They could hardly believe their eyes.

How could Mother make so many delicious things? These were foods they had never seen before, things they could eat every day, and they were all so delicious.

"Mom, is this dinner?" There are eggs in it! Others eat this once and it's enough for a whole day, so that's why the eldest child thought so.

"How could that be? We'll have another meal tonight." This is just afternoon tea.

The two little children's eyes were bright and sparkling, and the steamed egg custard in their mouths was fragrant and sweet, making smacking noises as they drank it.

In the afternoon, Yin Lan needed to go into the mountains again. She carried a basket on her back and wandered around the outer edge of the mountains, not going deep into the mountains, which was still quite safe.

As soon as she stepped out the door, Yin Lan tightened her coat. She looked at the two children and said, "If you feel cold, go back inside. I'll go by myself."

Both kids shook their heads. They said it was already good enough that they had thick clothes to wear. However, it seemed to be really cold this year, and the two kids could clearly feel that it was colder in the afternoon than in the morning.

Yin Lan's expression was somewhat solemn. If things continued like this, and the temperature continued to drop further when the weather turned coldest, it might become an extremely cold year.

This isn't a big problem in modern times, but in ancient times, every household had very limited means of keeping warm. If there was a heavy snowfall, the crops in the fields might be crushed or frozen to death, and such thatched huts would also face a great threat. More importantly, there were no earthen beds in this area, and if the temperature was too low, people could freeze to death.

However, this is not necessarily going to happen, Yin Lan comforted herself.

She remembered that the novel did mention that the second male lead's hometown was plagued by frequent disasters during his childhood, but it didn't go into details. What exactly happened...?

Yin Lan's immediate priority was to dig up some more sweet potatoes and find some wild vegetables.

Yin Lan took her two children into the mountains. These two items were still available on the outskirts of the mountains, making it relatively safe.

Yin Lan showed Da Wa what sweet potatoes looked like, so he could find and dig them up by himself, while Er Wa was responsible for finding wild vegetables.

It has to be said that raising children in ancient times was so much easier. When there was nothing to do, you could let them run around in the mountains, and when something happened, you could call them back to be used as servants. There was no need for any emotional investment, so the cost-effectiveness was really high.

The eldest son dug up sweet potatoes with great enthusiasm, and soon found a small patch of sweet potatoes. The leaves were withered and yellow, but the roots buried underneath were small. Otherwise, there were no major problems.

Erwa quickly dug up a large clump of wild vegetables; despite his small size, he was very efficient.

"Look, there's a rabbit!" Yin Lan suddenly pointed to a spot and exclaimed. Da Wa and Er Wa both looked at their mother and followed her finger. Sure enough, there was a gray-brown rabbit there, cautiously scanning its surroundings.

The older child made a "shh" gesture.

Then he hinted to Erwa that the two of them should flank the enemy.

But rabbits are also extremely sensitive to danger. As if hearing a noise, they took off running, though their running movements weren't particularly agile.

The two children immediately rushed forward like arrows.

When Yin Lan bought the rabbit, she deliberately chose one with a leg problem, so it couldn't run fast.

Moreover, this area was safe, so Yin Lan stopped worrying about the two boys. If they couldn't even catch this rabbit, they would be too stupid.

That evening, she wanted to eat roasted rabbit legs and "jumping rabbit" (a type of rabbit dish), and only in the mountains could she openly let the rabbits out.

Let the two boys catch it themselves; that way, they'll only be immersed in the joy of their success and won't ask their mother any questions.

The system is good, but it's not good if you can't use it casually.

As the child's figure receded into the distance, Yin Lan continued to watch with a smile, not letting the two disappear from her sight.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from afar.

Yin Lan felt a chill run down her spine. She thought it was some kind of animal, but then she heard a very faint voice.

Yin Lan turned to the right and saw the corner of a person's clothes just in the distance.

This was also due to Widow Ye's own insistence on arguing with Yin Lan. In the village, people were lucky to have two sets of clothes to change into throughout the year, so Yin Lan recognized at a glance that the person wearing the clothes was Widow Ye.

She crouched down quietly when she could roughly hear what was being said, concealing herself.

Then they heard Widow Ye talking to a man.

"You rascal, you're not allowed to lay a hand on me until you've done that!"

"It's not easy for me to come see you. Our village has never had a good relationship with you. If this gets out, I won't be in a good position either." It was a man's voice. Yin Lan was sure she hadn't heard it before, so this wasn't someone from Iron Sword Village.

"Pah, you won't get away with this, but my reputation will be completely ruined."

Yin Lan understood; the relationship between these two... tsk tsk tsk...

In fact, this dynasty was very unfair to women. If a husband died, the wife had to stay with him. If she had children, she had to raise them. If she didn't have children, she had to adopt one to carry on the family line.

It's quite pitiful to be forced to live a life of widowhood. Yin Lan plans to leave; it's none of her business.

The moment she moved, she heard her own name.

It was that man's voice, "Okay, I promise. The eldest son of the Chen family's wife, Yin Lan, right? Why do you hate her so much? Why do you have to ruin her reputation?"

Yin Lan froze.

Next came Widow Ye's voice, "Why does she get to live so well!"

What followed was an indescribable sound.

Feeling cold all over and with mixed feelings, Yin Lan quietly left. The two people were getting intimate, and the slightest movement couldn't attract their attention.

However, Yin Lan was still very careful and hurried in the direction the two children had left.

Yin Lan had previously thought that this widow Ye was just someone with whom she had a falling out, but she never expected that Ye would be so malicious, ruining her reputation with all sorts of schemes.

Even in modern times, the best way to attack a woman is to turn her into a slut, which would have been an even more fatal blow in ancient times.

Once this happens, the woman will lose her husband's trust and protection, be shunned by the entire village, and no one will associate with or help her anymore; she will be completely isolated.

That's too ruthless.

She needs to take precautions in advance.

"Mother!" Just as Yin Lan was thinking, Da Wa ran over excitedly carrying a rabbit. "Mother, look!"

The rabbit was still thrashing about in his hands. Although it wasn't big, it was quite plump, enough for three people to have a delicious dinner.

Yin Lan forced a smile. "Wow, we're really lucky today. We're having rabbit meat tonight! Alright, it's getting late, let's head back."

The two children only had eyes for the rabbit, so naturally they did whatever Yin Lan said.

We reached the edge of the mountain without any danger.

"Ah!" Erwa suddenly cried out, then cursed under his breath, "Damn it! What kind of beast is taking a dump here?"