As darkness fell, Li Yang returned to Lijia Dam, carrying large and small bags of things. "Mom, is there any food left?" He had been chopping firewood all day and was very hungry.

Li Guizhi came out of the kitchen and asked, "You went to work for someone, but they didn't give you any food?"

These words startled the whole family. Li Changxing walked out of the house and said, "Mother, quickly go and get the child a bowl and chopsticks."

Li Guizhi cursed and turned back to the kitchen, her hands and mouth never stopping. "I heard that the Lu family owns shops and builds houses in the county town. How can they be so heartless? You work for them, and they won't even give you a bite to eat."

Li Changxing took a puff of his cigarette. "How's the matter your mother asked you to do this morning?"

Li Yang's sister-in-law diligently placed the bowls and chopsticks on the table and pulled Li Guizhi, saying, "Mother, fry some eggs for my third brother."

Whether she can work for the Lu family depends entirely on Li Yang. Therefore, she has been paying extra attention to Li Yang these past few days. She has heard that the Lu family pays high wages, and many people want to become embroiderers but have not been selected.

Li Guizhi sneered, "Eat, eat, eat! He works a whole day for free, and then he still has to eat at home. The Lu family is really shameless. They're treating my son like this even before that girl has officially married into the family."

"Alright, stop reading." As the head of the family, Li Changxing had a lot of say at home. "This marriage is going to happen. The Lu family is rich now, so don't go around spreading rumors and ruin the marriage."

Li Yang was also happy about the marriage. "Mother, don't say that. Today, the Lu family's clothing store was harassed, and the whole family was busy. I came back early, but Lu Yunfeng and his wife hadn't returned yet. The women were busy tidying up clothes and didn't have time to cook. Before I left, Lu Yu gave me a lot of things. She's a kind-hearted person."

"Let me see what's inside." Li Guizhi didn't think the Lu family would give anything good. She opened the packages and found cakes, puddings, and two exquisite peach blossom pastries. The aroma made everyone's mouths water.

Li Yang's nephews rushed over and grabbed the cakes, stuffing them into their mouths. They wolfed them down, quickly turning the cakes and peach blossom pastries into tiny pieces. Li Guizhi was furious, slapping the children and yelling, "You bunch of starving ghosts reincarnated! This is good stuff! Oh dear, how did you manage to destroy it like this? Are you not going to feed yourselves or are you going to starve to death?"

With quick eyes and hands, she picked out the few intact pieces, carefully put them in the cupboard and locked it, saying, "Don't eat them. Save them for later."

Li Yang's sister-in-law was also surprised, "I heard this thing is very expensive, Third Brother, was it all given to you by the Lu family?"

Li Yang grinned foolishly, "Of course it's for me. I don't have the money to buy so many. Miss Lu said that there are always leftovers in the shop every day, and she asked me to bring them back for my younger brother, sister, and nephews to eat."

Li Guizhi was both angry and delighted. "Bring the rest back to you, so you can feed them to the dogs." Her eyes darted around. "There's some free time at home now. Go to the county town with your brother-in-law. Stay at the Lu family's house this afternoon and come back tonight with the rest."

"Mom, I can help out, but how can I take other people's things every day?" Li Yang was shy and knew that the food was expensive, so he didn't intend to take it every day.

Li Guizhi lectured the woman, and after hearing about the Lu family's clothing store, she realized that there was no hope of getting her eldest daughter-in-law to do the work. So she started criticizing her daughter-in-law and finding fault with her everywhere.

Li Yang ate quietly. He didn't think there was anything wrong with the fact that every family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were not on good terms.

The next morning, Li Yang arrived at Li Ji's house early and busied himself carrying milk onto the boat. Li Ji joked, "Why are you in such a hurry, kid? Are you going to see your sweetheart?"

Li Yang was embarrassed and angry. "Brother-in-law, do you even care about that girl's reputation?"

It was still early, and the small boat was moored at a small ferry crossing that Li Ji had built himself. There was no one else around. "This marriage will happen sooner or later. It's okay for us to talk about it privately. The Lu family is now prosperous, and our family still relies on them for a living. You must treat the girl well in the future. Following the Lu family will not be a loss for you."

Li Yang naturally understood this principle, and now it was his turn to show his abilities. Although he did not agree with his mother's suggestion to bring desserts and cakes home every day, he did want to go to the county town every day. He felt uneasy if he could not see Lu Yu.

As soon as it was light, Lu Yunfeng and Qin Xiaozhou headed straight for Zhang Yazi's residence. They were short-handed right now, and the two of them had discussed it all night and finally decided to use all the chickens, ducks, and rabbits in their house to have a barbecue in the county town.

Qin Xiaozhou had tried barbecuing before, but neither of them were good at it, so they had to learn as they went. They already had seventy or eighty rabbits at home, and the chickens and ducks were half-grown and would be too old in a few months. They ate a lot every day, and the orchard was almost bare wasteland. If they didn't deal with the chickens and ducks soon, the roots of the fruit trees would be dug up.

Zhang Yazi looked at the two of them as if he had seen a god of wealth. "What kind of people are you two looking to buy this time? Two new girls came yesterday. They are both clean and tidy, and they would be perfect to work in the food shop."

Qin Xiaozhou stated his requirements: "Are there any young and strong people who can carry water and chop wood?"

“Yes, yes, here.” Zhang Yazi led the two to the backyard with a big smile, pointing to a man working in the corner of the yard and saying, “This one is called Ma Da Ge. He’s a strong and capable worker. He came from the northwest. He heard that there is not only drought there, but also constant invasion by foreign tribes, so he fled here. He’s unfamiliar with the place, and his wife and children are suffering from water and soil incompatibility. Medical expenses are too high, so he had no choice but to sell himself.”

As his name suggests, Ma Da is very tall, like an oak pole or bamboo pole, too thin and not very sturdy.

Ma Dage knew someone had come to buy him. He wasn't good at talking, so he could only carry water and chop wood to show off his strength. In the end, he couldn't overcome his worry for his seriously ill wife and children, and he tried his best to say to Lu Yunfeng, "Please buy me. I used to be a good farmer and woodcutter at home. I will work hard."

Lu Yunfeng nodded. He grew up in the village and could tell who was capable and who wasn't. He thought this big guy Ma was pretty good. "Let's go with him."

Zhang Yazi smiled and quickly prepared the indenture.

Qin Xiaozhou looked around the yard. Some people were slumped in the corners, and some were locked up. When people can't survive, there's no difference between humans and animals.

As she reached the backyard gate, she heard a faint cry of a baby and stopped in her tracks.

Zhang Yazi approached and tried his best to sell her, saying, "This is a pitiful woman. I heard she gave birth to five daughters, so her husband sold her off and used the money to marry a virgin."

Zhang Yazi realized that Manager Qin was soft-hearted. As long as he told the truth about the experiences of these people who couldn't be sold, he could soften her heart. Once she softened her heart, she would consider buying them. As long as the person wasn't a bad person and was somewhat useful, the deal would be done. "Manager Qin, you adopted your younger sister yesterday. The child is small and needs to be breastfed. This woman is the most suitable for breastfeeding. Don't look at her thinness, she has plenty of milk. Buy her and give her some food. She can breastfeed both of them."

The woman in the corner looked up. She was covered in dust and dirt, her eyes were cloudy, and her upper body was swollen. She didn't look fat, but rather like someone suffering from a postpartum ailment. Her face was sallow, and she couldn't help but shrink back when she saw people staring at her.