She corrected him, word by word, in her childish voice, "You should say, thank you, Ben-bao-bao!"

The disaster victim looked completely bewildered. "Didn't I mean you, Your Highness?! I meant thank you, Your Highness!"

Xiao Youran took a deep breath, "Just say, thank you, Ben, Bao, Bao!"

"Yes, thank you."

Xiao Youran rolled her eyes. "If I had to say anything, it would be 'thank you, my baby!'"

"Isn't 'this baby' referring to myself? But I'm not a baby! It's meaningless for me to thank 'this baby'!" the disaster victim exclaimed anxiously.

Little Youran got angry, "Just repeat after me, thank you, baby! Are you going to say it or not?! If you don't say it, there's no porridge!"

The disaster victim could only reply, "Thank you, Ben, Bao, Bao?"

Xiao Youran nodded in satisfaction and gestured for Yang to prepare the porridge.

The disaster victims breathed a sigh of relief.

That was really tough.

Those around were speechless.

Xiao Youran wiped the sweat from her forehead and secretly glanced at the notebook. Seeing that there was no reaction, she wondered if she had opened it wrong.

Just as she was about to ask what was going on with the little notebook, Yueyue gently nudged her, "You Ran, little sister?"

She snapped out of her daze. "Hmm?"

Yueyue pointed to the disaster victim next to her who was looking at her expectantly and said, "He asked if he could have some extra snacks?"

Xiao Youran nodded casually, "You can decide."

Yueyue happily took a snack from the food box and put it in his hand.

After all that, several disaster victims said the same thing, but Xiao Youran felt that the little notebook still wasn't responding. So she made an excuse that she was tired and went back to the table behind her to sit down. She pretended to be deep in thought, but actually summoned the little notebook and asked, "So, can you receive any gratitude points?"

The notebook listlessly displayed a few words: "It seems impossible."

"What should we do then?"

The little notebook still said listlessly, "Just leave it as is!"

Xiao You Ran: ……

Well, the fact that you can still joke around means you're not in a bad mood.

Since that's the case, there's nothing she can do.

Yueyue came in and asked worriedly, "You Ran, are you alright?"

Xiao Youran opened her eyes and smiled brightly, "It's alright. By the way, did the Princess sleep better last night?"

Yueyue nodded. "When I went to pay my respects to my mother this morning, she said that she slept more soundly last night, unlike the restless and frequently having nightmares she had a few days ago."

Xiao Youran nodded, "Have you found out who did it and how?"

Yueyue hesitated, "Not yet... Aunt Jinxiu has been secretly investigating these past two days."

As the two were talking, they heard a commotion outside.

When they went outside, they saw a ragged woman grabbing Yan Jin's braid by the porridge-cooking area, yelling, "You wretched girl, why didn't you just die out there? You found such a good family, serving you good food and drink, and you don't even know to send your monthly wages home? Are you just going to watch your three older brothers and one younger brother starve to death? If we hadn't fled to the capital, I wouldn't believe you were still alive! If you're alive, why don't you send money and food back? Are you dead? You might as well be dead!"

Wang Wu initially thought it was just a mother and daughter recognizing each other, and that a few complaints would suffice. But as the insults escalated, he couldn't stand it anymore. Seeing Xiao Youran and Yueyue also come out, he immediately stepped forward and pulled the woman away, saying, "Alright, where did this woman come from? Watch your language!"

The old woman angrily retorted, "What business is it of yours if I'm disciplining my own daughter?!"

Xiao Youran stepped forward and asked in a clear voice, "You just grab any little girl and claim she's your daughter? Has she even acknowledged you? And you're cursing her so rudely, what mother would tell her daughter to die?"

She gave Yan Jin a look; she didn't believe the usually clever Yan Jin wouldn't understand such an obvious hint.

Although she was usually cold to Yan Jin, she couldn't stand seeing her own people being treated so badly by outsiders.

Yan Jin lowered her head. Of course, she understood the implication in Xiao Youran's words. Thinking about how her mother had been blaming her earlier, she steeled herself and said in a low voice, "Princess, she's not my mother! She's mistaken me for someone else!"

The old woman flew into a rage, "You wretched girl, how dare you disown your old mother? I carried you for ten months and gave birth to you, and this is how you repay me?!"

She was so angry she was about to collapse.

A tall, burly man rushed up and helped her.

The man's face was filthy, making it impossible to tell his age, but his voice suggested he was a young man of about eighteen or nineteen. He angrily retorted, "Chunhua! You heartless wretch, how dare you disown your own mother?"

Yan Jin lowered her head, not daring to look at him.

Xiao Youran gestured for Su Yue to take her back to the shed, "That's about enough for today, let's go back first!"

Su Yue carefully pulled Yan Jin towards the shed.

Unexpectedly, the woman pounced on Yan Jin, grabbed his sleeve and yanked it hard, shouting, "I gave birth to you and raised you, I know you have a round birthmark on your left arm! And a red birthmark on your right leg! Look!"

Yan Jin gasped and quickly covered her left arm, screaming "Ahhh!" as she backed away, landing hard on her bottom.

Su Yue quickly stopped her behind.

"You brat, come here right now! If you've got the guts, pull up your skirt and let someone see if you have a birthmark on your right leg. If you don't, you're not my daughter!"

Yueyue and Xiaoyouran were both shocked. What kind of parents would tell their daughter to take off her skirt and show her thighs in public?

Seeing that everyone present was a young girl, Wang Wu immediately took off his own outer garment and draped it over Yan Jin's left arm to cover her exposed skin. Then he stepped forward and blocked the old woman's path, saying fiercely, "You old woman, how rude of you!"

The old woman said smugly, "What's wrong with me recognizing my own daughter?!"

Yan Jin suddenly broke down in tears, “What kind of mother are you?! Do I have a mother like you? My three older brothers always eat first, and I can only watch! After my younger brother was born, I only drank one bowl of porridge a day, and in the dead of winter I had to go to the river to wash the family’s clothes. I fell into the river and had a high fever, and you still made me get up to start the fire and cook!”

I'm only nine years old, and you're already trying to sell me to the village chief's mentally challenged nephew for a bride price! I refused, and finally managed to escape to my aunt's house in the next village, but you immediately had her sell me to the town! Now that I've finally settled down, I come to the city gate every day to distribute porridge, because I've heard about many disaster victims fleeing from the north. I was thinking that if you also fled here and I ran into you, I'd give you an extra bun or two! But what about you? You come up here and start cursing me, telling me to just die! And you're still thinking about using my monthly allowance to support my three older brothers!

Look at your son, so tall and strong, can't he find work and earn money? Why should I use my monthly allowance to support them? Let me tell you, I don't have a monthly allowance! I'm content as long as I have enough to eat, clothes to wear, and no one to beat or scold me!"