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"Are you starting to learn 'Young Learning Jade Forest'?" Wen Ziyu asked, noticing the book on the desk.
"Yes. I had been neglecting my studies for a while, but starting yesterday, my sister encouraged me to continue reading. She hopes that once the imperial examination resumes, I can pass and become a Scholar," Li Yishu replied.
Wen Ziyu sighed with envy and helplessness, "I'm not as fortunate as you; I'm still only studying 'Phonetics Enlightenment.'"
Li Yishu patted his shoulder understandingly, "You have to help Brother Wen gather wild vegetables and firewood. How could you find time to study?"
Wen Ziyu grunted in response, feeling frustrated with himself for being too young to help his older brother share the burden. If only he were older, he could work in the city like others. Even if he didn't earn much, it would lighten his brother's load and prevent him from starving.
Li Yishu pulled him and Wen Zixue over to sit at the table. "I have a bit of free time today; let's study together. Once the imperial examination resumes, we can take the county test together."
Li Zhoule finished feeding a bowl of porridge to Wen Zixia, who had fully recovered—he hadn't been seriously ill, just hungry. He was about to get up and continue with his previous plans when Li Zhoule stopped him.
"You’re still quite weak; why go join the crowd? Besides, the villagers left a while ago; whatever they found has already been taken. You won’t find anything."
Wen Zixia thought Li Zhoule was right, but there was nothing left to eat at home. If he didn’t go look for food, his two younger brothers would go hungry.
Li Zhoule understood his thoughts and said softly, "I still have some stored grain at my house. You two can eat there for now."
Wen Zixia quickly replied, "But how can we do that? If I eat your stored grain with Ziyu and Zi Jue, you and Li Yishu won't have enough."
Li Zhoule reassured him, "You don’t need to worry; I have a way to solve our food problem."
Wen Zixia asked, "What do you plan to do?"
"Wait a moment, let me show you something," Li Zhoule said.
She stepped out of the room, took a deep breath to solidify her earlier decision, and quickly returned to her room. She found a transparent bottle and hurried back to Li Wei Feng's room, presenting the bottle to Wen Zixia.
"This is Liuli?" Wen Zixia exclaimed in surprise. "No, it can't be; Liuli isn't this light and transparent! Zhou Le, what kind of bottle is this?"
Wen Zixia had learned a lot during the years spent with Li Father but couldn't identify the material of this delicate bottle. It felt extraordinary—ah, isn't it just plastic? Not worth much at all!
"I don't know either. I found this in my mother's dowry," Li Zhoule replied. "How much do you think we could get for it if we pawned it?"
Wen Zixia was astonished. "You want to pawn the bottle? It's so precious; can you really bear to part with it?"
It was something that could easily be passed down as a family heirloom, yet his fiancée wanted to pawn it? Wen Zixia felt touched, realizing that Li Zhoule's decision stemmed from her fainting earlier that day.
"Zhou Le, you don't have to do this. This bottle is a cherished memory left for you and Li Yishu by your mother; you should keep it safe."
"Even the most precious thing can't compare to a life," Li Zhoule said firmly. "I'm not doing this just for you; it's also for me and Li Yishu. We need to eat too! Just a couple of days ago, when Li Yishu wasn't in town, I nearly starved to death myself. And Aunt Manchong's grandson, Zi Xia, is ill; Aunt Manchong searched the entire village for rice to make him some porridge but couldn't find any. I thought if I sold this bottle, we could buy some food and help the villagers get through this winter without anyone starving."
Wen Zixia fell silent for a while before bowing slightly to Li Zhoule. "Zhou Le, you truly embody your father's benevolence. On behalf of all the villagers, thank you."
Li Father had been known as a philanthropist during his lifetime, which was why after his passing, the villagers took such good care of the two siblings from the Li Family; they had all benefited from his kindness.
Li Zhoule sidestepped the gesture of gratitude. "There's no need for such formality. If you really feel indebted, then once you're better, accompany me to the county town. As a woman, it's not appropriate for me to go alone; please help me pawn this bottle."
Wen Zixia nodded, "Alright."
Li Zhoule looked at the bottle with anticipation and asked, "How much can you sell this bottle for? Can it reach a hundred taels?"
Wen Zixia replied, "Not really. A glass bottle of this size could easily sell for several hundred taels, and since this one is lighter and clearer than crystal, it might even fetch a thousand taels. However, we are in a relatively remote town, and no one recognizes this material. Therefore, we might only be able to sell it for one or two hundred taels."
Li Zhoule smiled, "Even a hundred taels is a significant amount. With that money, we could buy enough food for everyone in the village to last through the winter."
Wen Zixia laughed as well, "The remaining money can be saved for Li Yishu so that he won't have to worry about marrying in the future."
Li Zhoule, still smiling, put away the plastic bottle and said to Wen Zixia, "You look exhausted; your eyes are dark. You haven't been sleeping well, have you? Get some good rest. I'll call you when it's time for dinner."
Wen Zixia felt relieved about the food situation and her mood lightened. She felt her eyelids growing heavy and decided not to fight it. She said, "Please help me keep an eye on Ziyu and Zi Jue."
Li Zhoule readily agreed. However, those two children were sensible enough not to need her supervision; they were studying and practicing their writing with Li Yishu—using willow branches dipped in water to write on the table instead of paper. Meanwhile, Li Zhoule returned to her room to continue her embroidery, and time passed quickly. As the sun set, she put down her needlework and headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner—people in ancient times typically had two meals a day.
She took half of the rice and put it into a pot along with cornmeal and water to cook. When it was almost ready, she chopped up some eggplant skins and celery leaves finely and added them to the porridge along with a pinch of salt. Soon, a fragrant vegetable porridge was ready. While it lacked the delicious taste of modern porridge with fish, it was still a supreme delicacy for those who barely had enough to eat.
Wen Zixia also got up after having a hearty meal and a good sleep; her body had recovered significantly. She joined the three children at the table. Li Zhoule served each person a large bowl of porridge; they all ate until their bellies were full and satisfied. She stored the leftover porridge in a large sea bowl and placed it in a basket for Wen Zixia to take home as breakfast for the three brothers the next morning.
"My body will be fully recovered soon; I’ll accompany you to the county town," Wen Zixia said to Li Zhoule before leaving.
Li Yishu heard this and immediately chimed in, "I want to go too."
Li Zhoule glanced at the two brothers of the Wen Family, their faces full of longing, and said softly, "Ziyu and Zixue can come too. Let's go together."
Wen Ziyu and Wen Zixue immediately smiled, their expressions brightening like three spring flowers alongside Li Yishu.
...
The renovation company had already started work, and Hanno took a quick look around the site before heading home. For a while, she had nothing to do; she spent all her time at home typing away, finishing ten chapters in a row. The story of "Transmigration of Ji Xiaofu" was nearing its conclusion. Lunch and dinner were still prepared by Mom Han, and the house was regularly cleaned by a hired worker. With an automatic washing machine for laundry, Mom Han had no household chores left to do except for cooking, which was easy enough that she naturally didn’t want her daughter to take over her tasks. With nothing else to occupy her time, Hanno decided to clean out the refrigerator. It was quite a labor-intensive job; the Han family's fridge was old, and the freezer was thick with layers of ice. Sometimes, pulling out boxes from inside was a significant challenge.
Hanno set up a stool in front of the refrigerator and began prying at the ice that had formed inside with a knife, but soon her hands grew tired and sore.
"Mom, let's buy a new refrigerator!" Hanno felt that their old fridge should be retired.
Mom Han shot her a glance. "I know you have money, but you shouldn't be so wasteful. The fridge still works; why buy a new one?"
"Does this look like it works?" Hanno raised her hand holding the knife. "Look, it's all red!"
"This..." Mom Han noticed her daughter's hand and felt a twinge of sympathy, wavering slightly.
Seizing the moment, Hanno continued, "When I went to check out freezers a couple of days ago, I also looked at refrigerator prices. They’re quite cheap; you can get a double-door fridge similar to ours for just six or seven hundred. A three-door model is only a little over a thousand."
Mom Han furrowed her brows in thought. "Cheap things aren't necessarily good."
Hanno replied, "They're all brand-name products—Midea and Haier—well-established brands."
"How much are these two brands? Mine has three doors," Mom Han asked.
Hanno thought for a moment and replied, "The Haier one is on sale. It was over two thousand, but now it's one thousand six hundred ninety-nine. It has computer temperature control and is energy-efficient. The Midea one is also over two thousand, but it's now one thousand two hundred ninety-nine. However, it has mechanical temperature control, which isn't as flexible as Haier's. We should just buy the Haier; it won't be much more expensive."
Mom Han considered it and compared the prices. "Alright, I'll talk to your dad. We'll cover the cost of the refrigerator, so you don't need to contribute."
"Oh," Hanno replied. If they didn't want her to pay, she wouldn't insist. She had intended to treat her parents, but since they understood her situation, she wouldn't refuse their kindness.
Mom Han took the noodles out and quickly cooled them in cold water before tossing in some bean sprouts to boil for a moment before taking them out. They would have Cold Noodles for dinner along with mung bean soup, Hanno's favorite.
After a struggle, she finally managed to scrape off a layer of ice from a box that had been frozen shut for ages. Hanno pulled out a bag of Tangyuan from inside and tossed it straight into the trash.
Mom Han sighed, "Why did you throw that away?"
"It can't be eaten anymore; what's the point of keeping it?"
"It hasn't even reached its expiration date; it should still be fine," Mom Han said, unable to tolerate her daughter's wastefulness.
Hanno rolled her eyes. "It's been in the fridge for so long; who knows if it's still good? And now that I've thrown it away, are you going to dig it out?"
Mom Han exclaimed, "...You wasteful girl!"
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