Dinner is ready, and Shen's wife has set aside a portion of the dishes for Xu and his group to eat separately. Two tables have been laid out here, and Tian's wife can't help but smile when she sees the meatball soup. The old man, however, is more interested in the clay pot dish, which is still bubbling away even though the fire has gone out. Eating this during winter won't leave you feeling cold; it's warm and cozy.

  Zeng Ruixiang immediately said, "Dad likes it, after we finish eating, I'll bring this back home and we can buy another one next time." The old man didn't decline upon hearing this.

  Shen looked at Zhou's face and saw that she was not very happy, so he gave her a piece of sweet potato and a chopstick of sweet potato noodles, saying: "Sister-in-law, try some of this, it's our new crop this year, the yield is particularly high. You can pick some to take back later, and next spring you can plant some too. Our sandy land will do, and it doesn't require much maintenance."

  As soon as Zhou heard this, his expression changed from gloomy to sunny, and he hastily agreed. He then asked: "I have two mu of land, I want to plant wheat and also watermelon, but I don't know how to arrange them. How about this, after I harvest the wheat, I'll plant one mu of watermelon? Anyway, it's my first time, I'm not sure which is better, so I'll just try a little bit of both. By the way, brother and sister-in-law, how do you plant watermelons? Do you directly sow the seeds or do you need to raise seedlings?"

  "I think Ziqing is in charge of nursery, you can ask her. To be honest, it's always been taken care of by the younger ones," said Shen Shi, passing the buck to Ziqing.

  "Hey, I'm also a first-timer at planting, I was afraid of wasting the watermelon seeds, so I took some to try out, buried them in the soil, and unexpectedly they sprouted. Then I threw all the rest into the soil too. I don't know how to do this, I just learned by watching my mom scatter white radish seeds. When the soil looks dry, I'll sprinkle some water on it. Sorry, that's all I know." Qinqin hurriedly explained without being asked. Just kidding, of course she couldn't say everything, after all her family was still relying on this to make a living and surpass the landlord's family.

  "Let's give some of these sweet potatoes to Chunyu as well. When good things happen, you should think about your sister too. It's pitiful that their whole family can't even get enough to eat." said Tian Shi.

  He heard it and was very unhappy. At the beginning, when his own daughter's family couldn't eat enough rice, he didn't see her being heartbroken. After thinking about it, He said to his daughter: "Yumei, this is where you went wrong. You should have sent some over earlier. As a mother, she was worried about her children. When you were separated from your brothers, they knew that you didn't even have rice, so they sent some over."

  "My sister-in-law, when we first separated, we didn't have enough rice and grains, so I gave them a string of cash to buy rice. My son and daughter-in-law agreed to it." Tian Shi explained.

  Zi Qing listened and turned her eyes, saying: "Last time I went to my aunt's house, my cousin Da Mao said that all the grain from our family was sent to their house. He also said that when I go to his house to beg for food, even eating plain rice is delicious."

  "You little brat, arguing and talking nonsense, you're also chattering too much, the more you grow up, the less like a decent person. Still not shutting your mouth for me." Shen scolded.

  "Zi Qing wasn't talking nonsense, Da Mao scolded me like that too." Zi Ping said.

  Zhou was about to say something, but saw that Tian's face had already turned very dark. He also saw the two sisters-in-law of Shen surnamed sitting opposite him, and swallowed his words back.

  "Second sister-in-law, your days are getting better and better. This house, this furniture, this food... I'd be content if I could live in a house like this for the rest of my life. Second sister-in-law, may I take a bath here later? Zi Qing, you're still luckier than me, with a father who earns eighteen taels of silver a year to support you." Autumn Jade said with her eyes closed.

  "Little aunt, aren't you mistaken? The money my father earned wasn't given to Grandma, was it?" Zi Qing asked.

  "It's all for you and your family, Grandma. Do you think food and clothes come without money? Otherwise, how would you have grown up? Your grandfather works hard in the fields every day, getting old before his time, just so that you can eat well." Autumn Jade was unhappy now.

  "But we didn't eat our fill either. In the past when I was at Grandma's house, I never had enough to eat every day." Zi Shou said in a low voice beside him.

  "That's because you eat a lot, why didn't others say they couldn't get enough to eat?" Qiu Yu said.

  "I haven't even eaten as much as San Mao's brother, I can barely finish one bowl and he wants to eat two." Zi Shou is also a glutton.

  "Your uncle and his family only come to eat a few times a year, and it's not like they're feeding you, don't think that your father's money is supporting us," Qiu Yu said angrily.

  "That's after the division of the family property, isn't it still a year before you get 12 taels of silver? This time you should be the one to support me." Zi Qing also got angry, why should she suffer losses and still have to swallow her anger, it seems that even having a peaceful meal is not easy.

  "Children at home, who did you learn from? Every time you open your mouth, it's all about money, this and that. Autumn Jade, you're the same, can't even finish eating before complaining." Madam Tian was furious.

  Zi Ping made a face at Zi Qing, teasing her for getting scolded. Zi Qing thought it was better not to say anything else. Mrs. Xu also hurriedly mediated the situation, and dinner finally passed without any more mishaps.

  Because of He's presence, Tian couldn't express his temper and held back his breath to finish dinner. As soon as he was done, he wanted to leave. At the gate of the big courtyard, he ran into Zeng Ruiyu coming over. It turned out that the radishes in the field were ready to be pulled out, and they could still plant some small peas in time, but it was too late for wheat.

  Zeng Ruixiang said that everything was troublesome for him, and he let him arrange it. Tian Shi only knew then that Zeng Ruixiang had hired Zeng Ruyu as a temporary worker, and his heart was even more stuffy and anxious. However, seeing outsiders around, this really wasn't the time to make a scene, so he walked away with a huff.

  The radish has been harvested, and the family was busy for another day. Shen cut two baskets of radish strips with salt, saying that she wanted to dry some radish slices. When spring comes and there are no vegetables to eat, they can still be used as a substitute. Zi Qing couldn't help much, while Zi Lu helped by kneading hard on the side.

  Zi Qing pulled Zi Shou to go and see Master Xu carving flowers. Master Xu's chairs were all done, only the carvings were left, his apprentice was polishing them on the side. In her past life, Zi Qing had never seen red sandalwood before, this time she had the chance to get familiar with it, looking at its color, it was a deep crimson, feeling harder than cedar or cypress, and the glossiness was very good.

  Master Xu looked at the two children squatting on one side, looking very curious, and had the idea of teasing them. He chatted idly with Zi Qing, who only then understood that this red wood was not just one kind. Master Xu was currently using red bean wood, and the nanmu wood he mentioned were all found in the deep mountains. According to his master's teachings, wood that hadn't reached a certain age couldn't be harvested, so good wood was also hard to come by.

  Zi Qing smelled a fragrance, although she had never seen it before, but Zi Qing knew it was something good, so she picked up all the small pieces that Master Xu had carved and kept them for herself. When she had the chance to learn carving, she would see what kind of small objects she could make. Unexpectedly, these later helped her earn a fortune.

  Such good wood doesn't need varnish at all, Master Xu said. It just needs to be polished smooth and waxed, so Master Li hasn't come for the past two days.

  Zi Qing is carrying Zi Shou and collecting firewood, while Zeng Rui Xiang comes in to discuss with Xu Shi Fu. With only a few days left before the new year, it's estimated that they won't be able to finish on time. They decide to prioritize a few urgent tasks first. Then he asks: "Will the hall's tables and chairs be finished?"

  Master Xu said it's definitely no problem, and these furniture don't need to be painted, basically can be used after completion. Zeng Ruixiang said let the apprentice make two camphor wood boxes first, which will be used after the new year, Zi Qing thought they were for adding dowry for her second aunt.