After the empress transmigrated, she became the judge of the entertainment industry.

The group strolled around for a while, bought all the necessary side dishes and other ingredients, picked up the mutton, and headed back.

Atai took most of the things, and Ye Sanqing looked at him and said, "Shouldn't we get a small cart or something?"

Actually, these things weren't heavy for him, but with so many bags and small packages, if he could only carry them by the top handles, the bags piled up, and he almost bumped into pedestrians several times.

Sheng Hanyu reached out and took some of them. "I'll take them. A shopping cart? The kind for the elderly? You know what, it sounds pretty practical."

"I'll take some too." Ye Sanqing didn't allow Atai to object and reached out to take the mutton.

"Thank you, boss," Atai said.

"Okay, this lamb has a pretty high meat yield." They hadn't checked the exact weight when they picked it up. Ye Sanqing weighed the lamb in his hand and was pleasantly surprised. "Are we still going to roast the lamb chops and legs, like last time?"

"If you're not tired of eating it, then grill it."

Actually, I have eaten mutton during this period, but it is indeed quite different from the roasted lamb leg I had during the variety show. Ye Sanqing probably came to a similar farmhouse environment and was thinking about this again.

However, it's only natural to want to roast a lamb when you see it.

"Alright, this time there aren't any annoying flies buzzing around..." Ye Sanqing smiled. "Then tell me how to do it, and I'll get to work."

“I’m not completely immobile; I can still sprinkle salt like this.” Sheng Hanyu demonstrated the famous salt-sprinkling gesture.

"Take good care of your things..." Ye Sanqing said with a smile, "I think tonight's meal will be quite sumptuous."

"Of course, with freshly slaughtered sheep, fresh beef, and fish just caught from the water, it's hard not to have a feast."

They walked towards the courtyard, chatting and laughing, but saw Xiao Yuan at the gate.

She didn't stay with the group of children; instead, she squatted on the ground alone, drawing circles with a twig.

"Xiao Yuan, what are you doing here?" Ye Sanqing asked.

"Brother and sister?" Xiao Yuan looked up, somewhat confused. "My parents aren't home, and there's no one at my house. I'll go back to sleep when it gets dark."

"Do you still have grandparents at home?" Sheng Hanyu asked patiently, gesturing for Atai to take the things back first.

"Grandpa and Grandma, we never had it!" Xiaoyuan said. "We used to have it, but we don't anymore!"

Ye Sanqing glanced at Sheng Hanyu, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Sheng Hanyu knew this situation sounded unusual, but it was probably quite common in the countryside. "So how does Xiaoyuan usually eat?"

"I just ate, and you gave me... the candy I traded!" Xiaoyuan looked around mysteriously and said, "I have money for food. My aunt and uncle said it was my parents who gave it to me!"

It sounds like this child is a left-behind child, the kind whose parents work away from home and are left to be cared for by relatives.

Since they have money, there shouldn't be any major problems. Even if the child might not be able to distinguish between food and snacks... Sheng Hanyu was about to say this to Ye Sanqing when Ye Sanqing asked, "Where are your parents?"

"It's a very far place, I might not come back!" Xiao Yuan said innocently, looking up. "My aunt and uncle said that my parents left me some money to use!"

"..." Ye Sanqing felt that something was wrong with this matter, and she looked at Sheng Hanyu.

Sheng Hanyu understood what she meant. Xiaoyuan didn't seem to have much money, and what she said didn't sound like her parents were working outside. Although it was impolite, it sounded like her parents had passed away and she had an inheritance...

But what the child said might not be accurate, so he asked softly, "Does Xiaoyuan live at your uncle and aunt's house?"

"No! I live at my parents' house, and I live with my younger brother and sister!" Xiaoyuan shook her head. "I think they're too noisy, so I don't want to go back! I'll go back after they go to sleep."

"Where do your uncle and aunt live?" Sheng Hanyu asked again.

“It’s right next to my house. Very close! Just across a small river!” Xiaoyuan said.

Ye Sanqing still felt something was off, so she asked Xiaoyuan, "We're going to eat, do you want to eat with us?"

Xiaoyuan's eyes lit up immediately, "But... we can't eat other people's food..."

“I have work for Xiaoyuan to do, and meals are her payment. Does Xiaoyuan even know what work is?” Ye Sanqing said.

"Xiaoyuan knows! Her aunt and uncle said that they go to work to exchange money and goods, and then they can eat!"

"Then have dinner with us first, and then I'll tell you about the job," Ye Sanqing said seriously.

“Okay…” Xiaoyuan looked around the yard and stepped inside.

"What do you want her to do?" Sheng Hanyu asked softly from behind.

"I haven't decided yet, but let's keep her here for now and ask her slowly later, or we can check on her when we take her home."

"it is good."

The boss was busy setting things up for them in the yard when he saw Xiaoyuan come in ahead of them. He paused, surprised. "Xiaoyuan?"

It seems this town isn't very big, and everyone knows each other, which makes things easier. I can just ask the boss about Xiaoyuan later.

Ye Sanqing said to the boss, "When I saw this child squatting at the door, I called her in to eat with me."

"This child..." The boss hesitated, then said to Xiaoyuan, "Xiaoyuan, why don't you go sit at that table over there and wait for your meal?"

"Okay!" Xiao Yuan happily went to sit down at the round table in the yard.

The others ate in the hall, but Ye Sanqing and the others planned to cook for themselves. There were also barbecue spots in the open space in the yard. There weren't many people in the yard now, and Xiao Yuan sat there alone, looking a little lonely.

"Should we get the child a warm coat?" The boss guessed that they had their reasons for calling Xiaoyuan, otherwise they would have just let Xiaoyuan eat with the driver and the others. That's why they let Xiaoyuan go to the yard, but looking at it this way, it was windy at night, and they were afraid she would catch a cold.

"Thank you if it's convenient for you," Sheng Hanyu said.

"We have some in our car too..." Ye Sanqing muttered, but didn't stop them.

She probably knew that there were different levels of clothing quality. She could tell from the ordinary but clean clothes Xiaoyuan was wearing that she was aware of this. If she were given really nice clothes all at once, Xiaoyuan might not be used to it.

Upon hearing this, the boss turned around and went inside to fetch a cotton-padded coat, which he then put on Xiaoyuan. He said a few words to her, and Xiaoyuan did not refuse.

“These are my daughter’s old clothes,” the shopkeeper explained when he returned. “I told her I was lending them to her and she would return them after she finished eating. This child is very stubborn; she only agreed to wear them when she heard they were borrowed.”

Although the boss's daughter probably had some clothes from when she was little, it was impossible to find them in a short time, and the clothes looked a bit loose on Xiaoyuan.

Ye Sanqing seemed to remember something and smiled, "She's very stubborn, isn't she? We just noticed that... She won't accept food if you give it to her; you have to exchange it."

“Yes!” the boss sighed. “Let’s talk over there.”