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

This place is called a courtyard, but it's not actually a very small courtyard. Rather, the house encloses a U-shaped area with a small open space in the middle, where you can usually cook outdoors.

However, there is a large open space above the entire depression, which belongs to the owner and is convenient for tourists to park or to accommodate more people. It is all paved with cement.

There was a corridor underneath the house, so the owner led them there.

"Would you like some hot tea?" The owner poured them some tea first.

Ye Sanqing looked at the enamel mug with a smile, "I've never drunk tea like this before."

Sheng Hanyu: "This cup may look ordinary, but it's actually quite practical. If you like it, we can buy a few to take with us."

"Okay." Ye Sanqing took a sip and then held the cup. "Sister, are you aware of Xiaoyuan's situation?"

"This child is pitiful..." The shopkeeper shook his head. "Her parents went out to work, and then... they had an accident and never came back. That must have happened two or three years ago. Xiaoyuan must have been six or seven years old then, right?"

"So she's around nine or ten years old now?" Ye Sanqing looked at Sheng Hanyu with some shock to confirm her thoughts.

Xiao Yuan looked to be only seven years old, thin and small. No wonder she thought Xiao Yuan seemed a bit precocious earlier...

She's quite lively when she speaks, and her thinking is quite clear. It's just that sometimes when she gets anxious, she doesn't speak well. If you said she was ten years old, that would be more accurate.

Sheng Hanyu nodded, "She does look a bit young."

Ye Sanqing thought to herself that it was fortunate that the person she used as a reference was Yan Siqiong, who was the real precocious child. But putting that aside, at least in terms of physique and other aspects, she should be in line with the average level.

“Yes, how can a child of this age grow if they are not fed enough every day?” The shopkeeper sighed. “She also has a younger brother and two younger sisters. Her brother was still being held in her arms at that time.”

"Why didn't her parents take her younger brother with them when they went out to work? It sounds like such a young child shouldn't be able to leave his parents." Sheng Hanyu asked.

Actually, he knew that it was now his turn to ask, since Ye Sanqing generally lacked common sense in this area.

If you were to ask her how she spent her childhood, she would definitely say she either lay in a nutrient tank or went out to fight against alien races.

Ye Sanqing nodded approvingly, signaling them to continue.

"Back then..." the boss recalled, "we just left them to be cared for by our elderly relatives. You might not know if you haven't lived in the village, but it was either the elderly taking care of them or the children taking care of the children. Xiaoyuan was already old enough to take care of them back then. Many people go out to work without taking their children with them."

“Okay…” Sheng Hanyu really didn’t know this, so Ye Sanqing accepted it without hesitation.

She didn't have much experience being raised by her parents...

“The old lady was fine taking care of them, but when Grandma heard that her son and daughter-in-law had an accident… she couldn’t catch her breath and passed away that very night.” The shop owner paused, somewhat moved, but in the end she could only sigh. “Then their grandfather was left, but he wasn’t very good at taking care of children. During that time, they were always covered in dirt. Not long after, Grandpa was exhausted and passed away too.”

"Xiaoyuan just mentioned having an uncle and aunt. Are they their biological parents?" Sheng Hanyu continued to ask.

"Not really, more like cousins. She should call him uncle," the boss recalled. "That's what people usually call them, they don't distinguish so clearly. That family also worked together, but they came back later, saying they were entrusted to take care of Xiaoyuan and the others. It's been almost a year since their parents passed away."

"If you take care of someone, they won't even have enough to eat?"

“It’s not that they didn’t take care of her; at least they did give her money. But Xiaoyuan is a very frugal and stubborn child…” the shop owner said. “She said the money was for her younger siblings’ education, and she didn’t need it.”

"..." Sheng Hanyu didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, the owner continued, "Actually, they also cook for these children at home, but Xiaoyuan doesn't eat it. She said she could share her food allowance with her younger siblings so they could eat more."

“It seems Xiaoyuan has her own ideas,” Ye Sanqing said.

But... in reality, a child can only eat a few bites of food. Since we're already cooking in large batches, is it really necessary to make a difference if we don't have one more serving?

“At first, I also thought that their family was not providing them with food. Other people saw it and went to ask them, but their uncle and aunt really did not skimp on their food, and their younger siblings did not complain about not having enough to eat.”

"Could it be that he was born disliking food?" Ye Sanqing asked curiously.

But if that's the case, Xiaoyuan won't agree to have dinner with them.

“No matter how I ask, she won’t say. She just won’t eat.” The proprietress shook her head. “Sometimes I have leftovers here, not the kind you eat, but like when customers don’t show up or come less often, and we have too much food prepared, so we have to use it up ourselves. I’ve asked her several times, and she always says she can’t eat other people’s food, so I was quite curious just now…”

"Why would she agree to have dinner with us?" Ye Sanqing smiled. "I told her it wasn't for nothing; she only agreed because there was something for her to do, something that involved work."

"I never knew it could be done like this! How come my brain couldn't process that?" the landlady exclaimed in surprise. "I was just thinking that if I could give it, I should, and I couldn't hire child labor, but it turns out... it's just a matter of saying it differently?"

"I just said it casually, I didn't expect it to actually work out." Ye Sanqing nodded. "Then... is there any situation where her uncle's family is not treating her well?"

"Well..." the boss lowered his voice and looked around. "It's hard to say. The main thing is, even if the parents had compensation or left some money, they couldn't possibly give it all to a ten-year-old, could they? But... you can't tell them I said that, I just have a feeling..."

“At least not as attentive as you would to your own child, right?” Sheng Hanyu recalled some details. It was normal for Xiaoyuan not to wear thick clothes in this season, since it was almost summer and the wind was only strong at night. But her shoes and clothes were very old, and she didn’t know how long she had worn them.

Fortunately, things aren't that valuable these days, so there aren't any signs of patching or mending.

"But it's not good to speculate about them. What if they give all the money back after Xiaoyuan graduates from junior high? Wouldn't that...wrongly accuse an innocent person?" The shopkeeper continued to sigh. "It's a family matter..."

"Okay, we understand. We'll take Xiaoyuan back after we finish eating." Ye Sanqing nodded and told the shopkeeper to get back to work.

"Shall we cook now?" Sheng Hanyu asked when she saw Atai waving at them after he had finished preparing.

"Let's cook first. Can we make some mutton soup or something?" Ye Sanqing said. "It's so hot during the day, and it's so cool at night. We need to warm ourselves up."

"Let the boss make some hot fruit juice or something for Xiaoyuan to drink first. The mutton soup needs to cook for a while. We'll go over and prepare it now."

"Okay." Ye Sanqing said, rolling up his sleeves. "I'll do whatever you say."

"I wouldn't dare."