Even in a famine, there's no panic; the eldest sister has stockpiled plenty of money and grain.

Simply selling the old house and the family's belongings did nothing to extinguish the anger in Jiang Bai's heart.

While she was away, Ji Yanwen quickly sent a message to Yu Shang, instructing him to keep a close eye on the news in the county and to suppress any accusations that Jiang Bai had bought and sold innocent women.

"Jiang Bai, I have something to tell you."

Ji Yanwen's heart pounded like a drum; Jiang Bai's current state made him inexplicably uneasy.

What she had said earlier made him particularly concerned.

"Er Ya, you go and help A Wen cook."

Jiang Bai made arrangements for Jiang Lu and the other person before getting up and going into the room, with Ji Yanwen following behind her naturally.

"Jiang Bai, what exactly happened? Why did you suddenly sell the people in the old house?"

He's now full of questions.

He recalled the events of the day, the most notable being the visit of Madam Lin and Madam Zhang to Jiang Bai.

Did they provoke her?

Have you finished reviewing your books?

Jiang Bai didn't answer but asked a question instead.

Jiang Songwen told the clan chief that she didn't want to be expelled from the clan like this; she was still hoping that the crops in the fields would help her regain her strength.

If it's outside of a clan, buying land isn't so easy.

Therefore, she did not intend to tell Ji Yanwen what she could tell the clan leader.

"I'm talking to you about the old house being sold."

Ji Yanwen's face darkened slightly. Did she even realize the seriousness of the situation?

"I'm going to talk to you about your studies now."

Jiang Bai raised an eyebrow, refusing to budge an inch, which made Ji Yanwen's chest heave with anger.

"Okay, if you really don't want to say, I won't ask."

"Then can you tell me what you meant by saying that the world, after a long period of division, will unite, and after a long period of unity, will divide again?"

She was determined not to say anything, and Ji Yanwen couldn't do anything about it, so he could only ask about another matter.

Jiang Bai shook his head and sighed, saying, "It means exactly what it says!"

A glint of malice flashed in Ji Yanwen's eyes. His mind raced, and he frowned slightly as he asked, "Do you intend to rebel?"

His eyes were fixed on her face, not missing a single expression.

She blinked in surprise and asked, "What did you say?"

"I'm just a lowly village girl, what would I do in a rebellion?"

The surprise on her face seemed genuine, leaving Ji Yanwen momentarily unable to understand her true thoughts.

"Then why did you say that?"

"Just kidding!" Jiang Bai shrugged indifferently and pouted, "Stop asking me how your reading is going?"

Are you confident about the entrance exam for the county school in two days?

When the topic shifted to himself, Ji Yanwen nodded confidently.

"That's good. While there's still time, you can study a little longer. Don't make a mistake and fail the exam, or you'll become a laughing stock."

Jiang Bai turned and left, leaving only Ji Yanwen inside.

He stood inside the room, his expression complex and profound.

Seeing her go into the kitchen, and Jiang Songwen practicing calligraphy in the yard, a thought struck him.

"Awen, how are you doing with the characters I taught you the other day?"

He squatted down beside him, looking at the two characters "Jiang Bai" written on the sand table.

Although it wasn't written with a brush, the two characters are perfectly straight, which is excellent for a five-year-old.

Jiang Songwen glanced at him, but did not answer him. He lowered his head, smoothed the sand table, and continued practicing calligraphy.

Ji Yanwen felt a lump in his throat, knowing that he hadn't ignored him, but rather didn't want to pay attention to him.

Seeing that he refused to talk, and knowing that he wouldn't tell him what Jiang Bai had taken him to Pingshan that day, Ji Yanwen felt a sense of frustration.

Just as he was pondering how to subtly inquire, the courtyard gate rang.

"Second Aunt?"

Ji Yanwen opened the door and was surprised to see who was outside.

When she saw that it was him who opened the door, Zhang's eyes lit up.

"It's Scholar Ji. Is...Is Da Ya here? I'm looking for her."

"She's inside. I'll ask her."

Besides the matter concerning the Song family, there must be other things between the old house and Jiang Bai that he doesn't know.

Although it seemed that the second branch of the family was unaffected, Ji Yanwen did not dare to let Zhang Shi in on his own initiative.

"No need, let her in!"

Jiang Bai's voice reached Ji Yanwen's ears, and his eyes darkened slightly.

He wasn't speaking loudly to Zhang Shi, and the courtyard gate was quite a distance from the kitchen, yet Jiang Bai still heard him. Her hearing was truly remarkable.

It seems I'll have to find another opportunity to inquire about Jiang Songwen.

When Zhang entered the house, she saw the Jiang sisters making rice bran pancakes, so she quickly stepped forward and said, "Oh dear, Miss, how can you do this? Let me do it!"

After saying that, she stepped forward, took the work from Jiang Bai's hands, and started working.

After a short while, he took over Jiang Lü's job of tending the fire.

He was busy by himself, tending the fire and making pancakes, working up a sweat and barely touching the ground.

"Sister?"

Jiang Lu looked at Jiang Bai questioningly, then stared at Zhang Shi in astonishment.

"Let her be."

Jiang Bai stood at the door with his arms around Zhang Shi, watching her bustle about and finally make a large basin of rice bran cakes.

Jiang Bai noticed that she swallowed hard several times during the meal, perhaps because Jiang Bai and the other person were there, but she didn't steal a single bite.

After finishing making all the pancakes and turning off the fire, she busied herself carrying the pancakes to the table in the main room and diligently setting out the bowls and chopsticks.

After setting everything out, she came to the kitchen with a smile on her face, bowing slightly as she said, "Miss, Second Miss, dinner is ready."

She had a smile on her face, without the slightest hint of reluctance, and acted as a servant very naturally.

He appeared so natural, as if he had always been born into slavery, showing no sign of having just been transferred from free to slavery.

When Jiang Lu heard Zhang call her Second Miss, her face became somewhat unnatural.

No matter what, the person in front of her was her second aunt, and it felt really awkward for her to call her "Second Miss".

"There's no need to call us that. Just call us by the same names we used to. We're all in the village. If people hear us, they'll think we're some rich landlord's daughter!"

"You don't need to help with cooking. Just clear the wasteland for me. From now on, you can go to work in the fields at dawn, rest for an hour at noon, and finish work at dusk. After work, you can arrange your time as you like, but try not to bother us."

"These cakes are for you today. From now on, I will give each of you half a catty of grain for each day you work. You can decide how to eat them as you see fit."

Jiang Bai picked up ten cakes, put them in the basket, and handed them to Zhang.

Zhang carefully accepted the grain. Upon hearing that each person would receive half a jin of grain, she was overjoyed, but fearing she might have misunderstood, she asked, "Does Xian-ge'er... count too?"

He's only five years old; he's not a strong laborer.

Seeing her cautious look, Jiang Bai glanced at her and said, "A five-year-old can also do chores."

She stopped there; whether Zhang understood or not was up to her.

Standing outside Jiang Bai's house, Zhang pondered Jiang Bai's words, and soon her eyes lit up.

"Sister, isn't half a catty of grain per person per day too much?"

After Zhang left, Jiang Lu asked, and when she thought of the seven people in the second wife's family, who only had three and a half catties of grain a day, she couldn't help but feel heartache.