The boss looked at the little girl before him and smiled, saying, "Little miss, if you want it, take it all. It'll save me the trouble of throwing it out later." With that, he grabbed a ragged little sack and helped Lin He bag up the offal. After thanking the boss, Lin He dragged the sack over to Sanya.

Dabao and Xiaobao were already back; Xiaobao held a steamed bun, and Dabao still had one too. Dabao handed his to Sanya, who broke off half for her elder sister. Lin He smiled and said, "Sister ate enough this morning; you eat it."

Dabao noticed the sack Lin He was dragging and asked where she got it. Lin He said it was pig offal, a gift from the butcher just now. Dabao scoffed, "What's good about pig offal? Mother used to cook it; it stinks, inedible."

Lin He then realized that people in this era didn't know how to process offal; no wonder they called it inedible. Her eyes darted around as she said, "I saw the butcher was very busy, just one person, couldn't manage. I offered to help him, and these were his thanks. He also taught me how to clean the offal, said it’s perfectly edible." Dabao took it as a child's fancy tale, smiled, and didn't press the issue; it cost nothing, so there was no loss.

Having bought nearly everything they needed, they planned to head home. Since they were all small children, the unprocessed offal was heavy, along with over fifteen catties of grain. It took the group nearly an extra hour to walk home compared to their trip there. Upon arrival, they all collapsed onto stools, breathless and unwilling to move.

After a short rest, Lin He took Sanya to the riverbank to clean the offal. In her past life, Lin He had seen people clean viscera; she had worked many jobs during winter and summer breaks—restaurants, hotels, sales—so she knew exactly how to handle it. Back then, they used flour or starch to scrub the innards.

Since they couldn't afford white flour now, she thought for a moment, grabbed a handful of wood ash from the stove, and took it along. At the riverbank, Lin He first turned the large intestine inside out to clean out the muck. She rubbed the inside vigorously with a handful of wood ash, rinsed it well, then peeled away the thin, whitish membrane inside. She rubbed it again with more ash, repeated the process several times, and washed it clean. This way, the large intestine would be spotless and odorless when eaten. Next came the stomach, cleaned using the same method. The haul of offal included intestines, stomach, kidneys, and lungs.

It took a long time for Lin He to get everything clean. By the time she returned home, it was almost time to prepare lunch. The weather was cold now, so she didn't worry about spoilage. Lin He decided to cut off some intestine for a dry-fried dish, blanching the rest to save for the next day.

There were also stir-fried kidneys, and with the little pork fat from the offal, they had preserved greens and chilies at home. Pork lung soup stewed with the dried greens—the thought alone made her mouth water. For lunch, Lin He cooked the dry-fried fat intestines and the stir-fried kidneys. She steamed several wotou (conical steamed buns) using the purchased black flour. The whole family enjoyed a magnificent meal. Huang Shi and Lin Erniu were astonished; how could the usually stinky pig intestine taste so delicious? How did Er Ya learn to cook such things?

Lin He repeated the story she told Dabao to them, and no one suspected anything. That noon, a scent of cooked meat wafted across Lin Family Village. Some remarked on which household was so affluent, eating so well outside of the New Year or festivals. No one would have guessed it was the home of the desperately poor Lin Erya.

Xiaobao, eating with gusto, kept burping, "Sister, this is so good! Let's make it again next time."

Lin He smiled, patted his full little belly, and nodded. It seemed if they craved meat in the future, they could buy some offal for a treat.

After staying home for two days, Dabao returned to the blacksmith shop in the neighboring town. The family walked him to the village entrance. Watching his thin, solitary figure walk down the road alone, Lin He silently vowed to find a way to earn money soon so that Dabao wouldn't have to work outside by himself, barely earning enough to stave off starvation. She was determined to lead this family to a better life.

In the blink of an eye, Lin He had been in this era for over a month. During the day, she cared for her younger siblings and managed the housework. At night, she learned needlepoint and embroidery from Huang Shi, whose skill was quite respectable.

The embroidery here was similar to Su embroidery from her past life. Lin He had studied Su embroidery for a while previously and had a solid foundation, so she picked it up quickly, producing passable work in no time. Even Huang Shi marveled; it had taken her months just to get a basic grasp of embroidery, taking nearly half a year to reach this level. This Er Ya was perhaps too talented—looking proficient after just a month.

Huang Shi was also delighted. A truly excellent embroidery sample could fetch five wen, and while Lin He's wasn't quite at that peak yet, even hers could sell for three wen. This was undoubtedly an additional income stream for the family. If she worked fast, she could finish one piece a day, whereas Huang Shi, busy working the fields during the day, could only manage one piece every two days in the evenings.

Looking at Er Ya, Huang Shi couldn't shake the feeling that her daughter was slightly different since hitting her head. The former Er Ya, though sensible, hadn't possessed this kind of sharpness. She had tried teaching Er Ya embroidery before, but the girl showed no interest, couldn't grasp it, and eventually gave up. Huang Shi, seeing her daughter simply lacked talent and was still young, hadn't forced the issue. Now, after the injury, to voluntarily ask to learn and progress so swiftly—perhaps the blow had cleared some blocked meridians? Still, Huang Shi didn't dwell on it too much; in front of her, this was undeniably her eldest daughter, Er Ya.

Life settled into its quiet rhythm. Soon, early winter arrived, and the weather turned cold. Er Niu and Huang Shi stopped working the fields. Huang Shi spent her days embroidering at home, while Er Niu went to work for Landlord Xia, earning ten wen a day. Landlord Xia was building a house and needed laborers; Lin Erniu served as a handy laborer, carrying bricks and doing heavy physical tasks. He returned home each evening so exhausted he barely spoke.

Seeing her father so worn out, Lin He tried to tell Er Niu and Huang Shi to stop taking on these jobs; they didn't earn much and weren't entirely safe. She mentioned her plan to venture into the mountains to look around, but the moment the words left her mouth, her parents scolded her fiercely.

They roared that the mountains were no place for a child like her; her third uncle, a grown man, had gone into the mountains and never returned. A seven-year-old girl would be lucky to leave even scraps behind. What was unsafe about building a house? Everyone else was doing it, and they earned ten wen a day—many people wished for such an opportunity.

Lin He dared not argue further; her parents had a point. She was too small, barely this high, and possessed no real skills. If the deep mountains were as perilous as they claimed, she might not survive the trip. Better to wait until she was older.

A few days later, Huang Shi and Lin He planned to go gather firewood when they heard Xiaobao's excited shouts from outside the door: "Big Maternal Uncle! Big Maternal Uncle!" A middle-aged man walked in carrying a shoulder pole laden with two heavy baskets full of goods.

Huang Shi smiled warmly and called out, "Big Brother." Having been here a while, Lin He had mostly figured out the family's relatives. Her father had three brothers: the eldest, the second (her father), and the youngest. They also had two paternal aunts. Her paternal grandparents lived with the eldest uncle's family.

The eldest uncle and aunt's family had moved to town to do business several years ago, and the grandparents had moved with them. They returned rarely. Furthermore, Lin He suspected her grandmother wasn't entirely pleased with her mother, so since moving away, they seldom visited.

Lin Erniu and Huang Shi usually took a trip to town during the New Year and festivals, bringing gifts. They also sent monthly support money to the grandparents. Then there was the third uncle, who, as mentioned, went hunting in the mountains once and never returned, leaving only Third Aunt to raise their two children in severe hardship.