pot.

All traces were gone. He then said to Lu Xiaomei and Xiaodouding, "If Grandma Ge gets angry tomorrow, you must not interfere. I'm going to Hejia Town tomorrow and will come to see you again in the evening."

After comforting Xiaodouding and his mother, Xiaoyue came out of the Ge family's courtyard. Suddenly, a dark figure passed by the Ge family's courtyard. Xiaoyue saw that the figure looked very much like Ge Erlin, and she couldn't suppress her excitement and slowed down to follow.

Ge Erlin pushed open the gate of Monkey Three's courtyard, and the bird quietly entered the courtyard.

Xiaoyue hid in the shadows to see when Ge Erlin would come out.

Ignoring the mosquitoes, he silently stood guard behind a tree by the gate.

About 15 minutes later, Ge Erlin came out, pulling up his pants, acting as furtively as when he left.

Xiaoyue remembered that Hou San would stay in town for three to five months and only come back once. Hou San worked at his brother-in-law's small restaurant.

After watching Ge Erlin jump over her own wall, Xiaoyue chuckled and then spat out a satisfying "Pui!"

We need to carefully consider how to tell Monkey Three.

The next day, Xiaoyue got up a little late and just happened to run into Uncle Liang at the village entrance, who was driving a cart to wait for the villagers to go to town.

Of the passengers, Gao Lei and Hu Banxia were regular passengers. Xiaoyue was riding in the carriage for the first time and handed a copper coin to Uncle Liang.

Uncle Liang smiled and said, "It's not market day today, so no one is buying anything."

Xiaoyue stepped onto the oxcart and said to Uncle Liang with a smile, "I don't need to go to the market for my things. I also want to buy some seeds."

Xiaoyue shifted her position and sat in the front, asking Uncle Liang, "What can we plant at this time of year? I've already prepared the vegetable garden and want to buy scallion seeds, late-season green beans, and cabbage seeds. What else can we plant? It's too late to plant potatoes now."

Uncle Liang glanced at Xiaoyue and said, “I have scallions and green beans. Just come and get them from me when you get back. Don’t waste your money. I also have chives. Just cut a shovelful of roots. If you don’t watch them, they’ll just grow in the ground.”

"As for garlic, rapeseed, amaranth, cabbage, cucumber, celery, and carrots, just buy the seeds of whichever one you like. Your half-acre garden isn't small; you can grow all of them."

Xiaoyue's eyes lit up, and she laughed, "So there are so many things that can be grown."

When Xiaoyue saw Gao Lei and Hu Banxia arrive with the book boxes, she stopped talking, and neither Gao Lei nor Hu Banxia spoke to Xiaoyue.

When they reached the edge of town, Uncle Liang smiled and said, "Girl, I'll wait for you here."

Xiaoyue agreed and entered the town. Before Gao Lei and Hu Banxia got out of the car, Xiaoyue had already entered the gate like an elf. It wasn't market day, so the gatekeeper didn't check anything.

Xiaoyue went straight to Tonghe Medical Clinic, completely unaware that someone was following her.