Cooking smoke curled into the air.

In the kitchen, a pot of soup was simmering. Large pork bones were stewing with bamboo shoots, making a highly nutritious meal.

Pork blood was stir-fried with wild vegetables, with an extra splash of oil to enhance the flavor.

Chunks of pork belly, neatly cut into squares, were being slowly braised until tender, turning into a rich, caramelized red-braised pork dish.

Meanwhile, a pot of white rice was steaming, its sweet aroma blending with the scent of meat, filling the courtyard with mouthwatering fragrance.

Zhao Sidan was chopping up wild vegetables to feed the ducklings.

The moment he caught a whiff of the food, he couldn’t help but drool.

Cheng Wanwan shot him a glare. “Wait until your eldest, second, and third brothers return before we eat.”

Zhao Dashan had gone to the fields to weed and fertilize.

No matter how much money he made during the day, the first thing he did when he got home was tend to the land—because for a farmer, the land was the foundation of everything.

Zhao Ergou was fetching water from the mountain.

The village chief had arranged for a reservoir to be dug halfway down the slope, making it much more convenient for the people of Dahe Village.

It took about fifteen minutes for a round trip.

After carrying four buckets of water back, Zhao Ergou then climbed the mountain to help Zhao Sanniu chop firewood.

The wood was stacked in the courtyard, ready to be split after dinner.

Cheng Wanwan walked to the courtyard gate, preparing to call Zhao Dashan back for dinner.

Just as she stepped out, Aunt Wang from next door whispered to her, “Dashan’s mother, after you all left, Dashan’s wife went to the fields alone to pull weeds. She slipped and fell on the ridge. Luckily, my son Damai saw her and helped her up, or she could have been in real trouble.”

Cheng Wanwan was stunned for a moment.

After returning from town, Hui Niang had seemed completely normal.

She had even been bustling around in the kitchen, cooking and keeping herself busy.

“Thank you, Niuqiu’s mother,” Cheng Wanwan said, then turned back into the house.

Inside, Wu Huiniang was resting on a stool.

The moment she saw her mother-in-law enter, she quickly got up and checked on the meat in the pot.

Cheng Wanwan narrowed her eyes.

Her eldest daughter-in-law was clearly forcing herself to push through.

She walked over and pressed Wu Huiniang back into her seat. “How are you feeling?”

Wu Huiniang quickly shook her head. “Mother, I’m fine, really.”

“Sidan, go and fetch Doctor Zheng,” Cheng Wanwan instructed, then firmly guided Wu Huiniang to lie down on the bed. “From now on, if anything like this happens again, you are not allowed to push through on your own.”

Tears welled up in Wu Huiniang’s eyes. “Mother, I’m just so useless. I can’t help earn money, and now I’ve even made you worry by falling…”

“Who said you don’t help?” Cheng Wanwan interrupted. “Every night, don’t you help prepare the cold jelly? Isn’t every meal in this house made by you? You clean the courtyard, wash the clothes—who does all of that? We go to town to sell jelly, and you even go up the mountain to gather wild vegetables… If you collapse, who will do all this work? The house would fall into chaos. Huiniang, never underestimate yourself again.”

Wu Huiniang’s eyes turned red.

She had been truly frightened today.

She had only wanted to pull some weeds so that Dashan wouldn’t have to do it when he returned.

But the ridge was wet and slippery, and she had lost her footing.

If Damai hadn’t been there, she didn’t know how long she might have lain in the mud.

When she got home, she noticed some blood, which scared her so much that she lay in bed for two hours before recovering.

As soon as she felt better, she went to the mountain to collect wild vegetables, fed the chickens and ducks, then started sewing clothes—keeping herself busy all day until she had forgotten about the bleeding.

Only now, as her mother-in-law confronted her, did she realize that her lower abdomen had been aching faintly all along.

Fear crept into her heart.

What if she lost the baby?

Not long after, Doctor Zheng arrived.

Doctor Zheng was Dahe Village’s barefoot doctor.

But with hard times and most villagers being poor, people usually endured illnesses on their own, so he hadn’t made many house calls lately.

Hearing that Wu Huiniang was unwell, several idle village women followed along, gathering in the courtyard to watch.

In the village, there wasn’t much concern about separating men and women for medical checkups.

Doctor Zheng placed his fingers on Wu Huiniang’s wrist, carefully feeling her pulse for a long while before saying, “Her pulse is a bit unstable, but it’s not serious. I’ll prescribe some medicine to help stabilize the pregnancy. However, these medicines aren’t cheap. Dashan’s mother, if you want them, have Sida come with me to fetch them.”

Cheng Wanwan nodded. “Of course we’ll take them. Just tell me the price.”

Doctor Zheng calmly stated, “The consultation fee is three copper coins. The pregnancy medicine costs five coins per pack. She’ll need at least three days’ worth, three times a day, which means nine packs in total. Altogether, that’s forty-eight copper coins.”

Wu Huiniang’s face went pale. “Mother, I already feel much better. I don’t need the medicine…”

“You don’t get to decide that.”

Cheng Wanwan pressed her back down, then went to the next room to get the money. That day’s earnings were locked in a chest. She counted out forty-eight coins and handed them to Doctor Zheng.

The village women standing at the door watched as a pile of copper coins clinked into the doctor’s pouch.

“Whoever said Dashan’s mother mistreats her daughters-in-law, I’ll spit in their face if they say it again!”

“Looks like she’s making good money now. Can you smell that? There’s meat cooking in their kitchen! Eating meat these days—must be earning quite a bit!”

“I just took a peek. It’s pork bone stew with bamboo shoots. Pork bones aren’t expensive—ten copper coins can buy a big one.”

“If it’s only ten coins, we can afford that too. We have bamboo shoots at home. Maybe we should make a pot of soup as well.”

“Oh, that reminds me! Yesterday, my daughter sent over two pounds of lantern grass, and Dashan’s mother still owes us four copper coins. Now that she’s spent money on the doctor, does she even have enough left to pay us?”

“Speaking of which, she still owes us for some eggs from a few days ago!”

After sending off Doctor Zheng, Cheng Wanwan was relieved that Wu Huiniang was okay.

A warm smile appeared on her face as she addressed the waiting villagers. “Everyone, wait just a moment. I’ll settle all the debts now.”

Word spread quickly, and soon more villagers arrived—parents of children who had previously delivered goods, coming to collect payment.

Cheng Wanwan had Zhao Ergou bring out a table and set it in the courtyard.

One bowl held forty or fifty copper coins, while another contained seven or eight eggs.

She smiled. “One at a time, no rush.”

“Niuqiu’s mother, four copper coins and two eggs—here you go.”

“Tiezhu’s mother, two copper coins and one egg…”

Cheng Wanwan had an excellent memory and didn’t shortchange anyone.

Soon, all debts were cleared.

At first, the village women had worried she might try to evade payment.

But now that she had settled everything fairly, they were satisfied.

However, someone still asked cautiously, “Dashan’s sister-in-law, are you still buying lantern grass?”

Cheng Wanwan smiled. “Of course. Same price as before—two copper coins per pound.”

The village women were pleased. The mountain was full of lantern grass—picking it was free money.

Then, a discordant voice rose from the crowd.

“Big sister, don’t you think two coins per pound is a bit too little?”