Expelled from the Duke's mansion, the fake heiress is richer than a country.

Yu Wanran estimated the weight of the two pieces of meat: one was about two jin (1 kg), and the other should be over six jin (3 catties). She figured the heavier piece was a gift from her father to her grandmother.

Of all her children, her father was the most honest. Besides meat, he also bought other pastries and prepared a large sack of vegetables to deliver to the neighbors next door the next day.

In the dead of winter, because of a lack of money, many traditional customs from years ago were omitted. For example, drinking Laba porridge, pasting New Year pictures and couplets, slaughtering chickens and ducks to make new clothes, etc.

The Yu family's ancestors came to Qingping Village from the far north when they fled famine due to natural disasters. They don't know if their original village still exists.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, water is offered instead of wine, along with a bowl of stewed vegetables and meat, a plate of mixed grain buns, and a distant offering to the north.

On New Year's Eve, we kept up the tradition of eating dumplings in my hometown. We chopped up the leftover meat, radishes, and cabbage, mixed it with the remaining coarse flour, rolled out a large pile of dumpling wrappers, and made a meal of dumplings.

The Yu family is quite content.

In these turbulent times, it's not easy to have a meaty meal!

The family huddled around the roaring fire in the stove, warming themselves. After midnight, Ji Chunhua quickly urged everyone to go to sleep. Firewood should be used sparingly throughout the winter; we shouldn't waste it.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Yu Wanran changed into the new clothes made by her sister-in-law and followed her family to pay New Year's respects to the eldest son's family next door. Ji Chunhua, leaning on her cane, hopped along, also needing her daughter-in-law and daughter's support, as she wanted to kowtow to her mother-in-law.

Even though they knew the main branch of the family didn't like their branch, they still couldn't disregard proper etiquette.

Liu Yan lay in the inner room, not showing herself. Yu Tai wore an old, patched-up garment, his face full of sorrow. His temples were white as if covered in frost, and he looked much more haggard and aged in a short time.

Yu Wanran noticed that her two cousins ​​also seemed listless, and when they looked at her second uncle, their eyes held a hint of resentment.

Grandma Yu sat hunched over on the hard wooden bed, coughing intermittently. When her second son brought his family to offer New Year's greetings, she waved them away as if shooing away flies.

Yu Tai smiled wryly as he saw his second brother and his family to the door: "Second brother, thank you for always bringing things to visit Mother and us. This year has been tough, and I really don't have anything decent to give in return. Please bear with me."

"Brother, what are you saying? We're all brothers, no need to be so formal!"

Yu Man quickly said, "I see Mother is coughing; it seems her old ailment has flared up again. I'd appreciate it if you could take extra care of her, brother."

Yu Tai nodded bitterly.

What can we do? Our family savings are almost gone, spent on my wife's medical treatment and taxes. Her wounds are showing signs of worsening, and we don't have the money to hire another doctor. My mother's old ailment flares up whenever the weather gets cold, so we just have to tough it out.

For poor families, if they can endure it, they might live a couple more years; if they can't, it's fate.

We can't let others starve to death just to save these two people, can we?

He knew his second brother's family was also struggling, and the thought of borrowing money lingered in his throat, but he held it back.

Yu Man led her family around the fence back to her house. When she turned around, she found Yu Tai still standing there in a daze, and she felt a pang of sadness.

He and his elder brother had been close since childhood. Later, they each got married, and with the daily grind and constant drama, their relationship gradually faded. But seeing his elder brother's exceptionally haggard and aged appearance, how could he not feel heartbroken and saddened?

He personally helped Ji Chunhua into the house, and hesitated for a long time before speaking.

"Wife, we still have a little over one tael of silver. Why don't we send another two hundred coins to my elder brother's family? Mother is sick and needs money to buy medicine!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Chunhua's anger flared up instantly, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"My leg is crippled, and my arm wound hasn't healed yet. I can't sleep at night because of the pain, but I haven't been able to afford a doctor. We only have so little money left at home, and you want to send it to the eldest son's family?"

She bowed her head to her husband, feeling both hatred and sorrow.

"I didn't say you were being unreasonable by buying that piece of meat and that bag of pastries..."

"Fine, don't give it to me then!"

Yu Man said in despair and frustration, "Keep your voice down, don't attract the children, it's the New Year!"

The couple lay back to back all night.

The next day, the second day of the Lunar New Year, the Yu siblings noticed that Ji Chunhua's eyes were red and swollen, and Yu Man had dark circles under his eyes.

Fortunately, Zhu Xiaozhen has no family members at her parents' home, so she doesn't need to go back to visit them. Otherwise, the Yu family really wouldn't be able to come up with a decent gift.

However, Yu Wanran's second sister, Yu Cuicui, might come back.

Yu Cuicui is seven years older than Yu Wanran, and her personality is like that of Ji Chunhua in her youth. She is efficient at work and has a fiery temper. At home, she can rival the formidable Liu Yan, holding her own against her.

However, like Yu Wenrong, she disapproved of her mother's favoritism towards Xiao Yao and how she had raised Xiao Yao to be lazy and inactive.

Because she acted on her own initiative, she almost severed her mother-daughter relationship with Ji Chunhua after getting married.

Do you know who she married?

She married into a family of two well-known cobblers in the next village!

The cobblers were a very special kind of craftsmen whose main job was to mend corpses.

If war or other unforeseen circumstances resulted in the death of a person with missing limbs, the cobbler would be responsible for sewing the body back together so that the deceased could be buried relatively intact and with dignity.

This is an indispensable profession in funeral customs, and the income and benefits are not bad.

Unfortunately, ordinary people are very superstitious about this. Let alone weddings, they would even take a detour if they encountered the cobbler's family on the road!

Yu Cuicui had had enough of the precarious poverty at home and only wanted to marry into the family so that she could have meat to eat and clothes without patches. She also hoped her children and descendants wouldn't starve.

So when the cobbler came to propose marriage, she insisted on marrying him.

At that time, the Yu family was not so poor. Ji Chunhua had no intention of selling her daughter, but the villagers spread rumors that she was selling her daughter, which made her and Yu Man so angry that they vomited blood!

However, in Yu Wanran's opinion, her second sister was doing quite well.

Her parents-in-law passed away early, and her husband, Zhou Canzi, inherited his father's business; he was strong and capable. He doted on his wife, Yu Cuicui, and entrusted all the household affairs to her. Their life was prosperous and thriving.

Yu Cuicui gave birth to a son, Zhou Haoyang, who is five years old, lively and active. It is said that the family has spare money and even sent him to a private school for his early education. Now that he can read, he will probably not follow the family's old path and will have a respectable future.

She became pregnant again this year, four or five months along, and Zhou Can cherished her like a precious jewel. Of all the daughters of the Yu family, Yu Cuicui was the most fortunate.

As for the second cobbler's bad reputation, he would eat meat behind closed doors, and the aroma would fill the whole village, attracting children to climb the walls. Who cared about his reputation?

Ji Chunhua was sulking with Yu Man inside the house, while Yu Wenrong huddled up next to Yu Wanran, whispering about whether their second sister would come back to pay her respects for the New Year.

With such a major incident in the family, my second sister's family must have heard about it. Given the estrangement between mother and daughter, they might come to visit during the New Year, right?

As he guessed, Yu Wenrong's eyes lit up, and he subconsciously swallowed.

He didn't care what kind of charlatan his second brother-in-law was! He only knew that his second sister cared about her family. Every time she came back, she would bring meat for their parents and some delicious snacks for him.

Unfortunately, he was too busy with farm work, and his mother had repeatedly forbidden him from visiting his second sister, fearing he might pick up some bad luck or evil spirits. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so anxious during the Lunar New Year.

Yu Wanran has complicated feelings towards her second sister, Yu Cuicui.