This is terrible! My future prime minister keeps trying to kiss me forcibly.

The group rode in an oxcart for quite a while before finally arriving home.

Ye Xiaoxiao jumped out of the car and handed over the several pounds of fatty meat and five pounds of fine rice that she had given to Grandpa Wang.

Despite his repeated refusals, Grandpa Wang had no choice but to accept the offer and continued driving the oxcart for several dozen steps before finally arriving home.

He Wuyou and He Wuyang saw a large pile of things being unloaded at the courtyard gate and quickly ran over to help.

Ye Xiaoxiao handed the remaining radish cakes to them and let them share them.

They also handed over the candied hawthorns and dried fruit they had bought for them.

The two of them lit up at the sight of the snacks, and He Wuyang grinned from ear to ear as he eagerly took a bite of the candied hawthorn.

So sweet!

"Thank you sister-in-law!"

Ye Xiaoxiao's bright eyes curved into crescent moons as she bent down and pinched her little cheek: "So, Ah Yang's mouth becomes so sweet after eating candied hawthorns! I'll buy you more in the future."

He Wuyou, standing next to him, looked rather uneasy, staring at the tempting candied hawthorns and secretly swallowing.

This candied hawthorn looks delicious; I've never had one before! But, as the saying goes, "He who takes a gift is bound to be obliging." I don't want it! I don't want any at all!

So he stuffed all the snacks into his sister's mouth: "I'm a man, I don't like sweets."

Ye Xiaoxiao looked at the child in front of her who was saying one thing but meaning another, and raised an eyebrow: "Really?"

"real!"

The boy deliberately put on an indifferent expression.

"But this is really delicious! Mmm—" Ye Xiaoxiao picked up a sweet candied fruit and put it in her mouth. The sweetness filled her mouth, making her feel happy.

Indeed, eating sweets makes people happier!

She looked completely absorbed, and feeling that it wasn't enough, she took a few more and put them in her mouth, leisurely eating them.

"You really aren't going to eat?"

He Wuyou stubbornly replied, "I won't eat!"

He Wuyang, who was standing to the side, was enjoying his candied hawthorn. In no time, he had finished half of the candied hawthorn in his hand.

If you say "Ah—", I'll believe you're really not craving it.

"what--"

Ye Xiaoxiao reacted quickly and stuffed the candied hawthorn into his mouth.

He Wuyou took out the candied hawthorn with a mix of anger and annoyance, but the sweet taste spreading across his tongue made him very hungry.

"Since it's covered in your saliva, you're the only one who can eat it."

He Wuyou hesitated, knowing the woman was doing it on purpose, and after a long pause, he finally managed to squeeze out, "Thank you..."

Ye Xiaoxiao sighed, "What awkward kids!" She reached out and patted their heads one by one, then said, "Go play!"

The two of them took the candied hawthorns and went out the door, walking towards the outside of the courtyard.

Ye Xiaoxiao sat down, took a sip of water, and calculated how much silver she had spent that day.

Fifteen catties of refined rice cost three hundred coins, two catties of unrefined rice cost thirty coins, and ten catties of flour cost one hundred coins.

Offal costs five coins, and three catties of fatty pork costs sixty coins.

Two candied hawthorns cost four coins, and three packets of dried fruit cost thirty coins.

He Jing paid 75 coins for five catties of lean and fatty meat, 10 coins for two catties of coarse salt, and 30 coins for thirty eggs.

He also bought seven radish cakes, which cost him fourteen coins.

It cost five coins to ride in the oxcart.

Ye Xiaoxiao counted on her fingers; she had spent nearly seven hundred coins today. Tsk tsk tsk, what an astonishing number.

She suddenly felt that the joy of receiving five taels of silver today had been somewhat diminished; silver really doesn't last long, she needed to earn more.

This is just about food; there will be many more expenses in the future.

She planned to go to town tomorrow to sell all the remaining he shou wu to Manager Yan, and she could get a dozen or so taels of silver.

As she was thinking, she looked at the spot where she had left the he shou wu to dry that morning.

Ok?

Where have you been?

Could it be that Wuyou and the others have taken it?

Ye Xiaoxiao didn't take it too seriously, thinking she would ask them when they came back. She turned and went into the kitchen, intending to prepare medicine for Mother He.

The task of starting the fire was naturally left to He Jing.

......

While eating candied hawthorns, He Wuyou and his sister strolled around the village. Soon, all the children in the village knew that the He twins had eaten a rare snack that they had only ever seen but never tasted—candied hawthorns.

He Wuyou said that his sister's insistence on taking him for a walk around the village was childish, but as her older brother, he had to listen to her.

After finishing their candied hawthorns, the two decided to go to the river to wash their hands.

On the way, they met Fatty from Aunt Sun's family.

Fatty had never gotten along with the He siblings since childhood, and ever since he peed on them last time, he was even more smug.

Perhaps inheriting his mother's sharp tongue, he narrowed his small eyes and said with ill intent, "Oh! Aren't these He Wuyou and He Wuyang, who grew up drinking urine? Should I pee on you again now? Hahahaha!"

He Wuyou couldn't stand the fat guy's arrogant appearance, so he stepped forward to beat him up. He was sure that the fat guy would be even fatter after the beating!

He Wuyang grabbed his second brother's sleeve and shook his head, signaling him not to act impulsively.

He whispered in He Wuyou's ear, "Watch me."

He Wuyang straightened up, and his soft voice carried a serious tone.

“My sister-in-law said that a fat person like you is the most suitable to be used as a medicinal herb.”

"You don't know, do you? My sister-in-law said that Fatty's hair is also a kind of medicine. You have to pull it out one by one, one by one!"

"Oh, and your fingernails too. Use those pliers to pull them off one by one. They're also a good medicinal ingredient."

"Some unscrupulous drug dealers specifically target fat guys like you, oh my god—"

As He Wuyang spoke, he added gestures and made a funny face at the end, which startled the chubby boy so much that he wet his pants on the spot and burst into tears!

"Mother! Mother—"

He went home to find his mother!