Hearing this, Zhang Min angrily retorted, "Even if I didn't have a son, my fields and land wouldn't be yours! Besides, I have my own sons!" He continued, "Whether those seven sons of yours will even be able to get married is uncertain!"

"What are you so smug about? You're blind! Your family and that widow's family are just trying to make a name for themselves by following that family that has no descendants. They're just doormen for them! Don't think I don't know what your family is up to. Your family is just trying to curry favor with them because they don't have any sons, so that your two sons can have all the inheritance in the future!"

"Those are heartless words! Do you think everyone is like you, eyeing other people's property? Even if Madam Shen doesn't have a son, she will find a son-in-law in the future. Even if she doesn't, she has five daughters and brothers. There's no need for you to smear my family!"

Looking for a son-in-law?

Da Tan was suddenly startled. Yes, she had originally wanted to seize Niu Xiaocao's land and house, but the Xia couple were so hateful that they would rather give their property to their daughter and son-in-law, two outsiders, than to her family, who were relatives.

This matter had been weighing on her mind for many years.

Thinking about how much Niu Da loved his daughters, Da Tan thought it was quite possible that he would find a son-in-law. The wealth that was within his grasp would then be lost. The Niu family was now even richer than Niu Xiaocao's family.

Niu Xiaocao's family only had twenty acres of land and four or five pigs. Niu Dajia's family business was dozens of times larger than Niu Xiaocao's.

The Tan family was as if they were possessed by a demon.

She never imagined that, according to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, if there was an adopted daughter, the family property would be inherited by her. Even if Niu Da did not take in a son-in-law, half of the property would go to his five daughters and half to his brothers.

If she didn't have any brothers, half of it would have to be added to the treasury, and she wouldn't get any of it anyway.

Da Tan was just jealous.

She was probably up to something again.

Zhang Min was a little surprised to see that she had suddenly stopped arguing with her, but she didn't say anything. As a blind woman, she was naturally no match for the strong and healthy Da Tan Shi. Since Da Tan Shi was no longer arguing, there was no need for her to rush into arguing and fighting.

So he fumbled around and dried all the old vegetable leaves at home, intending to make some pickled cabbage. Zhang Min's pickled cabbage making skills were not as good as Chen Yu's, but the pickled cabbage he made was still acceptable.

Moreover, it's fine for family members to eat it.

Zhang Min's two sons were both very filial. The elder son, Niu Da, worked in the fields with Niu Yaba, while the younger son, Niu Zhen, not only studied but also helped at home by feeding the chickens and geese and cooking.

On the stove, Niu Zhen stewed a pot of chicken and ginseng soup. The old chicken was a preserved chicken from the New Year. Although only one chicken was killed and half a catty of meat and two fish were bought, Niu the Dumb's family couldn't bear to eat and drink so much, so they saved it for April.

Zhang Min smelled the aroma of chicken and said:

"Hey town, what day is it today? Why are we having chicken?"

Niu Zhen said, "Mom, last night, didn't Dad get some ginseng from Uncle Niu to help you recover? I was thinking that ginseng is such a good thing, it can improve eyesight, and although we can't stew it all at once, we should stew it with some good things!"

In the morning, his older brother cooked ginseng porridge for Zhang Min again.

"Oh dear, this isn't a New Year or any other holiday, it would be such a waste to eat it like this!" Zhang Min was extremely distressed.

"Mom, don't worry, I didn't stew much!" Niu Zhen said.

"Then what will you eat?" Zhang Min asked.

“My brother and I are perfectly healthy, we can jump and play, and our hearing and eyesight are excellent. What do we need to supplement? This ginseng is mainly for you, Mom, to improve your eyesight!” Niu Zhen said.

Meanwhile, across from Niu Yaba's house was the Tan family's house.

The second son of the Tan family, Niu Jinghua, didn't get up until noon. As soon as he got up, he asked, "Mom, is breakfast ready yet?"

Mrs. Tan is fifty years old this year. Her second son was born when she was twenty, so he is a year older than Niu Da.

"Eat, eat, eat; sleep, sleep, sleep; I'll eat you to death, I'll sleep you to death!" Madam Tan was probably thinking that the Niu family's property might really fly away, so she was in a bad mood.

"Look how old you are! That short-lived mute across the street is only a year younger than you, and look how old his son is! His second son is already nine! He gets up before dawn, and what about you? You have hands and feet, yet you can't even compare to him! It's one thing to be inferior to him, but you can't even compare to that childless man!"

Thirty years old and still unmarried is not uncommon, but thirty years old and still not having done any work is a rare thing in Niushan Village.

Niu Jinghua's third brother got up earlier than him and was a decent person, but he wasn't exactly a diligent one.

The younger children swarmed over, saying, "Mom, Mom, is dinner ready? We're starving!"

The youngest son, Niu Gou'er, is the same age as Zhang Min's second son, Niu Zhen, and is nine years old this year.

"Mom, I want to eat old hen, I want to eat old hen! The Niu family across the street stewed an old hen, it smells so good!" Niu Gou'er said.

The fifth son, Niu Dashan, also said, "Mom, I study so hard, I want to eat old hen too!"

The second and fourth sons of the Niu family said, "Mom, we don't care. If our brother wants to eat the old hen, we want to eat the old hen too!"

Da Tan said, "Where am I supposed to get you an old hen?"

Niu Jinghua said, "Mom, why don't you ask my older brother and sister-in-law to go to town to buy some? A chicken is only sixty coins a pound, and a ten-pound old hen is only six hundred coins!"

Madam Tan said, "Only six hundred coins? What you eat and wear, isn't it all provided by your eldest brother? Your eldest brother works as a laborer at the docks, earning only one or two taels of silver a month. Second brother, you're only a year younger than your eldest brother. How many years has he been supporting you and your younger brothers? Tell me yourself!"

“Mom, that’s because he’s incompetent! Dad is incompetent too! If he were capable, like Niu Da, if it weren’t for Niu Cuihua’s illness dragging them down in the early years, their family wouldn’t be as poor as ours!” Niu Jinghua said.

“Besides, Dad stays at home every day and is supported by my older brother!” Niu Jinghua said.

Niu Gou'er plopped down on the ground, throwing a tantrum and crying, "Mom, I don't care, I just want to eat the old hen! I just want to eat the old hen!"

The six sons beside her, the oldest and the youngest, all lay on the ground, throwing a tantrum, shouting, "We don't care, we just want to eat the old hen! We just want to eat the old hen!"

Hearing the commotion, Mrs. Lao, holding her two sons, aged six and two, by the hand, went into the house and asked, "Mother, what's going on?"

Madam Tan cleared her throat and said, "What are you, an outsider, asking about our family matters?" After a moment, she said, "Never mind, there's no harm in telling you. I doubt you'd dare say anything anyway! They want to eat chicken. Go to the dock and ask the dock foreman for an advance on Jingtai's wages!"

"Mother, Jingtai's wages were already advanced for two months during the New Year. He used the money to buy new clothes for his six younger brothers, and to pay for his fifth brother's schooling, and so on."

Before Mrs. Lao could finish speaking, Mrs. Tan slapped Mrs. Lao on the head, making her head buzz.