Why did you provoke me?

The next morning, my mother got up and started making arrangements to kill the chicken.

Because of heavy snow blocking the mountain passes, all the gathering teams have basically been hibernating. Everyone will be back today.

As is customary, Yu Meng peeled the skin off the chicken, her father tied it up and put it in a box, and her mother then chopped up the chick.

Yu Meng could tell her mother was very happy. "Mom, I'm going to the river to see if there are any fish, and I'll bring back a couple," Yu Hai called out from the side.

"Hey bro, wait for me!" Yu Meng was going too.

"You two be careful, the river isn't frozen solid yet, don't fall in," Mom warned from the side.

"Okay." The two took a bag and left.

Perhaps it was because of what Yu's father said, or perhaps it was because Yu's mother had come to terms with it. In any case, when her older brother and the others returned from town, her mother had already prepared a table full of food.

Jiang Mingfeng drove back with his elder brother, sister-in-law, elder sister, and Xiu Jie—the five of them in total.

The room suddenly felt much smaller, but everyone was beaming with joy.

"Hai Zi went to the river to catch fish again. I love the fish here the most, they're so fresh." Jiang Mingfeng said happily when he saw the two big fish on the table.

"Then eat more. Don't go back today. Have a drink with your dad," Yu's mother said to Yu Jun.

Then, Aunt Yu happily mentioned that Yu Meng had bought a two-story Western-style house in town, saying that she had also gone to see it and that the house was wonderful.

Yu Meng also extended an invitation to Sister Xiu and her sister-in-law. "If you have anything you want to sell in the future, you can consign it with me. I will only charge a small handling fee."

"We're all family now, why are you still charging us a handling fee?" Sister Xiu said, pretending to be angry.

"Even between brothers, accounts should be kept clear. Besides, I provided the venue and manpower; I've put in the work, so it's reasonable to charge a small handling fee." Yu Meng was unambiguous about this matter.

"Little sister is right. From now on, I'll send anything I want to sell to her." Guo Fangting was also very happy. No matter who in her husband's family became successful, she could always get help from them.

Life went on like this, neither exciting nor dull.

One night, Yu Meng had secretly absorbed one of the lines from that line drawing book into her mind.

When I woke up the next morning, I had only slept an hour longer than usual. Neither my parents noticed anything unusual.

Yu Meng hadn't expected things to go so smoothly this time.

Dali can already drag things using the lines in her mind, but she needs more practice to pick them up.

One day, Xiujie saw it and pestered Dali to teach her. Dali secretly asked Yumeng before teaching Xiujie.

Xiujie had no idea that Yu Meng knew these things; every skill she learned was from Dali.

As the year drew to a close, Li Yiqing from the city suddenly sent a message.

The city is holding a year-end tea party before the Lunar New Year, inviting all the mask revealers. He has two invitations and wants to invite Yu Meng to the city.

Yu Meng agreed. She was worried about how to get more information.

After Yu Meng told her parents about it, she invited Dali and Sister Xiu to go with her. Li Yiqing said that one invitation could bring two people.

Clearly, Jiang Mingfeng became their driver.

We arrived at the Li family's house just in time for dinner. This was originally Jiang Mingfeng's maternal grandmother's house.

The elderly couple were overjoyed to see Jiang Mingfeng arrive with his wife and two sisters-in-law.

They all knew about Li Yiqing's situation; it was the little girl named Yu Meng who gave them the information. Therefore, they were particularly enthusiastic about Yu Meng and took excellent care of her.

Yu Meng smiled throughout, but she rarely spoke. Most of the time, her older sister and Xiu-jie answered for her.

Jiang Mingfeng also explained to his grandmother that before the little girl was 10 years old, she could only say two words a day at most, so the Li family elders didn't say anything more.

She just wanted her grandchildren to spend more time with her.

Li Yiqing didn't get home until very late. In his study, he met with Yu Meng alone. "This tea party is ostensibly an exchange meeting for mask revealers from all sides. But in reality, it's a large-scale recruitment activity to select some senior mask revealers."

Yu Meng looked at her small body. "You haven't already signed up, have you?!"

Li Yiqing nodded. "This time the collection location is quite special, and if we can achieve good results, the rewards will be very generous."

"I would like to formally invite you to be the chief unveiler at our Cai Group." Li Yifeng's expression was serious and aloof as he said this.

"Do you think my parents would let a child as young as me go to such a far place with you?"

"This is indeed a problem, so I reserved two spots for Dali and Jiang Mingfeng as well."

"You're so thoughtful. I don't want to suffer with you in this freezing weather," Yu Meng refused.

"We'll be gone for seven days. How about I give you 500 gold coins?" Li Yiqing didn't give up.

"There is indeed a lot of money. But it's very cold outside, and I get carsick. I don't want to make myself suffer." Yu Meng once again declined Li Yiqing's invitation. To be honest, she wasn't short of money.

Li Yiqing could tell that Yu Meng wasn't particularly interested in money. He thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "How about I introduce you to a membrane maker?"

"What level?" Yu Meng asked, intrigued.

"How about level three?"

"Will we meet at this tea party?" Yu Meng asked.

"I'll arrange it."

"Okay," Yu Meng readily agreed.

Soon it was time for the Camellia Festival, and the Li family's daughters, accompanied by their husbands, all attended in their finest attire.

Yu Meng was also brought to the tea party by Dali and Sister Xiu, each holding one of their hands.

It was the first time any of the three of them had been to a place like this, and they were a little lost. The banquet was crowded. Yu Meng knew they didn't know any of them, so she pulled her two older sisters to sit on a sofa in the corner.

Sister Xiu watched those people chatting together with envy. She could understand some of what they were saying, but she couldn't understand any of it at all.

A man in his thirties led an elderly woman to the corner where Yu Meng was. "Mom, look at this girl, doesn't she look like my sister?"

The man refers to Sister Xiu.

Dali stood up and shielded Xiujie behind her. "This is my sister. Who are you? Don't point fingers at me like that."

The man quickly waved his hand. "Young lady, please don't misunderstand. Let's sit down and talk it over, shall we?"

The old lady looked closely at Xiujie, tears streaming down her face. "She must be your sister's child." She then fumbled in her bosom and pulled out a small photograph. "Young lady, look, this is a picture of my daughter when she was young."

Yu Meng also leaned out to look over, and saw a young girl with long, flowing hair. She did look very much like Sister Xiu now.