Ling Dahu didn't dare tell Tao Wanniang about his brother's family buying servants, but he secretly asked Wang Hongyu about it.

"Wife, I feel that your wife has changed," Ling Dahu said worriedly. "When I sent Dapeng's family over, guess what I saw? They bought servants."

Ling Dahu relayed Zhou Xiaoyun's words to Wang Hongyu, shaking his head repeatedly. "Wife, what's wrong with my sister-in-law?"

Wang Hongyu was also a little surprised. Although she knew that Zhou Xiaoyun and her mother-in-law did not get along, Zhou Xiaoyun used to be the kind of person who would split every penny in half!

"Was it because she was being taken care of by others during those few days at Father's, that she really wanted to live the life of a young mistress?" Wang Hongyu finally thought for a moment and guessed.

Ling Dahu shuddered as he recalled the few days he spent at the General's Mansion; he had no desire to endure the hardships of training again.

"At that time, the headmistress meant that I was the eldest daughter-in-law and would be in charge of the household in the future, so she kept an eye on me; as for Xiaoyun, she was pregnant, so no one should dare to do anything to her," Wang Hongyu recalled.

“Wife, if you have time, you should go and talk to your sister-in-law. We come from a poor family and we had a very hard life. If it weren’t for our mother, we would probably have starved to death somewhere.” Ling Dahu said with a worried face.

Wang Hongyu also sighed heavily. What was Zhou Xiaoyun thinking? With this whole family together, wasn't it all Mother who was spending money? Even if they were to separate the family, they should wait until she was able to support the family business!

Tao Wanniang didn't pay special attention to Ling Dapeng and Zhou Xiaoyun's affairs; she lived her life on her own.

The restaurant project was progressing gradually, and she had to keep an eye on all aspects. One day, outside the restaurant, she saw an old acquaintance.

Yang Song, accompanied by several of his underlings, peered out from the entrance of the Star-Picking Tower. Upon seeing Tao Wanniang, they all showed expressions of joy.

"Manager Tao, do you have any work?" Yang Song asked directly. "I told you before that if you have any work, you should arrange it for us brothers."

Seeing the expressions on Yang Song's and the others' faces, Tao Wanniang thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Do all five of you want to work for me? But I'm not asking you to protect the shops on that street. I've already paid you protection money in advance!"

Yang Song was taken aback. Oh right, he had already received his salary for the month, but he was too idle.

“Manager Tao, after your shops were burned down, that area became empty. The shops there are very quiet, and no one will come to cause trouble,” Yang Song explained. “We can’t just take the money and not do the job!”

"Heh, this isn't like you guys at all. Didn't you always just take the money and do nothing?" Tao Wanniang mocked. "What, have you changed your ways?"

Those who have earned money through honest work naturally yearn for a legitimate job. Yang Song, along with a few of his underlings, earnestly said to Tao Wanniang, "Manager Tao, with such a large restaurant, you must be able to arrange work for us brothers. We want to work honestly, and following you gives us hope."

“We can definitely arrange people for the waiters and kitchen helpers. Hmm, okay, give me a place where I can find you. Before the restaurant opens, everyone needs to prepare. I’ll see what you’re good at then.” Tao Wanniang saw that these people wanted to work, so she was willing to give them a chance.

"Don't worry, Manager Tao, we brothers won't let you down." Yang Song immediately assured Tao Wanniang after she agreed, and also told her where he could find him.

Tao Wanniang smiled slightly, told the others to go home and wait, and then went into the restaurant to get busy.

"Big brother, I want to come back." At the Tao family home, Ling Dapeng tugged at Ling Dahu's sleeve and said with a bitter face.

"You've only been gone a few days, why are you coming back already? With Mother not here, I can't make the decision." Ling Dahu said, puzzled. Wasn't she quite happy when she left?

"After experiencing it myself, I realized that firewood costs money, as do rice, oil, and salt. There are four people in my family, and we also need to buy groceries every day. We haven't had any money coming in lately, and all I see is money going out, which makes me anxious."

Ling Dahu said with a long face, "Xiaoyun is very tight-fisted with her money, saying she wants to save it to raise the child. She asked me to come back to see if there's anything I can take back to save some money."

It had only been less than ten days. Ling Dahu winked at Wang Hongyu, who was standing to the side, knowing he was clumsy with words and couldn't say anything comforting.

"Second brother, I've been saying this before, but you don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. Back in the countryside, we ate everything grown in the fields and gathered from the mountains, and there was plenty of firewood in the mountains. But in the capital, everything costs money, doesn't it?"

Wang Hongyu lectured, "When you separated the family, you were quite decisive. Only ten days have passed, and you want to come back? What about Xiaoyun?"

“Xiaoyun… doesn’t want to,” Ling Dapeng said in a low voice. “I was afraid that Xiaoyun would have a miscarriage, so I didn’t say anything in front of her. But all the money in the house is in Xiaoyun’s hands. When I reach out for money, I see that Xiaoyun’s face doesn’t look good.”

Ling Dahu and Wang Hongyu exchanged a helpless glance.

“If only you had known this would happen, you wouldn’t have done it in the first place. When your mother comes back, you can talk to her about it,” Wang Hongyu said. “But it’s only been ten days. You can’t expect to spend money every single day.”

"Xiaoyun is pregnant, so I wanted to give her some nourishing food. The chickens and ducks at home haven't laid eggs yet, so I bought some. Meat doesn't keep for long, so I'll buy it the next day. Xiaoyun wants to eat fish..."

Ling Dahu and Wang Hongyu were speechless. They used to eat mostly wild vegetables. It was only after their mother became rich that she said the children needed to grow up and started buying meat and fish.

"Dapeng, don't you know your own limitations?" Ling Dahu, as the eldest brother, wanted to teach his younger brother a lesson. "We can eat and drink well because of Mom. You guys have really been spoiled by her. Now that you're on your own, you know what hardship is!"

"I know, brother, sister-in-law, please help me!" Ling Dapeng pleaded, crying.

The meat and fish he buys now don't taste as good as the ones at home. Cao'er and Aunt Liu are poor and don't know how to cook at all; they just boil everything.

Ling Dahu and Wang Hongyu listened to Ling Dapeng's complaints and felt a pang of pity. Although they didn't know what other people ate, their mother was willing to cook delicious food. As a family restaurant owner, they knew that to make good food, you had to use oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

“Brother, I still have to cook for everyone. I’m willing to cook for Xiaoyun and the children, but what about cooking for two servants?” Ling Dapeng complained. “Once the restaurant opens, I’ll be busy again. What will happen to Xiaoyun and Zhi’er?”

After saying all that, he just felt sorry for his wife. Ling Dahu couldn't say anything, but Wang Hongyu felt quite annoyed.

"Dapeng, there's nothing we can do to help you with this. We're not as rich as you are."

"Xiaoyun already has two servants to attend to her, so what are you worried about?"