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

When Shen Chen returned home from school, he saw Shen Cao and her younger siblings making a huge pile of candied hawthorns in the kitchen.

He felt a pang of regret, after all, this candy wasn't cheap.

What she didn't know was that Shen Cao was using the candy from her storage space, which cost her nothing, and it could be automatically replenished after use.

He looked at Shen Qing, whose mouth was full of food, and reminded him, "Little brother, didn't you say your tooth hurt the other day? Be careful not to eat too much, or your tooth will hurt even more."

Upon hearing her older brother's words, Shen Wan quickly raised her little hand, "Big brother, my teeth don't hurt, I can eat."

After saying that, he moved the candied hawthorn closer to himself.

Shen Cao watched the interaction between the group with a smile, especially when Shen Qing looked at her with a wronged expression after hearing his older brother say that he couldn't eat too much, wanting her to say a few words for his older brother.

Shen Cao shrugged. "Little brother, it's your fault for having a toothache. Wait until your toothache is gone before you eat."

Upon hearing her older sister's words, Shen Qing's lips trembled, and tears of grievance welled up in her eyes.

"Hahaha."

Shen Cao couldn't help but laugh.

The older brother laughed when he saw this.

"Alright, I'm not teasing you anymore. There are too many candied hawthorns for the two of you to finish. Didn't you say you made new friends? Take some to share with your friends."

Shen Qing immediately wiped away his tears, even sniffling, and with tears in his eyes, he smiled, grabbed a few candied hawthorns, and ran out with Shen Wan.

Seeing the slight fatigue on his face, Shen Cao asked his older brother with concern, "Brother, how have you been lately? Please take good care of yourself." The imperial examination is in a few months, and his older brother has been busy studying lately, not even having time to come home for lunch.

They always made their younger siblings go to the school gate early to deliver food to their older brother.

Shen Chen pinched his brow. He was indeed a little tired lately, but he could still handle it.

"It's okay. These days, you don't let me do anything else besides studying. I'm not tired."

Shen Qing didn't expose her elder brother. Several times when she got up at night, she saw that there was still a candle burning in her brother's room.

Studying in ancient times wasn't much easier than in modern times. Judging by her older brother's age, he was probably in his final year of high school in her previous life. She recalled that her own final year of high school was indeed very tough.

I go to bed after midnight every day and get up around 6 a.m. In order to stay awake in class, I always stand up to listen to the lecture.

Her older brother's schedule is similar to that of a senior in high school in her previous life.

She knew her older brother had high expectations of her, so she said nothing more.

She remembered the cordyceps she had bought in her storage space. She couldn't help her older brother with his studies, but she was good at making nutritious meals.

She decided to start tonight to prepare some nutritious meals for her older brother every day to improve his physical condition.

Tonight I'll cook a cordyceps chicken soup for my older brother to help him recover.

Before going to bed that night, Shen Cao brought the cordyceps chicken soup she had prepared to her older brother's room.

Shen Qing was deeply moved when he saw the chicken soup his younger sister had prepared for him.

Early the next morning, Granny Zhang brought the fish she had caught the day before to the entrance of Shen's Restaurant on Xin'an Street.

She looked up at the plaque above the entrance; the four large, elegant characters were impressive and demonstrated the calligrapher's skill.

She looked down at her patched, coarse cloth clothes, hesitated, and dared not go inside.

While Shen's mother was making multigrain pancakes by the door, she saw an old woman carrying a bamboo basket standing at the door for a long time, wanting to go in but not daring to.

She quickly gestured to Shen's father to attend to the guests.

Upon receiving his wife's signal, Mr. Shen immediately came out and warmly welcomed Grandma Zhang inside.

Grandma Zhang felt a little uncomfortable when the shopkeeper didn't kick her out but instead welcomed her in as a guest. She quickly waved her hand and said, "I'm not here to eat."

When Mr. Shen heard that Granny Zhang said she wasn't there for a meal, he assumed she thought his restaurant was too expensive, so he explained, "Grandma, don't worry, our food is very cheap."

Grandma Zhang looked at the hall filled with people, all dressed in the same coarse cloth as her, only without patches, and believed the shopkeeper's words.

But she wasn't really there to eat; she was there to sell fish.

She looked around but couldn't find the little girl who bought fish from her that day.

He whispered to Shen's father, "I really didn't come here to eat, I came here to sell fish."

When Shen's father heard that the old woman sold fish, he was taken aback at first, but then he remembered what Shen Cao had told him when she came back a couple of days ago, and immediately patted his head.

Then, with a joyful expression, she said, "It's you, Grandma."

“Cao’er told me about it a few days ago when she came back, but look at my memory, I forgot.”

"Grandma, sit down and wait a moment, I'll go and call Cao'er."

Mr. Shen first found an empty seat for his wife, poured her a cup of barley water that Shen Cao had cooked, and then went to the kitchen to call Shen Cao.

Grandma Zhang relaxed because of Mr. Shen's warm attitude.

She carefully looked around the hall. On the left side of the hall, Shen's mother was making jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes). When their eyes met, Shen's mother did not look at her with any disgust. Instead, she smiled at her very kindly.

Sure enough, this family, like that girl, were all good people.

There were ten tables in the hall, and several people were sitting at each table. A calligraphy scroll hung on two pillars in the middle of the hall: "When eating a bowl of porridge or a meal, we should think of how hard it is to come by; when drinking or eating, we should be filled with the bitterness, spiciness, sourness, and sweetness of life."

Judging from the handwriting, it seems to be from the same person as the plaque at the entrance; it is indeed a fine piece of calligraphy.

Although the shop is not big, it is tidy and clean everywhere, which shows the owner's care.

She was looking at the small door next to the counter when Shen Cao came into her view.

The person who came saw her was overjoyed at first, and then quickly ran out.

He walked up to her with great enthusiasm, which made her blush and her eyes sting. She felt very uncomfortable and a little awkward.

Grandma, you've really come.

"Dad, Mom, this is the old lady I told you about before. Her fish are cheap and good."

"Little girl, you don't always call me 'old lady,' just call me Grandma Zhang," she said to Shen Cao, feigning stiffness.

"Grandma Zhang, did you come to deliver fish today?"

"Yes, you said last time that I would save all the fish I catch for you, so here I am, this old woman, who ran a few steps to bring them to you personally."

Her tone remained indifferent, but if you listened carefully, you could hear that the distance between her and others had lessened.

Shen Cao quickly took the fish basket from Granny Zhang's hand, and Shen's father took a basin and emptied the fish out of the basket.

When Shen Cao took a look, good heavens, there was a large flounder and several plump crabs.

The rest were just a few small dragonfish.

"Grandma Zhang, please calculate the price."

Grandma Zhang didn't ask for more, holding up two fingers, "Still twenty coins."

Shen Cao knew that Granny Zhang had sold it to her cheaply, so she didn't say anything and handed over twenty coins to Granny Zhang.

She went to the kitchen, washed Grandma Zhang's fish basket, and then packed two boxes of the lunch she had prepared.

Even so, she still felt that she had come out ahead.

Grandma Zhang took the cleaned fish basket, weighed it in her hand, and felt that the weight was not right. Just as she was about to ask, Shen Cao took her hand and said, "Grandma Zhang, thank you for making this trip. Please remember to sell me fish again in the future."

Grandma Zhang didn't say anything, she just nodded, then straightened up, turned around and left.