Having bought everything, Meng Zhao hurried toward the city gate. It was only Shen Shi (3-5 PM), and there was still some time before the agreed You Shi (5-7 PM). Meng Zhao observed the surroundings as he walked.

When she arrived at the city gate, she found that Madam Gu and Aunt Feng'e were already waiting for her. Feeling a little strange, she quickly went over and asked, "Mother, why did you finish work so early today?"

"Hmph, not only did we leave work early today, but we don't have to go to work tomorrow either. That damned bastard is lying through his teeth. We were not only not late, but we arrived early. That shameless old man insisted that we were late and told us we didn't have to go tomorrow. If we hadn't refused to leave today, he wouldn't have even paid us for these past few days."

Aunt Feng'e already had a loud voice, and now she was even more furious. Meng Zhao felt that if their shopkeeper were standing there now, Aunt Feng'e would really rush up and bite off a piece of meat.

"What are we going to do now? We finally found a job, but we can't do it anymore." Gu Shi, who was still in a daze, felt even more distressed when she heard what Aunt Feng'e said.

Thinking about the current situation at home, the two twins are at the age of growing up, but they have reached the point where they can't even get enough to eat. The second son still has to go to school, and the tuition fees for the academy have to be paid every month. Qinghe said he could manage it himself, but how can he, a child, manage it?

To exempt her eldest son from corvée labor, she even sold the last few acres of land the family owned. Now, she doesn't even have a chance to survive.

The more Gu thought about it, the more upset she became, and she almost burst into tears in front of the city gate.

"Mother, don't be sad. There's always a way out." Meng Zhao wasn't close to Madam Gu, so she couldn't say anything heartfelt. She could only offer a few words of comfort.

Aunt Feng'e, who had just been angrily cursing, felt bad seeing Gu Shi so upset.

Although her family was also in dire straits, her husband's illness had drained their savings and left them with a considerable debt. Because of this, her two sons were still unmarried at the age of marriage. Due to their poor family conditions, matchmakers avoided them whenever they heard it was her family, which made her so anxious that she couldn't sleep at night.

Even if her family was poor, it was still better than the Shen family. Although her two sons were not capable, they were hardworking and reliable. Over the years, they had paid off most of their debts and took good care of their few acres of dry land, so they had no worries about food.

"Why are you crying? If this can't be done, we'll just look for another one. We can't let a living person starve to death." Aunt Feng'e was a forward-looking person. Even if she was upset, she wouldn't cry like Gu Shi.

Although Meng Zhao wasn't prepared to discuss business matters with Gu Shi right now, he still said some comforting words to put Gu Shi at ease.

“Aunt Feng’e is right. Our whole family is here. How can we let ourselves starve to death? Besides, I’m here. I can think of a way. Mother, don’t worry.”

Gu Shi didn't have high hopes for Meng Zhao's words, but seeing the two of them comforting her like this, she felt embarrassed.

She knew she was soft-hearted. In the past, with her husband and eldest son around, she could cry as a support. But now that she was the pillar of the family, she couldn't keep crying like this. So she got up, wiped her tears with her sleeve, and prepared to go home.

The atmosphere on the way back to the village was much gloomier than when they arrived. Neither Gu Shi nor Aunt Feng'e were in the mood to talk, and Meng Zhao didn't say much either. He could only keep his head down and walk hard, trying to remember the way home.

After arriving home, Shen Qingyu told Gu that the male lead had gone to the back mountain to chop firewood. Since it was still early, Gu Shi didn't plan to rest. Instead, she carried a basket and went into the mountains to see if she could dig up some wild vegetables or pick some mushrooms.

Meng Zhao moved a stool and sat in the yard peeling bamboo shoots, preparing to make stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat. He had been here for three days and hadn't eaten any meat yet, which made his mouth water.

Behind the main room door, Shen Qingze and Shen Qingyu, the brother and sister, secretly observed their sister-in-law through the crack in the door.

Shen Qingyu tugged at her brother's sleeve and whispered, "Brother, have you noticed that your sister-in-law has been acting a little differently these past few days?"

"How is it different? She's still just as annoying. Just because she hasn't scolded you for a few days doesn't mean you'll accept her as your sister-in-law." Shen Qingze squinted at his sister, looking at her like she was a little traitor.

"No, I just feel that she is really different, but I don't know how."

Shen Qingyu's little head couldn't think of anything too complicated. She only knew that her sister-in-law used to either glare at them fiercely or completely ignore them, but now her sister-in-law looked at her with a peaceful gaze, and she could even feel from her eyes that her sister-in-law liked her.

Because of the hint of affection she sensed, Shen Qingyu ignored her brother's angry glare, boldly walked to Meng Zhao's side, and whispered, "Sister-in-law, do you need my help? I can peel bamboo shoots too."

Seeing the little girl standing timidly in front of him, offering to help, Meng Zhao's heart softened.

In her past life, she used to hate unruly children, but seeing such a well-behaved and pretty little girl, she couldn't help but feel a surge of affection.

"I can peel the bamboo shoots myself. When you're cooking, Qingyu, can you help you start the fire?"

Meng Zhaogang was still wondering how to start a fire without a lighter or matches when a little helper came along.

"Okay, Qingyu will help sister-in-law start the fire. Qingyu is the best at starting fires."

Seeing her sister-in-law so different from before, Qingyu was very happy. She liked this sister-in-law who looked into her eyes and spoke gently. She turned around and went to the chicken coop to gather firewood.

After peeling the bamboo shoots, Meng Zhao prepared to fetch some water to wash them, but no matter how many times he shook the rope, the bucket wouldn't sink. Just as he was worrying about this, he heard a voice in his ear.

"Hmph, you can't even do this? You're so stupid."

The little boy, who was only waist-high to Meng Zhao, took the well rope, swung it twice and lifted it up and down a few times, and the bucket was magically full. After pulling it up, he didn't even look at Meng Zhao and turned to leave.

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