Hearing her eldest sister-in-law defend her, Song Xiaolan was deeply moved and explained in a low voice, "Elder sister-in-law, I didn't waste money. I saved the money for the ox cart fare and bought candied hawthorns for Ajun and Axiang instead."
The ox cart fare was four wen, which was just enough to buy two sticks of candied hawthorns.
Yu Wanzhu was taken aback. This girl had walked all the way back from the prefectural city carrying a basket of grain on her back, just to save the money and buy treats for her younger siblings?
She was so sensible it was heartbreaking.
A wave of warmth washed over Yu Wanzhu's heart, and she said softly, "You should buy the candied hawthorns, but you should also take the ox cart. And since you bought candied hawthorns anyway, why didn't you buy one for yourself? Do you think your elder sister-in-law is that stingy?"
Song Xiaolan grinned widely. "Only little kids eat snacks! I don't!"
Yu Wanzhu gently tapped her forehead. "You haven't even had your Ji-ji ceremony yet, so how are you not a child? Even after your Ji-ji ceremony, in our eyes, you'll still be a child. If you don't believe me, ask Mother."
Mrs. Xu smiled warmly and said kindly, "Wanzhu is right. No matter how old you all get, in Mother's eyes, you'll always be children."
After saying this, she quietly glanced at Yu Wanzhu again.
Her current daughter-in-law was truly different from before. The atmosphere at home was now peaceful and harmonious—still poor, but reassuring.
Song Jun suddenly walked over holding up his candied hawthorn and stopped in front of Song Xiaolan. "Second sister, you eat first."
Song Xiaolan took the candied hawthorn but then offered it to Mrs. Xu. "Mother, you try one first!"
Mrs. Xu bit one off from her hand and said with a smile, "Alright, Mother's had one. You all eat now."
Yu Wanzhu watched them defer to one another with a gentle smile, her heart filled with warmth. Suddenly, she felt someone tugging at her sleeve.
Looking down, she saw Song Xiang pulling on her, standing on her tiptoes and trying her best to feed the candied hawthorn to Yu Wanzhu's mouth.
Seeing Yu Wanzhu look at her, Song Xiang gave her a sweet smile and said obediently, "Elder sister-in-law, you eat Xiangxiang's."
Mother had said that good things should be shared with everyone. Since her brother had done it, she couldn't eat alone either.
Yu Wanzhu wanted to say she didn't eat sweets, but seeing the expectant look in the little girl's eyes, she couldn't bring herself to refuse. She lowered her head and swallowed the candied hawthorn that Song Xiang had already licked once, whole.
Song Xiang immediately clapped her hands with satisfaction and laughed. "Elder sister-in-law, do you want more? If not, I'll go feed some to eldest brother!"
Seeing Yu Wanzhu shake her head, she trotted off toward Song Yubai's room.
Before long, she came out, and Yu Wanzhu leaned in mysteriously and asked, "Xiangxiang, did eldest brother eat it?"
"He did! See, two are missing, and Xiangxiang still has four left!"
The childish voice was crisp and clear, and Yu Wanzhu laughed inwardly. Song Yubai really was someone who loved his family deeply.
She patted Song Xiang's head. "Xiangxiang, eat yours quickly."
…
Mrs. Xu had recovered considerably. Though she couldn't do heavy labor, she could still help with some of the household chores.
As a result, Yu Wanzhu couldn't get a hand in when it came to cooking. Mrs. Xu also wouldn't let her do any work, saying she had injuries.
It wasn't until after the midday meal that Yu Wanzhu called Song Xiaolan back into the kitchen.
Song Xiaolan looked puzzled. "Elder sister-in-law, are you hungry again?"
Although her elder sister-in-law hadn't eaten much earlier, she couldn't be hungry right after finishing a meal, could she?
Yu Wanzhu: "…"
She cleared her throat. "No, Xiaolan. I wanted to ask you—did you see anyone selling winter bamboo shoots at the market today?"
Song Xiaolan furrowed her brow in thought, then shook her head. "No. If it were March or April, there would be spring bamboo shoots and other mountain goods at the market, but in winter, no one ever sells bamboo shoots."
Yu Wanzhu pondered this. Shuozhou had few bamboo groves, and spring bamboo shoots were already hard to find—let alone winter bamboo shoots, which stayed buried underground without ever surfacing. Unless one was an expert, they would be nearly impossible to dig up.
Even she had only gradually figured out the patterns after the System had taken her digging several times.
She asked again, "Xiaolan, do you know what price spring bamboo shoots go for?"
Song Xiaolan said, "Spring bamboo shoots are considered a precious food. The moment they sprout, people rush to dig them up. I've heard that restaurants buy them for twenty wen a catty!"
As she spoke, she seemed to realize something and said excitedly, "Elder sister-in-law, you're not… planning to sell winter bamboo shoots, are you?"
Yu Wanzhu nodded. "If spring bamboo shoots are already that rare, then my winter bamboo shoots should fetch an even higher price."
She immediately formed a plan. "Xiaolan, tomorrow we'll go up the mountain. Don't gather firewood—follow me to dig winter bamboo shoots and wild yams. Didn't you say you'd never seen wild yams before? There are plenty of them on the mountain, and maybe they'll sell for a good price too."
Song Xiaolan was thrilled. If this idea proved true, the family would have a substantial income. She instinctively wanted to agree.
But when she saw Yu Wanzhu's head wrapped tightly in bandages, she frowned and said, "No, elder sister-in-law. Your injuries haven't healed yet. You can't go up the mountain."
Her gaze was extremely serious. Yu Wanzhu stared back at her for a long moment and finally conceded, agreeing to rest at home for two days before going.
Two days passed before she finally got to go up the mountain as she wished.
Yu Wanzhu and Song Xiaolan each carried a small hoe, wandering around the mountain, circling for quite a while without any results.
Just as Song Xiaolan was starting to feel discouraged, Yu Wanzhu suddenly fixed her gaze on a spot, struck the ground with her hoe, and sure enough, dug up a plump winter bamboo shoot.
She smiled. It seemed the System did have its benefits—those hints it had given before were now coming in handy.
Once the first one was dug up, naturally the second and third followed…
Song Xiaolan was busy collecting bamboo shoots and wild yams, bustling about with great delight.
The two of them lost track of time as they worked, and it wasn't until the sun set in the mid-afternoon and the light in the forest dimmed that they realized half the day had already passed.
When they returned home, before they even entered the courtyard, they saw Mrs. Xu pacing anxiously inside.
Seeing the two of them, she hurried over. "Why are you back at this hour? Wanzhu, is your injury alright?"
If it hadn't been for the two little ones at home needing care, she would have gone looking for them long ago. After helping them unload their back baskets, Mrs. Xu saw what was inside and exclaimed in surprise, "This? Why did you dig up so much wild produce?"
There was no way they could finish it all in one go.
Each of the two back baskets was filled more than halfway with winter bamboo shoots and wild yams. She had eaten them before, so she naturally recognized them, but she just couldn't understand why the two had dug up so much.
Yu Wanzhu hadn't told anyone else in the family about her plans to do business, and Song Xiaolan didn't give it away either. She just giggled and said, "Mother, don't worry about it. Is there any food in the pot? Sister-in-law and I are starving!"
Mrs. Xu quickly said, "There's food warming in the pot. You two rest for a bit, and I'll bring it to you."
Yu Wanzhu was exhausted from the day's work. After eating, she washed up and went back to her room to rest.
Her nightly routine before bed was, of course, to step on the scale. A few days had passed, and she had lost another three pounds. Today, she happened to be able to claim her task reward.
The Slimming Candy was a specific item—once she clicked to claim it, it would be stored directly in her portable Spatial Dimension.
With a thought, Yu Wanzhu took it out and studied the instructions for use.