Tang Liren returned home with the money and tickets.

At home, the girls were in the middle of a fight!

Of course, they weren’t really fighting. The three sisters were just rolling around on the kang bed, pressing down on each other’s arms and legs, panting and teasing one another. It looked more like they were playing.

When Tang Liren asked about it, she found out that Taotao wanted to run out and find Song Zhi, but her sisters didn’t agree.

Tang Liren pulled Bai Taotao aside and asked in a whisper, “Taotao, do you like Song Zhi?”

Bai Taotao thought about it and nodded seriously.

“What do you like about him?”

Bai Taoji answered without hesitation, “I like how he smells!”

Tang Liren looked disgusted. “Men are all smelly!”

Bai Taoji: In her past life, her master used to say the same thing! But… the spiritual energy on Song Zhi really smelled good.

Still, Bai Taoji was very obedient. Since her mother didn’t think men smelled good, she decided to change her wording.

“I like that he tastes good!” Bai Taoji said.

Tang Liren: …

“You’re not allowed to say men taste good anymore, understand?” Tang Liren warned her silly daughter.

Bai Taoji thought for a moment. “Mom, does saying someone tastes good mean the same thing as kissing?”

Earlier, when she was outside, she noticed that the villagers seemed especially sensitive about topics related to ‘sex,’ reacting as if it were some kind of taboo. At the time, Bai Taoji was new to this world and unfamiliar with everything, so she hadn’t pressed for answers. But now that she was at home, and everyone treated her well, she figured she might as well ask.

Unexpectedly, Tang Liren’s eyes widened the moment she heard those words!

“Who taught you that?”

Seeing Taotao’s innocent and clueless expression, Tang Liren’s sharp gaze swept over Bai Lili and Bai Xingxing, who were standing nearby.

Bai Lili blushed and waved her hands frantically. “Not me! I didn’t teach her that!”

Bai Xingxing said, “Ah, I don’t even know what kissing means!” Then she gave Bai Taotao a sharp look, clearly signaling her not to say such things in front of their parents.

Bai Taoji: !!!

—It’s just kissing! Was that kind of reaction really necessary? What kind of world was this? It was completely different from her past life. Back then, she had been the Saintess of the Meizong Sectt, and eating men was what she did best…

However, to avoid getting her sisters in trouble, Bai Taoji told the truth. “Big Sister taught me!”

Tang Liren gritted her teeth. “Yan Naqian?”

Bai Taoji nodded.

Tang Liren’s chest heaved with anger. “If I had known she’d corrupted my daughter, would I have let her off so easily? I have to get another eighty yuan out of her!”

Bai Xingxing, who hated Yan Naqian, encouraged her mother. “Then let’s go cause her more trouble!”

Bai Lili, however, worried it might escalate. “Mom, let’s just let it go. Cornered rats bite back.”

Bai Taoji spoke up. “Mom, since we have money now, can we eat something good?”

—Everything about this family was great except for how poor they were. Bai Taoji had been here for about a month, but she’d only eaten meat two or three times. And because her ‘foolish illness’ had been so severe before, she hadn’t even been able to taste the meat properly. It wasn’t until this afternoon, after absorbing the spiritual energy from Song Zhi, that the barrier blocking her senses had disappeared and she finally tasted how delicious the meat buns were.

Meat was so good!

Hearing this, Tang Liren immediately felt bad for her. “Alright, alright, we’ll eat…” She racked her brain and finally said, “Scallion pancakes! We’ll add eggs!”

Bai Taotao still wanted meat, but the family’s poverty was a fact. She didn’t say anything more and instead focused on how she could get her hands on some meat.

Hongdou and Huangdou, the little siblings, started licking their lips.

Bai Lili said, “The smell’s too strong. If the neighbors find out, it’ll be awkward whether we share or not. Besides, how would we cook it? The stove is outside.”

Bai Taotao suggested, “Can’t we set up a stove inside?”

Tan Fenghui, who had been listening quietly, said, “That could work. We can just say Huangdou wet the bed during his nap, so we need a stove to dry the bedding. It’s already late in the afternoon…”

Huangdou pouted. “Why not say my sister wet the bed?”

Hongdou said, “Fine, I wet the bed and I’ll get two pancakes!”

Huangdou widened his eyes. “I-I-I wet the bed! I’ll get two pancakes!”

Tan Fenghui put a finger to her lips and shushed them.

The little siblings immediately fell silent.

Everyone laughed.

Bai Xingxing clapped her hands and smiled softly. “Alright, the stove problem is solved. We’ll shut the doors and windows tightly, so the smell doesn’t get out.”

Bai Taotao said, “We can make it after dark. Once the neighbors are asleep, we’ll eat at midnight.”

Everyone looked at each other.

—That was actually a great idea!

Bai Zhengqian slapped his thigh and decided, “Then we’ll cook at night and have a midnight feast!”

With the plan settled, everyone cheered.

Suddenly, Bai Lili remembered something. “Taotao, how come you’ve been talking so smoothly lately? Your brain seems to be working better too.”

The laughter died down, and everyone turned to look at Bai Taotao.

Bai Taotao sighed. “From being hungry.”

Tang Liren and Bai Zhengqian felt guilty.

Bai Zhengqian said, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Once my back heals, I’ll go back to work and earn work points. Then we can use them to buy meat tickets and get some pork head meat from town, alright?”

Tang Liren added, “After we finish up today, I can start working tomorrow too! Your dad can rest at home. Don’t worry, women can hold up half the sky!”

Bai Taotao asked, “What’s ‘working’?”

“It means farming! Well, not just farming. During the busy season, we farm, but during the off-season, we build dams or do other labor. Basically, we work,” Bai Lili explained. “Our village has several production teams, and we’re in Team One. Everyone works together, earns work points, and at the end of the month or year, we can exchange those points for grain, meat tickets, and soap tickets!”

Bai Taoji asked, “Then how do we make money?”

The family spent the whole afternoon talking over each other, and only then did Bai Taoji come to understand the peculiarities of this world.

It turned out that buying anything required ration tickets! Of course, money could still be used to buy things, but it had to be done discreetly. Without tickets, one would have to spend even more money to buy goods on the black market.

Bai Taoji brought up another idea. “Can’t we secretly raise chickens or pigs ourselves?”

Everyone laughed.

Tang Liren tapped her silly daughter’s forehead with her finger, both amused and exasperated. “…No, we can’t!”

Bai Taoji pouted: Fine!

After pausing for a moment, Tang Liren lowered her voice and said, “But we can secretly grow some vegetables or sprout some beans.”

Bai Taoji still couldn’t feel happy.

—In her past life, she had already given up eating, but the body she now occupied craved food intensely.

She had been here for about a month and knew the family was extremely poor. Yet every day, Tang Liren would cook four eggs—Bai Taotao got one, Hongdou and Huangdou shared one, and the two sisters-in-law each got one. Everyone else ate a porridge made by boiling two parts staple food with four parts vegetables and four parts wild greens…

Ever since she’d had that half a meat bun at noon, Bai Taoji no longer wanted to eat the wild vegetable porridge.

She wanted to eat meat—every meal, until her stomach was so full she couldn’t move from the bed.

But with the family’s current situation…

Fine, she’d take things step-by-step.

Everyone soon went back to their tasks.

Bai Xingxing took Hongdou and Huangdou to the back mountain with baskets on their backs to cut grass for the production team’s sheep and gather some wild goods—most importantly, they had to collect wild green onions to make the scallion pancakes.

Tan Fenghui brought out a quilt, sprinkled some water on it, then took off the cover to wash. She carried the cotton quilt outside to dry…

Bai Lili stayed home to clean, while Tang Liren sorted out a pile of clothes that needed mending. She sat by the window on the kang and stitched them one by one. Bai Zhengqian read a newspaper, with a worn-out Xinhua dictionary beside him.

Bai Taotao got out of bed.

Tang Liren asked, “Where are you going?”

“I’m not going out. I’ll just stay in the yard!” Bai Taotao replied.

Tang Liren turned to shout toward Tan Fenghui, who was drying the quilt in the yard, “Hui’er, close the gate. Don’t let Taotao out!”

Tan Fenghui acknowledged with a quick response.

By the time Bai Taotao ran outside, the yard gate had already been shut by her eldest sister-in-law.

Seeing Bai Taotao’s frustrated expression, Tan Fenghui comforted her, “Be good, Taotao. Don’t go outside. There are dogs out there…”

Before she could finish, someone pushed the gate open.

It was Hongdou, carrying a small basket on her back.

“Why are you back?” Tan Fenghui asked.

Hongdou replied, “Mom, we forgot to bring water!”

Tan Fenghui scolded, “You three are so careless! Here, take the water bottle. And close the gate when you leave!”

Hongdou protested, “Why close the gate in broad daylight?”

Tan Fenghui said, “Your grandmother doesn’t want your fourth aunt going out. She’s afraid she’ll get lost!”

Bai Taotao called out to her little niece, “Hongdou!”

Already halfway out the gate, Hongdou turned back and ran over. “What is it, Fourth Aunt?”

“Can you bring something back for me?”

“What do you want, Fourth Aunt?”

Bai Taotao said, “Seedlings that can bear fruit—any kind, as long as the fruit is tasty.”

Hongdou, clever beyond her years, understood immediately. “You mean we dig up wild fruit plants from the mountain and plant them at home? Then we can eat delicious fruit anytime?”

Bai Taotao nodded seriously.

Hongdou hesitated. “But I don’t recognize the plants!”

“Ask your little aunt! If she doesn’t know either, I’ll go myself!” Bai Taotao said.

Hongdou laughed. “Okay! Fourth Aunt, I’m off!”

Bai Taotao also smiled.

—Hongdou was so adorable!

By dinnertime, the Second Aunt hadn’t finished cooking yet, but Tang Liren and Bai Lili were already standing at the kitchen door with double-handled tin pots, waiting to scoop food.

Li Cui’er also came over. Seeing the eldest branch of the family, she rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, “You’re useless at everything except rushing to grab food first.”

Bai Lili wanted to snap back—

But Tang Liren shot her a look, and in front of Li Cui’er, calmly filled their pots with food. When the Second Aunt finished cooking the last dish, she portioned some into their pot and added a ladle of broth.

Tang Liren and Bai Lili carried the pots and left.

Li Cui’er was still fuming from being slapped by Tang Liren earlier and losing ten yuan to Bai Taotao, so she sneered, “Sister-in-law, I heard you went to trouble Educated Youth Yan today? I also heard Educated Youth Yan had fifty yuan—did you manage to get your hands on it? Ever since Elder brother became the village secretary, you’ve been finding more and more ways to make money…”

Tang Liren smiled faintly. “Exactly! Cui’er, don’t complain that I’m keeping secrets and won’t help you get rich. Let me teach you the fastest way to make money.”

Then her expression turned sharp. “Stop taking the Bai family’s things to your parents’ house! Look at the third branch—you always say they’re worse off than you, but why do they have everything while you have to ‘borrow’ everything? And once you borrow something from us, it always ends up in your parents’ house?”

Li Cui’er was livid. “You—”

Tang Liren added, “The Li family sure raised a good daughter!” Then she and Bai Lili took the food and left.

Li Cui’er stomped her feet in anger!

Before long, the entire the Bai family’s eldest branch sat around the kang table, ready to eat dinner.

Dinner was coarse rice mixed with beans, served dry.

There were two dishes: one was a mix of chopped bean sprouts, spinach, string beans, and pumpkin chunks, boiled and then tossed with homemade sauce and a drizzle of bean oil; the other was dried pickled vegetables stir-fried with minced garlic.

There wasn’t a single piece of meat.

Bai Taotao held her bowl and sat quietly, eating with delicate movements.

To be honest, the coarse rice mixed with beans didn’t taste good at all. It took forever to chew and swallow, and it scraped her throat going down. As for the vegetables, the bean sprouts tasted like pumpkin, the string beans tasted like spinach, and everything was overly salty from the sauce…

Only the stir-fried pickled vegetables were good, but they were salty too.

Bai Taotao had half a bowl of rice with a small pinch of pickled vegetables before losing her appetite.

Tang Liren grew a bit nervous. “Taozi, why don’t you have an appetite today? Are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m already full,” Bai Taotao said softly.

Huangdou blurted, “Fourth Aunt wants to eat meat buns!”

Bai Taotao shot her little nephew a look. “You don’t want to eat meat buns?”

Huangdou quickly said, “I do, I do!”

Hongdou chimed in, “There aren’t any meat buns today, but we’ll have scallion pancakes tonight! We’ll eat until we’re full, then sleep nice and warm, and even our dreams will be sweet…”

Tang Liren said affectionately, “Alright, alright, my little ancestors! The dough’s already proofed. Tonight, after the neighbors are asleep, we’ll bake pancakes, okay?” She lowered her voice too.

Hongdou whispered, “Add eggs!”

Huangdou imitated his sister and said in a small voice, “Add oil too, and the wild scallions we picked! Grandmother, I picked the most!”

Tang Liren lowered her voice even more. “…Alright! It’s settled!”

Everyone burst into happy laughter, and the food suddenly seemed more delicious.

Bai Taotao grinned as she hopped off the kang and ran to look at the wild seedlings Hongdou and Huangdou had brought back for her.

In addition to a grape seedling, there were about ten other seedlings, but she didn’t recognize any of them???

This world was too different from her original one!

Tang Liren tensed up as soon as Bai Taotao moved, quickly grabbing her bowl and following outside. Seeing her daughter squatting by the seedlings at the door, Tang Liren finally relaxed and smiled. “Taotao, do you recognize these plants?”

Bai Taotao shook her head.

Tang Liren came over to teach her. “This is grape, this is kiwi, this is wild celery, and this is chili pepper…”

Bai Taotao frowned. “Aren’t there any peaches, pears, or apricots?”

Tang Liren was momentarily stunned but then laughed. “Okay! In a few days, mom will go to the back mountain and look for some! We’ll plant them in the yard so we can eat peaches, pears, and apricots at home, okay?”

Bai Taotao nodded and began organizing the seedlings.

Just then, Bai Lili came out after finishing her meal and called out, “Mom, go back inside and eat. I’ll keep an eye on Taotao… Taotao, what are you doing?”

Everyone in the Bai family treated Bai Taotao like a child—one they cherished deeply. Bai Lili, as the eldest daughter, had been helping Tang Liren since she was young and was used to looking after her sister.

Seeing Bai Taotao trying to plant the seedlings, Bai Lili quickly said, “I’ll do it!” She was about to plant them by the steps.

Bai Taotao shook her head. “Put them in flower pots and keep them by the kang!”

The Bai family knew how to grow crops and fruit trees, there was no doubt about it.

But these seedlings couldn’t be grown the usual way. Otherwise, it would take three to five years for the fruit trees to bear fruit, and even the vegetables would need three to five months…

Bai Taotao was practically starving and couldn’t wait that long.

Just then, she remembered how Song Zhi carried a rich aura of spiritual energy. She wondered—could she absorb a little of his spiritual energy first and then pass it on to the seedlings?

Meanwhile, the man Bai Taotao was thinking about sneezed loudly!

It seemed he was just outside the Bai family’s courtyard?

Both Bai sisters heard it.

Bai Lili hadn’t reacted yet, wondering who could be outside at this hour when everyone was home eating dinner.

But Bai Taotao bolted to the door!

Bai Lili panicked. “Taotao, what are you doing?”

Bai Taotao’s face lit up with joy—the spiritual energy had arrived!

When she opened the door—

Sure enough, Song Zhi was standing outside, with his luggage at his feet.

Actually, Song Zhi had already been standing at the Bai family’s courtyard gate for at least half an hour.

The mouth-watering aroma of food wafting from inside had stopped him just as he was about to step in.

He thought about how he had already freeloaded a meal at noon, even getting rare meat buns that the Bai family themselves didn’t often have. Now he was too embarrassed to go in and ask for another meal. He figured he’d wait until they finished eating before going in to talk to Bai Zhengqian.

But then—

He heard the boisterous laughter coming from the Bai family’s main room, loud enough to almost lift the roof.

Recalling the Bai family’s warmth and affection during lunch, Song Zhi couldn’t help but smile.

Right at that moment, the courtyard door suddenly swung open, and a beautiful, fair-skinned girl rushed out. Carrying a sweet peach-like fragrance, she threw herself at him and hugged his arm, saying sweetly, “Spir-… Brother Song Zhi, you’re here?”

Song Zhi’s heartstrings hummed like the strings of a guitar being plucked, trembling straight to his core.