Hua Shi walked in the hazy night, covered in wind and snow. When he hurried back to the Hua family's courtyard, he found the house was pitch black and there was no light at all.

There was a lot of snow piled up outside the gate frame, and she took some effort to push open the wooden door.

The ground in the yard was also covered with snow, a thin layer that was enough to cover her shoes.

She spent the whole day in the mountains and didn't come back. I guess she hadn't cleared the snow in the yard all day, so there was so much snow.

Fortunately, the snow was not heavy today, only fine and scattered snow. If it is not swept for a day, the snow would not pile up so much that there would be no place to step.

It was also quiet in the main hall. Li probably went to bed, and Hua Yu and the others should have rested as well.

Hua Shi walked towards her room in the dark. "Click" she gently pushed open the door. In the darkness, she seemed to see several figures standing in her room...

"who?!"

Hua Shi sensed a figure in advance and was startled. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but she didn't scream out in fright.

“…Don’t turn it over,…she’s back!”

In the darkness, it was Hua Xiao's voice.

There was no light in the dark room. Hua Shi kept his eyes open and looked for a long time, but he couldn't see where the person was standing in the room.

"Hua Xiao? What are you doing in my room?"

Hua Shi asked as he walked towards the table in front of his bed and lit the kerosene lamp on the table.

“Crack—”

The room was suddenly illuminated, and Hua Shi could see clearly the three people standing in a row in the room.

Hua Xiao, Hua Li, and Xiao Hua Ying...

Hua Xiao's vision suddenly lit up. Feeling guilty, he touched his nose, looked away, and was a little afraid to look directly at Hua Shi.

Hua Li put his arm around Xiaoying's shoulders, stared at her with his innocent big eyes, blinked twice, one look was vague, the other was confused, they both looked at her.

Hua Shi looked at the two bamboo baskets hidden behind the three people. They were baskets for winter dates, and the bamboo strips that originally covered them were blown to the ground.

She was sharp-eyed and noticed immediately that Xiao Huaying was holding two large dates tightly in her small hands. Because her palms were small, they could not cover them and the outer peels were exposed.

Hua Xiao and Hua Li were also trying to cover up their mistake, hiding their hands behind their backs. Little did they know that a large bulge of winter dates was sticking out of the two side pockets of their thin coats.

It’s hard not to see...

Hua Shi narrowed his eyes and suddenly spoke, his voice rising a few notes, "What are you holding in your hands?"

Huaying, the youngest, was looking at her eagerly, and was suddenly frightened by the voice.

Her long eyelashes drooped like a fan, casting a shadow. She blinked twice rapidly, her eyes widening in shock and confusion.

The little fellow tightened the winter jujube in his palm a little, and silently put his hand behind his back...

The silent answer to her was nothing.

Hua Shi almost laughed out loud at his confused and slow reaction.

These three guys sneaked in and stole the winter dates while she was away...

Hua Xiao looked back at the bamboo basket that had been exposed behind him, and then looked at Hua Shi. He knew that he had been caught and could no longer hide, so he spoke frankly,

"You haven't been home all day, and my second brother hasn't come back yet. We're hungry, so we came here to find something to eat."

Seeing that she had spoken frankly, Hua Shi asked again in confusion, "Didn't I just get you a basket before I left this morning?"

Hua Xiao curled her lips, "...I finished eating a long time ago."

Hua Li, who was standing by, also wiped his hands and responded, "Yes, didn't you agree that we can eat as many dates as we want..."

Hua Shi looked at the emotions on the two people's faces, which were so obvious that they could not be hidden at all, and he guessed their little thoughts at once.

Being hungry is one thing, but seeing that she hadn't come back yet, he probably wanted to know how many winter dates were left after eating them for so many days, so he wanted to come and see...

"Okay, have you guys taken enough? Do you want to bring a basket over and I can help you with some more."

It was the middle of the night, and Hua Shi was too lazy to talk about this anymore.

Hua Xiao and Hua Li shook their heads in unison, "No need."

They put a lot in their pockets, enough for tonight...

The youngest Huaying had his back to her, puffed out his cheeks, and stuffed half a date into his mouth. After the peel was broken, the juice flowed down his hand to his wrist, making a sticky crunching sound as he chewed it.

The atmosphere was silent for a few seconds. Under Hua Shi's gaze, Hua Xiao and Hua Li, one on each side, pulled Hua Ying out of the house...

"Hua Xiao... did you see that? She seems to have brought back two pheasants...!"

"I saw..."

The two people walked out not far, and the sound of their quiet discussion was clearly heard by Hua Shi from outside.

Hua Shi didn't expect that there were three people hiding in her room. They came straight in carrying two pheasants and a bamboo basket.

She didn't intend to hide it from Hua Yu and the others. As long as Li didn't know about it, everything would be fine.

Before returning, she was afraid that the pheasants' calls would be heard by Li, so she tied the beaks of the two chickens with thin vines to prevent them from making any sound.

Just as Hua Shi closed the door again, a faint sound suddenly came from outside the yard. Then, not long after, Hua Li's voice came from outside the house...

“…It seems like my second brother is back!”

…