Dazhuang was holding the sleeping Yuanyuan and couldn't move easily, but the other three children rushed towards Ye Wenxue without any hesitation.
Shuangshuang and Sanyuan took the heavy sacks and baskets respectively and dragged them to the storage room.
Siwang held Ye Wenxue's hand and followed her forward, his smile warm: "Mother, you're finally back. We were just about to eat."
They were worried that their mother would only be able to eat leftovers if she came back later, so they deliberately delayed cooking for a while. After the food was prepared, they kept it warm in the pot, waiting for their mother to come back so they could eat together.
"Go and put the dishes on the table. Mom will wash her hands and change her clothes before she comes to eat."
"Okay! We'll have lotus root and corn stew today!"
When Ye Wenxue finished cleaning up and came to the kitchen, the children were sitting neatly in a row. Even Xiao Yuanyuan had been woken up and was propping herself up on her arms, wanting a hug.
"You've all had a long day, let's eat."
Ye Wenxue was about to pick up Yuanyuan and let Dazhuang eat first, but Dazhuang refused: "Mom, you eat first, I'll feed Yuanyuan."
The two chickens at home have been laying eggs every day for the past few days. Most of the eggs have gone into their round bellies, while a small portion has been carefully stored away.
Today, Dazhuang didn't know why he was so generous. Besides stewing lotus root and corn, he also fried a few eggs. They were just cooked and you could smell their aroma from afar when you put them on your chopsticks.
Ye Wenxue went out after breakfast, and for lunch she just ate two cold corn cobs to get by, but when she smelled the aroma, she couldn't help but eat a few more mouthfuls of rice.
Sigh, talking is more tiring than working all day.
After Ye Wenxue picked up some food, the kids immediately followed.
There were no rules about not talking while eating or sleeping at the dinner table. Sanyuan put a piece of corn on Ye Wenxue's plate and said, "Mom, eat this, it's delicious!"
Ye Wenxue replied while eating, "Okay, you eat yours, don't worry about me."
Siwang, biting his chopsticks, looked at Sanyuan and then at Ye Wenxue. Feeling competitive, he also put a piece of food on his mother's plate: "Mom, eat what I put on your plate, it's the sweetest."
"Alright, alright, eat up." Seeing his reluctance, Ye Wenxue's mind raced. "What did you do today?"
With his attention diverted, Siwang stopped worrying about whether or not to pick up any vegetables and racked his brains to recall: "I wrote a few big characters, pulled weeds in the vegetable garden with my older brother, fed the wild boars, and... and... took care of my little sister!"
Yuanyuan is exceptionally easy to take care of. If you leave her alone on the bed, she can play happily all day long. When Siwang talks about taking care of Yuanyuan, he just sits next to her and watches.
Ye Wenxue chuckled softly and ladled a spoonful of soup for Siwang: "Hmm, our Siwang has worked hard and made great contributions. He must be tired after a long day of work."
"I'm not... very tired."
Siwang was extremely nervous.
After all, compared to his eldest brother, and even compared to his second sister and third brother, he did the least amount of work.
And he also slacks off from time to time.
Dazhuang wiped Yuanyuan's mouth after she finished eating, glanced at Siwang, but didn't expose him. Instead, he asked about Ye Wenxue's situation today.
“Your Uncle Xu is still a bit hesitant. He probably hasn’t done much business before and is afraid to take the first step. I’ll talk to him about it when Grandpa Xu wakes up tomorrow. This is the first idea my Dazhuang came up with, and I’ll definitely make it happen for you.”
To be honest, it's normal for someone like Xu Lin to be so vigilant.
These days, who still helps others selflessly without expecting anything in return? Even close relatives and friends might not be able to do that.
Especially since Ye Wenxue had only met them twice and barely exchanged a few words with them, it would be pointless for her to rashly connect them with someone to do business together, without any benefit to herself.
"Mother, maybe we should just let it go." Dazhuang frowned, looking at Ye Wenxue's tired face, feeling a little sorry for her.
After finishing her meal, Ye Wenxue wiped her mouth, cleared the dishes, and prepared to wash them: "It's nothing, I just talked, how tiring can it be? If this is done, we might even benefit from it."
Ye Wenxue was shrewd; she could live in the mountains all her life, but it was clear that her children couldn't stay there forever.
Once the world stabilizes, we'll have to send them to private schools, especially Dazhuang. He's such a smart kid; it would be a waste if we didn't let him take the imperial examinations to enhance his resume.
Besides, all five characters are villains in the original story, and there might be some kind of attraction between villains and protagonists.
Just like in the original book, at this time, the family in Shanqing Village fled to Longxing Prefecture under the guidance of the heroine Suibao. They were very lucky to be noticed by the owner of a charcoal kiln and asked to work. They successfully earned their first money by selling charcoal in the winter.
But Ye Wenxue had just seen the eldest son of the He family in a town not far from the foot of the mountains not long ago.
This small town is not close to Longxing Prefecture. The He family doesn't have an oxcart or horse-drawn carriage, and they have a family to support, so it's almost impossible for them to reach Longxing Prefecture before winter.
In a way, it is the bond between the protagonist and the villain.
Ye Wenxue was worried that the villains would have various interactions with the female lead, Sui Bao, just like in the original book, so she wanted to hoard more silver. In the future, if she encountered something she couldn't handle, she could use silver to force her way out.
Dazhuang hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
Siwang pouted and clung to the edge of the pool, saying awkwardly, "Mother is biased and only favors my eldest brother. I have my own ideas too, and I want Mother's support!"
Shuangshuang was pacing back and forth to digest her food when she heard this and scoffed, "What ideas could you possibly have? Tell us!"
"I...I can write large characters, and I can copy books for others to earn money!"
"Pfft." Three laughs rang out simultaneously.
Siwang's face wrinkled.
Sanyuan rubbed Siwang's soft little face and said in a serious tone, "That makes a lot of sense, but people don't want the books you copied."
People copy books to read, not to keep them as a talisman.
Siwang turned his face away and squatted in the corner, sulking.
After washing the dishes, Ye Wenxue patted his head and said, "Our Siwang is still young, it's normal for his ideas to be incomplete. When your ideas mature in the future, your mother will fully support you."
Siwang's eyes lit up, and he turned around to snuggle into Ye Wenxue's arms, making a face at his older brothers and sisters.
Dazhuang, Shuangshuang, and Sanyuan burst into laughter.
Xu family
Xu Lin tossed and turned all night, still feeling somewhat hesitant and uncertain.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Ye Wenxue; in fact, after learning that Ye Wenxue was Cheng Dingfang's wife, Xu Lin trusted her completely.
However, only his father in the Xu family knows how to make charcoal, and Lanqing is still learning and cannot stand on her own yet.
As for him... needless to say, he's blind and can't even find the charcoal kiln properly.
Even if his father were to wake up, how much charcoal could one person burn?
Unless, of course, his father goes and instructs others on how to burn charcoal.
But his father was already unwell and had suffered a great ordeal that nearly cost him his life... He didn't want his father to overwork himself and ruin his health.
Xu Lin was still agonizing over it even as dawn broke, until Lan Qing happily ran to the door and banged on it:
"Grandpa woke up and said he wants you to agree to sell a piece of charcoal."
Xu Lin immediately got up, grabbed a wooden stick, and went out of the house.
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