Dinner was exceptionally lavish.

Two eggs were cracked and mixed with white flour to make egg pancakes.

Seven bird eggs were boiled, peeled, and placed on a plate.

There was also a stir-fried vegetable dish, a plate of deep-fried lotus root balls, and a big bowl of white rice in front of each person.

Even though they had been eating their fill for several days now, the four children still couldn’t help but drool.

Cheng Wanwan placed one bird egg at the bottom of each person’s bowl, with the last extra one placed in front of Wu Huiniang.

Wu Huiniang was caught off guard by this kindness. “Mother, one egg is enough for me. This one is for you…”

“One egg per person, that’s fair,” Cheng Wanwan replied, glancing at her stomach. “After we get through these busy days, I’ll ask Doctor Zheng to check on you.”

She had never been pregnant and didn’t know much about prenatal care, but in modern times, pregnant women had checkups every month.

Having Doctor Zheng take a look certainly couldn’t hurt.

Wu Huiniang’s eyes grew slightly red.

Ever since she married into the Zhao family a year ago, she had been tormented for a whole year.

If it weren’t for Dashan taking pity on her and secretly saving food for her, she might not have survived.

Back then, Dashan was her only source of warmth.

Now, she felt that her mother-in-law was also glowing with kindness.

There were seven bird eggs at home, and she was allowed to eat two of them.

She had never imagined that her mother-in-law would treat her so well.

“Mother, I…”

Wu Huiniang wanted to say something, but her throat was choked with emotions, making it difficult to speak.

Cheng Wanwan patted her hand. “You’re going to be a mother soon. No crying. If you cry too much, your baby will cry all the time after it’s born, and that will drive everyone crazy.”

Wu Huiniang immediately held back her tears.

The family was just about to eat when a timid voice suddenly called from the courtyard.

“Ergou-ge, are you there?”

It was a girl’s voice.

Zhao Ergou immediately dropped his chopsticks, completely forgetting about his food, and rushed outside.

Cheng Wanwan curiously looked out as well.

A young girl in a patched lotus-colored dress stood outside the courtyard wall.

She looked delicate and graceful, though she was extremely thin—clearly suffering through hard times.

The flames of gossip ignited in Cheng Wanwan’s heart. “Sidaan, stop eating and look! Is that your second sister-in-law?!”

Zhao Sidan’s mouth was stuffed with food, but he nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes! That’s Sister Shuiqin! I saw her once before. So she really is our future second sister-in-law!”

Zhao Sanniu’s eyes widened. “Second sister-in-law is so pretty!”

The girl had well-defined features and big eyes, making her look indeed quite beautiful.

Her clean clothes made her stand out even more.

The orange glow of the setting sun bathed her, reflecting the golden hues of the evening sky in her eyes as she looked up at Zhao Ergou standing before her.

Zhao Ergou didn’t even dare to meet her gaze.

He fidgeted with his hands, not knowing where to place them.

Cheng Wanwan couldn’t help but laugh.

Ah, youth—where love shines so brightly that it’s impossible to hide. It was heartwarming to witness.

But her smile soon faded.

Judging by the lovestruck look on Zhao Ergou’s face, it was clear he was determined to marry this girl. And since the girl had come looking for him, she likely had feelings for him too.

In other words, their family was about to hold a wedding.

And weddings cost money.

She wasn’t short on money.

After selling the ginseng, she had 120 taels of silver—more than enough to last a long time. But she needed a legitimate reason to use it.

Finding a way to make this money “clean” was a major problem she had to solve.

Cheng Wanwan casually asked, “Dashan, how much silver did you spend on your wedding?”

Zhao Dashan’s face turned bright red. He stammered, “I… I don’t know…”

Wu Huiniang blushed even harder, practically burying her head in her rice bowl.

Zhao Sidaan answered for them, “Mother, I know! Grandma said that when Sister-in-law married in, we didn’t spend a single coin!”

As soon as he said that, memories flooded into Cheng Wanwan’s mind.

Back then, Dashan had gone to town to trade salt and happened to fall in love at first sight with Wu Huiniang, who was selling eggs.

They got to know each other over time and eventually became a couple.

The Wu family was not the type to demand a dowry in exchange for their daughter.

Seeing that the Zhao family had a decent living situation and a father who served in the military, they readily agreed to the marriage.

Even the half-string of silver the Zhao family offered as a betrothal gift was returned as part of Wu Huiniang’s dowry.

Of course, that money ended up in the original Cheng Wanwan’s hands and was sent to the Cheng family instead.

Unfortunately, shortly after Wu Huiniang married into the family, Zhao Dashan’s father passed away.

Then, the original Cheng Wanwan insisted on splitting the household, plunging Wu Huiniang into a nightmare of suffering.

Despite everything, Wu Huiniang never complained to her family, fearing her parents would come and chop Dashan into pieces.

Just then, Zhao Ergou returned from the gate.

Scratching his head, he hesitated for a long time before finally speaking. “Mother, Shuiqin heard that every household in Dahe Village is digging up jade bamboo shoots, so she came to borrow some food.”

Cheng Wanwan asked, “How much does she want to borrow?”

Zhao Ergou held up two fingers, then folded one back. “Ten pounds.”

Ten pounds of jade bamboo shoots wasn’t a lot.

It was obvious that Ergou liked this girl.

Lending ten pounds to help her wasn’t unreasonable.

Cheng Wanwan told Zhao Ergou to fetch the bamboo shoots from the cellar himself, then turned to Wu Huiniang. “You’ve been married for a year but haven’t gone back to visit your parents. Tomorrow, take ten pounds of bamboo shoots and go see how they’re doing.”

Since Wu Huiniang had married into the family, the Wu family was their in-laws.

Giving them ten pounds of food wasn’t excessive.

Wu Huiniang’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

Her mother-in-law had taken countless things to the Cheng family and had even accused her of secretly sending food to the Wu family.

But in truth, since her marriage, she hadn’t given her family a single grain of rice.

She had been extra careful, never mentioning her family in front of her mother-in-law.

Yet now, her mother-in-law was willingly offering twenty pounds of food? This enormous surprise left her in complete shock.

However, at the courtyard gate, Sun Shuiqin looked disappointed.

She had asked to borrow twenty pounds of food, but Zhao Ergou had only brought out ten.

How would she explain this to her father?

“Shuiqin, my family really can’t spare more…”

Zhao Ergou struggled to speak.

The bamboo shoots had been dug up by all four brothers.

Each had gathered about thirty or forty pounds.

If he gave away twenty pounds in one go, wouldn’t he be no different from his mother, who used to send everything to the Cheng family?

“I understand. Times are hard for everyone,” Sun Shuiqin murmured, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Then, Ergou-ge, I’ll go now.”

Zhao Ergou didn’t dare look into her eyes. “I’ll walk you home.”

As the two walked, a respectful distance remained between them.

He didn’t want to tarnish Shuiqin’s reputation before they were officially engaged.

Meanwhile, inside the house, Cheng Wanwan was troubled.

Their home had only two rooms. If the second son got married, where would he and his wife sleep?

Building four or five adobe rooms would cost about two taels of silver. She had the money, but she needed a valid excuse to spend it.

Perhaps she should first give some betrothal money to secure the engagement and then have the wedding after the new year.

Yes, that was a good plan.