Mrs. Su was pleased and asked Zhao's mother to pack everything up and divide it into four portions.

Zhou hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said nothing and went back home carrying a bag of pastries.

When Madam Yu returned to her room, her youngest son, Yun Tianjiao, was still sucking on the lingering taste of candy on his hands. Seeing his mother return, he said with a pitiful expression, "Mommy, the candy was so delicious! I want to ask my cousin for another one."

Ms. Yu ignored them and greeted them with great delight, "Come over here, there's some snacks for you."

As she spoke, she opened the pastries she was holding.

Yun Tian quickly slipped on his shoes and ran to the table. Yun Tianzhi and Yun Manying also got out of bed and walked to the table in disbelief. Their eyes lit up when they saw the pastries wrapped in oil paper.

Ms. Yu carefully picked up one of the slightly broken pieces of pastry and handed it to her youngest son.

Yun Tianjiao grabbed it and stuffed it into his mouth.

Yun Tianzhi and Yun Manying didn't stand on ceremony, grabbing snacks and stuffing them into their mouths, all the while watching their mother's eyes light up with joy.

Seeing her son and daughter wolfing down their food, Mrs. Yu felt a pang of sadness.

Once upon a time, this snack, which even the servants in the Marquis's mansion wouldn't eat, is now something they can only dream of.

On Li's side, she only had her fourth daughter, Yun Manhan, with her. She had taken quite a few pastries, enough for herself to eat as well. At this moment, the mother and daughter were slowly chewing the pastries with cool boiled water, their minds racing.

Yun Manyan was seven years old, but quite sensible. She knew that her family had recently suffered a great calamity, so she had been very considerate and hadn't asked any questions. However, while eating the pastries, she couldn't help but think of her brother and said with great concern, "I wonder what happened to my brother..."

Li's eyes immediately reddened. On that day, she had watched helplessly as her twelve-year-old son was taken away by the Five Cities Garrison.

It's been two months, and we still don't know where the three of them, uncle and nephew, have been taken to.

It would take at least three months to travel from the capital to Ningguta. Considering the distance, they might have already reached the vicinity of Liangzhou.

Looking at the extra pastries beside her, Li thought for a moment and asked her daughter for her opinion, "Your second sister and fifth sister haven't had any yet, would you like to share some with them?"

Yun Manyan nodded and said, "We should naturally share some of our surplus with them."

Mrs. Li patted her daughter's head with satisfaction, then sighed and packed up a few pastries before going next door.

The neighbors next door were Yun Manying, the second daughter of the third branch of the family, Yun Manyan, the fifth daughter, Yun Manyan, and Aunt Shen.

Guo's farce that day not only made her lose face, but also made her daughter Yun Manyin resent her own mother.

She was already thirteen years old, and in two more years she would have reached the age of marriage. Normally, her mother would start arranging marriages for her next year, and she could marry after that. But the Yun family had suddenly encountered such a misfortune. Not only did her own mother want to divorce her and return home, but she also wanted to abandon her. How could she bear this?

So these days, she felt resentful whenever she saw her own mother and younger brother, and asked to move in with Aunt Shen and Fifth Sister.

Just as she was weeping, the door opened, and her second aunt came in with a package and said in a low voice, "Your cousin from the Su family is here. She brought some food. Please have something to eat."

Li didn't say much. They would know what they needed to know tomorrow, so there was no point in making them grieve for a whole night.

Aunt Shen's eyes lit up. "Grandma Su from the Su family is here?"

Does this mean their days of hunger and deprivation are finally coming to an end?

Li said indifferently, "You might be leaving tomorrow, so please have something to eat first."

Aunt Shen felt a chill run down her spine.

The light in Yun Manyin's eyes flashed for a moment, then went out again.

In Madam Zhou's room, she opened several kinds of pastries wrapped in grease and invited her daughter and son to come and eat.

The eldest daughter, Yun Manwan, asked, "Did Aunt Su really come all the way here?"

Madam Zhou nodded. "It's a pity that I don't know what kind of grudge your grandmother had with the Su family. Your grandmother refused to accept a single penny of favor from the Su family. The three of them, mother and sons, may be leaving tomorrow."

Yun Manyan asked curiously, "Why is that? Isn't Grandmother also a member of the Su family?"

Zhou slowly shook her head, "Perhaps your grandmother and the Su family... had some kind of agreement, who knows."

A quarter of an hour later, Li Mama briefly recounted how Zhou Shi and her two sisters-in-law had received pastries from Su Shi and taken them back to their room for the children to eat.

Madam Yun said with a wry smile, "I'm fighting for my pride, but it's really made them suffer."

Just then, Granny Wang suddenly rushed in, her face strange. "Madam, the young master and young lady... have set up a large pot outside the courtyard gate..."

...

A quarter of an hour earlier, in the side room where the Su family was staying, Xiao Youran smiled and said to Su after seeing that everything on the table had been cleared away, "Mother, you can rest now. I'll take Zhao Mama and the others to cook all the things we bought today."

Mrs. Su was taken aback. "Why is that?"

Jiang Youchen looked at his sister, equally puzzled.

Xiao Youran smiled and said, "Didn't our great-aunt say that she doesn't accept anything from the Su family? Then let's cook all the food we brought and share it with the villagers. That way, we can stay, right?"

Is that what my great-aunt meant?

Jiang Youchen fell into deep self-doubt. How come he didn't realize that his great-aunt's refusal to accept the Su family's money and supplies was actually a euphemism for this?

Madam Su was taken aback at first, then patted Xiao Youran's head and asked, "Xiao Ranran, do you mean you still want to stay in Sanyang Village and share the joys and sorrows with your great-aunt and the others?"

Xiao Youran asked her mother, "Mother, do you want to go back to Dingzhou or the capital? Don't you want to stay?"

Mrs. Su looked somber. “Seeing my aunt’s family struggling to make ends meet, I can’t bear to leave them. It’s best if I can stay.”

Xiao Youran's eyes shone brightly, "Mother, then listen to me. Tonight we'll cook a big dinner, cook everything we brought in the car, and invite the villagers over for dinner!"

Jiang Youchen was shocked. Was his younger sister about to start spending money recklessly again?

He immediately and instinctively objected, "If we cook it all, what will we eat tomorrow and the day after?"

Xiao Youran shrugged. "We'll eat with our great-aunts no matter what we eat! They can't object to us staying this time, right?"

Jiang Youchen: ...

So you're not worried at all about not having enough to eat tomorrow or the day after?

Didn't you hear your cousin Yun Tianjiao crying and saying he was so hungry?

Even if the aunt doesn't accept their food or money, there's no need to waste all their food rations, is there?

Ignoring her brother's shocked look, little Ranran smiled sweetly at her mother and asked, "Mom, am I smart or not?"

Mrs. Su responded with an instinctive smile and praise, "Yes, our little Ranran is the smartest! We'll do as you say!"

Jiang Youchen cried...