After transmigrating, he supported his family by working at a garbage dump.

Zhu Xiang was dressed simply.

Rather than simple, she was more like worn-out. Her patched clothes were thin and her trousers were short, but thankfully they were clean. Her face was pale and thin, and her clothes looked loose and swayed in the wind, making her look even thinner.

In Xu Zhuzhu's eyes, they were no different from the people who had first arrived.

Noticing the scrutinizing gazes of Zhang He and the others, Zhu Xiang became even more uneasy, tugged at her sleeve, and lowered her head heavily.

"Sister, you got up so early! If Mother hadn't woken me up, I would have slept a little longer!"

Xu Zhuzhu noticed her predicament and made some lighthearted jokes.

"Your sister Zhuxiang is a hardworking person, but can you compare to her?"

Zhang He chimed in, gently pinching her nose and teasing, "You'll understand if you look at your brother. Not to mention our village, even in our own home, who can sleep as much as you? You sleep eight hours a day and still complain that you don't get enough sleep."

Xu An laughed along, "My little sister loves to sleep."

Xu Zhuzhu pouted, indicating her dissatisfaction.

These words livened up the atmosphere considerably.

Zhu Xiang also smiled and joined the conversation: "It's a good thing that my little sister can sleep a lot since she's young. My dad also said that I loved to sleep when I was little."

But her smile looked stiff.

As she spoke, she seemed to remember something, her hand holding the basket suddenly tightened, her face flushed, and her voice trembled, "Did I come too early and disturb Madam Xu's rest?"

She lowered her head, her eyes darting away, clearly embarrassed.

After a brief conversation, Zhang He realized that she was a shy girl, so she quickly smiled and gently reassured her, "Not at all, we got up very early, otherwise how would you have run into us outside the courtyard?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xiang finally smiled and casually asked, "Where are you going, my lady?"

Zhang He then explained that she had gone to the Li family to pick up the two children, and then asked, "It's so early in the morning, and it's quite chilly. You're dressed so lightly. Is there something urgent you need to tell us?"

She glanced at the basket out of the corner of her eye. The cloth covering it didn't completely cover it, and a few things were vaguely visible. Zhang He had a plan in mind, but she didn't say it outright. Without waiting for her answer, she turned to ask about Wang Dashan and the others.

"Is this about your brother? How is he now? Has he woken up?"

Although Zhang He was a scholar's wife, she had no airs at all and spoke in a gentle and pleasant voice. However, she was different from the other women in the village, which made Zhu Xiang feel much more relaxed.

Speaking of her brother, her eyes gradually reddened. "My brother has woken up, but he still can't speak. We have to thank Mr. Xu for the life-saving medicine."

As Zhu Xiang spoke, her head sank lower and lower. In the end, it was as if she was forcing herself to raise her head and meet Zhang He's gaze.

With a burst of courage, she handed the basket in her hand to Zhang He.

"What is this doing?"

Zhang He frowned slightly, puzzled.

Zhu Xiang blushed and lifted the cloth covering the basket.

Xu Zhuzhu saw that it was a slaughtered chicken, which was very well prepared. There was not a single feather on the chicken skin. The chicken was a bit small and thin, as if it had not grown up. Therefore, some fresh vegetables and grass roots were stuffed around it, and the chicken was placed in the middle of the basket, which was full.

Seemingly too shy, she stammered, "I...I came to thank Mr. Xu for saving my brother's life..."

“Last time Mr. Xu refused to accept our money. These past two days I heard from some people in the village that Mr. Xu has been sick for a while. I didn’t have any other choice. I heard that hens are used to make soup to nourish the body, so I thought I would send over a hen that I raised myself. It would be good if it could help Mr. Xu nourish his body.”

She then pointed to the grass roots in the basket, "These are mugwort roots that I just dug up these past few days. My dad told me they can replenish qi and blood, but I don't know if they'll actually work..."

"...I was afraid you wouldn't dare kill the chicken, so I killed it early this morning and plucked all the feathers. You can just use it to make soup."

Zhu Xiang spoke sincerely, and even Xu Zhuzhu was moved by her sincerity.

Xu Wenjie has been recuperating in seclusion for quite some time, and anyone who pays a little attention would have been able to find out that her father is currently recovering from an illness.

When Zhu Xiang found out, she not only brought chickens over, but also helped clean them up because she was worried that her mother wouldn't dare to kill them. It seems that Zhu Xiang is a very thoughtful and considerate person.

This year, the people of Laoya Village have become so poor that they've made a name for themselves in the town.

Thinking of this, Xu Zhuzhu's gaze couldn't help but turn to Zhu Xiang's clothes, especially the large and small puddings on both sides of her trouser legs, and the tattered cloth shoes on her feet. It was clear that her family was living in dire poverty.

More accurately, it's not just "extremely," it's "abnormal."

Otherwise, Wang Dashan wouldn't have turned into this state for the reward money, right?

This little hen is probably one of the few remaining possessions of the Zhuxiang family.

Xu Zhuzhu's guess was indeed correct.

Although Xu Wenjie said he wouldn't take money from the siblings, Zhu Xiang knew in her heart that even if Xu Wenjie really wanted to, her family couldn't scrape together a hundred coins.

That kind of life-saving medicine must be worth at least several hundred taels of silver. Even if they sold her, her family couldn't afford it.

The hen that was brought to the Xu family was given to them by Old Lady Wang at the beginning of last year because she felt sorry for the brother and sister. She wanted to raise it to lay eggs and earn some money to supplement the family income. Unfortunately, after a year, the hen hadn't been fed well and had to rely on her to catch insects to feed it every day. As a result, it didn't grow fast and naturally didn't lay many eggs.

This year, she was almost ready to lay eggs, but then her brother had this terrible accident.

It would be a lie to say she didn't feel sorry for her, but compared to the Xu family's life-saving grace, what was this hen with hardly any meat?

To be honest, she was afraid that if she sent the chicken live, the Xu family would refuse to accept it, so she came up with the idea of ​​killing the chicken and sending it to the Xu family immediately.

"Please don't find this offensive, Madam Xu."

How could she dislike it?

Zhang He smiled with emotion, "My dear sister, I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but..."

Zhang He affectionately took Zhu Xiang's hand.

She now has to think twice before buying a fish, so this old hen is incredibly valuable not only to Wang Dashan's family, but to any family in their Old Duck Village. Of course, she wouldn't accept it.

“My husband’s illness has almost healed. You see, your brother is still sick. Hurry up and take this back to help your brother recover. Once he gets better, our medicine will have been worth the effort.”

Putting everything else aside, when they heard their mother say that their father was getting better soon, Xu Zhuzhu and Xu An exchanged a knowing glance.

Xu Zhuzhu raised an eyebrow, not daring to speak.

In Zhang He's eyes, Wang Dashan's situation is indeed more serious than Xu Wenjie's.

Zhu Xiang specially delivered it, why would she take it back?

Seeing Zhang He repeatedly refuse, her eyes reddened, showing her anxiety. "But...but this is what my brother means. If you don't accept it, Madam Xu, my brother won't feel good either. Please accept it!"

Zhang He could see the Wang family's situation and appreciated her kindness, so she could only nod helplessly.

“Good sister, since you say so, I will accept it for now. After I finish making the soup, I will send half of it to your brother.”

As long as Zhang He accepts it, Zhu Xiang will be happy. How to handle it is Zhang He's business. Therefore, she was so happy that she only heard the first half of the sentence and chose to ignore the second half, "if you send it over."

Before Zhang He could finish speaking, Zhu Xiang put down the basket, turned around and left without looking back, as if afraid that Zhang He would regret it.

Looking at Zhu Xiang's thin and frail figure, Zhang He felt even more heavy-hearted.

"What a pitiful girl."

Xu Zhuzhu pursed her lips in agreement, but there was another unfortunate girl lying on their bed!