Third Granny and Fourth Granny walked away. Zeng Ruiqing said with a dark face, "Dad, Mom, where are we going to build our kitchen? Without a kitchen, we cant even cook."

  Tian said hastily, "Your father said earlier that there is a vacant piece of land under the pomelo tree behind the pigpen, which is enough to build a kitchen. You can just stay with us for a few days."

  Zeng Ruiqing still had a dark face and responded with one sentence. At this time, Mrs. Zhou asked: "Mother, didnt you say to return a hen? Plus ten fertile eggs?"

  Tian glared at Zhou, then looked at the old man and said: "Usually let you do something, always forget, this time is remembered quite firmly. You go by yourself, one person chooses one, must choose well, dont blame me later." After finishing, he went into the kitchen, found a small basket, packed ten eggs and handed it to Shen.

  Zhou said: "We wont catch any today, and even if we did, theres nowhere to put them. Lets wait until the stove room is built before catching any. Today, lets just give some to Second Brothers family."

  Shen followed Zhou to catch the chicken, and Zi Qing also went along to see how many chickens Tian had raised. All she heard was Shen thanking Zhou, who replied, "Hmph, not catching any would be a bargain for those three women. The old lady only cares about her three daughters and that bunch of grandchildren. Weve worked hard for so many years and only got one chicken. What a pity about those three big fat pigs! Now that were dividing the family property, this years New Years didnt even have any pork to spare, not even a good meal all year round. The old lady has everything in her grasp, waiting for us to split up so they can enjoy it. I say we should make a scene and get at least one chicken per household!"

  "Never mind, sister-in-law. Look at the way they were just now, wanting more rations is out of the question, let alone this big pig. At least its worth over a hundred catties, and thats not counting its value in silver. Mother wont be willing to part with it, shell want to keep it to sell for a good price." said Shen Shi.

  Zi Qing looked at her mother-in-law and daughters intimate appearance, smiled, and thought of the famous saying "There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests." Indeed, it is a profound truth.

  The Zhou family saw the Shen family like this, and they couldnt do anything about it. One person was definitely not enough to make a fuss, so she scattered some wheat on the ground and led all the chickens over. The Tian family had raised about ten or twenty chickens. Before Zi Qing could take care of them, Zhous family had already taken action. A fat hen was handed over to Shens family. Shen took it and twisted its two wings together, then went back to the hall, found a rope to tie up the chickens legs, and handed it to Zi Lu, letting him carry the chicken and eggs. Zi Fu went to carry the ten chickens that Zi Qing had raised for almost two months, each of which was almost one catty now. They hadnt been fed insects for half a month, so they were growing a bit slowly.

  Shen picked up the empty wooden bucket, and let Zi Fu and Zi Lu follow him. Zeng Ruiqing and Zeng Ruixiang still went back to dismantle the bed. Zi Qing was still watching Zi Xi, while Zi Shou went to play with Da Mao and his brothers. Zi Qing felt a bit uneasy in her heart, but since Zi Shou wanted to go, she couldnt stop him either.

  Everything has been moved, and its already past noon. Tian Shi said to Zeng Rui Xiang: "You all should eat lunch here, there wont be enough time to prepare over there. After lunch, hurry up and buy the necessary household items, and tonight we wont bother you anymore. Go call your wife and kids back. See if your older cousin is still around? If they are, lets have them come here for lunch together." Zeng Rui Xiang left with some disappointment after hearing this.

  Zeng Ruixiang had just left for a while, when Zishou came back crying. His new clothes were stained and dirty, and he cried to Ziqing: "Sister, Sanmao brother hit me and pushed me to the ground. Its all muddy there, look at my clothes, theyre all dirty! Sister, they bullied me, and Damao brother and Ermao brother were laughing on the side."

  The adults in the house didnt make a sound, pretending not to hear, only Xia Yu walked over and said: "Zi Shou, stop crying quickly, let Second Aunt wash you."

  Zi Qing didnt say anything, he himself found some hot water to wash his face and hands, but there was no way to change clothes, everything had been moved away. Just after finishing cleaning up Zi Shou, Zeng Ruiqing and Shen Shi returned, and even Shen Jianren and Xiao Shi came together. Shen Shi saw that Zi Shou was covered in dirt and hurriedly pulled him over to ask what happened.

  Zi Shou wailed again, Zi Qing explained a few words on the side, Tian Shi hastily took over and said: "Childrens families always quarrel and argue. Alright, lets eat quickly, everyone is waiting."

  Shen heard the commotion and thought to herself, "This child must be found. Its not right for three big ones to bully one little one like this. Not a single person is saying that its wrong for the three big kids."

  Didnt expect Zi Fu to make a move so quickly. When Er Mao was ladling the soup, San Mao stood beside him. Zi Fu intentionally bumped into Er Mao, causing the bowl of hot soup in Er Maos hand to spill all over San Maos body. San Mao got angry and started scolding Er Mao, and the two began to fight. Zi Fu said on the side, "Sorry, I dont know what happened, I lost my balance."

  Zi Qing watched from the side, trying her best to keep a straight face as Zi Fu apologized with a serious expression, almost choking back laughter. She couldnt help but sneak away to the back room and burst out laughing, still clutching her stomach for a long time afterwards.

  After dinner, Zeng Rui-xiang asked Zi-fu to go with him to fetch the pot they had ordered. This time Shen Jian-ren and his family did not follow them. Madam Shen took four children from the street to buy five catties of early rice at five cents a catty, and then went to the butchers shop to buy ten cents worth of fat meat, let Zi-lu carry it, and came to the gate of the new house. Looking at the high and long courtyard wall, Zi-shou was delighted and silly, "Mother, is this our new home?" The original wooden door had not been painted yet, with a large iron lock hanging on it, which was the kind of long lock used in ancient times, similar to copper locks, but much cheaper.

  A few people walked in and walked about thirty meters to the wooden house door. Inside, there was a stove platform, a small empty space, and a book desk and bookshelf that had been moved away. Shens family had basically finished cleaning up, and the beds were all made, with two beds side by side. Next to them, against the wall, were Shens two large red-painted trunks and a three-section closet. Zi Qing estimated that the wooden house was less than thirty square meters in size, with some firewood piled up in the corners. It would be a tight squeeze for the whole family to live here for a year, and the pressure to make money was huge.

  The Shens had just put down their youngest son when Zeng Rui Xiang and Zi Fu returned, accompanied by an apprentice from the ironwork shop, carrying two pots. Rui Xiang was holding a small stove, while Zi Fu was carrying a small iron pot for cooking porridge. After placing the pots, Rui Xiang took Zi Fu out to buy water jars and buckets. They bought the water jars and buckets back, then said they wanted to buy bowls, chopsticks, tables, and stools. Before they could leave, Shen Jian Rens family arrived with a one-meter square table, two bamboo chairs, six wooden stools, a bag of rice, a piece of pork, a basket of eggs, two wooden basins (large and small), ten bowls, ten plates, and ten pairs of chopsticks. Now everything was almost ready.

  Zeng Ruixiang was going to fetch water and prepare for washing, Shen Jianren followed him. When he came back, he said to Mrs. Shen: "Sister, its really inconvenient to fetch water like this. We should think of a way to dig a well as soon as possible. Otherwise, you, as a woman, are suffering too much."

  Shen Jianrens words made Zeng Ruixiang, who was standing beside him, feel embarrassed. He was originally the master of the house, but with several young children who couldnt help much, and the familys economic conditions didnt allow him to give up that meager income.

  Shen saw that Zeng Ruixiang was in a dilemma and said to Shen Jianren, "Third brother, dont worry, Ill think of a way to dig the well after two months."

  Shen Jianren didnt say anything else, days will pass anyway, and its good that his sister has moved out of that house. With her own two hands, she should be able to make a living. Thinking this, Shen Jianren bid farewell with peace of mind. The Shens wanted them to stay for dinner, but Xiao said, "We have plenty of time ahead of us, lets just focus on living our lives well, and besides, we still have two more days before we leave."

  Zeng Ruixiang carried a full bucket of water, Shen Shi arranged everything, then started boiling water to wash bowls and chopsticks. After that, she asked Zi Fu to go to his grandmothers vegetable garden to pick some vegetables and reminded him to greet his grandmother. Meanwhile, Shen Shi heated up two stir-fry pots and wiped them with pig skin several times.

  Before it got dark, the family finally sat down to eat their first meal after moving. To save trouble, Mrs. Shen put some vegetable leaves into the rice porridge and cut up some diced ham, making a delicious pot of vegetable porridge.

  "Look at our kids, this is the first meal after we separated from the family, its simple but mom is happy and feels that theres hope for the future. You all have to behave and listen, later on, mom will send each of you to school one by one, you must know how to strive upwards."

  "Mother, dont worry, we remember."

  Zeng Ruixiang and Shen nodded, the first meal after separation started, and it had been two months since Zi Qing finally had a delicious and comfortable meal. After dinner, Shen asked Zeng Ruixiang to take the three boys out for a walk while she took Zi Qing to take a bath.

  When the whole family had finished bathing and lay down on their beds, Ziqing still heard her father and mother carefully calculating their accounts. With todays purchases added up, Shen Shi said that there was less than three taels of silver left, thanks to Shen Jianrens help in buying a lot of things today. Later, she also heard Shen Shi mention the one tael given by Tian Shi today, which made it almost four taels. Zeng Rui Xiang mentioned the matter of digging wells, and Shen Shi said to wait another month before talking about it again. After that, Ziqing didnt hear anything else and fell asleep.