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

"Mother, I think it's too salty."

Xu An pursed her lips.

Under Zhang He's expectant gaze, he helped his mother taste a bite of the stir-fried eggs with chives in the pot and thought it was about right.

Based on her previous experience using the Meimei wok, Zhang He deliberately told herself to make it saltier this time while frying.

Tomorrow is the market day.

She needs to prepare the filling for the dumplings she'll be making tomorrow in advance, so it won't spoil in the cold weather and she won't be in a rush in the afternoon.

This time, the fillings are still chives and eggs, and cabbage and radish.

The cabbage and radish filling uses cabbage and radish that have been blanched in boiled water with a rich meat broth flavor, giving the filling a strong meaty aroma.

The chive and egg filling needs to be stir-fried separately.

According to Grandma Mi's suggestion, the dumplings to be sold this time should be saltier.

Xu An inherited his father's excellent qualities; his tongue didn't have a special concept of sour, sweet, bitter, or spicy, so when he said it was salty, it was salty enough.

Xu Zhuzhu, who was standing to the side, sniffed the filling and felt that this time the chive and egg filling smelled even better than last time.

The chives Zhang He used this time didn't come from the garbage dump. Instead, she found several clumps of thriving chives in the backyard when she was tidying up the wasteland a couple of days ago.

She guessed that it was planted by people who used to farm here.

The chives grown here smell much better than the chives they brought back from modern times.

Xu Zhuzhu swallowed hard and leaned over. Compared to Xu An, her sense of taste was more sensitive, so she should be able to taste the saltiness.

However, things are different now...

Xu Zhuzhu looked at the wall in front of her, pouted, tilted her head and said coquettishly, "Mommy, I want to eat too!"

Behind her, Zhang He, who always doted on her, seemed not to hear her and continued kneading the dough.

Seeing this, Xu Zhuzhu blinked her big eyes and looked at her brother for help.

Xu Anzheng had his back to Zhang He. Upon seeing this scene, he immediately understood and quietly picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, intending to put it into Xu Zhuzhu's mouth.

As it turned out, they bumped into Zhang He as she turned around.

They were intercepted immediately, and their tools for committing the crime were confiscated.

"An'an, go inside and study. Don't spoil Zhuzhu."

He was even kicked out of the kitchen by Zhang He.

Xu An smiled helplessly and waved his hand at Xu Zhuzhu with a troubled expression, indicating that he couldn't help her.

Xu Zhuzhu sighed silently, her face falling.

This time, her mother was serious.

……

Three days ago, after returning from the garbage station, she was still thinking about the flour in her sleep.

She deliberately got up earlier than Zhang He so that she could wake her father up before her mother did.

They pulled his father into the yard to coordinate their testimonies and also explained the matter of the recyclable trash can.

Her father had just woken up and was still a little groggy, but his mind was still sharp. He was only surprised for a moment before he realized what was happening and asked Xu Zhuzhu to bring him the tablet.

As Xu Zhuzhu explained, Xu Wenjie browsed through the items in the supply mall, checking points, exchange rules, and so on.

Because it allows for easy switching between simplified and traditional Chinese characters, with just a little guidance from Xu Zhuzhu, her father became completely proficient at using the tablet, and the small online store was no problem for him either.

To verify what Xu Zhuzhu said, he even exchanged a pound of rice himself.

Xu Zhuzhu immediately led her father to the trash can, while Xu Wenjie looked at the small bag of rice in the recyclable trash can.

He immediately laughed loudly, "I see."

This was an unexpected surprise. Having figured out why the timber was gradually becoming scarce, Xu Wenjie shared the same thoughts as Xu Zhuzhu, and was even more excited.

He can chop firewood himself, but as long as there's a garbage dump, his family won't have to worry about food anymore.

Compared to the fact that the recyclable trash can has been turned into a points storage device, Xu Zhuzhu's sneaky actions in the middle of the night can be ignored.

In Xu Wenjie's eyes, this was not a big deal at all.

Xu Wenjie's trust in Xu Zhuzhu can be traced back to when Zhuzhu was a child. Because of some of Xu Zhuzhu's bizarre experiences, he supports her decisions more than he questions them.

In Xu Zhuzhu's eyes, Xu Wenjie was different from her mother.

Her father seemed to prefer treating her as a conscious child, while her mother always saw her as an innocent child.

So her father would be more at ease than her mother about things like her going to the garbage dump alone in the middle of the night.

"...Then Father, you must remember that the bag of flour was brought back by the two of us early this morning."

Seeing Xu Zhuzhu's nervous appearance, Xu Wenjie knew that she was afraid Zhang He would worry, so he naturally agreed and assured her that he would not tell anyone.

However, she still pretended to scold her a few times: "Your mother is right. You mustn't do it again next time. If something unexpected happens, your mother will be worried to death."

Xu Zhuzhu nodded obediently, finally relieved. She knew her father would always keep his promise.

However, in the past two days, Xu Zhuzhu noticed that Zhang He seemed to have become suspicious.

However, due to the lack of evidence and with Xu Wenjie's cover-up, they all passed away peacefully.

Who knew that while she was still asleep this morning, her mother took the opportunity to shake her out of bed and casually asked, "You haven't brought back any eggs these past two days, how come there are so many more?" She subconsciously replied that she had brought them back the night before.

One sentence was enough to bring her out.

Xu Zhuzhu, who was dozing off, instantly woke up and looked up to meet her mother's beaming smile and unusually calm eyes.

Xu Zhuzhu sensed something was wrong and felt uneasy under her mother's gaze.

"Mother..."

She felt very guilty.

She looked around and saw that the only people in the house were her mother and her father. Her father and brother had gotten up long ago and were nowhere to be seen.

As if guessing what she was thinking, Zhang He looked at her with a smile and said in an extremely gentle tone, "Your father went out early this morning."

"Daddy's up so early, hehe..."

Xu Zhuzhu laughed awkwardly, and was about to hold her mother's hand and act coquettishly, but Zhang He, who always fell for this trick, was not fooled at all this time.

She simply pulled Xu Zhuzhu out of bed, put a cotton-padded coat on her, and after she washed up, threw her into the corner of the kitchen shed.

"You brat, stay here and reflect on your actions."

Zhang He shouted angrily, which frightened Xu Zhuzhu so much that she stood at attention and didn't dare to move.

……

By this time, Xu Zhuzhu had been standing facing the wall for almost half an hour.

For half an hour, Zhang He was busy going in and out. Although she didn't keep an eye on her all the time, she didn't care if Xu Zhuzhu peeked in and out or turned left and right.

"Mom, my legs are sore..." Xu Zhuzhu asked tentatively.

Zhang He remained expressionless.

After that, no matter how much Xu Zhuzhu tried to coax and talk to her mother, Zhang He ignored her. As if afraid that she would soften her heart, she sent Xu An, who was reciting his lessons on the other side of the yard, to keep an eye on her.

"Zhuzhu, if you're tired, lean on your brother," Xu An whispered in her ear.

Xu An moved a stool and sat facing her back, so that she could lean against Xu An's back when her legs ached.

When Zhang He looked over, the brother and sister immediately stood up and sat down properly.

Zhang He's eyebrows twitched slightly as she observed the siblings' slightly obvious movements, especially Xu An's straight and stiff upper body, which clearly indicated that they were not ordinary people.

Look at how clever these two are.

She sighed, rubbing her forehead, and chose to turn a blind eye.

Xu Zhuzhu's father had not returned, and there was no one she could plead with her mother for her. Xu Zhuzhu had no choice but to accept her fate and stand obediently, hoping to give her mother some vindication.

After her attempt to steal food failed, Xu An was chased into the house by Zhang He, leaving Xu Zhuzhu isolated and helpless once again.

Xu Wenjie slowly pushed the door open and came in.

Xu Zhuzhu saw her savior and her eyes lit up.

"Daddy!"

After learning about the situation, Xu Wenjie laughed heartily and, together with Xu An, persuaded Xu Zhuzhu. Xu Zhuzhu also tried her best to be charming and apologized very well.

Having already calmed down considerably, Zhang He took the opportunity to forgive Xu Zhuzhu.

"It's not that your mother won't let you go, you're still too young. When you're older, your mother won't stop you from doing whatever you want..."

Zhang He lovingly helped Xu Zhuzhu straighten her frizzy hair, then pulled up her collar, and sighed.

"Mother, I know I was wrong."

Xu Zhuzhu snuggled into her mother's arms with a grin, and Zhang He pinched her nose, "You! You're just not as easy to deal with as your brother..."

This matter has been revealed.

Zhang He finally had a moment to ask Xu Wenjie.

"Have they all been sent out?"

Xu Zhuzhu pricked up her ears to eavesdrop.

Xu Wenjie then pulled a cloth bag from his pocket, shook it, and said with a smug smile:

"Brother Li wasn't home, and Sister-in-law Li wouldn't accept my food, but asked me to stay for breakfast. While Sister-in-law Li was cooking, I asked her son where the rice container was, poured the rice directly into it, and came back."

“No wonder it took you so long to come back.” Zhang He suddenly realized, then chuckled. “It’s impressive that you could think of that, husband.”

Xu Wenjie smiled but didn't say anything.

Xu Zhuzhu understood the gist of it.

Her mother asked her father to secretly deliver a bag of rice to Li Quanfu's family before dawn when there were few people around, but they didn't encounter anyone, which is why it took so long.

Xu Zhuzhu didn't quite understand when she first arrived in town a few days ago.

Although it was still early at the market, it was gradually becoming lively. Judging from the clothes worn by the people coming and going, the people here did not seem to be particularly poor.

Why did the villagers she saw in Laoya Village seem different?

"...Laoya Village is downstream. Last summer, there was a lot of rain, and the fields were flooded, resulting in a meager harvest. Because of the war, taxes were also increased, so naturally, life was difficult..."

At that time, Grandma Mi explained to her, her words filled with either pity or helplessness.

Xu Zhuzhu touched her chin and suddenly realized that, coincidentally, her family had chosen the poorest village in town.

The villagers of Laoya Village have had a really tough year, as evidenced by the two coarse grain buns that Li Quanfu had given them as charity.

Ever since they were able to bring rice back from the garbage dump, they've been storing it gradually, and it's almost filled that big plastic bucket.

Xu Wenjie had always wanted to deliver rice, but they were penniless and had no source of income. Giving Li Quanfu a bag of rice for no reason would only arouse suspicion.

So even if they didn't make any money after setting up their stall, they still had a reason to earn some money, and buying some rice wasn't a big deal.

After all, this was something he had promised before: to repay a small kindness tenfold.