Since it had come to this, Xu Jianing felt it was best to lay everything out clearly.
She then shifted the topic back to her parents, "Father, Mother, I have already discussed this with Doctor Liu; he will do his utmost to cure both of you. The prerequisite is that you must cooperate."
"Ning'er, why must you do this? Our family has finally managed to get some money; it shouldn't be wasted on us. After so many years, your father and I have grown accustomed to it. It's your Eldest Sister who is still young..."
Xu Jianing disliked hearing this tone from her parents at all. She couldn't help but interrupt her mother, "Mother, Eldest Sister's situation is quite special. I will also ask Doctor Liu to examine her."
"Although our family has money now, we must not flaunt our wealth. It is currently unsuitable for Outsiders to know about it. Especially those people from the Old Residence. Father, Mother, you must not be soft-hearted and let them take advantage."
Xu Jianing felt uneasy.
She worried that her Steamed Bun of a mother would not withstand the torment from those people at the Old Residence and might leak information about how they were earning money.
It was because her mother had a face that looked very easy to talk to.
Thinking about the house they were currently living in immediately became a worry for Xu Jianing. She eagerly voiced her thoughts, "Father, winter is approaching; our family needs to start House construction."
"It is time to build a New House. Otherwise, this winter will be difficult again. I don't mind, but it implicates you all in suffering. Fortunately, there hasn't been much heavy snow these past few years, or we would all freeze to death."
"It's just, Ning'er, building a house requires quite a bit of Silver Liang. If our family takes out too much money at once, some people will start gossiping again."
Xu Jianing had considered this point as well.
There were still several months until the start of winter; they had time to prepare.
She quickly told her family her plan: starting tomorrow, they would divide the labor to process all the Chestnuts they brought back today.
Two days later, carrying freshly made honey-fried Chestnuts, they went to the Town to set up a stall.
Although she didn't know what the results would be, she wanted to test the waters.
Unexpectedly, not a single person present objected.
Especially Mother Xu, who kept comforting her, telling her to try her best without putting too much pressure on herself.
Xu Jianing felt that her mother must be worried that she couldn't handle the blow of failure and would become withdrawn like her Eldest Sister.
In reality, she really wanted to say, impossible! In Xu Jianing's dictionary, there was no such thing as giving up easily. If one method failed, she would think of others. She would never resort to extremes.
But she was afraid that these words would provoke her Eldest Sister.
After all, her sister's condition had just barely started to improve; she couldn't let all their efforts be wasted because she wanted to win a verbal spat.
They kept chatting until Xu Jianing's stomach started rumbling loudly from hunger. Only then did they realize that they had been busy since the morning and hadn't eaten yet.
Father Xu started blaming himself again, "Look at my memory. The Chicken Soup is already cooked; let's go eat first."
Xu Jianing sniffed, and there really was the scent of Chicken Soup, which made her feel even hungrier.
However, upon seeing the meal laid out on the table, her appetite greatly diminished.
Since transmigrating, she hadn't eaten a proper meal. She missed the white rice from her Previous life; currently, she couldn't even get rice with every meal.
She had checked the Kitchen before; their family was so poor they didn't even have the most basic millet.
The so-called meal was just a lumpy soup made from the tiny bit of corn flour they had.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh again.
She really wanted to tell her Parents that she wanted to eat! Real white rice, but in this era, that seemed incredibly luxurious.
Just as she didn't know how to bring it up, Father Xu suddenly started speaking, "Wife, tomorrow I'll take the two children to Town to buy some things! Our grain is almost gone. It's time to restock."
"And pick up some Fabric for the children and you to make a few new outfits. They haven't had new clothes in a long time. Also, buy some vegetable seeds."
"I don't need any. Just buy for the children."
The two chatted incessantly. Xu Jianing was too hungry to pay much attention; she drank the soup in large gulps.
It must be said, things in ancient times weren't polluted, and the flavors were very pure.
Take this ordinary Chicken Soup, for example; no seasonings were added, making it particularly sweet to drink. The chicken meat wasn't tough either.
Just as they were enjoying their meal, a hurried knocking sounded at the door, "Second family's wife, hurry up and open the door for your Old Madam!"
"Coming, coming."
Father Xu wiped his mouth and rushed outside.
Xu Family Eldest Sister also slipped away, and before leaving, she dropped a large chicken leg into her bowl.
Mother Xu said with alarm, "Eat quickly, or there won't be time."
Xu Jianing was a bit confused. What was going on?
However, the chicken leg smelled too good; she finished it in three bites.
Soon, she understood that her mother's worries were not unfounded.
Just as she dropped the chicken bone, a shrewd-looking Woman said sarcastically, "You good-for-nothing little girl, you have a chicken leg and don't even think of showing filial piety to me and your Grandfather; you ate it all yourself."
"Mother, why are you here?"
Xu Old Madam glared at Father Xu, "What's wrong? Do I need to apply for permission to visit your house now? Can your father and I not come casually?"
"Did you go hunting again? Did you catch a lot of good things? Hurry up and bring them out. Your father and I haven't eaten meat in a long time. It's a waste to feed it to these little girls."
Xu Jianing was genuinely angered to the point of laughter. Her Grandmother was truly an extreme character; she didn't know where she got the nerve to say such things.
She wasn't in a hurry to intervene; she wanted to see how Father Xu would handle this.
She knew such situations would arise in the future, and she didn't want everything she worked hard to earn to end up in the First Branch's pockets.
Father Xu's gaze turned cold, and he asked slowly, "Mother, who told you I went hunting in the mountains?"
Xu Old Madam's eyes flickered evasively, then became self-righteous, "It's none of your business who told me. Hurry up and bring the things out."
Father Xu closed his eyes in disappointment, "Even if Mother doesn't say, I know. It must be that girl Lanhua, right? It seems the warn I gave her yesterday didn't stick in her mind. Go back and tell Eldest Brother to manage her properly."
"What kind of talk is that? What's wrong with Lanha? That girl is much more filial than your two little girls. Hurry up and ladle out all the soup for me; I'll take the rest of the things back to cook soup myself."
Seeing that none of them moved, Xu Old Madam became annoyed and started shouting, "What? You won't even listen to me now? Then I'll go find it myself!"
With that, Xu Old Madam turned and walked out.
This action stunned Xu Jianing. This Old Madam was clearly intending to openly snatch food!