As Lin He was thinking, she saw Madam Zhao walk in from the courtyard, with Madam Zhou following behind. Madam Zhao approached, and Lin He stood up, calling out, "Grandmother, you're here."

Madam Zhao didn't say much, only patted Lin He's head and asked, "Where is your mother?"

Lin He called out for Madam Huang to come out. Madam Zhao said, "Second sister-in-law, your elder brother's family will be back shortly. Their house hasn't been lived in for a while, so you and third sister-in-law come with me to help clean it up. If we wait until they return, there won't be time."

Madam Huang nodded, and Lin He went along too, instructing Chen'er to look after Xiao Bao.

The group walked towards the eldest son's house. It was very close to Lin He's home, just a few field ridges away. When Lin He's house was built, the whole family had lived here, something Lin He was well aware of.

Although the house had only been unoccupied for less than half a month, a considerable layer of dust had settled. The furniture was all still there, and most items were usable. The eldest son's family had only been away for a few years, and the exterior of the house was still in decent shape; no major repairs were needed.

Lin He felt fortunate that the eldest uncle's family still possessed such a house; otherwise, they might not have had a place to call home at all. It immediately brought to mind a modern slogan: "Gambling causes immense harm."

The few of them wiped down all the furniture inside with cloths, cleaning away the dust, organizing the scattered items, and sweeping the floor. Once the interior was done, the house was mostly tidy; the rest was the yard, which needed serious attention.

Since it hadn't been inhabited, weeds had started growing in the yard. Madam Zhao led them to pull out the wild greens first, then they cleared out unnecessary junk from the yard. After about half an hour of cleaning, the yard was finally sorted out.

Just as Lin He and the others put down their tools, Madam He’s family returned to the village. Upon arrival, they had rented a flat cart in town to haul back some of their belongings. In truth, there wasn't much; the shop had been transferred to someone else, so they couldn't take the shop's inventory—only their personal bedding, some clothes, and essentials like pots and pans.

Qingshan and Yu'er followed behind. This was Lin He’s first time seeing them. Qingshan was fifteen, already nearly as tall as Lin Dajiang, though quite slender. He wore a cyan silk jacket, looking somewhat like a scholar, yet his gaze suggested he wasn't one to be easily settled.

Yu'er, trailing behind, was said to be ten years old and already a young lady. She bore some resemblance to her mother, Madam He, slightly plump, dressed like a young lady from a wealthy family.

She had two small buns tied with pink silk ribbons, wore a bright red silk top over green trousers, and even sported embroidered shoes. The colors were strikingly vivid, but Lin He found them somewhat garish.

Yu'er looked at Lin He standing there in a coarse cloth jacket with a hint of disdain in her eyes. Upon seeing her own courtyard, she pouted. Lin He secretly smiled; Madam He’s family had fallen to this state, yet they still carried themselves with such airs. It seemed they hadn't fully accepted the reality that this would now be their home.

At this point, Madam Huang asked Lin He to call the others over. Lin He complied. Thinking to herself, why should a woman in her twenties bother stooping to the level of a child? Qingshan, however, spoke up, "So this is Sister He? You’ve grown so much; haven't seen you in years."

Lin He lowered her head, smiled, and said nothing. Dajiang saw that his family's yard and rooms were cleaned spotless. He knew his mother had brought his two sisters-in-law to help, but being slow with words, he could only manage, "Mother, you came so early to clean; you must be tired."

Madam Zhao replied, "What's tiring about it? We had nothing else to do, so we helped tidy up for you."

Madam Zhao then helped Madam He's family put away the things they had brought back. Since there wasn't much, it was done quickly. Lin He noticed Yu'er standing still, seemingly in a strange place, perhaps because she was quite young when they moved out and had few memories, making everything feel unfamiliar.

Lin He walked over to Yu'er and said, "Sister Yu, if you're free in the afternoons and have nothing else to do, you can come play in my yard. We have a large family, and we usually stay home in the afternoon doing embroidery with Mother. You probably know how to embroider too, so we can keep each other company."

Yu'er nodded, though her expression seemed slightly impatient. Seeing this, Lin He didn't press the matter and went inside to check if Madam Huang and the others had finished cleaning so they could leave; Lin He was growing impatient herself.

She saw Madam Huang chatting with them and realized they wouldn't be leaving soon. Just as Lin He was about to head back alone, she heard Madam Huang say, "Sister-in-law, I thought since you've just returned, you wouldn't have everything prepared. I have some coarse grains at home; I'll go back and bring some over for you now. Would that be alright?"

Madam He’s eyes flickered with a hint of disdain upon hearing the word 'coarse grains,' but it vanished quickly. She then replied, "That would be wonderful, then, Second sister-in-law. You see, having just returned, we truly aren't prepared for much."

Madam Huang took Lin He back with her. Madam Huang intended to take some grain she had prepared that morning to Madam He's house. She asked Lin He if she wanted to go, but Lin He declined, preferring to stay home and play with Xiao Bao and Chen'er.

Madam Huang delivered the grain to Madam He's house. When Madam He saw that most of it was coarse grain, she was inwardly displeased. She suspected Madam Huang had kept the fine white flour and better items for herself and was deliberately sending over cheap coarse grains. Their family primarily ate white flour; who would want this stuff? But it was difficult to voice her feelings, so she accepted it without much comment.

It was Lin Dajiang who spoke up, "Why send over so much grain? Have you kept enough for yourselves? Winter is coming, and grain is expensive now; you have a whole family to feed."

Madam Huang smiled and said, "Eldest Uncle, we kept some for ourselves. We don't have anything truly good at home, so we could only send some coarse grains. It's really not worthy of presentation."

Lin Dajiang waved his hand. "After all these troubles, we relied entirely on your and Er Niu's support; otherwise, I don't know what we would have done. Now for you to bring things over—I should be the one feeling embarrassed."

After a few pleasantries, Madam Huang stepped aside. She was never one for much talk, listening as Madam Zhao and Madam He chatted.

Madam Zhao and Madam He spoke only of trivial matters. Madam Zhao mentioned that Dajiang's family should prepare to visit the Clan Elder soon. Madam He immediately interjected, "Mother, look at my current situation; you can see I have no means to make a trip to the Clan Elder's house."

It was the custom of the era that any visit to the Clan Elder required bringing a gift. That was the implication behind Madam He’s words.

Madam Zhao glanced at Madam He and said, "Didn't Second sister-in-law just bring over some white flour and cured meat for you? If you truly have nothing else, take those. That will suffice. We are just going to pay our respects this time, nothing more. Think about the good deeds you've done in the past."