Although everyone knew Zhao Daqing was lying—after all, Zhao Xiaojun herself had just admitted to stealing from Qian Chunhua’s field—he was now trying to twist the story, claiming it was all something he had arranged.

It was the first time Qian Chunhua had seen Zhao Daqing’s ability to twist black into white. She sneered and said, “So this is the kind of ‘upbringing’ the Zhao family has. Just sweeping the theft under the rug like it’s nothing. Don’t forget the old saying: ‘Steal a needle when young, steal gold when grown.’”

Her words made Zhao Daqing’s face alternate between red and pale.

But since things had already reached this point, he could only grit his teeth and insist that it was a misunderstanding caused by the kids.

“Fine,” Qian Chunhua said coldly, “I don’t care if they stole it or you sent them to get it. The fact is, my vegetables were pulled from my field by your kids. What needs to be handled, handle it.”

She didn’t want to waste time arguing with Zhao Daqing and turned to look at Village Chief Wang.

Village Chief Wang nodded.

Since it was between two families and one had destroyed the other’s crops, compensation was clearly needed.

“I’ve already inspected the field. Besides the cabbages that were pulled out, the remaining ones were all ruined by these two kids. Let’s calculate compensation based on the value of one mu (about 0.16 acres) of cabbages.”

Zhao Daqing nodded repeatedly in agreement.

As long as no one publicly declared that the Zhao family had raised two thieves, everything else was fine. Cabbages weren’t worth much anyway.

After some calculation, it was determined that in Minchao, one mu of cabbage yielded about 1,000 jin (500 kg).

One wen (coin) could buy one jin of cabbage, so the total value of one mu’s worth of cabbages came out to about 1,000 wen—equivalent to one tael of silver.

Spending one tael of silver to protect the Zhao family’s reputation was a good deal—very worth it.

Zhao Daqing gave Zhao’s mother a look, signaling her to go fetch the money, while muttering, “It’s just a misunderstanding, that’s all.”

Qian Chunhua took the silver and left without looking back.

Before going, she reminded them, “Since you’ve paid for the cabbages, that mu of land now belongs to you. I’ll give you three days—go dig up the rest.”

She hadn’t expected this incident to end up freeing her from a huge chore.

Otherwise, she’d be stuck in the field harvesting for days, completely exhausted.

So in a way, it worked out.

With this tael of silver, she could go buy another mu’s worth of cabbage if needed.

No matter how she calculated it, she’d profited.

As for those two little thieves—they’d already severed ties. If the Zhao family didn’t want to discipline them, she certainly wouldn’t.

Still, Qian Chunhua made a mental note to stay vigilant around Zhao Xiaojun.

That girl couldn’t be underestimated. Zhao Qingshui, on the other hand, was simple—his hatred was written all over his face, which made him easier to deal with.

When she got home, it was already 3:30 PM according to the time in her space. It was too late to fetch water from Lion Mountain.

So she gave herself a half-day off and decided to cook something delicious. She’d make extra, too, and store it in her space to avoid having to cook from scratch every time.

Thinking of how much the kids had loved the sweet and sour pork ribs last time, Qian Chunhua pulled out five jin of ribs from her space, along with five jin of pork belly—she planned to make all of it sweet and sour style.

She first blanched the meat, then cut it into pieces.

She cooked both the ribs and pork belly in one pot.

Thankfully, her stove and pot were large enough to handle all ten jin of meat.

She simmered it slowly over low heat until the pork belly was melt-in-your-mouth tender before taking it off the stove.

An hour later, the aroma of meat wafted through the air, drifting all the way to the Zhao household and making them all silently swallow their saliva.

Qian Chunhua filled a large ceramic bowl with the ribs and pork belly, then scooped a smaller portion into a clay pot for her mother.

The rest she stored in her space.

Besides meat, she also made two vegetable dishes—stir-fried shredded potatoes and cabbage—both in generous portions.

After dishing out the family’s share for dinner, she put the extra shredded potatoes and cabbage into her space as well.

Worried the food would get cold, she even stored the evening dishes in the space to keep them warm.

She then started steaming a pot of white rice. With that, the day’s work was nearly done.

Qian Chunhua took out cotton and fabric she had bought to start sewing padded jackets for the three children.

Last time, she had asked her mother to help with the innerwear, but the jackets she’d make herself.

While Qian Chunhua was busy sewing, Qingfeng was bouncing on the heated kang bed, full of energy and excitement.

He couldn’t wait for dinner—sweet and sour ribs and pork belly again!

Earlier, his mother had let him taste a piece, and it was so delicious—he was still drooling just thinking about it.

But Qingfeng was a thoughtful child. He knew good things should be shared with his older siblings when they came home. His mother’s stories always said so. So now, he just waited patiently, mouth watering.

After school, Qingsong and Xiaoling came home. Qian Chunhua handed over the small clay pot of ribs and pork belly she had prepared earlier and asked Qingsong to deliver it to his grandmother.

To avoid the smell spreading and being noticed, she used a lidded clay pot, wrapped it in an old jacket, and placed it in the basket.

This way, the aroma was sealed in, and it stayed warm.

Qingsong hoisted the basket onto his back and set off for the Qian household.

That evening, the family ate with joy written all over their faces.

The three little ones, in particular, were so happy their eyes squinted into crescent moons.

Each piece of pork belly was savored for as long as possible before being swallowed.

Each rib was sucked clean of flavor before the bone was finally spit out.

If the kang bed hadn’t been warm enough to keep the dishes hot, Qian Chunhua suspected the kids would still be eating.

In the end, she had to assign them tasks—scooping meat into their bowls herself.
“Hurry up and eat. If it gets cold, your stomach will hurt.”

Only then did the three kids start eating faster. Aside from the meat, the shredded potatoes were also a hit with the children.

In stark contrast to the warm, harmonious atmosphere in Qian Chunhua’s home, the Zhao family’s main house was filled with gloom.

Zhao Yongqiang and Li Cuihong had just returned with the sickly Zhao Qingyun.

The county doctor had already prescribed medicine, but this one illness had cost them two taels of silver—for the consultation and the herbs.

Zhao Daqing was beside himself with heartache.

In a single day, they’d lost not only those two taels but also the one tael they had paid to compensate Qian Chunhua that afternoon.

When Zhao Yongqiang found out what had happened, he grumbled in discontent,
“What compensation? That land was planted by us! Just because we split the land when we cut ties doesn’t mean we gave her the crops too!”

Hearing this, Zhao’s mother looked up at her eldest son, sighed softly in her heart, and lowered her head again.

Zhao Daqing opened his mouth, but in the end, gave up and said nothing.
“Then you go,” he said. “You go and get that tael of silver back.”

Zhao Yongqiang shrank his neck. Just the thought of that black stick made him uneasy. He didn’t dare say another word.

Li Cuihong sniffed hard. “Why do I smell meat?”

Zhao Qingshui tilted his eyes toward the next house and jerked his chin in that direction.
“It’s not as fragrant now, but it was really tempting earlier this afternoon.”

Zhao Xiaojun added bitterly, “She probably used our compensation money to buy the meat.”

Li Cuihong smacked Zhao Xiaojun on the head. “What’s wrong with you two? If you had to steal cabbage, at least wait until night! Who steals in broad daylight and gets caught red-handed?!”

Zhao Xiaojun stayed silent but muttered to herself, Only an idiot would go at night—it’s so much warmer under the blankets.