Lian Manman observed carefully and felt that there was something fishy about Lady He’s words. Later on, it turned out her suspicions were correct. Old Master Xu was from the county town, not Prefecture City, and the price of one coin and five parts silver was set by Old Master Xu himself; the three coins of silver were merely a boast by Lady He.

"When one used to beg for help, people wouldn’t offer it. Now, we don’t need anyone’s help, and the wine has been sold. Those who wanted to see us fail were left disappointed," said Lady He, followed by two cold, mocking laughs.

Lady He was showing off, thought Lian Manman to herself.

"Second Aunt, you and Uncle must have earned quite a bit this time," Lian Manman said with a smile, "With my second brother getting a wife and the New Year’s expenses at home, you probably won’t be able to spend it all. Just the other day, Grandma said we should make a couple of sets of winter clothes for my eldest aunt."

Upon hearing this, Lady He’s expression turned unhappy.

"That wine belongs to my maternal family; the Lian Family’s wedding expenses, clothing, and New Year celebrations have nothing to do with my maternal family’s money."

"Second Aunt, how could you forget?" Lian Manman feigned surprise, "Uncle told Grandpa that the wine was brewed together with Old Uncle He, and Uncle was supposed to get at least half of the profits. He also mentioned that the money would be given to Grandma to manage."

"When did that happen? I don’t know about any such thing," Lady He became anxious and denied it outright, "Manman, you’re just a kid, don’t talk nonsense."

"If you’ve forgotten, Second Aunt, you can ask Grandma later. She definitely remembers," Lian Manman said with a smile.

"We’ve already split the family assets; you all should mind your own business," said Lady He as she abruptly stood up. Without mentioning the mung bean vegetables again, she grabbed her Chinese basket and left. At this moment, she regretted her moment of pique for bringing up the grape wine sale. If the Upper Room found out and demanded the money, she didn’t know what she would do.

After leaving the West Wing Room, Lady He did not return to her own room; instead, she hurried toward West Village. Lian Shouyi was currently at her brother’s house in West Village, and she needed to get there quickly to consult with Lian Shouyi about how to keep the money they had acquired.

"Look at her, how scared she looks," Lian Manman couldn’t help but laugh.

"Let’s just listen and not mention it to your Grandpa and Grandma," Lady Zhang, who preferred to avoid trouble, instructed Lian Manman, "Otherwise, it’ll cause a ruckus. We’ve just had a few days of peace, alas."

If Lady Zhou found out about the sale of He Laoliu’s grape wine, given her temperament, she would definitely demand money from Lian Shouyi. Both Lian Shouyi and Lady He would be reluctant to part with any money, and no one knew what turmoil it might cause.

"Mom, even if we don’t say it, this matter will eventually reach Grandpa and Grandma’s ears," said Lian Manman.

"We can’t be the ones to cause trouble, no matter what," replied Lady Zhang.

After finishing the ginger sugar water in her bowl, Lady Zhang went back to work in the workshop. Shortly after she left, Xiao Qi came bouncing into the room.

"Second Sister," called Xiao Qi, as he happily climbed onto the kang bed, reached for a small cloth bag at the head of the kang, and opened it. Inside were two coppery-red eggs. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Why haven’t you finished eating these? Do you not want to eat them?" Lian Manman laughed.

Today was October 26, Xiao Qi’s birthday. In their rural area, it was customary for children to eat coppery-red eggs on their birthday. Before the family split, due to having many children, whenever kids from Lian Manman’s generation celebrated birthdays, Lady Zhou would allow them to boil an egg.

Now that they were on their own after the split, Xiao Qi was the first to have a birthday. Their family didn’t raise chickens, so they had no eggs and had to buy them. Fortunately, they had bought some eggs a few days prior, and Lady Zhang had specifically kept a few large coppery-red eggs. This morning, Lady Zhang had cooked four eggs for Xiao Qi. After eating two, Xiao Qi left the remaining two on the kang to keep warm.

"I don’t want to overeat," Xiao Qi said with a smile, sitting next to Lian Manman. He weighed the two eggs in his hand and then handed one to Lian Manman. "Here, Second Sister, let’s each have one."

In their family, apart from Xiao Qi, Lian Manman was the youngest. If there were any treats, they would typically be given to them first. Xiao Qi got along well with Lian Manman, and he had intentionally saved these two eggs to share with her.

Such a clever child, thought Lian Manman, finding it both amusing and heartwarming. The eggs were still warm to the touch, having been kept on the kang.