Yu Zhining pretended not to hear, muttered softly and took back his hand. He stood up suddenly, walked around to Yu Jinhuai, and blinked his big eyes.

“Uncle.” Yu Zhining said coquettishly, “Just let Ah Ning touch it, just touch it, it won’t do anything to the bamboo shoots.”

Yu Jinhuai looked at him. His eyes gradually moved down to his dirty hands, and the meaning was self-evident.

Yu Zhining suddenly realized, ran to the main room, stood on tiptoe and took the basin from the shelf with difficulty. Just after a few steps, he heard footsteps, and then the thick door curtain was lifted from the outside. It was his uncle.

Yu Jinhuai took the basin from his hand and turned around, “Follow me.”

Yu Zhining followed him happily. When he brought out a basin of water from the kitchen, he immediately put his little hands in it, picked up the soap beans that Yu Jinhuai sent over, and rubbed his hands thoroughly.

After doing all this, with Yu Jinhuai’s permission, he touched the bamboo shoots that he had been craving for a long time.

The peeled bamboo shoots were white and tender, with the fragrance of bamboo, which made Yu Zhining love them.

He knew that bamboo shoots were to be eaten, so he didn’t touch them much, and walked to the kitchen with a small bamboo shoot in his hands.

At that time, Meng Yunshu had already kneaded the dough. The dough needed to rest for a while and then he kneaded again. In this way, the dough would have a smooth surface and taste chewy.

“Little uncle, little uncle, can you fry bamboo shoots in the evening?”

Meng Yunshu lowered his head and saw Yu Zhining holding up the bamboo shoots in his hand and meeting his expectant eyes. There was no disagreement.

He said yes, and Yu Zhining was even happier.

 Meng Yunshu, who originally planned to make sauerkraut noodles, gave up decisively and changed to dry noodles.

Yu Jinhuai had sorted out the bamboo shoots in the yard and took the initiative to come to the kitchen to light the fire. Although farmers pay attention to men not entering the kitchen, if there is only one man in the house, will they not eat? What’s more, the Yu family has never been particular about these things. In the Yu family, even when Yu Jinhuai’s brother was alive at that time, even if he was a scholar with a reputation, he would often cook in the kitchen.

The family worked together and dinner was quickly ready.

At the dinner table, Yu Zhining picked up a piece of bamboo shoots and ate it in big mouthfuls. He looked at Yu Jinhuai with the bowl and asked, “Uncle, are the bamboo shoots delicious?”

He was young, and everything was written on his face. Yu Jinhuai saw through it at a glance, and Meng Yunshu on the side was no exception.

So, Yu Jinhuai nodded to indicate that it was delicious.

 As they expected, Yu Zhining raised his chin slightly with pride, sat up straight, and said proudly: “That’s because Ah Ning picked the best bamboo shoots.”

Meng Yunshu was stunned. He thought that Ah Ning was really unambiguous when it came to praising himself.

Without waiting for the two adults to speak, he said: “And little uncle’s cooking is good.”

“Ah Ning’s bamboo shoots with little uncle’s cooking are the best.”

“Am I right, uncle?”

Meng Yunshu didn’t expect that there was something about himself involved, but when he heard Ah Ning say that he had good cooking skills, he was naturally very happy, and he was also very curious about what Yu Jinhuai would say.

Watched by two pairs of expectant eyes, Yu Jinhuai nodded helplessly.

They ate a bowl of noodles, a bowl of soup, comfortably.

The water was heated in the pot in advance. They soaked their feet, it felt comfortable, and all the fatigue of the day disappeared.

 After Yu Zhining fell asleep, Meng Yunshu greeted Yu Jinhuai and entered the store.

The goods purchased the day before had been sold out, and the shelves were empty. Meng Yunshu browsed the system mall and saw a golden treasure box on the last page. At this time, the icon was covered with dust, and it was obvious that he could not move it now.

His finger slid back to the first page and bought daily necessities and food as usual. This time he bought handmade noodles, yogurt, and some seeds, spending a total of 300 coins.

Thinking of the crops he planted in the back such as corn, he turned around and went to the back after the goods were put on the shelves to water all the plants. Meng Yunshu looked at the corn and potatoes that were about to mature, and his heart was filled with joy.

Tomorrow he can eat the fragrant corn, and by the way, he can also make corn flour.

Coming out of the store, Meng Yunshu took off his cotton coat, and suddenly a silver ingot fell out from the interlayer of his clothes. Looking at the silver on the quilt, Meng Yunshu remembered that he had not yet given the silver to Yu Jinhuai after exchanging it.

It happened that Yu Jinhuai had just finished pouring out the water for foot washing and went to the kang. He caught a glimpse of the silver in Meng Yunshu’s hand and was puzzled for a moment.

Where did Ah Yun get the silver? Mother said that the silver in the family should be given to his husband for safekeeping, but because there were too many things recently, he had not had time to give Ah Yun the box for storing the silver at home. In this case, where did the silver in Ah Yun’s hand come from?

Concerned that Yu Zhining had already fallen asleep, Meng Yunshu lowered his voice and called Yu Jinhuai.

 “Brother Huai, here you go.”

Yu Jinhuai opened his palm and watched Meng Yunshu put the silver in his palm. The silver was placed close to his body and was warm, as if it warmed Yu Jinhuai’s heart. He stared into Meng Yunshu’s eyes and asked, “Where did it come from?”

Meng Yunshu leaned towards him and explained in a low voice, “I took it from the store to buy snacks for Ah Ning.”

When he spoke, the light in his eyes was unusually bright, like the stars in the night sky, sparkling and beautiful.

Yu Jinhuai half-closed his eyes, slowly clenched the silver in his palm, and warmth surged in his chest.

 “Okay.”

“I’m going to Daqing Mountain again tomorrow.”

Meng Yunshu, who was about to lie down in the quilt, asked, “Again?”

“Mm, I found sheep dung not far from a trap today. I think there are wild sheep nearby. I’ll go up the mountain to have a look tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

The oil lamp was blown out, and the bedroom suddenly became dark. After a while, the steady breathing of the people around him could be heard in the room.

Lying in the quilt, Yu Jinhuai turned his head and looked at Meng Yunshu unscrupulously in the dark. After a long time, he closed his eyes. His left hand hidden in the quilt quietly reached into Meng Yunshu’s quilt, found Meng Yunshu’s hand, and carefully grasped it in his hand. He held it very weakly, for fear of being discovered.

Suddenly, the hand in his palm moved away from his hand. Yu Jinhuai felt lost and took back his hand with a guilty conscience, not daring to reach out again.

It was a dreamless night.

 Thinking about the wild sheep, Yu Jinhuai got up early and dressed and washed himself carefully.

When he finished feeding the chickens and walked from the backyard to the front yard, he found that the kitchen window was lit up. Under the dim light, a figure was reflected on the window, which made him feel warm all over in the cold winter.

Pushing open the kitchen door, Meng Yunshu was yawning while boiling water. There was a bowl on the stove with white milk powder in it, and the noodles that were not finished yesterday were placed on the chopping board.

Hearing footsteps, Meng Yunshu, who was sitting in front of the stove, turned his head with a blush at the end of his eyes. He was still in a daze in the morning, and there was a hint of coquetry in his voice.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

Yu Jinhuai’s Adam’s apple slid up and down. He looked at the husband in front of him with a deepening look in his eyes, and said hoarsely: “I want you to sleep more.”

The kitchen door that was not closed tightly was pushed open by Daqing from the outside. It ran in and lay in front of the stove, but the two owners suffered. The biting cold wind in the early morning blew away all the sleepiness and charm. Meng Yunshu, who was standing at the door, saw him shiver and hurriedly closed the door.

 “It’s cold in the mountains. You have to run for most of the day, so you have to have a good meal in the morning.”

Yu Jinhuai listened to his words and couldn’t help but raise the corner of his mouth, “I understand.”

“Mm.” Meng Yunshu responded like an old man.

After going up the mountain for so long, it was the first time that he had a hot breakfast in the morning. His family was waiting for him and thinking about him. This kind of day was something Yu Jinhuai didn’t dare to think of before.

Recalling Meng Yunshu’s words before leaving, “Be careful and come back early.” Yu Jinhuai felt that he was full of strength and energy.

After sending him away, Meng Yunshu was no longer sleepy. He cleaned the house from front to back. After Yu Zhining got up, he took him to have breakfast and stayed at home for a while. When he estimated that it was about time, he took him to Aunt Sun’s house with the bamboo shoots.

Daqing was taken into the mountains by Yu Jinhuai, and only Dahei was left at home. It wanted to follow him out, but Meng Yunshu stopped it and locked it at home.

 There was no one at home. Although the atmosphere in Cangnan Village was not bad, it was still reassuring to have a wolfhound at home.

When they arrived at Aunt Sun’s house, the family had just finished their meal. Aunt Sun’s son and daughter-in-law opened a small restaurant in the town. They only came back once every ten days or half a month, so there were only Aunt Sun and Sun Ming in the Sun family.

When Aunt Sun saw them coming, she was very happy. She asked them to sit down and walked to the kitchen with small steps. When she came out, she put a bowl of peanuts on the table, “I fried it. Brother Shu, try it.”

Meng Yunshu would never refuse the kindness of his elders since he was a child. He was always obedient when getting along with his elders. So when Aunt Sun asked him to eat, he did it without saying a word. His actions looked generous and pleasing to Aunt Sun.

 Meng Yunshu’s eyes lit up, and he grabbed another handful and stuffed it into his mouth, saying bluntly: “It’s delicious, Auntie, how did you make it?”

“If you like it, I’ll teach you.”

“Okay.”

They let Sun Ming and Yu Zhining go out to play, and Auntie Sun took Meng Yunshu to pickle bamboo shoots.

Farmers don’t use many ingredients for pickling vegetables, and they are the same ones over and over again. The steps are similar to what Meng Yunshu knows.

He learned it in one morning, and also learned to stir-fry peanuts. He also made an appointment with Auntie Sun to learn to make soybean paste and peanut butter later.

In a blink of an eye, the sky gradually darkened. Meng Yunshu was busy all day and had no time to take care of the corn and potatoes. He also forgot about the store. He didn’t have the heart to think about why there were no customers today. He was thinking about Yu Jinhuai who went up the mountain with all his heart.

It was getting dark and Yu Jinhuai hadn’t come back yet. Meng Yunshu didn’t have the heart to make dinner. He was flustered and couldn’t calm down.

 Meng Yunshu frowned as he stood at the door looking at the road up the mountain.

He said he would come back before dinner, but now it was getting dark and he still hadn’t seen him. Meng Yunshu clenched his hands anxiously.

Yu Zhining didn’t go home either, wanting to wait for his uncle with him.

Suddenly, a voice came from not far away, and Meng Yunshu couldn’t help but take a step forward.

“Brother-in-law, come and help.”

It was Yu Jinyue’s voice. Meng Yunshu’s heart jumped and he ran over in a hurry with a little kid following behind him.