Armed with a machete and a gun, armed with a system, they fled the famine.

Willow Lane.

In the rented courtyard, Zhao Yunjie and Zhao Yunqi were accompanying their older brother as he practiced walking on one leg.

When Zhao Yan visited them last time, she brought Zhao Yunchen a pair of crutches under his armpits.

She bought the cane from the system's store; it was made of solid wood and cost two hundred yuan.

It's inexpensive, yet very practical.

Zhao Yan gave a simple demonstration, and Zhao Yunchen learned how to use it.

These past few days, he has been practicing in the courtyard for an hour or two every day.

Zhao Yan and Yang Xiaomi arrived at the gate of the courtyard and raised their hands to knock on the door.

Upon hearing the sound, Zhao Yunjie quickly walked over.

"Auntie! You're here."

Upon spotting Yang Xiaomi behind Zhao Yan, he exclaimed with delight, "Little Xiaomi! You're finally here!"

The last time I saw Yang Xiaomi was not long after she was taken in by her aunt.

Back then, my father was still alive, and he took the three of them to visit their aunt at the Yang family home.

He only remembered that back then, Xiaomi was a tiny little girl, dark and thin, like a kitten, and even her cries were soft and small.

We meet again today, but four years later.

Xiaomi is still small, but she is no longer dark and thin. Her face has become fair and tender, making her look adorable.

Zhao Yunjie took the initiative to step forward, grabbed Yang Xiaomi's little hand, and led her inside.

"Little sister Xiaomi, this is your big brother."

He pointed to Zhao Yunchen, who had a smile on his face, and introduced him to Yang Xiaomi, then pointed to Zhao Yunqi, who had a calm expression.

"This is my third brother."

It was my turn last.

"I'm the second brother."

Three pairs of eyes were looking at her expectantly. Yang Xiaomi's gaze wavered slightly as she kept glancing at Zhao Yan.

Receiving an encouraging look from her mother, she finally mustered up the courage to call out, "Big Brother."

"Second brother."

"Third brother."

Zhao Yunchen and the other two immediately replied, "Yes."

"Eh."

Hello, Xiaomi.

Zhao Yan smiled at them and then turned to walk towards the kitchen.

"You guys take Xiaomi to play first, dinner will be served in an hour."

Zhao Yan used to enjoy good food, so her cooking skills were naturally excellent.

She busied herself in the kitchen for a while, and Zhao Yunchen, tired from walking, took the initiative to do the work of tending the fire.

Zhao Yunjie and Zhao Yunqi were responsible for taking Yang Xiaomi to play in the yard.

After a flurry of cooking and stewing, Zhao Yan quickly prepared eight dishes and a soup in less than an hour.

All three pounds of pork ribs were braised.

Two pounds of pork belly were all made into braised pork.

She secretly took five pounds of pork hind legs from the system shelf, divided them into three portions, and stir-fried them with other vegetables to make three hot dishes.

She chopped up the pig's head meat she bought on the street and plated it together with braised chicken feet.

The rest was a plate of stir-fried rabbit meat and a plate of cold wild vegetables.

The last dish was sweet noodle soup.

With eight dishes and a soup, Zhao Yan had to divide them into two tables before she could put everything down.

Oh, right.

While stir-frying the vegetables, she also cooked an extra pot of white rice.

The aroma of rice, combined with the rich and savory flavors of various meats, filled everyone's nostrils.

"It smells so good!"

Zhao Yunjie tilted his head back slightly and squinted his eyes, saying with rapt attention.

Although they had no worries about food and drink during this period, they knew that the world was not doing well these days, so they dared not squander the food that their aunt had brought.

The three brothers were content as long as they had enough to eat.

They couldn't even imagine the smell of meat filling the yard.

My aunt was truly kind to them from the bottom of her heart.

Looking at Zhao Yan bustling around in the kitchen, Zhao Yunchen said with red eyes, "Auntie, this is too extravagant."

Correct.

He felt that today's meal was too extravagant.

It's both braised dishes and rabbit meat.

He worried that when they started eating, he might bite his tongue from the delicious smell.

"What's the big deal? My aunt used to... well, never mind, let's not talk about that."

Thinking of the past and the irreversible past, Zhao Yan immediately changed the subject, "Tell them to wash their hands and come over for dinner."

Seeing his aunt's complicated expression, Zhao Yunchen knew she must be thinking about unhappy things from the past, so he dared not say anything more and went out with his cane to call someone to wash their hands.

The group devoured the meal, leaving everyone stuffed and thoroughly satisfied.

Zhao Yunjie went even further, licking a plate of stir-fried rabbit meat clean, leaving not a single scrap of meat.

Zhao Yunchen couldn't bear to watch and couldn't help but coldly reprimand, "Yunjie, watch your image!"

Zhao Yan's lips twitched slightly, and she said softly, "Yun Jie loves to eat rabbit meat, Auntie will make it for you again in the future."

Look how hungry the child is.

Zhao Yunjie scratched the back of his head, feeling quite embarrassed.

He was so focused on satisfying his hunger that he completely forgot the rules his father had taught him.

"Auntie, I just didn't want to waste it, so I... I just..."

He didn't care about his image and started eating the plate!

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but blush.

Little Xiaomi was watching from the side, and he felt so embarrassed!

Zhao Yan didn't think it was a big deal.

The meal they ate suddenly gave her system an extra four hundred large, fat rabbits and four hundred pounds of pork hind leg meat.

From now on, they can eat whatever they want, and the more they eat, the better.

She said with a smile, "Don't be shy, just tell your aunt what you want to eat. As long as I know how to cook it, I'll make it for you whenever I have time."

Everyone's eyes lit up instantly.

……

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, and chatting with Zhao Yunchen and the others for a while, Zhao Yan left with her daughter.

She had intended to visit Yuan Yutang at Miao'an Hall, but seeing that it was getting late, she gave up on the idea, put her daughter in her basket, and carried her towards Chenjiagou.

What Zhao Yan was most grateful for was that the Great Qing Kingdom did not have travel permits, so she did not need to report to the village head when traveling far away.

In terms of people's daily travel, the Great Qing Kingdom was comparable to the Song Dynasty in history.

Moreover, there is no curfew at night, so no one will stop Zhao Yan from going out in the middle of the night if she wants to.

Back in Chenjiagou, Zhao Yan knocked on Tian Xiue's door.

It was still early, so she wanted to go up the mountain to take a look.

Hearing the noise, Chen Qingjiao came to open the door.

"Aunt Zhao, you're back."

"Sister Jiaojiao".

Yang Xiaomi let go of Zhao Yan and happily jumped into Chen Qingjiao's arms.

Compared to the loud and boisterous Zhao Yunjie, she still prefers the gentle and considerate Jiaojiao.

Zhao Yan did not enter the room, but stood at the door waving to Chen Qingjiao.

"Jiaojiao, watch over Xiaomi for me for a while. It's still early. I'm going to go up the mountain to take a look."

After saying that, she slung her basket over her shoulder and prepared to leave.

"Aunt Zhao..."

Chen Qingjiao quickly called out to the person, her brows furrowed, her face showing a hint of hesitation.

Zhao Yan raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Jiaojiao, speak your mind, don't be afraid."

Chen Qingjiao bit her lip and said, "Aunt Zhao, that old witch Yang Zhangshi came to our house this morning."

She heard from someone that you had killed two wild rabbits, and she ran over and banged on the door, yelling for my mother to give the rabbits back to her.

"Aunt Zhao, if you see that old witch, be careful of her. I'm afraid she'll do something bad again."