Guo Laoda's wailing also caught the attention of the second son's wife, who was in confinement after childbirth, in the east room. The window was opened, and the second son's wife poked half her head out, craning her neck to look into the kitchen.

"What are you worried about?" Guo Lao Er walked to the window at this moment, as if nothing was wrong.

The second son's wife gave him a look, telling him to look at the floor under the stove. Why did the eldest son's wife suddenly collapse?

Guo Lao Er merely glanced at her indifferently, saying, "Why do you care? She just collapsed from exhaustion. Big brother is making a big fuss over nothing."

If you're dizzy, so be it.

Help him up, let him lie down for a while, and he'll wake up soon.

"Honestly, she fainted right before dinner. I was waiting for dinner." Guo Lao Er said with dissatisfaction, and rolled his eyes at his sister-in-law who had fainted in Guo Lao Da's arms.

He's a grown man who doesn't understand empathy when it comes to the women in his family.

Even if his sister-in-law collapsed from exhaustion in front of him, he would only think that she had made him hungry that night, and he wouldn't feel at all that he should care about her safety.

Fortunately, Guo Lao Er's voice was low enough, and Guo Lao Da was still crying, so his wife didn't hear what he said.

Otherwise, the eldest son's wife would definitely jump up and scratch him.

Old Guo reluctantly walked up to his eldest daughter-in-law, frowned, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm exhausted, Dad!" Guo Laoda blurted out.

He cried with genuine emotion, tears streaming down his face, saying, "Dad, I can't let my wife do all the work alone anymore, she can't take it anymore!"

Upon hearing this, almost everyone present understood half of what was going on.

The second son's wife was shrewd and immediately guessed what was going on. She was so angry that she said, "Brother, there's no point in what you're saying. If you want me to go out and work, just say so. Why go through all this trouble!"

Even Li Xiuying, who had rushed over to find out what was going on, stopped and clicked her tongue.

He rolled his eyes at the eldest son's wife.

It startled her; she thought the person had really been exhausted to the point of injury.

When Guo the eldest saw that his second brother's wife didn't believe him, he became anxious and his eyes turned red. He said to his second brother's wife through the window, "Second brother's wife, don't say such unpleasant things. Your sister-in-law is so tired that she collapsed in my arms. Can't you see that?"

As he finished speaking, the eldest son's wife tremblingly raised one hand.

His face was pale and ashen, and one of his hands, which he had only raised halfway, suddenly fell back down as if he couldn't lift it anymore.

"Dad, I really can't do it anymore..." she said, then tilted her head to the side.

A pair of eyes, seemingly about to close but not quite.

I feel like I'm about to die.

When Old Guo saw this, he thought, "Hey, even if he's not really dizzy, he's probably pretty much in the right position."

He waved his hand, subconsciously about to beckon Li Xiuying to come and take over the work in the kitchen, but when he turned his head, he saw Li Xiuying's eyes full of murderous intent.

He swallowed hard.

Li Xiuying narrowed her eyes, staring at him intently, repeatedly warning him that if he dared to utter a single word, she would have Qin Zheng come over and crack his head open.

Old Guo looked at his second son's room almost without hesitation and said to his second son by the window, "Second son, your wife is almost ready. Hurry up and tell her to come out and cook. The whole family is waiting for dinner!"

"Why should I, Dad!"

Before the second son could speak, his wife shouted back.

Old Guo retorted angrily, "Since your sister-in-law has collapsed from exhaustion, someone has to take over, right?"

"Pah! Who knows if she's faking it!"

The second son's wife bent down and picked up the baby next to her. With a fierce face, she scolded Old Man Guo, "Dad! I'm not saying this to be mean, but you know what happened when I was in confinement. Before I even finished my confinement, Qin Zheng ripped our family off. I was exposed to the cold wind with you guys for a few days and developed a lot of health problems. If I don't take good care of myself, it could ruin my life!"

Old Guo was speechless.

The second son's wife snorted and gritted her teeth, saying, "Who knows if she's faking it!"

Li Xiuying clicked her tongue: "What do you mean by 'cold wind'? It was just for an afternoon."

"Besides, when Qin Zheng was selling the house, you had already been in your postpartum confinement period for thirty days. You could have finished your confinement the next day. You're just taking advantage of the last day of your confinement period, and look how pampered you are!"

The second son's wife was speechless, unable to utter a single word after being rebuked.

Li Xiuying became smug.

"Get up quickly, young mistress! Don't you look at your mother, your elder brother and sister-in-law? And look at your father-in-law and your husband! If you don't come out, they'll all go hungry too!"

At this point, Li Xiuying also learned to be smart.

She didn't bring up her own experiences, but instead brought up Old Guo and Old Guo the Second.

Sure enough, after she finished speaking, Old Guo looked at his second wife with dissatisfaction.

Letting Li Xiuying go hungry is a small matter, but making him go hungry as well is unfilial.

The second son's wife was furious with Li Xiuying, but dared not openly scold her. She glared at her second son with resentment and gritted her teeth, saying, "Second son, are you just going to watch your wife suffer like this?"

Guo Lao Er frowned impatiently.

If he used to be protective of his second son's wife, now, due to the hardships of life, he has long lost the passion he once had for protecting his wife.

Moreover, after being pushed into the house by Qin Zheng, he developed a gambling addiction.

The people he gambled with were all big, unambitious men who didn't care about family or relationships. They spent all their time with their cronies in a smoky, chaotic environment, and he had long since picked up their bad habits and vices.

"Alright, stop hiding. I'll watch the child. Go out and cook."

The second son glanced at the child in his wife's arms, raised his chin, and gave her an impatient look, signaling her to leave immediately.

The second son's wife's eyes widened instantly.

She hadn't expected her second son to say that, and a surge of anger rushed to her head. She looked at this one and then at that one, so agitated that she didn't even know who to attack first.

Li Xiuying happened to be standing opposite her.

Li Xiuying sat on the stool, enjoying the spectacle of the quarrel between the eldest and second eldest sons' families without interjecting. She returned to her chair, watching the show with a smug expression.

This really angered the second son's wife.

"Li Xiuying, you don't need to act so grand. Let me tell you, you're the most useless person in the Guo family!"

"You're only relying on your son Qin Zheng, on having him back you up? Now that your son is back and successful, why don't you go find him and see if he'll still stand up for you!"

Perhaps out of anger, she picked up something nearby and threw it out the window.

With a thud, the thing landed right at Li Xiuying's feet; it was a small broom for sweeping beds.

Li Xiuying's face also darkened, wondering how she, who was just watching the show, had suddenly become the target of attention.

"What business is it of mine if my son becomes successful?"

She retorted, her words righteous and assertive.

As soon as I turned my gaze, I saw the strange look in Old Guo's eyes and that of the two Guo brothers.

Li Xiuying's face paled.

"What are you all doing? Why are you all looking at me like that?!"