The appearance of a spring in the village yesterday, with Da Man and Er Man bringing back several buckets of live fish, had already made her somewhat surprised.
Yet, just as she had no milk and Tian Bao was crying from hunger, a mother cow arrived at their home.
How could this be explained?
Yun Xi Tian squirmed in her elder sister-in-law's arms, her small body reaching for the mother cow's belly.
She made babbling sounds, milk spilling from the corners of her mouth, making everyone laugh heartily.
"Don't just stand there like an idiot, hurry and milk your sister!" Old Man Yun kicked Yun Da Man.
"Oh, okay, okay!"
A moment later, Yun Da Man milked a large bowl of fresh milk.
In this time of famine, it was an unimaginable delicacy.
Seeing little Tian Bao happily gulping it down, Liu Cui Rong licked her dry lips, feeling a pang of unease.
"Father, why don't we slaughter this cow? It would be enough for our whole family to eat for a while," Liu Cui Rong suggested.
As soon as she spoke, before Old Man Yun could get angry, Yun Er Man angrily reprimanded, "You idiot, what do you know besides eating all day?
This mother cow was brought by sister. If you dare to touch a single finger of it, don't blame me for disregarding our marital ties!"
Liu Cui Rong shrunk her neck and muttered softly, "She's not an immortal, how could she conjure a cow out of thin air?"
"What did you say? I'll beat you to death!" Yun Er Man was furious and raised his hand to hit her.
"Forget it, forget it!"
Madam Gu's face darkened, and she gave Liu Cui Rong a stern look, "Speak less and do more. You are not allowed to talk about slaughtering the cow anymore!"
"Da Man, go out for a walk and see whose cow is missing. If anyone asks, return the cow to them!"
Yun Da Man was confused, "Mother, everyone in the village has run away, where am I supposed to ask!"
Besides, he had never seen anyone raise such a big black and white spotted mother cow.
And it was so well-fed and strong.
Little Tang Bao, having drunk her fill, even let out a small burp.
Old Man Yun puffed on his pipe twice and said to Madam Gu, "Old woman, this cow specifically came to find our daughter. I think we should keep it!"
"Moo, moo!~" The mother cow tilted its head and mooed twice.
Madam Gu nodded, "Alright!"
She was not someone who couldn't adapt.
"Da Man, go to where the spring was yesterday and see if you can catch a few more fish!" Madam Gu said.
"Alright!"
Yun Da Man picked up the water bucket and walked out of the small courtyard with his son and nephew.
Madam Gu then looked at Yun Er Man, "Second son, go cut some fresh grass. If this cow doesn't eat, it won't have milk."
"Got it, Mother!" Yun Er Man carried his basket and left.
"Gui Hua, Cui Rong, there's some fish soup left from last night. You two dig up some wild vegetables and boil a pot of vegetable soup!"
Zhao Gui Hua nimbly picked up her basket and shovel and went out to dig for wild vegetables.
Liu Cui Rong, however, did not move.
"What's wrong with you?" Madam Gu glanced at her.
Liu Cui Rong rubbed her still flat stomach and sighed mournfully, "Mother, I didn't sleep well last night. I'm dizzy and my head is muddled. I need to go inside and lie down for a while."
She was pregnant.
Although it hadn't been two months, she was already acting exceptionally delicate.
Seeing the elders' expressions darken at a visible speed, Liu Cui Rong guiltily glanced at little Tian Bao.
The sons of the Old Yun family were a disaster, but their daughter was cherished.
At worst, she could give them another girl later.
"Father, Mother, your daughter-in-law is definitely having a girl this time, you can rest assured!" Liu Cui Rong said with certainty.
Her confident demeanor made it seem like a sure thing.
Madam Gu snorted, "We'll talk about it when she's born!"
Yun Xi Tian blinked her big black grape-like eyes and stuck out her little tongue at Liu Cui Rong.
This woman was so annoying!
Old Man Yun led the mother cow to the backyard, cherishing it immensely.
As people age, they tend to favor large livestock.
Liu Cui Rong returned to the room, took out a bag of melon seeds from under her pillow, grabbed a few, and began to crack them open with a 'crack crack' sound.
These were her hidden stash, which even Yun Er Man didn't know about.
Laughter from the elders coaxing the child came from the east room.
"Oh my, little Tian Bao is so beautiful, let Daddy give you a kiss!"
"You old rascal, your face is full of stubble, don't poke our daughter."
Little Xi Tian lay sprawled on the kang, smelling of milk, and was incredibly endearing no matter how you looked at her.
But this small village was too poor. It was probably unrealistic to put down roots here for generations.
"Daughter, do you like it here?" Old Man Yun tickled Xi Tian's little nose and asked with a smile.
Little Xi Tian tried to shake her head, but she lacked the strength, so she widened her eyes and stared intently at Old Man Yun.
She didn't like this place.
"Old woman, our daughter likes it here, ha ha!" Old Man Yun grinned, revealing a large gap in his teeth.
Madam Gu smiled knowingly and said nothing.
Yun Xi Tian: "..."
Dad, Mom, I didn't mean it like that!
Yun Xi Tian felt exhausted.
Getting this family to leave their homeland and wander afar was truly not an easy task.
She had to think of a way.
Thus, when Yun Da Man arrived at the pond, he found that the spring had dried up.
Only a patch of mud was exposed to the sun, emitting a pungent, fishy odor.
Let alone crucian carp or silver carp, there wasn't even a loach to be seen.
"Unc... Uncle, why has the spring water dried up?" Yun Jin Shan's mouth gaped open, his heart struck by ten thousand critical hits.
Yun Da Man was equally bewildered.
The spring water was flowing abundantly yesterday, how could it just dry up?
"Quickly check the mud for fish!"
"Dad, there's nothing in here, what should we do?" Yun Jin He was almost crying with anxiety.
Although they had caught several buckets of fish yesterday, they couldn't withstand the large Yun family, all of whom were big eaters.
The remaining fish had been dried into salted fish by Zhao Gui Hua.
This meant the family was out of food.
"What are you yelling about? Heaven never closes all doors. Let's go home!"
Yun Da Man walked home with his hands behind his back.
Unexpectedly, he met his wife halfway.
"Gui Hua? Where are you going?" Yun Da Man asked.
Zhao Gui Hua sighed, looked at the empty basket in her hand, "Mother asked me to dig for some wild vegetables, but it's so barren around here, all the wild vegetables have been dug up. Sigh!"
After speaking, Zhao Gui Hua secretly glanced at Yun Da Man and cautiously said, "Husband, how about... how about we also flee the famine!"
Yun Da Man gnashed his teeth. His tooth ached.
"Can a living person be choked to death by urine? Let's go back!"
Yun Da Man took the empty basket from Zhao Gui Hua's hand and returned home with his wife, son, and nephew.
Yun Er Man was feeding the cow in the backyard. He hadn't cut much fresh grass, but he had gathered half a sack of dry grass.
The mother cow seemed to dislike this dry, bitter grass, shaking its big head and mooing incessantly.
"Why aren't you eating?" Yun Er Man was confused.
"It's the middle of summer, if you make it eat dry grass, of course it won't like it," Old Man Yun walked over, holding his pipe.
He had just learned that the spring had dried up and the wild vegetables had been dug up, and he felt a heavy burden in his heart.
Yun Er Man turned around, "Then what should we do? I ran halfway up the mountain to cut this grass. If it doesn't eat, sister will go hungry!"
"Mm!" Old Man Yun nodded, pondered for a moment, and said thoughtfully, "If it doesn't work, let's leave this place!"