Sold immediately after wearing it? I took my family and fled the famine.

As the night deepened, the wind blew from the north, howling as it passed through the gap in the mountain valley.

Jiang Xing kept her eyes closed, unable to fall into a deep sleep. She listened to the sounds around her, and in the middle of the night, she heard someone shivering.

The sound came from the direction of Aunt Wang's house; it was a soft, suppressed sound, like teeth gently clicking.

One call followed another; it wasn't just one person hitting.

Not only at Aunt Wang's house, but also at the houses behind, some people were turning over, some were coughing, and some were muttering, "It's fucking cold today."

Jiang Xing opened his eyes.

She didn't move, listened for a while, and confirmed that the shivering sound wasn't coming from her side.

The calf was sleeping soundly, Uncle San was breathing steadily, and Zhang was also fast asleep. Her hand was resting on Jiang Xing's arm; it was warm.

Then she felt cold.

It wasn't the kind of bone-chilling cold, but the kind that slowly seeps in, creeping up from the ground.

Although there was a layer of dry thatch, the chill of the autumn night seeped in through every crack, creeping in from the edges of the old cotton quilt beneath me and from the gaps above my head.

Jiang Xing sat up, tucked the blanket back in, and covered Zhang Shi up tightly.

She looked down at her clothes: a gray cloth jacket with sleeves that were too short, revealing her wrists. When the wind blew, all the hairs on her body stood on end.

She looked around again.

Under the moonlight, you could see the shadows of several neighboring houses huddled together.

Jiang Xing's gaze lingered on those shadows for a moment before returning to his own.

She opened the system store and calculated: one set for her grandmother, one set for Xiao Niu, one set for herself, plus one set for her third uncle, totaling four sets, about four taels of silver.

But the problem is how to get it out.

She couldn't conjure up cotton clothes out of thin air; her grandmother would become suspicious, and her third uncle would also become suspicious.

Jiang Xing thought about it for a long time, and several different ideas came to mind.

She glanced at her third uncle, who was huddled together with Xiao Niu, covered by the new cotton quilt, sleeping soundly.

His old cotton quilt was spread on the straw, which could barely keep out the cold air from the ground, but his joints would definitely feel uncomfortable when he got up tomorrow morning.

We'll talk about it tomorrow.

She lay back down, draped the blanket over herself, and closed her eyes.

The wind was still blowing, and another chill came from afar, even stronger than before.

The next morning, before the team set off, every household was making breakfast by lighting fires.

Jiang Xing took out the bag of smoked jerky from the covered oxcart.

"Third Uncle, let's cook some porridge. We need to eat our fill so we'll have the strength to continue our journey," she said.

Third Uncle glanced at her, didn't ask any more questions, and nodded.

While everyone was distracted, Jiang Xing quietly threw the meat into the pot and cooked it with the porridge. Before long, the aroma of the thick porridge filled the air.

The brown rice porridge, combined with the aroma of dried meat, has a unique flavor when chewed.

The calf ate with loud slurping, squinting its eyes with each bite, like a kitten that had just stolen a fish.

Third Uncle took a bite of the dried meat, chewed it a couple of times, and said, "This meat is smoked well."

"Grandma pickled them," Jiang Xing said.

Third Uncle glanced at Zhang, who lowered her head and drank her porridge without saying a word.

After finishing his meal, Jiang Xing put the bowl into his backpack.

Just after they finished eating, Zhang suddenly brought up something.

"Da Ya".

"Um."

"Little Niu... he's eight years old and still doesn't have a proper name." Zhang's voice was soft. "Your father passed away so suddenly, he didn't have time to name him. Do you think... we should give him one?"

Jiang Xing was stunned for a moment.

She had never thought about it.

In the original owner's memory, "Little Cow" was the boy's full name, and that's what everyone in the village called him. Even she herself forgot that it was just a nickname.

She looked at the calf; the little boy was squatting on the ground, drawing a cow cart on the ground with a twig, and the drawing was crooked and messy.

"Little Niu," Jiang Xing called to him.

"Hmm?" The calf raised its head.

"How about I give you a formal name?"

The calf blinked: "What do you mean by 'formal name'?"

"It's the name written in the family genealogy. When you grow up, people will call you by your full name, not 'Little Cow'."

Little Niu thought for a moment and asked, "Then... what's your full name, sister?"

"Jiang Xing"

"So my name is Jiang... Jiang something?"

Jiang Xing remained silent for a while.

"Jiang Xikan," she said. "Your name is Jiang Xikan."

"What does 'hope Kan' mean?" Little Niu tilted his head.

"hope means hope. Kan means... upright and composed." Jiang Xing said, "I hope you live a life full of hope, upright and composed. That's what I heard Jiang Qingshan say when he was reading aloud. Is that okay?"

The little calf repeated twice, "Jiang Xikan... Jiang Xikan... sounds nice!"

Zhang's eyes reddened. She reached out and patted the calf's head: "From now on, you must listen to your sister."

"Yes!" The calf nodded vigorously.

"I'll listen to my older sister! I'll do whatever she says!"

Uncle San, who was smoking his pipe nearby, nodded when he heard the name: "Good name, much better than those names like 'Lai Fu' and 'Zhao Di' in our village."

Jiang Xing didn't say anything.

The group continued on their journey, and after about two hours, it was already broad daylight.

The Zhou family didn't stop causing trouble along the way.

He would look back every now and then, muttering to himself.

Granny Zhao walked alongside her, and, annoyed by her nagging, said, "Stop nagging, it's giving me a headache."

Zhou glared at her: "They're not your son or daughter, of course you don't care!"

Granny Zhao rolled her eyes and remained silent.

Jiang Xing walked beside the oxcart, observing everything without showing any expression.

She wasn't interested in the affairs of the first wife.

But the little calf, curious, leaned over the edge of the cart and looked back: "Sister, why isn't Uncle back yet?"

"I don't know," Jiang Xing said.

"Could my uncle have been captured by the rebels?"

"have no idea."

"Sister, you don't know anything."

"Um."

The calf pouted and shrank back into bed.