"Aunt Su, you're home!"
Lin Qiutao walked over from the corner of the house carrying a basket. She seemed to have just noticed Lin Yinan and said in a pretentious manner, "What a coincidence, A-Nan is here too."
Lin Yinan curled the corners of her lips into a half-smile, looking at her without saying a word.
Unfortunately, she gave Zhu Jinhui a meaningful look and said, "Auntie, you go ahead with your work. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now."
Lin Qiutao looked at Lin Yinan with a defiant gaze and handed the basket in her hand to Zhu Jinhui.
"Aunt Su, these are wild vegetables I just picked this morning, they're very fresh and tender."
Although Zhu Jinhui was unhappy and Lin Qiutao's appearance was ill-timed, she still had to maintain a good facade. She reached out and took the basket, smiling as she said, "Qiutao is so considerate."
Lin Yinan glanced at the half-basket of wild vegetables, turned around and left. She wasn't going to try to win someone's favor.
Back at the courtyard gate, I could hear Old Mrs. Zhao talking and other people laughing.
Lin Yinan leaned against the door frame, listening quietly and enjoying the warm atmosphere inside.
Inside the house, Old Mrs. Zhao gestured excitedly to everyone, saying, "I cook two meals a day, and the Yun family gives me two catties of grain as payment."
"My grandma is really amazing!" Lin Yibo gave a thumbs up, offering a fawning compliment.
Zhang's eyes shone brightly, and her voice became much louder, "My mother and I can earn four catties of grain a day."
Qianxia felt guilty. She and her sister were servants, yet they still had to make the old lady and the second madam go out to do chores.
She quickly stood up from her chair, walked to Grandma Zhao's side, curtsied, and said earnestly, "Grandma, it's cold and the water is freezing. I know how to cook, so why don't my sister and I do the cooking?"
Although Li Shulan could cook, she wasn't as quick as her younger siblings. Upon hearing this, she paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's right, Mother. You're getting old, and it's too tiring to cook for so many people. Why don't I take Qianxia and Qianwu with me? You and your sister-in-law can stay home and take care of them."
Qianwu nodded quickly, and Qianxia said, "Madam, my sister and I can handle it. It won't delay anything."
Seeing them arguing back and forth, Zhang slapped her thigh and grinned, "Sister-in-law, stop arguing. The two girls are still young, and I'm afraid something might go wrong that they won't be able to handle. Qianxia is more mature, so I'll take her."
"Second sister-in-law, there's a step here, please walk slowly."
A clear, crisp sound came from outside the courtyard gate.
Lin Yinan turned around and saw Yun Ying supporting Lu Yashuang, Yun Ye's wife, whose belly was swollen high.
The last time I saw her was when she was treating Yunye's leg injury in the cave. Now her stomach is bulging like an inflated balloon.
As soon as Lu Yashuang stepped into the courtyard, she saw Lin Yinan standing at the door with a serene expression. A smile immediately appeared on her face. She grabbed Yun Ying's hand and quickly stepped forward to greet her.
"Miss Lin, you live here?"
Lin Yinan's gaze shifted from her belly to her face. Lu Yashuang's complexion was rosy, indicating that she would recover well during this period. She nodded and said gently, "Second Sister-in-law Yun, what brings you here?"
"It's so boring staying indoors all day, so I'm going to walk around."
Hearing the noise, the Lin family members came out of the house and saw Lu Yashuang, who was heavily pregnant. Li Shulan quickly came out to help her.
"This mountain road is difficult to walk on, so you have to be careful."
Qianwu, with her keen eye, brought out a chair. "Second Madam Yun, please sit down."
Lu Yashuang was tired from walking, so Yunying and Li Shulan helped her sit down slowly.
Old Mrs. Zhao stared at her belly for a while and said, "Second Madam Yun, you're not far from giving birth, are you?"
I'm due to give birth in two months.
Zhang had many children and was very experienced in this area. "Oh, wouldn't it be perfect if she were born here?"
Lu Yashuang stroked her belly, her face full of happiness, "Yes, my husband said that I can rest for a while after giving birth before setting off again."
Old Mrs. Zhao said, "Young Master Yun is a man who knows how to cherish his wife."
Li Shulan said, "The child is also a blessing."
After chatting for a while, Lu Yashuang got up to leave.
She came up to Lin Yinan, took her hand, and said, "Miss Lin, my husband's legs have recovered completely thanks to you."
Lin Yinan lowered her eyes to look at the hand being held. She had never felt this way, shaking hands with a stranger and being in close contact with him, since the zombie outbreak.
"No need to be polite! Young Master Yun has already paid me."
Upon hearing her mention her third brother, Yunying timidly raised her eyes to glance at Lin Yinan, who was about the same age as her, before quickly lowering her gaze again.
I wish I were half as good as Miss Lin.
Lu Yashuang smiled warmly, her eyes crinkling, "If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can tell my husband."
After the two sisters-in-law walked away, Old Mrs. Zhao sighed slowly, "Heaven is blind and has treated the Yun family poorly."
Zhang glanced at the sky and said to Old Madam Zhao, "Mother, it's getting late. The child's father and Heng'er will be back soon."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Yisong and Lin Fu returned carrying two bundles of grass, with a bundle of wilted vegetables on top.
When Lin Yibo saw his brother return, he hurried to greet him.
"Brother, where did you get these vegetables?"
Lin Yisong put the load on his shoulder into the yard, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and handed him the bundle of vegetables.
"It was found on a hillside. It must have been planted by bandits, but the soil there is very barren and there is not enough water, so it grew like this."
Lin Yinan asked, "You guys found it?"
Lin Fu said, "No, the Yun family found it and sent people to guard the area early on to prevent the villagers from picking it. This morning, the Yun family's guards pulled up all the vegetables, but when they saw the Third Young Master and me passing by, the Second Young Master Yun gave us a bundle."
In a famine, no one would look down on this bundle of greens.
Zhang took the vegetables, brushed them aside with her hand, and found that the yellow leaves and weeds had all been picked cleanly.
"If we're careful, we can at least afford three meals a day!"
Grandma Zhao has bad teeth, but she still reminded him, "Remember to stew it until it's very soft."
"Mother, I know."
After Liu Ji and his sister moved in, they took the initiative to bring out all their grain and asked Old Mrs. Zhao's two families to cook together.
The brother and sister were like diligent little hamsters, and the amount of food they hid was really good. After some consideration, Grandma Zhao agreed.
Lunch was still wild vegetable porridge. Although the Lin family had no shortage of food, there were more than a dozen people to feed. Old Mrs. Zhao had always been frugal and managed the household well. With little income and high expenses, she had to cut back on spending.
After dinner, the family discussed what they would do in the afternoon.
Zhang and Qianxia will start work tomorrow; in the afternoon, they will stay home with Li Shulan and a few others to sew winter clothes.
Lin Yinan took Qianwu and a few children to dig for wild vegetables.
The men split into two teams: one team went to gather firewood, and the other team went to cut grass for the livestock.
We also need to build a shed for the livestock to keep them warm before it gets cold and snows.
Just as the family finished discussing their plan, an elderly man from the village peered out from outside the door.
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