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

Having come to terms with it, Xu An took the initiative to shoulder the "burden" of being an older brother, carrying a large bag of express deliveries and leading Xu Zhuzhu, who was holding a radish in her arms, back home.

Ancient and modern times are synchronized; however long Xu Zhuzhu and the others spent at the garbage dump, Zhang He spent the same amount of time at home.

Zhang He's quilt was almost finished. When she saw the two children carrying a bunch of things back, she quickly told them, who had been out in the wind all day, to warm themselves by the fire.

Xu Zhuzhu didn't feel cold; it was much warmer at the garbage station than here. But she still obediently sat down by the fire.

"what is this?"

Zhang He stared at the package, puzzled. What kind of strange fabric was this? It felt smooth and had a good texture, but the color wasn't very appealing; it was all blackish-gray, and there were some notes stuck to it with things she couldn't understand.

It's like something her daughter wrote last year when she was teaching her to read, something with the character "伯" in it.

Before Xu Zhuzhu could speak, Xu An excitedly chimed in, "Mommy, this is called plastic. Zhuzhu says it can be used to cover windows."

Isn't that just paper? But if you use this dark paper to cover windows, wouldn't it be pitch black in broad daylight?

"Uh……"

Xu Zhuzhu was stunned; this was something she hadn't considered: "I was only focused on blocking the wind... If only I could find some transparent plastic."

We still need to find a way to expand the area around the garbage station, or maybe God can develop some kind of trade-in function for her garbage station.

Zhang He touched the plastic in her hand, saw Xu Zhuzhu frowning, thought for a moment, and then had an idea.

"Why not use it as a door curtain?"

The door panels they salvaged from the junkyard weren't perfect; some were too small, and drafts were seeping through the cracks. But she felt that the lack of windows was more important right now.

Zhang He said, "Didn't you bring back a burlap sack this morning? It looks white, so it should work. Just poke a few holes in it to let some light in, and it'll be fine. Anyway, it's just one window."

Xu Zhuzhu's brows relaxed. Right, how come she hadn't thought of that?

Her mother is definitely more reliable!

"Mom, you're such a genius!" Xu Zhuzhu rushed over and gave Zhang He a bear hug. Zhang He was overjoyed and took her two children to paste paper on the windows.

The window was on the wall where they slept at night. In the morning, her father had dug out a few sofa-shaped planks from a pile of rotten wood in the garbage dump, pieced them together, and placed some templates underneath to make a simple large bed, which was placed under the window.

Thick straw was laid on the bed, several old clothes were spread out on the bed, and their only quilt, the cover of which had been removed, leaving only a gray-white lining wrapped with cotton, and the doll quilt that her mother was almost finished making.

Xu Zhuzhu truly admired her mother. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also a master tailor, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Most importantly, she was a great cook. She was truly a woman who could grace the hall and cook in the kitchen.

Zhang He was unaware that in her daughter's eyes she had become a mother who was proficient in all kinds of skills. She cut open the sack, and the scissors and needles and thread for making quilts were borrowed from Aunt Hu, the village head.

"This size is fine, Xiao An, hand the little wooden stick over there to your mother."

The wooden strips were used to weigh down the burlap sacks and secure them to the window. Xu Zhuzhu knew this very well, and she volunteered, but Zhang He stopped her.

"Zhuzhu, just sit still and don't move around. There are barbs on those wooden strips. Be careful not to hurt yourself."

Xu Zhuzhu was speechless, but she couldn't say anything. After all, at her current age of three, she couldn't expect Zhang He, who was pregnant for ten months, to treat her like an adult.

Xu An, who was standing nearby, pressed Xu Zhuzhu down to sit on the bed and handed the wooden strip to Zhang He.

Zhang He took it, clamped the snakeskin bag with wooden strips, sewed it up, hammered a few wooden nails into the wall, and hung the snakeskin bag up. The window was now "covered up," and the cold wind that had been blowing in was blocked.

The room instantly became much warmer.

Xu Zhuzhu asked Zhang He curiously, "How did Mother know to do this?"

Zhang He got off the bed, gently ruffled Xu Zhuzhu's dry and yellow hair, and said with a smile, "I saw it in a book."

Xu Zhuzhu nodded and said to Xu An, who was listening quietly beside her, "Brother, we should read more books and learn more useful things."

Xu An had already received his education, and even when he was starving during the escape, he never forgot to review the poems his father had taught him. Therefore, I wholeheartedly agree with this.

Zhang He smiled gently at the two children's earnest expressions, her face full of affection. Seeing that it was getting late, she said, "Alright, if you want to study, wait until things settle down before your father teaches you, okay? We need to fill our stomachs first!"

Xu Zhuzhu looked up and peeked through the crack in the door. It was indeed getting dark. She then asked Zhang He what she wanted to eat for dinner.

Zhang He pondered for a moment, then remembered the large radish that Xu Zhuzhu had brought back that afternoon, and said, "Let's cook radish porridge to warm our stomachs."

Xu Zhuzhu had never eaten it before, but she was looking forward to it. Now, she can drink three big bowls of plain porridge.

Xu An was also looking forward to it. He took the initiative to run over to watch the fire and make it burn brightly, while Xu Zhuzhu squatted next to him and handed him firewood.

Zhang He shredded the radish and rinsed the rice several times with snow water to make sure there were no rice weevils before putting the rice into the pot.

Once the rice porridge in the pot boiled, the aroma of rice filled the entire small room. Zhang He quickly ladled out a bowl of rice porridge and shared it with the two children to satisfy their cravings and warm them up.

The steaming, fragrant rice porridge made Xu Zhuzhu feel so comfortable that her face felt numb and tingly. She drank a third of it and then handed it to Xu An.

"Brother, you drink it, I'm full."

"it is good."

Xu An smiled and accepted it, but only drank a third of it, handing the rest to Zhang He.

Looking at her two sensible children, Zhang He drank the rice porridge with a sense of relief, feeling a warmth in her heart, and suddenly felt that the hardships she had endured along the way were not so bad.

After the radish porridge was cooked, it was kept warm over a fire. Zhang He quickly made the quilt by the firelight, while Xu Zhuzhu and Xu An squatted by the fire to warm themselves. Xu An also taught Xu Zhuzhu to read from time to time. Everyone did their own thing, waiting for Xu Wenjie to return.

When Xu Wenjie, covered in snow, returned home and saw this heartwarming scene, he suddenly felt that everything he had done that day was absolutely worthwhile.

"I'm home?"

"Um"

Xu Wenjie nodded and smiled.

Zhang He hurriedly brushed the snow off him, then simply watched him smile. She didn't need to ask anything; just seeing Xu Wenjie smile was enough for her to know that things were alright.

When Xu Zhuzhu saw her father return with a smile on his face, she knew that things had gone well, and she called out that she wanted to eat.

Xu Wenjie pinched her little nose and said with a doting smile, "Eat! Eat! We can't let our Zhuzhu go hungry!"

Zhang He and Xu An laughed beside them. Zhang He opened the lid of the pot of radish porridge that was simmering on the fire, and the sweet aroma of radish and rice filled the whole house.

Xu Wenjie asked in surprise, "Where did you get these radishes?" He had only brought back some vegetable leaves this morning, and not many at all.

Zhang He pointed to Xu Zhuzhu, who was squatting next to her, staring intently at the radish porridge in the pot, and said, "Our Zhuzhu brought this back."

So, Xu Zhuzhu and Xu An went to the garbage dump that afternoon and spent half a day guarding it, bringing back a radish and some plastic for pasting windows.

Xu Wenjie kept praising his two children for being smart, making Xu Zhuzhu feel embarrassed by the praise, not to mention Xu An.

The bowls and chopsticks were placed next to the fire, rinsed with boiling snow water, and then filled with four bowls of radish porridge.

Even though the ingredients were simple, it was a rare delicacy for the group, and they all ate heartily.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the group sat around the fire to warm themselves, and Xu Wenjie then recounted everything that had happened since he left the house that day.

After Xu Wenjie arrived at the village head's house and explained his purpose, the village head was very happy. You see, in their small mountain village, there were hardly any scholars, let alone any Xiucai, Juren or other such people.

However, the decision on settling down still rests with the government. In these chaotic and famine-stricken times, more and more refugees are heading south. With war raging in the north, various prefectures have been spreading rumors that they want the disaster victims to settle down in the south. However, the imperial court has not issued any orders, and no one dares to make decisions on their own. The officials in the various prefectures have only hinted that the disaster victims should settle down voluntarily.

If the imperial court issues any decree at that time, they will not be blamed. But it is easier to deal with the King of Hell than with his underlings. The village head said that it now costs two taels of silver to register a household.

A man relies on his clothes and a horse relies on his saddle.

Before going to the yamen, Xu Wenjie had a plan. He went to a tailor shop and spent 100 coins to buy a cotton coat. He exchanged the rest of his money for loose silver and tidied himself up. He was handsome and a scholar. With such careful dressing, apart from being a little thin, he did not look like a refugee at all.

When they arrived at the government office, the registration area was crowded with people. Some came with relatives, some with money, and some in tattered clothes. Refugees were not easily registered unless they had a guarantor or a relative with them.

When it was Xu Wenjie's turn, he first bowed to the yamen runner. The yamen runner only glanced at him and knew that he was a scholar, so he didn't say anything more, but asked how many people were in his family and why he had settled here.

Xu Wenjie had a hidden agenda. He said he had come to seek refuge with his cousin, and the yamen runner didn't suspect anything. He then pointed to the village head and asked who he was.

Seeing that the constables meant no harm, Xu Wenjie told the truth.

The yamen runner stamped the document, took the household registration record, and Xu Wenjie paid two taels of silver and returned with the village head.