The first thing her father thought when he saw her was whether or not she lacked food to eat. He even took out a large amount of grain from his own family to give to her. How was she supposed to hold back her tears of grat.i.tude?

　　Xiaocao's maternal grandmother, Madam Yao, immediately became anxious when she saw her daughter cry silently, "What's wrong? What's going on? Tell us ah! No matter what it is, as long as we work together, we can all survive these hard times!"

　　Madam Liu's older sister-in-law, Madam Han, also came over and looked at her with concern. Madam Liu wiped her eyes and a smile crept out as she laughed, "It's nothing, I just missed all of you. I came over to see how you were all doing and if you needed any grain!"

　　When Liu Cunjin heard that his daughter was doing fine, he immediately relaxed a lot. He chuckled, "We're fine, we're fine! We got your message and managed to hastily harvest a lot of green wheat. We got around a few dozen catties of grain from each mu. Added on to the disaster relief grain that the court sent over, we have enough to last us a few months. How's your family? Did the corn and other crops get ruined by the locusts ah?"

　　Madam Yao gave her husband an exasperated look and said, "Do the two of you just plan on chatting here the entire time? Stop blocking the gate ah and let our daughter come sit inside!"

　　"Grandmother, Grandfather!" Little s.h.i.+tou was on top of the grain sacks and was just carried down. He immediately ran through the gate and hollered his greetings to Liu Cunjin and his wife.

　　Yu Xiaocao was right behind him and also greeted her two elders. Then she also faced the courtyard where Madam Han and Madam Bian were standing and greeted them, "Eldest Maternal Aunt, Third Maternal Aunt…"

　　Madam Yao happily hugged Little s.h.i.+tou into her arms and then freed a hand to rub Xiaocao's head. She grinned until her eyes squinted up and said, "Oh! Our Xiaocao and s.h.i.+tou also came over ah? Look at your little faces, all red from being under the sun. Come, go into the house, Grandmother will give you some sugar water to drink!"

　　Little s.h.i.+tou perceptively replied, "No need, Grandmother, we're not thirsty! Let me help you rub the green wheat, okay?" As he talked, he picked up a shaft of wheat from where Madam Yao was previously sitting and started to rub it between his hands.

　　Madam Yao hurriedly restrained him, "Be careful, don't hurt your hand from rubbing wheat! Our s.h.i.+tou's hands are used for writing and learning. If they get injured, how will you be able to complete your homework that the teacher a.s.signs?"

　　Yu Hai, who was outside, was currently unloading the cart. The Liu Family's neighbors heard the noise and came out to look. When they saw the cart full of grain, they were so envious that their eyes turned red.

　　"Everyone says that Old Liu's daughter has. .h.i.t the jackpot! As expected, look, look! Grain is so expensive right now, yet they sent a whole cart's worth!"

　　"That's right, that's right! This cart of grain must have around four to five hundred catties, right? If they eat it carefully, I'm sure Old Liu's family could last a few months!"

　　"In the past you even laughed at Old Liu because his daughter had married a poor man and had a stern mother-in-law. She likely had a difficult time! Old Liu's family had spent a lot subsidizing this daughter who had married out already. Now look at them. If they had known earlier that their son-in-law would gain a fortune, then they wouldn't be at a loss even if they gave more in the past ah!"

　　"Obviously! This cart of grain must be worth around dozens of taels now ah! Hasn't Uncle Liu already earned back everything he sent out before?" 

　　Under the jealous and envious gazes of the neighbors, Yu Hai hauled a sack of flour on his shoulders and went into the courtyard. Liu Cunjin had been preoccupied with his daughter ever since she came back and only now realized that his son-in-law was outside. When he saw him bring in the grain, Liu Cunjin frowned and said, "Visiting is one thing! Why do you need to bring grain over? Is my family so poor that we can't even supply a meal to my daughter and son-in-law?"  

　　Madam Liu hurriedly interjected for her husband, "Father, that's not what we're trying to imply at all! We had stored up a lot of grain in the past and then the royal prince also gave us two carts full of grain. Our family can't finish the food, so we brought some over for you all."

　　Liu Cunjin continued to look displeased as he said, "We're in the midst of a disaster year so having more grain stockpiled is a good thing! The locusts will only freeze to death when it's winter, so we won't be able to plant anything in the ground until next spring. How much grain does your family have? How could you all possibly not be able to finish it all? Quickly take the grain back!"