Thinking of this, Zhang Zixuan turned to Jianxiu and said, “Xiuer, there’s something I’ve always wanted to ask you…”

“I know what you want to ask. Let’s wait until your leg recovers, okay?” Jianxiu interrupted him again.

As they were talking, Zhang Zifu and Wang Xiuying entered with Wutou and Daya.

“Mother, are we staying at Fourth Aunt’s place tonight?” Daya asked curiously.

Hearing this, Wang Xiuying was momentarily speechless.

She wasn’t sure if Jianxiu was willing to take them in.

Besides, even if Zhang Zifu’s legs were completely fine, she was still uncertain about their future.

She didn’t even know how they would make a living.

Zhang Zifu saw through Wang Xiuying’s concerns and said, “You don’t have to worry. Fourth Sister-in-law has already made arrangements for our future.”

“What arrangements?” Wang Xiuying asked hesitantly.

“Let’s go inside and talk,” Zhang Zifu said with a smile.

Then he turned to Daya and said, “We’ll be staying at your Fourth Aunt’s place tonight. How about that?”

“Okay! Staying here means we don’t have to go cut pig grass at night,” Daya said softly.

Hearing this, Zhang Zifu and Wang Xiuying felt a deep pang of sadness.

For some time now, their two children had not only taken care of all the household chores but also had to cut pig grass in the backyard at night.

Wang Xiuying had seen all of this, and it pained her deeply.

When they entered the house, they saw a family of five enjoying a warm and lively moment together.

Seeing that Zhang Zixuan had woken up, Zhang Zifu was especially emotional.

“Fourth Brother, you’re awake?”

“Yes, I just woke up. Jianxiu has already told me about your situation. So, you’ve been cast out again?” Zhang Zixuan said calmly.

Hearing this, Zhang Zifu nodded in disappointment.

Zhang Zixuan didn’t offer any words of comfort.

But he was happy for the third branch of the family to finally separate.

Since childhood, Zhang Zifu was the one he had been closest to.

In the old house, he had always been the least favored.

Whenever there was good food, Old Liu would always sneak some to the three of them—except for him.

However, every time this happened, Zhang Zifu would split his share with him.

Back then, those little treats were very precious to them.

But Zhang Zifu never hesitated to share.

Unlike the first and second branches, the first branch was selfish and greedy—Zhang Zixuan understood that.

The second branch was sinister and ruthless—Zhang Zixuan saw that clearly too.

Now that the fourth branch had been cut off from the family, he knew very well how the third branch was living.

“Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. You all probably haven’t eaten yet, right? You’re in luck today—these dishes are from Yuexiang Restaurant. Come, have a taste!”

Jianxiu smiled warmly at Zhang Zifu and Wang Xiuying.

She truly owed them a thank you for today.

Even though they hadn’t helped her much, the fact that they rushed over so quickly meant they deserved her gratitude.

“This… Fourth Brother… Jianxiu, isn’t this too extravagant?” Wang Xiuying swallowed nervously as she looked at the table full of food.

The table was old, with one of its corners completely broken.

One of the legs was also snapped, barely held together by a bundle of straw.

It was clear what had happened to the table earlier that day.

“Wutou, Daya, come eat!”

Ignoring Wang Xiuying’s concern, Jianxiu turned to Wutou and Daya, who were staring at the food hungrily.

These dishes were probably something they had never tasted before.

In reality, the old house’s financial situation wasn’t so bad that they had to live in such hardship.

They owned more than a dozen acres of prime farmland, and Old Liu probably had dozens of taels of silver saved up.

Eating meat ten or so times a year wouldn’t hurt them at all.

But Old Liu treated money as more important than her life.

Hearing Jianxiu’s words, Wutou and Daya didn’t move right away.

Instead, they looked up at Wang Xiuying.

Only when she nodded in approval did they walk over to the table.

“Fifth Brother, Big Sister, come eat!” Zhang Feixuan(Lui Tou) eagerly pulled them over.

Back in the old house, Wutou and Daya were the only ones who often played with them.

Of course, they didn’t play much—most of the time, they were busy helping with chores.

Before the fourth branch was separated, the third branch had still lived somewhat comfortably.

At least Wutou and Daya didn’t have to work endlessly like they did now.

So whenever they had spare time, they would help out.

“Fifth Brother, let me tell you—this dish is really delicious! We ate it at Yuexiang Restaurant today, and it was amazing!”

As he spoke, Zhang Feixuan put a large piece of food into Wutou’s bowl.

At the same time, he also gave a piece to Daya.

“Sixth Brother, can I really eat this?” Wutou asked, staring at the large piece of meat in his bowl.

“Of course! Eat up—my mother even reheated everything just now.”

Earlier, when cleaning the kitchen, Jianxiu had reheated the food using a broken clay pot.

Originally, she thought they could just eat it cold, but she worried the children might get sick, so she took the extra effort to warm it up.

Hearing Sixth Brother’s assurance, Wutou finally lowered his head and quickly started eating.

Not only was there meat, but they weren’t eating coarse grain porridge—this was real rice.

Ever since he was little, he had only eaten rice during the New Year or special occasions.

And even then, he only got a bite or two.

He had never had a whole bowl of it.

Seeing Wutou eating, Daya also started eating quickly.

“It’s so good, Mother! It’s really delicious—I’ve never eaten anything this tasty before!”

The sight of the siblings devouring the food made Wang Xiuying’s heart ache.

“Fourth… Jianxiu, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even know where we’d be staying tonight.”

Wang Xiuying smiled bitterly.

Hearing this, Jianxiu didn’t say much—she simply nodded slightly.

In her eyes, this “thank you” from Wang Xiuying was well deserved.

Meanwhile, Zhang Zifu, sitting beside Zhang Zixuan’s bed, said, “You have more than just this to be grateful for.”

“What?” Wang Xiuying asked, confused.

Seeing that she didn’t know yet, Zhang Zifu told her everything about how Jianxiu had helped them find work.

“Really? Zifu, is this true?” Wang Xiuying’s eyes widened.

“Of course it’s true. Sister-in-law is right here—you can ask her yourself.”