Dressed as a farmer's widow, she brought her daughter to stock up on food and reached the top

Xiuying turned slightly, her eyes landing on Lamei and Yingchun. "Lamei, Yingchun, your eldest sister should be back soon. Immediately select some capable servants from your household and go to the village entrance to wait. When the furniture arrives, we'll have our own people escort it in."

She emphasized her tone as she spoke: "Tell the servants to drive all the ox carts and donkey carts in the house to the village entrance so that they can be used to load the furniture."

Xiuying's daughters, following their orders, each went about their business. Now, Guihua was the only one left in the vast compound, in the small room adjacent to the barn. The third daughter, Guihua, was alone, lost in her own little world, leisurely wrapping preserved eggs.

"One, two, three, four, five..." Guihua counted quietly as she carefully placed the preserved eggs in a corner. Each one was wrapped tightly. After a few days, they would be ready for sale, so she had to prepare everything in advance. She wrapped the eggs now, and after about twenty days, they would be ready for pickling.

Guihua was delighted at the thought of being able to pickle and sell the preserved eggs soon, earning some money for her family. Her hands unconsciously quickened their pace as she wrapped each preserved egg in the special material. Her nimble hands quickly and skillfully wrapped each egg in the special material.

At that moment, Yang's mother slowly walked into the hut, carrying a basin of burnt cypress ash. Her eyes were filled with love for Guihua. "Guihua," Yang's mother called softly, "Grandma is here to help you make preserved eggs. When the city gets bustling, we can go there together to set up a stall and sell these preserved eggs, okay?"

Guihua quickly responded with a smile, "Okay, Grandma! Let's go together then. We'll definitely be able to sell the preserved eggs for a good price!"

The grandmother and granddaughter chatted with each other excitedly, and Yang's mother's eyes were full of love for Guihua and expectations for the future of the small business.

Just then, there was a slight sound of footsteps at the door. The two turned their heads subconsciously and saw Xiuying walking in. The atmosphere in the room changed subtly in an instant. Guihua's smile froze slightly, and a hint of nervousness flashed in her eyes.

"Mom," Guihua stood up quickly, her voice unconsciously carrying a hint of timidity, "I saw that we have stored a lot of chicken and duck eggs at home. I thought that when the city becomes lively in a few days, we can sell preserved eggs, so I wrapped some in advance." As she spoke, she carefully observed Xiuying's expression, and her hands unconsciously tugged at the corners of her clothes.

Xiuying had been incredibly busy these past few days, either heading to the Black Stone Forest or busy in the back mountains. Guihua had a hard time even seeing her mother, and her sisters had all been called out to work, leaving her the only one who had some free time.

Looking at the pile of eggs at home, she suddenly had an idea and decided to make some preserved eggs in advance to help the family, but she hadn't had time to tell her mother in advance. When Xiuying suddenly appeared, she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy, wondering if her mother would blame her for taking the initiative.

Guihua was just thinking anxiously when a pair of warm hands gently rested on her cold little face. Xiuying's eyes were filled with love as she whispered, "Guihua, you did the right thing. Compared to your other sisters, you're usually quiet, but I know you're a strong-willed child. No matter what you want to do, I'll support you."

Xiuying paused for a moment, then continued, "Mom has been incredibly busy these days. When she's done with this, I'll have someone set up a stall in front of the sweet potato shop. Then, you can sell the preserved eggs you and your grandmother make there. With Brother Liu and Sister Liu taking care of the shop, you'll have less to worry about."

Hearing Xiuying's words, Guihua felt as if the softest part of her heart was being gently touched by an invisible yet warm hand. She was instantly filled with an indescribable feeling of gratitude. It turned out that her mother had always cared deeply about her. Even without saying it out loud, she had already considered everything for her.

Guihua raised her head, her watery eyes filled with emotion and dependence, and she looked at Xiuying quietly, her voice trembling slightly as she whispered, "Thank you, mother!"

Xiuying looked at her sensible daughter and shook her head gently, her eyes full of pity. She said, "Silly child, I'm your mother. If I don't think about you, who else should I think about?"

At this point, Xiuying sighed slightly, her expression becoming somewhat solemn. She gently held Guihua's hand and said earnestly, "It's just that, although wrapping preserved eggs is something you can do, it's not a long-term solution. You're still young, and you have a long way to go. Now that our family's life is getting better, I can't just focus on the present. I have to plan a longer-term skill for you that you can rely on for a lifetime."

Yang's mother skillfully picked up a duck egg and carefully wrapped it. As she worked, she looked at Guihua and said, "Guihua, your mother is right. Our skill in wrapping preserved eggs may provide a temporary solution, but it's not a long-term livelihood. You're young and full of possibilities, so you need to look beyond the horizon."

Mother Yang's eyes showed a trace of emotion, and she continued, "As an old woman like me, I feel very satisfied just to have the skill of wrapping preserved eggs. But you are different. You have many opportunities in the future, so you can't limit yourself to this."

Xiuying gently took Guihua's hand and said mysteriously, "Come on, Guihua, I'll take you to see something. Let's go collect saltpeter."

Guihua was full of curiosity and followed Xiuying out obediently. She opened her big watery eyes and asked, "Mom, what is saltpeter?"

Xiuying smiled and kept it a secret: "Just follow mom and you'll find out in a moment."

Xiuying brought Guihua to the toilet.

Guihua looked at the surrounding environment, her face full of confusion, and couldn't help asking: "Mom, what are we doing here? Why are you still carrying a bowl?"

Xiuying patiently explained, "Come, let's put the soil here into this clay bowl."

"Oh." Although Guihua was full of confusion and didn't understand what Xiuying wanted to do with the smelly soil next to the toilet, she still obediently followed Xiuying's instructions, picked up the bamboo piece beside her, and carefully put the soil into the bowl bit by bit.

After a while, Guihua stopped what she was doing, looked up at Xiuying, and asked, "Mom, have you seen enough?"

Xiuying looked at the dirt in the bowl, nodded and said, "That's enough, let's go."

Xiuying took Guihua back to the kitchen and placed the ceramic bowl filled with soil on a pile of burning ash.

Then, she picked up the kettle beside her and slowly added an appropriate amount of water to the ceramic bowl. Then, Xiuying picked up a piece of bamboo and gently stirred the ceramic bowl.