Lu Chuan echoed, "The fear is that this war will drag on indefinitely. The longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for our country. However, if we want to win, we must have a supply of food and medicine. Without these as a foundation, even if our soldiers fight, the chances of winning are very small."

"This is not something we can decide right now; everything depends on what the imperial court does."

Grandpa Zhao sighed and said, "The imperial court is in a difficult position. If it had the money to support the war, we probably would have taken the initiative to attack long ago. In the end, it's because we don't have enough strength and confidence."

The Taoist priest said, "I'll say it again, this isn't something we can decide. We should just live our own lives well for now and not worry about anything else, since it's none of our business."

Grandpa Zhao chimed in, "Yes, let's not talk about this anymore. It's not easy for everyone to get together like this, so let's not waste this opportunity."

Let's celebrate the New Year together as a family. Just relax, have a good rest, and be happy.

Xu Han laughed and said, "Haha, Grandpa Zhao is right. We've been chatting for so long, I've forgotten that you haven't had lunch yet. There are some dishes ready at home, I'll go and prepare lunch for you first."

Yunyun stopped her, saying, "Sister Xiaohan, don't make so many dishes. Let's just have a simple meal to fill our stomachs, and we'll have a proper meal later tonight."

"Okay, I'll go make you some noodles. Making noodles is quick."

After Xu Han finished speaking, she went into the kitchen and quickly made three bowls of egg noodles.

Worried that Yunhua and Luchuan might not have enough to eat, Xu Han specially cooked extra noodles. She also added a fried egg to each bowl of noodles.

After the three of them finished lunch, Xu Han then led Zhao Yunyun and Grandpa Zhao to make beef jerky together.

Yunhua and the other two took hoes and went to the orchard. The Taoist priest wanted to take advantage of Yunhua's presence to quickly clear the orchard.

Free labor is free, so why not use it? We can't let it go to waste.

Zhao Yunyun asked, "Why are there so many beef jerky? There are way too many."

"Not much, not much. This is wild buffalo that Lu Chuan and his men went to hunt specifically. They just wanted to make some extra beef jerky for you to take with you."

"If it's made for us, then we won't be polite. Sister Xiaohan's beef jerky is the best."

While marinating the beef jerky, Xu Han said, "Haha, not only did I make beef jerky for you, but I also prepared some pickled vegetables. There are also dried vegetables and mushrooms that we dried this year. And sweet potato noodles, I'll give you some to take back with you."

"That's great! Then I won't be polite."

The three of them were working enthusiastically, while Mu'er took the initiative to take care of Ze'er.

Although the weather was cold and Ze'er couldn't walk properly, he was still very active. Moreover, he wore thick clothes in winter and didn't feel any pain when he fell, which made Ze'er even more fearless.

After Ze'er learned to walk, she tormented the dogs every day. Whenever she caught a dog, she would start pulling its fur.

Don't underestimate Ze'er just because she's small; her little hands are surprisingly strong, and pulling her hair can be incredibly painful.

Don't ask Xu Han how she knows; the answer is that she's been taken advantage of before.

Because Ze'er often harms the dogs, now all the dogs avoid him when they see him.

But Ze'er was so stubborn! He chased after the dog every day.

So now someone has to follow him. Ever since Grandpa Zhao gave Mu'er a holiday, Mu'er has taken on this task, playing by herself while keeping an eye on Ze'er.

Whenever Ze'er falls down, Xu Han usually doesn't care as long as he doesn't cry.

At first, Mu'er would help Ze'er up whenever she saw him fall, but he would fall down again as soon as she helped him up.

Later, Mu'er simply stopped trying to help him up immediately. She figured it was better to let him lie on the ground quietly for a while, and then help him up when Ze'er started whimpering.

Meanwhile, Lu Chuan and his two companions took their tools to the orchard, where Yun Hua was quite surprised by the changes.

"You guys are really something. I didn't expect the survival rate of the fruit trees you brought back to be so high. Out of so many fruit trees, only two or three died."

Lu Chuan explained proudly, "It's all thanks to our careful care that these fruit trees have such a high survival rate."

Yunhua kept praising, "You're amazing! Not only did these fruit trees survive, but you also propagated so many saplings by cuttings. You know, it's very difficult for ordinary farmers to grow fruit tree saplings successfully. They usually raise seedlings. This method of propagation by cuttings is really rare."

Lu Chuan was a little surprised to hear this. Didn't other people use cuttings to propagate fruit trees?

I've never encountered anything like this before, so I really didn't know. It seems I'll have to have a good talk with my wife about it when I get back.

The Taoist priest interjected, "All the newly transplanted fruit tree saplings are here. Because we didn't have enough time before, we haven't taken care of them since they were planted. Also, this area hasn't been properly maintained. Let's take advantage of this free time and clean up this area together."

Yunhua naturally had no objection to this, and immediately patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, I've got it covered."

After they finished speaking, the three of them began to clean up the orchard. The cleaning of the orchard needed to be done in the same way as before, and the tree roots inside had to be completely dug out, otherwise they would continue to sprout.

As for the large miscellaneous trees and shrubs, they have all been cleared away long ago. Now all that's needed is to remove the tree roots from the soil, which isn't too difficult.

In just one afternoon, the three of them cleared out a large area.

Xu Han, who was making dinner in the kitchen, immediately asked as soon as she saw the group return, "You're back. How was the cleaning?"

"Haha, easy to clean. It's all thanks to Yunhua. If it weren't for Yunhua's help, the Taoist priest and I probably would have only been able to clean up a small piece today."

The Taoist priest chimed in, "As expected of my disciple, he's an absolute master at farm work. He's as good as two people, and his speed is top-notch."

Xu Han laughed and said, "Haha, then I'll have to cook a lot of hearty dishes today to nourish Yunhua. She's worked hard. She must eat a lot of good food later."

Yunhua was so praised by everyone that even the tips of her ears turned pink.

Yunhua scratched his head sheepishly and said, "Everyone, please stop praising me. I'm getting embarrassed."

It was rare to see Yunhua in such an embarrassing state, and everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Zhao Yunyun said, "Go wash your hands first, the food will be ready soon."

Xu Han replied, "Yunyun, I'll leave the kitchen to you. I'll go to the storeroom and get some wine; we'll all have a drink tonight."