After the family split up, my stepmother and scumbag father begged me to come home.

Ding Xiaohu had no idea how much he was missing by going home.

While things were bustling around Lin Qianqian's house, he was enjoying a peaceful and quiet time.

Ding Xiaohu carried a basket into the Ding family's courtyard, where his father was weaving baskets. The bamboo strips flew through his hands without him even looking up.

"father."

"I'm back."

Where is my mother?

"He's mending clothes inside."

Ding Xiaohu put down his basket and went inside.

The room was dimly lit. His mother, Aunt Ding, was sitting by the window, mending clothes stitch by stitch by the dim light. Two old garments were piled on her knees, patched upon patched, their original colors almost unrecognizable.

Seeing him come in, Aunt Ding looked up and started grumbling, "Look at the clothes you two are wearing, patched up with holes all over. Can't you be more careful? The trouser legs are torn, and the sleeves are ripped. I'm always following you around mending and patching."

Ding Xiaohu went over and looked at the pile of clothes. The fabric was already ruined, and some of the seams would come undone with a single pull. Even if it was patched up, it wouldn't last more than a few days.

"Mother, if it's not going to be mended, then don't bother. The fabric is ruined."

"You think we can just stop mending like that?" Aunt Ding rolled her eyes at him. "What will we wear if we don't mend? You don't know the cost of living until you're in charge of the household. We have three boys, and every expense, from food and clothing to other necessities, costs money. Every penny saved counts, so we can wear them again."

Hearing this, Ding Xiaohu felt a pang of sadness. He squatted down, looking at the fine lines around his mother's eyes and the needle marks on her fingertips, and suddenly said, "Mom, let's all get some new clothes made for the whole family. It's been years since we've had any."

Aunt Ding paused, then laughed, a laugh tinged with bitterness: "Making new clothes is just about talking? How many copper coins would that cost? You just ask for a whole set with every word. Have you even counted how many people are in our family? No way, no way."

Ding Xiaohu remained silent.

Of course he knew his family was poor. It wasn't easy for them to even have enough to eat. It was thanks to Sister Qianqian taking care of him that they had recently started earning some money. Otherwise, if something serious happened, they wouldn't even have the money to pay for it.

His older brothers went out to find work early on. They didn't earn much money, but they were willing to eat out so that they could save the family some food.

"Mom, don't work too hard." Ding Xiaohu took something out of his pocket and handed it over. "Now I can earn money with Sister Qianqian too."

Aunt Ding looked down and was stunned.

A piece of silver lay in the son's palm, gleaming white, at least half an ounce.

She dropped her needle, grabbed Ding Xiaohu's wrist, and asked in a low, tense voice, "Where did this come from?"

"I made my money from the flour made from those poisonous potatoes," Ding Xiaohu said honestly.

"Does anyone really want that thing? And it's worth so much?" Aunt Ding's eyes widened in disbelief.

Ding Xiaohu nodded: "Sister Qianqian made a dish for the shopkeeper, and he wanted it all after tasting it. The dish was crystal clear, like jade, it was so beautiful. Sister Qianqian originally wanted to give me one tael and five qian, but I refused—Sister Qianqian did most of the work, I only did some physical labor, how could I accept so much?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at his mother, feeling a little guilty, afraid that she would think he was stupid and push the money away.

Aunt Ding didn't say anything.

She reached out and patted Ding Xiaohu's head, her eyes a little red: "You did the right thing. Your Qianqian is capable and knowledgeable. She's like your Aunt Su, but not like her—your Aunt Su is too weak, otherwise she wouldn't have..."

She didn't finish her sentence; she sighed and swallowed it back.

"In short, your sister Qianqian has been kind to us, and we can't forget that. We can't tell anyone about this."

"Mother, I know." Ding Xiaohu nodded earnestly.

Aunt Ding clutched the silver coin in her hand; it felt heavy. She looked at it again and again, then carefully put it away close to her body, as if afraid it would run away.

"Oh, right, Mom," Ding Xiaohu suddenly remembered, "I won't be eating at home tonight. Sister Qianqian asked me to tell you."

Aunt Ding was taken aback for a moment, then smiled, a smile that seemed more genuine than before: "Sigh, go ahead. Be careful on the road, don't cause trouble for others."

She got up and went to the kitchen, took three eggs out of the basket, wrapped them in a cloth, and stuffed them into Ding Xiaohu's hand.

"Here, take this to your sister Qianqian."

"Okay!" Ding Xiaohu took the egg, grinned, and said, "Mom, I'm going to change my clothes."

He turned and walked into his room, his steps light and quick.

Aunt Ding stood at the doorway watching his retreating figure, clenched the silver ingot in her sleeve, and put it into the box she had saved up before. Hu Zi had brought back nearly ten taels of silver, something she wouldn't have dared to dream of before, as her family didn't even have a single tael of silver in savings. Suddenly, she felt that the sun was exceptionally bright today.

They've saved up enough money for Da Hu and Er Hu to get married, now it's time to save for Xiao Hu, who's still young.