The dinner was particularly sumptuous.

Braised pork with eggs, stir-fried yellow eel, pickled purslane, and paired with glossy white rice.

After eating, Shen Qing finally felt a trace of happiness.

If only she could live in a spacious and bright house;

A large courtyard where she could plant flowers and vegetables, with a few fruit trees and a grapevine, where in the summer, she could relax in a rocking chair underneath, plucking grapes from the vine without needing to wash them;

In summer, she would wear cool, refreshing silk clothes, and in winter, warm, windproof furs;

She could travel in a donkey cart or a horse-drawn carriage.

Hmm, then her happiness would go from a little to overwhelming!

Pulling her thoughts back to reality, she looked up at her children gathered around the big iron pot, seemingly casually asking, “What do you think? If your little aunt comes back, how would that be?”

Jiang Shui was the first to react, her eyes shining as she quickly responded, “She can sleep with me, and there’s enough space at home for her.”

Having said that, she quickly looked at her mother, afraid she had misunderstood.

Jiang Xiangdong took a big mouthful of food and, confused, said, “But little aunt has been married for several years, how could she come back? We’re not far from Shili Village, she wouldn’t leave her husband’s house, right? Would her mother-in-law and husband let her?”

A married woman always stays with her husband’s family.

Even if she comes back, she’d have to hurry back to her own family, or else who would cook the food, wash the bowls and clothes, feed the chickens and ducks, and serve the in-laws?

Huo Bing glanced at Jiang Xiangdong, then looked at Shen Qing, making her stance clear, “I hope little aunt comes back. Whatever you say, mother, will be fine with me.”

Jiang Xiangnan chuckled and agreed, “I’ll listen to mother too!”

In the past, he wouldn’t have been so eager.

The house was small, and food was scarce.

If little aunt came back, not only would there be more mouths to feed, but the gossip and ridicule from friends would also be troublesome.

But now, they were well-fed.

There was no impact on his own food or space.

Little aunt had a good temperament and could help with the chores—why not agree?

He wasn’t stupid!

As for the ridicule?

Well, that didn’t bother him anymore.

He wasn’t the same person as before, and he didn’t need friends to play with.

He didn’t have time for that!

Jiang Xiangbei understood as well, silently but firmly agreeing, “I agree, I’ll listen to mother.”

Jiang Xiangzhong directly nodded, silent.

Today, his mother had gone out for some reason, and the dinner was late, so he just happened to arrive in time to eat. It wasn’t that they had waited for him.

If they wouldn’t even wait for him to eat, then there was no way his opinion would matter in other matters at home.

Furthermore, he felt that his mother and the family were different now.

In the past, they all paid special attention to him as a scholar, bending down slightly when speaking to him, showing respect.

But now, they seemed busy with something else.

Their expressions were more confident, and they didn’t pay as much attention to him.

Instead, they all gathered around his mother, everything revolved around her.

Her words were like an imperial decree.

Jiang Xiangdong thought:… Didn’t mother ask for their opinions?

Why is it that they didn’t share their opinions and just said they’d listen to her?

Had they already discussed it without telling him?

He quickly added, “Mother, I’ll listen to you! I’ll do whatever you ask!”

Shen Qing had a pretty good idea of how her family felt about Jiang Yu’s return.

In fact, the men of the family wouldn’t be affected much by Jiang Yu’s return, but the biggest impact would be on Jiang Shui and Huo Bing.

They’d have to squeeze together to sleep with Jiang Shui, and Huo Bing would need to cook an extra portion of food.

Even so, both of them still hoped Jiang Yu would come back.

Even though Jiang Yu’s return had a bad reputation because she was sent back by her husband, it was Jiang Shui and Xiao Hua who would be most affected.

Jiang Shui and Huo Bing didn’t consider it; they were just thinking about how much they wanted Jiang Yu to return.

Her daughters and daughters-in-law were good, and as for her sons… well, as long as they were obedient and could help, it would be fine.

She smiled affectionately at her three sons, “Eat more, eat your fill.”

Jiang Xiangdong looked moved, chewing with his mouth full and nodding emphatically.

Mother was so good!

Even after he had eaten so much, she still wanted him to eat more, afraid he wouldn’t have enough.

Sure enough, listening to mother was the right thing to do!

Jiang Xiangnan and Jiang Xiangbei nodded softly.

There was plenty of food today, and everyone could eat until full.

Yet, mother was still so caring, worried that they might not be full—it felt a bit odd.

Also, what had mother gone out to do in the afternoon?

Why was she suddenly talking about little aunt? Was she really coming back?

But would the Liu family let her go?

If not, both of them exchanged a glance, seemingly understanding something.

Shen Qing:… Well, finally, two of them understood.

As for the eldest son, it didn’t matter if he didn’t understand as long as he was obedient and contributed.

Jiang Xiangzhong had already figured it out.

He thought about what he could contribute. Whether it was writing a letter of divorce or separation, he could help.

He had realized that in this family, words didn’t matter; what mattered was actions, and those actions had to be useful.

His mother now only cared about their contributions.

Whoever contributed was useful.

He looked at his mother, showing his worth: “If you need someone to write, I can do it.”

Shen Qing nodded, “You should eat more too.”

Jiang Xiangzhong smiled, the corner of his lips curling upward.

After dinner, Shen Qing checked their family’s assets.

When she first came, there were three large sacks of grain, now it had turned into three large sacks and two cloth bags.

These were the old-style sacks from the 70s and 80s, each capable of holding up to 200 jin (roughly 100 kg). The cloth bags could hold 100 jin (50 kg) each, and the two large cloth bags were full of flour.

The grain in the sacks had been replaced.

The maize that once included cob had been replaced by pure corn kernels in one sack, and rice in another, with a third sack containing smaller bags of soybeans, mung beans, red beans, and millet.

Now, for breakfast, they had a porridge made with grains or cornmeal porridge with wild vegetable cakes. For lunch and dinner, it was either noodles or rice.

They ate about 5-6 jin (2.5-3 kg) of food a day, and with the current stock, they had enough for at least three months.

Shen Qing occasionally bought supplies from the market, not overstocking but aiming to keep about 500 to 600 jin of food.

She had learned the value of being prepared—too little made her feel insecure, but too much was a burden when escaping.

After deducting the cost of grain, she had 13,000 yuan remaining from selling small wild fish, shrimp, eel, loach, and other fish she hadn’t heard of.

The purchase of grain was really cost-effective, especially rice and flour.

With the food supply and 13,000 yuan in savings, Jiang Yu’s return wouldn’t be a problem.

They could afford to feed her.

Shen Qing took out the silver and counted it.

When she first came, she had over 11 taels.

After giving 1 tael to Huo Bing and spending on oil, fabric, thread, etc., only about 3 taels remained.

Today, she earned 12 taels from selling brushes, paid the workers 1 tael and 3 qian, and spent 3 taels on fabric. After including other expenses, she had spent 5 taels and 2 qian, leaving 5 taels and 5 qian. The total family savings were over 8 taels of silver.