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

The moment Xu Zhuzhu saw Wu Niangzi, a single word flashed before her eyes and was deeply imprinted in her mind.

At that time, she did not expect that this word would become more and more fitting for Madam Wu in the decades to come, and would never change.

Wu Niangzi was simple, elegant, and unpretentious.

I heard that her family is from a nearby village, but I don't know which village exactly.

Upon closer inspection, Madam Wu's appearance was not particularly stunning, not even beautiful; she could be described as pretty, though not stunningly so. However, the young woman's overall demeanor and bearing inexplicably made Xu Zhuzhu feel that Madam Wu shouldn't look so ordinary.

Logically speaking, Mr. Wu, who ran the only bookstore in town, offering tutoring and occasional letter-writing services, couldn't have been poor. After all, he paid a deposit of fifty coins for dumplings without hesitation, which was quite a sum compared to ordinary families in the surrounding villages.

Wu Niangzi was dressed very simply, and the fabric of her padded jacket did not look very good. Upon closer inspection, it was not even as good as the cotton-padded jacket her mother was wearing.

But her hair was combed very neatly, without a single stray hair, and a very rough hairpin that could hardly be called a "hairpin" was casually pinned to her hair bun.

It gives Xu Zhuzhu a sense of unpretentious elegance.

She was dressed in a plain long dress with a white apron around her waist, and she calmly came out from behind the counter to greet us.

“Since you’ve been away, my husband has been going to the market every market day to ask around, but we still haven’t seen you.”

While laughing and talking, he warmly invited the mother and her two daughters to sit down in front of the brazier next to the counter.

He poured more hot tea, saying, "It's nothing special, Madam Xu, please make do with it and don't mind."

When Madam Wu spoke, she was gentle and soft-spoken. When she stood up, her eyebrows and eyes curved. For a moment, Xu Zhuzhu felt that Madam Wu's smile was somewhat like her mother's.

Zhang He looked at Madam Wu and was momentarily dazed, but immediately smiled and came back to her senses, saying politely, "Not at all, this is the best tea I've had all year."

Zhang He wasn't lying. The only time she could find tea that year was at the beginning of the year. Later, when she was fleeing from the disaster, she was afraid she wouldn't even have enough to eat, let alone drink any good tea.

I've never even seen tea leaves before...

Wu Niangzi didn't know their origins, so she naturally didn't think Zhang He was telling the truth. She assumed it was just Zhang He being polite and felt very embarrassed.

The two chatted for a few more minutes and found each other to be easy to get along with. They then asked each other's names and ages and took photos together.

It was only then that they learned that Wu Niangzi's maiden name was Hu, and she had no given name. Although she shared the same surname as Hu San Niang, they were from different villages and had no relation to each other. She was five years older than Zhang He.

Neither of them had children. When this was mentioned, Wu Niangzi's smile faded, and she was unwilling to say more.

Zhang He understood and quickly changed the subject, telling Xu Zhuzhu's two children to greet people.

Both children greeted him politely.

"Greetings, Madam Wu!"

"Okay, everything is fine."

Seeing her two children so well-behaved and adorable, Madam Xu couldn't stop smiling. She subconsciously put her hands in her pockets, rummaged around for a while, but couldn't find any snacks. She smiled somewhat awkwardly.

After thinking it over and over, as if he had come up with something, he rummaged through the drawers behind the counter and took out a small earthenware jar. He scooped out two spoonfuls of the sticky stuff, stirred it in the water cups, and made a cup of water for Xu Zhuzhu and Xu An respectively.

Xu Zhuzhu stood on tiptoe and vaguely guessed that the jar contained honey.

“My younger brother picked these before the Lunar New Year. My husband and I thought they were too sweet and didn’t eat them much. Since no one usually comes over, we’ve been storing them. Now they’re perfect for our two kids. Come on, try them!”

As he spoke, he picked up a bowl and handed it to Xu An.

Xu Zhuzhu watched as her brother, under Wu Niangzi's sparkling gaze, downed the drink in one gulp.

Her brother is not picky about food and drink, a trait he inherited from his father. He can drink ordinary sour, sweet, bitter and spicy foods without batting an eye.

As for whether the honey water is sweet or not, her brother probably wouldn't have a specific answer.

But in Xu Zhuzhu's mind, honey shouldn't be very sweet, especially pure natural honey, which is even less likely to be very sweet.

Urged on by Madam Wu, she sipped it slowly, savoring the faint honey aroma and light sweetness. She thought it tasted pretty good, not too sweet.

she likes.

The two children were drinking honey water, and Zhang He also took a couple of sips of tea before taking out the basket of dumplings that she had prepared earlier from her back.

"...I haven't had time to come to town these days. Just a couple of days ago, the weather cleared up a bit, and the kids, being mischievous, went up the mountain to dig up some bamboo shoots and made dumplings with a different filling. I found them quite delicious, but I don't know if you, Madam Wu, will like them?"

As Zhang He spoke, she uncovered the vegetable leaves covering the basket, revealing the small, exquisite dumplings lying obediently in the basket, arranged in circles, looking even better than when she first ate them.

Because she had kneaded too much flour, Zhang He didn't finish wrapping the buns. So she let the remaining dough ferment overnight, and in the morning she kneaded it into several small rabbit-shaped steamed buns, which she also put in the basket.

Madam Wu was absolutely thrilled with it.

"No wonder my husband keeps nagging me about how skillful you are, Madam Xu."

"How can I accept so much?" she said, pushing the basket back. "You can keep it for yourselves, eat it yourselves, or sell it. This stuff didn't come from thin air; it cost money. A few days ago, flour even went up to three coins a pound. How can I keep taking from you every time?"

While Wu Niangzi thanked him profusely, she couldn't help but think of the dumplings her husband had brought back before, and she had also heard that the Xu family wasn't well-off. So she tried her best to refuse them.

"If Madam Wu finds it difficult to accept, then so be it." Zhang He didn't argue with her.

He held the teacup for a long time without taking a single sip.

After hesitating for a long time, she finally put on a troubled look and stammered, "...Our family is poor and we don't have anything good. But my husband wanted to read, so he specially asked me to bring a basket of dumplings to exchange for a book. It seems that's not going to work..."

At that moment, Xu Zhuzhu realized that her mother was surrounded by a lot of grievances. After drinking a few more sips of honey water, she felt like she had drunk fake alcohol, her mind went blank, and she couldn't react at all.

She nudged her brother, and Xu An, who had been watching closely, shook his head, not understanding either.

Zhang He's actions left Xu Zhuzhu completely bewildered.

She felt that since the Zhang Xiaolin family incident, her mother's personality as a movie star had gradually awakened, and she could act anytime, anywhere, whenever her mother wanted.

This reminded her of her mother's sudden tears. That night after returning home, she specifically asked her mother what had happened. Xu Zhuzhu still can't forget the proud look on her mother's face when she took half an onion out of her sleeve pocket.

"Last time I cut this, it made my eyes water so much that your mother cried, so you guys didn't like eating it anymore..."

Just as Zhang He was going to Zhang Xiaolin's house, fearing she might make a mistake, and seeing that there was still half an onion left on the cutting board, her mother came up with this idea.

Although it was cheating, it has to be said that it was fortunate that her mother was quick-witted and kept it a secret; she never expected it.

Seeing Zhang He's state, Madam Wu had no choice but to accept the dumplings. However, she didn't know many words and didn't know where the book was.

When Zhang He found out, she said, "How could I trouble Madam Wu? I can do it myself."

Zhang He was, after all, the daughter of a scholar. Although her father hadn't taught her the contents of the book, she could still recognize the title.

When Madam Wu heard that Zhang He was literate, her calm eyes showed no surprise, but rather an expression of envy.

"Does Madam Xu also know how to read?"

“My late father taught me, and I know a little about it.”

Zhang He answered while searching for the book.

Behind the bookshelf, Madam Wu lowered her head slightly, her envy turning into melancholy, and said with a sigh, "That's nice."

Everyone sensed something was wrong. Xu Zhuzhu, who was drinking honey water, felt the atmosphere suddenly become heavy. She happened to glance at the counter and saw several sheets of Xuan paper with a few large, crooked characters written on them, which were completely illegible...

It suddenly became clear.