The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

After Shen Cao helped her older brother up, she realized how thin he had become.

It's only springtime, and they've just taken off their thick cotton-padded coats, but she can feel through the clothes that she can grab her older brother's arm.

Before she could even feel sorry for her older brother, she helped her father carry him to the clinic.

As soon as Shen Zhenye put Shen Chen on his back and stood up, tears streamed down his face.

This eldest son loved reading from a young age; he would do anything as long as he was allowed to read.

He has always been very sensible and never caused his family any worry, so he and his wife often neglected their eldest son.

He always knew that his eldest son was very frugal at school, spending most of his money on books. He would always give his son a little extra money, just in case his son went hungry.

However, now that his son is taller than him, he can't even feel the weight of the child when he carries him on his back.

He must have been lying to them all along; he probably didn't get enough to eat every day at school.

Upon arriving at Wan'an Hall, the manager recognized Shen Cao and quickly arranged for a doctor to treat her elder brother.

The doctor took his pulse but kept shaking his head.

No one dared to speak, for fear of delaying the doctor's treatment.

After a long pause, the doctor finally spoke, "In all my years of medical practice, this is the first time I've seen someone so weak."

"Fortunately, you arrived in time. If you had arrived a few days later, it might have been too late to save us."

The doctor, seeing Shen Chen dressed in school clothes, said, "This child fainted because he hasn't been eating enough for a long time."

"His body is very weak and he needs to rest and recuperate for a few days. He must never go hungry again, or he will lose all his strength."

"I'll prescribe some mild medicine to nourish him first. During this time, don't feed him meat or fish; he needs to be nourished with coarse grains and other light foods."

"It will be fine once you start gaining weight."

"You must never go hungry again." The doctor emphasized again, afraid that the Shen family hadn't heard him.

The Shen family all wept upon hearing the doctor's words. Their eldest brother had become so hungry.

Shen Cao felt somewhat guilty, realizing that she wouldn't have remembered this older brother if something hadn't happened.

If I had come to see my older brother on my first day in the county, none of this would have happened.

Since the eldest brother's health condition made it impossible for him to go to school, Shen's father went to the school to ask for leave on his behalf.

However, my older brother's health is not good now, and the house in the county town has not been cleaned up yet. Where my older brother should go during this time has become a problem.

Shen Cao was wondering whether he should go to the village to find Uncle Ma and use his oxcart to take his older brother back.

A familiar face appeared at the entrance of Wan'an Hall. Shen Yu'an had just returned from his business and saw Shen Cao frowning.

Shen Cao actually came. Why didn't she tell me beforehand? Was she sick?

Thinking of this, Shen Yu'an walked towards Shen Cao.

"Shen Cao, are you sick?" Shen Yu'an asked with concern. He had been busy with the house matter these past few days and was thinking of going to see her tomorrow. Once the papers were signed, he could hand over the house to her.

I never expected her to come to me on her own initiative.

When Shen Cao heard Shen Yu'an's voice, she looked up and saw that he was concerned about her. She knew that he had misunderstood. "It's not me, it's my older brother."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yu'an looked at the others. He recognized two of the younger ones; they had even eaten together before.

The older woman who bears a striking resemblance to Shen Cao is likely Shen Cao's mother, while the rather thin scholar lying on the bed is probably the older brother Shen Cao mentioned.

While Shen Yu'an was sizing up the Shen family members, Shen's mother was also secretly observing the young man.

She never expected that her daughter, Cao'er, would know such a person, and it seemed that they had a very good relationship.

She had rarely seen such a noble young man before, let alone now.

Seeing her mother looking at Shen Yu'an, Shen Cao suddenly remembered that her mother had not met Shen Yu'an yet, so she introduced them to everyone, "This is my mother, and the one lying over there is my eldest brother Shen Chen. You have already met my younger brother and sister, so I won't introduce them."

She turned around and introduced her to her mother, "Mother, this is the Shen Yu'an I told you about before, who is also my creditor."

After Shen Cao finished his introduction, Shen Yu'an was the first to bow to the elders.

"Hello auntie."

After learning that this person was the one who had helped her son Cao'er, Madam Shen was very grateful to him. "Young Master Shen, you are too kind. I haven't had a chance to thank you for helping my family so much."

"You're too kind, Auntie. Shen Cao helped me more."

Shen's mother was unaware of the fact that Shen Cao had helped Shen Yu'an when she sold ginseng, but she could sense that although the man was very kind to her daughter Cao'er, he had no ulterior motives.

Moreover, he seemed like a decent person, so I was relieved about the loan.

Shen Yu'an then called over the shopkeeper, learned about the situation of the eldest brother of the Shen family, and offered to send them back by carriage.

Shen Cao knew this was indeed a good idea; a horse-drawn carriage would definitely be much more comfortable than an oxcart, and her older brother would suffer less, so she didn't refuse.

When her father returned from leave, the group took the things they had brought with them and rode back in a carriage.

The carriage was clearly ordered by Shen Yu'an, as it was covered with a thick layer of bedding.

Shen Cao thanked Shen Yu'an sincerely, now owing him another favor.

This carriage is indeed much more comfortable than the oxcart. It is not only comfortable but also spacious inside, and it doesn't have the smell of a horse-drawn carriage.

Shen Cao silently set a goal for herself: when she earns money in the future, she will buy herself a horse-drawn carriage.

However, although the carriage was comfortable, it was still very bumpy on the way back to the village. Shen Cao thought that Shen Yu'an was a merchant and must often ride in a carriage.

To repay the kindness of lending him his carriage, Shen Cao came up with a good way to do so.

Later, every time Shen Yu'an rode in the carriage, he was very grateful to Shen Cao.

Moreover, Shen Cao contributed to every carriage the Shen family sold in the future.

The Shen family had just arrived at the village entrance in their horse-drawn carriage when they were noticed.

Stone Village has no wealthy relatives and cannot afford to ride in a horse-drawn carriage.

Everyone thought of Aunt Li's daughter, who had married the county magistrate as a concubine. Just then, Aunt Li was chatting with someone at the village entrance, and everyone looked at her.

She also thought of her own daughter, but her daughter had never ridden in such a fine carriage when she came home before.

Presumably she's recently gained favor and received a new carriage, she immediately straightened up, "This girl said she'd be back to visit in the next couple of days, I was thinking she'd wait a couple more days, but I didn't expect her to be back today."

"Now that my daughter is back, I won't chat with you anymore. I need to go back and check on her."

As she spoke, she swayed her obese body and walked forward a few steps, stopping to look at the envious gazes of the crowd.

They all used to look down on her for marrying her daughter off as a concubine to the county magistrate, but now they're all incredibly envious.