"Who are you talking about? Who knows!" The woman who was cursing was not one to be trifled with; she banged on the pots and pans.

"Doesn't anyone know who has a gambler living in their house? We're all so careful when leaving things out, afraid they'll be stolen! And he doesn't even realize it, he's just pretending to be oblivious!"

“That’s exactly what I meant!” another woman chimed in.

"Just now, I saw a gambler carrying grain away. Do I even need to say what he was doing? Selling the grain to gamble! Does he think everyone's like him, carrying around a few pounds of grain like it's a treasure?"

Some people even called the host's old lady.

“Aunt Gao, what kind of hard work have you found? You can’t neglect everyone else just because of one person. We’ve been renting your house for years! This kind of scumbag is ruining the whole house and making everyone uncomfortable.”

The old lady who was also the landlord of this courtyard glared at Wu Cuihua and snorted coldly.

"Shut your dog mouth, or I'll knock your teeth out if you cause any more trouble! Have you finished washing today's clothes? Get back to work!"

Wu Cuihua was furious, but what she feared even more was how she would survive next month without food!

She shamelessly begged the old lady for a long time and finally got another ten catties of grain, with one catty deducted each month to make up for it slowly.

After causing a commotion and wasting an hour, she was busy until dark before finally finishing all the work.

Wu Ergou returned dejectedly around midnight.

As a result, the house was cold and empty. There wasn't even a drop of hot water, let alone any food.

He took his anger out on it!

"What do you do all day at home? Why don't you cook or boil water?"

Wu Cuihua jumped up directly from the cold kang (heated brick bed).

"How dare you say that? I am going to cook, but how? Where is the food?! Where did you take the food?! Give it back to me right now!"

Wu Ergou snapped out of his daze and realized that he had sold the grain.

His eyes darted around as he answered.

"How would I know if you forgot where you put it!"

Wu Cuihua couldn't take it anymore and slapped him across the face.

"You heartless bastard, all you know is gambling! That's my food rations for a month, and you dared to steal it! What are we going to do now? Starve? How dare you even walk in the door and ask for food! You've been eating my food rations all this time!"

Wu Ergou was in pain from the beating and was also unhappy, so he shoved his sister away.

"What are you making a fuss about? It's just a little bit of grain! I'll buy you two hundred catties when I win money in the future!"

"Why don't you just die! Two hundred pounds? I've never even seen two pounds! What are we going to do then, starve to death together?"

Wu Cuihua sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), wailing loudly. She truly didn't know how she had ended up with such a gambling addict as her brother.

With only one son in the family and both parents dead, how could she really beat her younger brother to death?

Clearly, Wu Ergou knew this too. He lay down in bed, completely ignoring his sister's crying.

He yawned as he offered his suggestion, "Tomorrow, just go back to the Li family and ask for some."

Wu Cuihua turned around and kicked him.

"How dare you say that! I was kicked out of the Li family, and who's to blame? It's all because of you!"

Wu Ergou didn't care, "You've given the Li family two grandsons. Do you really think they'd dare starve you to death!"

Wu Cuihua remained silent, thinking about Old Lady Li and Old Man Li, and felt quite apprehensive.

But even if we run out of food, we can't starve to death.

After enduring a long night, she held her rumbling stomach the next day, steeled her heart, kowtowed repeatedly to the old lady of the house, and finally begged for half a day's leave to return to Qingshui Village.

With the weather warm, the villagers can't stay idle; young and old alike frequently stroll through the fields.

As a result, when they encountered Wu Cuihua on the road, everyone looked at her strangely.

Some people guessed that Wu Cuihua had come back to cause trouble, so they took a detour and ran away via a side road.

Grandma Li carried Jiayin on her back in a bamboo basket and was also tending to the vegetable garden behind the house.

Although the old men promised to take care of the vegetable garden, they were either missing arms or legs, and no one could bear to see them like that.

So, if you can help with more, leave them with less.

The villagers ran over, shouting from afar, "Auntie, Wu Cuihua is back. Judging from her appearance, it probably isn't good news."

Old Mrs. Li frowned, and her fellow villagers thanked her.

She hurried back to the front yard, where Jiaxi and Jia'an were chopping wood, but they weren't working properly either.

The two were competing to see who could chop the firewood the thinner, and almost hit their fingers in the process.

Just as they were feeling apprehensive, they saw their grandmother rush out, which startled them.

Before anyone could speak, Wu Cuihua had already reached the door. "Mother, um... I came back to see you!"

Without saying a word, Old Lady Li picked up the carrying pole from the corner of the yard and rushed out.

Jiaxi and Jia'an were stunned for a moment, then they also reached for the door bolt and the broom.

The three women—grandmother, grandson, and granddaughter—along with Jiayin, made Wu Cuihua flee in terror.

She never expected her family to be so cruel, beating her whenever they saw her.

At that moment, I wished I had two more legs, but I still got hit by two carrying poles, and the pain was excruciating.

She wanted to wait for her son to come back so she could plead for him, but she waited until noon and still didn't see him.

She finally learned from the villagers that Jiaren hadn't returned from his studies and Jiayi had gone to work as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort).

There's no hope!

Wu Cuihua even considered throwing her temper and causing a scene outside the Li family's house.

As a result, from afar, Li Lao Er and Li Lao Si drove a strong mule back.

She was so frightened that she quickly hid!

When Li Lao Er sent her to do hard labor, he made it clear.

If she dares to come home and cause trouble, I'll strangle her and throw her into the river.

She had no family to support her, and her younger brother was selfish.

At that time, I guarantee no one will dare to stand up for her, and she'll die in vain!

The hatred and disgust in Li Lao Er's eyes at that moment left her with no room for doubt...

The gate to the Li family's courtyard was finally opened because their son had returned.

The villagers had followed him all the way, and now they all rushed into the courtyard to watch the excitement.

"This mule cost so much money; it's incredibly robust."

"Yes, it should last seven or eight years without any problem."

"This is much more useful than the village chief's donkey."

Li Laosi was delighted and busied himself giving the mule water and brushing its fur.

Jiaxi and Jia'an also wanted to join in, but Li Lao Er pulled them aside.

"Watch out for kicks! Once there's green grass in a few days, take it out more often. Once it gets used to you, it won't kick anymore."

Jiaxi and Jia'an nodded quickly, watching from afar.

Jia'an couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "Dad, let me ride it for a bit."

Li Laosi doted on his children the most, and with a smile, he carried his nephew and son onto the back of the mule.

The two boys were overjoyed, but dared not move, which made them look particularly funny.

But the children in the village were filled with envy, their eyes red with envy, desperately tugging at their fathers' hands and shaking them vigorously.

Finally, all the naughty boys present were lifted up and became little warriors riding donkeys.

The mule had a bad temper; it turned its lips upside down, clearly very agitated.

Fortunately, Grandma Li found a cabbage and threw it over.

Once the mule has good food, it can tolerate the naughty boys.

The old men next door heard the commotion and came over to see what was going on.

They were veterans of war, and thus had a greater affinity and affection for livestock.

Uncle Zhao simply said, "Fourth brother, you have a lot of children in your yard. It's inconvenient to keep these big animals. Why don't you put them in our yard and we'll help take care of them?"

“Yes, you don’t need to worry about cleaning the manure or feeding the grass. We can handle those small tasks,” the other old men chimed in.