Even Auntie Big Mouth, who has never had a good reputation, couldn't stand it anymore.

This shows just how outrageous Wang Lihua was.

"Really? What a pitiful girl. Who did Wang Lihua sell her to? If she was sold to be a maid, that would be alright. If she met a good master, at least she could have enough to eat and wouldn't starve. Who knows, when she's in her twenties, the master might take pity on her and let her get married. That would be a good place for her."

Wang Xu shook her head repeatedly, her eyes filled with a hint of sympathy.

"Who knows? When I ran into her, Wang Lihua had just received the money from the slave trader. I took a closer look and it seemed to be half a tael. It sounds like a lot that such a young girl can be sold for half a tael. But how long can Wang Lihua live on that? Sigh, she's only thinking about the beginning and not the end. If she were given some food to raise her, she could at least get two or three taels after marriage. Then she could help her family out, and life would be much better."

Aunt Sui felt extremely distressed whenever she thought of Zhao'er's red eyes.

But their own lives were just so-so.

There's nothing she can do.

Aunt Sui sighed and continued, "When Wang Lihua saw me, she immediately put away the loose silver. The slave trader picked up Zhao'er and left. Zhao'er cried and cried, calling for her mother, and it brought tears to my eyes. But do you know what? Wang Lihua didn't even turn her head back! Look at her heart, it's harder than stone. It's her own flesh and blood, after all. Doesn't she feel any reluctance at all?"

"If she really cared about Zhao'er, would she sell her? Humph! She always beats Zhao'er mercilessly. Poor girl, she was born into the wrong family! No wonder the Chen family's meals have improved recently. They used to sit in the yard eating that bright green vegetable porridge every day, but now they even have meat. I've seen it several times. That little beast of the Chen family, her mouth is all greasy. As soon as it's time to cook, the aroma from the Chen family's kitchen wafts into my house. Look at how smug she is. It's only half a tael of silver, but she's spending it like it's a hundred. She'll eat it all up sooner or later. Let's see who she can sell then!"

The voyeuristic auntie suddenly realized what was going on.

She said that the Chen family's food was getting better and better, and that they must have sold their daughter and used the money from that sale to buy the food.

"Tsk tsk tsk, how can she eat that? If I were her, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. She's so heartless. My youngest son once went on a date with Wang Lihua, but I thought she was too small and wouldn't be able to have a son, so I didn't let my son marry her. Look at her now, she can't even have a son, and she's a bad-hearted one at that. A girl is a girl, just raise her properly, collect a dowry and marry her off, but she has to be treated like this. Luckily, I didn't let my son marry her! And look at my youngest daughter-in-law, she's pregnant with her second child, her belly is pointed, you can tell at a glance it's another boy."

In the village, having many sons and grandsons in a family is something to brag about.

It only takes half an hour.

Two women were already showing off.

As expected, the woman received a lot of eye rolls.

"Let's not talk about her anymore. Just mentioning her makes me angry, and I can't sleep at night if I'm angry. Let me tell you something else. A couple of evenings ago, my granddaughter-in-law and I were looking for mushrooms on the mountain outside the village. We came back a little late, and guess what I heard on our way down the mountain?"

Aunt Sui changed the subject and told another piece of gossip, which piqued everyone's interest.

Yan Xia almost burst out laughing.

It's a real shame that Aunt Sui doesn't become a storyteller.

The hooks were swinging back and forth, and look how they've got everyone hanging there.

"What? Tell me quickly!"

"That's right, dear sister, stop teasing us and hurry up and tell us."

"......."

The women stopped mentioning Wang Lihua and stopped showing off their grandsons and sons.

They pressed Aunt Sui to continue the story.

Everyone's ears were perked up high.

“I heard a child crying! The sound was so small, like a kitten. I thought some stray cat had given birth, and I was thinking of catching one to raise at home. I could just feed it a little. It's hot today, and the autumn harvest is coming soon. There are too many mice, so I thought I could raise it and then catch mice. But when my granddaughter-in-law and I followed the sound, we saw Wangtao's wife running away with a small blanket in her arms. The crying I heard earlier came from that blanket. So she abandoned the child in the mountains! I don't know if she saw us, but she took the child away.”

Aunt Sui grinned and shook her head.

"I doubt it. This is a boy. If she dares to throw him into the mountains, do you think Ma Efen and Wang Tao will let her get away with it?"

Aunt Big Mouth was somewhat skeptical.

"You wouldn't believe it, but Wangtao's sickly son was born prematurely. You've heard of babies born in the seventh month and dying in the eighth, right? Being born in the eighth month is already considered unlucky, and he was always sick. I've heard them arguing more than once, mostly about how the sickly son had spent all their money. I bet it was Liu Wangtao who forced Zhu to throw him away! But after throwing him away, she couldn't bear to part with him, so she took him back. After all, he was born after eight months of pregnancy, how could she bear to part with him?"

Aunt Gui's house and Liu Wangtao's house were only two rooms apart.

Although she wasn't the closest, Aunt Gui's sharp ears were too good to resist.

She's old and can't do farm work anymore, so she stays home every day and gets incredibly bored! Whenever she hears someone arguing, her ears practically perk up to the sky.

“Don’t think I’m heartless. If this were my grandson, I would just throw him away. I’ve never seen a baby born at eight months survive. Even if you keep him alive with medicine, he’ll only live to be ten or so at most. He’ll die before he can get married and leave an heir. It’s a waste of money, and the family will be heartbroken. Since he’s going to die sooner or later anyway, I might as well be ruthless and send him to be reincarnated as soon as possible while the bond isn’t too deep. A few adults can’t be driven to death by a child who never grows up. If you really feel guilty, go to the temple and ask the monks to chant some sutras for him. That would be a way to fulfill the bond between mother and child.”

Wang Xushi had three grandsons.

She projected it onto herself.

She felt it was not worth spending all the family's money on a sickly person, and several people agreed with her after she finished speaking.

“You’re right. We’ve spent all our money. What else can we do but see him off? He’ll need medication later. Where are we going to get the money? We should get him back to health and have another child!”

"As you all know, my eldest daughter-in-law gave birth to two boys first. The first one was born weak. We saw a doctor who said that even with medication, he would only live to be seven or eight. We didn't have the money to raise him. We left him in the house for two days, and when we opened the door, he was already dead. Sigh, although it was heartbreaking, there was nothing we could do. The other one was raised to be three years old when he caught a cold from being caught in the rain. He didn't survive three days. Many children die young. If I were like the Liu family, my family would be so poor that we couldn't even afford to eat. We wouldn't have the good life we ​​have now. Look, my eldest daughter-in-law has given birth to three more children, and they've all grown up. My eldest grandson is already looking for a partner."