Both Er Niu and Old Man Lin, along with his wife, were quite taken aback by what Hong Xia said. In the years she’d been away, every time Hong Xia returned, she just asked for money and left; she never mentioned any of these issues. Now they understood how difficult her life had been these past few years, realizing that Hong Xia had been thinking this way all along.

Hearing Hong Xia’s words stirred something in Er Niu’s heart. He realized he hadn't shown enough care for his younger sister these past few years. He had always assumed she was just lazy and unwilling to work hard, never imagining she was actually being forced into such a corner by life.

But then he thought again, even if Zhou Da Fa wasn’t a good man, Hong Xia shouldn’t have resorted to that. What’s past is past. Looking ahead, Hong Xia was still young, and her child was so small; she certainly couldn't continue living like that.

Thinking this over, Er Niu spoke up, “Hong Xia, what are your plans now? Are you going back to the way you lived before, or do you have other ideas? But let me tell you this: no matter what, you cannot continue being so idle and useless.”

Hong Xia moved her lips, and after a long, labored moment, managed to force out a single sentence, “If I don’t live this way, what should I do? I don’t know how to do anything, Second Brother. What am I supposed to do? I truly don’t want my child to grow up enduring the kind of scornful life we have now.” As she spoke, tears began to stream down her face.

Er Niu looked at his sister’s state; it truly was difficult to bear. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Don’t worry about anything else for now. Hurry back and take care of the fields at home. If you can’t finish the work, come and tell me, and I’ll come help.”

Hearing her second brother say this, Hong Xia seemed to find a sudden resolve and spoke firmly, “Second Brother, okay, it’s settled then. I’ll plant the few mu of fields myself. That will be enough grain to feed the three of us. If Da Fa continues down this path, I won’t bother with him anymore; let him be.”

Er Niu felt that Hong Xia’s thinking was correct; she had finally come to her senses. He told Hong Xia to take the child back and start planting. If Hong Xia showed true repentance, the family could certainly lend her a hand in the future. If she remained the same, there might be no saving her; they would just have to let her go her own way.

So he told her, “Then go back and quickly sow the corn seeds. If you don’t have any at home, take some from Mother. If you need help with anything in the fields, come find us. When you go back, have a good talk with Da Fa too. If he refuses to change, just let him be. As long as you work hard and live an honest life, your maternal home will never abandon you.”

Hong Xia nodded. Old Man Lin and Zhao Shi both felt this was the best outcome; if their daughter was willing to live a stable life, the family would surely look after her.

The next morning, Hong Xia took the children and went back. Er Niu even asked Old Man Qin to send them off. He also asked Huang Shi to pack some provisions from home—cornmeal, some fruits, and melons. Hong Xia initially refused to take them, saying she had already taken too many favors from her relatives these past few years and wanted to rely on herself from now on.

Er Niu had returned last night and told them about Hong Xia’s situation. Lin He’s impression of her aunt had improved somewhat. In this era, life was undeniably too unfair to women; the restrictions were too severe. Marrying a bad man meant having no choice but to live the same difficult life alongside him.

Seeing Hong Xia refuse the things her mother was offering today, Lin He thought her aunt had genuinely reflected. In the past, she probably would have complained if the amount wasn't large enough. Huang Shi still placed the supplies onto the ox cart, saying, “It’s good that you want to rely on yourself, but you need food to take back with the children. Take these back for Yuan Zhu and Yuan Bao to eat.”

Finally, the supplies were loaded onto the ox cart for Hong Xia to take. Watching the ox cart disappear into the distance, Lin He genuinely hoped her aunt could achieve full introspection and repentance, so that life could at least be manageable going forward—surely better than the present.

After seeing Hong Xia off, Er Niu went to the riverbank fields to begin digging the tang (pond/irrigation channel). Lin He followed him to inspect the fields. The terrain there was quite difficult to work, and the few people working on it hadn't made much progress all day. The main issue was the lack of manpower. Yesterday, Er Niu hadn't been there; it had just been Da Jiang, Da Sheng, and Uncle Li working. It would be so much better if they had more hands.

Just as she was thinking this, she heard Huang Shi’s voice calling from a distance, followed by her elder maternal uncle and grandfather. When they walked closer, Er Niu and Lin He greeted them. The elder maternal uncle said, “Er Niu, you are something else! With so much work at home, you didn't even send word asking us to come lend a hand. How long will the few of you manage like this?”

Er Niu laughed and replied, “Big Brother, I was afraid your own fields weren't finished yet, which is why I didn’t send anyone over.”

Hearing the conversation between their father and maternal uncle, they realized the elder maternal uncle had heard from someone in their village that Er Niu’s family was building a new house. Thinking that construction would require help, he and Grandfather had finished tending to their own fields and planned to come over. They hadn't expected that his family was busy digging the tang right now—it was fortunate they had come, otherwise those few people would have been working for a very long time.

The elder maternal uncle and Grandfather didn’t exchange many more words; they picked up their tools and immediately went down to join the work.

Life at home was busy like this for nearly ten days, and the house construction was finally completed. Half of the riverbank fields had also been dug out; it was likely they would finish the rest in another ten days or so.

When Hong Yun and Da Sheng saw the completed house, they both exclaimed how wonderful it was, saying they didn’t need such a fine house; two simple rooms would have been enough for them to live in. This house was far better than their own, and they felt somewhat embarrassed to stay in such luxury while only helping with the labor.

Huang Shi smiled and said, “Hong Yun, this isn't built exclusively for you. This house will be useful here in the future, so live in it without worry, don’t concern yourself with other things.”

Hong Yun moved the few belongings from the old house over, which consisted mainly of some clothing. The furniture was already there; they just needed to move the beds. When Hong Yun stepped into the yard of the new house, although it wasn’t large, it was more than ample for a family of four.

There were four rooms in total: two were bedrooms, one served as the kitchen, and the fourth was temporarily for miscellaneous storage. The furniture inside the house was also newly made. Da Yuan and Xiao Fang chased each other around the yard, giggling happily. Hong Yun felt a deep sense of contentment. Although it wasn't her own house, enjoying this moment of temporary peace was also good.

With the house construction finished, one major task was accomplished. The riverbank fields were being dug steadily. Lin He told Da Bao to tidy up properly that evening because they would be heading to the town tomorrow.

Da Bao agreed, saying that the matters at home were mostly settled, and there wasn't much more he could do to help. He couldn't stay home any longer; he needed to go to town to ask Uncle Wen for help in finding a good school for him to attend. Lin He planned to accompany Da Bao to town tomorrow and check how much Orchid Balm had sold, as she likely needed to restock the inventory.

The next day, Lin He and Da Bao set off for town. They went to the Cai Die Xuan first. On previous trips, Lin He and Da Bao had arrived very early, only to find Cai Die Xuan still closed. This time, Lin He and Da Bao ate breakfast at home before heading to town. The business at Cai Die Xuan was thriving, with quite a few people buying goods.

Uncle Wen was also at the shop. Seeing Lin He arrive, he smiled and said, “He’er, Da Bao, you’re here. Why haven’t I seen Da Bao in town these past few days?”

In the past, every few days, Lin He would send Da Bao to town to check on how well the balm she made was selling, and since he also delivered goods, he visited almost every few days. This time, with so much going on at home, Da Bao hadn’t been in over ten days.