Qin was restrained, and Xu Genqing and Xu Gensheng also chased after her.

Jiang Zhi pulled Li Laoshi away and hugged Qin Shi, who was struggling and flailing her arms, trying to comfort her: "Qin Ling, don't be afraid, don't be afraid!"

Hearing Jiang Zhi's voice and her own name, Qin Shi calmed down, turned around to look at Xu Genqing and the others beside her, and then looked at Jiang Zhi.

Just as Jiang Zhi thought Qin was about to say something, Qin suddenly grabbed her arm and burst into tears...

Everyone dispersed, and Xu Gensheng and Li Laoshi went to find money.

Qin lost the money, but she couldn't say exactly where she lost it. Fortunately, she lost the purse along with it, making it easier to find.

One hundred coins is neither a lot nor a little; it's enough for a family to buy oil and salt for several months, and it's only two days' wages.

Xu Genqing stayed with Qin Shi, listening to her rambling about the past, and occasionally offered a few words of comfort.

Qin's eyes were brimming with tears: "You were still breastfeeding back then, and I was craving food during my postpartum period... I was hungry! I wanted to eat a chicken!"

"Your grandma said the chicken should be given to Qiu'er and your older brother, and I can only drink the soup. Drinking soup is good because it will help me produce milk."

Your dad also said that I'm the elder, so he gave me all the good soup, but the chicken had to be given to the kids.

I want to eat meat, but if I stew a whole chicken, all I can get is a bowl of soup!

Xu Genqing said, "From now on, we'll raise more chickens ourselves! You can eat chicken, but you can't steal money to buy food anymore."

"Is it really okay to eat chicken? It's not that I have to drink the soup and give the meat to Lotus?" Qin asked, she didn't believe it.

Seeing his mother constantly talking about eating chicken, Xu Genqing awkwardly said, "You're my mother, of course we eat meat together. You eat whatever Lianhua eats!"

Jiang Zhi understood something from the rather naive conversation between Qin Shi and Xu Genqing, and couldn't help but be moved.

Qin was Xu's second wife; Xu Genqing's father was more than ten years older than her.

Although Qin had already given birth at that time, she was only sixteen years old.

The family gave the chicken that was originally slaughtered for her during her postpartum period to her twelve-year-old stepdaughter and four-year-old stepson, while she herself could only drink chicken soup.

Qin was unwilling, but arguing wouldn't work. Even after crying, she could only watch helplessly as others ate with relish.

This was cruel to Qin, who already had a strong craving for meat. Every time she said she wanted to eat, her family would scold her: "You're an elder, you've already drunk the chicken soup, how can you still have the nerve to compete with the child for food?"

So, before she had even finished her postpartum confinement, she abandoned her child, stole money from her family, and went to town to buy food.

Before they could even buy the items, their family members quickly chased after them and took them back.

Stealing money is a serious crime. Qin Shi, who was still in poor health, was severely beaten by Xu Genqing's father, almost to death. She bled from her lower body and was bedridden for several months before she could get up.

When her family found out that their daughter was eating and drinking at her husband's house while in confinement after giving birth, and was even stealing money, they thought she deserved to be beaten for doing such a shameful thing. They also scolded Qin Shi, and told everyone that she had contracted postpartum tuberculosis and was sick.

After her injuries healed, Qin Shi behaved herself and never ate chicken again.

From then on, she refused to return to her parents' home, and naturally, she couldn't get close to Xu Genqing's father either. She couldn't even touch him; the slightest touch would make her feel nauseous and want to vomit.

The man also disliked her for being immature and disobedient, so the two of them slept in separate rooms, each doing their own work and sleeping as usual.

Until her husband died and the elders above her passed away, she remained well-behaved, honest, and dutiful, and was considered an honest person by Xiaoman's grandmother and the people of Xujia Village.

However, after she became a mother-in-law, she started arguing and fighting with her stepson and eldest daughter-in-law over food.

The stepson's wife naturally wouldn't give in to this "greedy" mother-in-law, and the two quarreled for several years.

Qin was conflicted about her daughter's pregnancy; she wanted a grandson, but she was also afraid of having a child.

She felt that if Lianhua became pregnant, she would be able to start her life anew.

This was not a pleasant memory for the Qin family; in fact, it was a terrifying one.

She couldn't wait to grab the money to buy food, afraid she wouldn't be able to afford it later, but then she lost the money...

The experience of almost being beaten to death for ten coins was too painful.

If she were to lose a hundred coins now, Qin would surely die.

She wanted to jump off the cliff, but was stopped by Li Laoshi, who had been following behind her.

Qin cried with snot and tears streaming down her face, repeatedly explaining why she wanted to buy food.

Now that the money is gone, she keeps saying she'll never buy it again!

Jiang Zhi said directly to Xu Genqing, "The New Year is coming soon. You don't need to prepare anything else, but you must stew a big, fat chicken for your mother and Lianhua so that they can eat their fill."

There's a saying that goes, "The hatred between mothers during childbirth is irreconcilable," and Qin's resentment only intensified, turning her into an obsession with chickens.

Xu Genqing nodded repeatedly: "Okay, I'll buy chickens from Brother Genyou and the Tian family so that Mother and Lianhua can eat them!"

He had a tael of silver, which was enough to buy chicken.

Time passed quickly, and it was getting dark. The light in the woods was getting worse, so no one dared to stay in the ruins any longer.

Li Laoshi and Xu Gensheng did not find Qin's lost purse.

Since the money couldn't be found, Li Laoshi said to Qin Shi, who had a long face, "It's only a hundred coins, it's no big deal. I'll cover the money for you. Don't make a scene or threaten suicide when you get back."

Qin turned her head away and remained silent.

Li Laoshi touched his own hand.

In order to prevent Qin from running around, both of his hands were scratched by Qin, with several deep blood grooves on them. He would have to apply medicine powder when he got back.

By the time they returned to the village, it was completely dark. Tian Gui and the other two had also returned. As soon as they saw Li Laoshi, they asked, "Laoshi, where did you go? Did you get to town?"

Li Laoshi chuckled: "I didn't go to town. I sprained my ankle and just rested for a while by the ditch!"

He didn't mention the Qin family, and Tian Gui and the others wisely refrained from pressing him further.

Jiang Zhi was unable to go up the mountain that night and could only stay in the village for the night.

The next day, Li Laoshi went to town early in the morning to buy red paper, and Jiang Zhi asked Xia Xiucai to write Spring Festival couplets before returning to the mountain with Errui to celebrate the New Year.

The traditional pre-Spring Festival cleaning routines include sweeping away dust and digging eaves gutters.

Although the area around the two houses had already been repaired and leveled, they still used bamboo poles tied with bamboo branches to sweep the rooftops.

The ash that had settled on the roof beams after being smoked was swept off and then spread on the path.

There are specific reasons and customs surrounding why people should step on it.

Just like peanut shells need to be trampled on the road, only when the peanut shells are trampled will the seeds pierce the soil and bear fruit.

After the dust and ash are compacted by people stepping on them, the soot on the roof will not fall down and soil the clothes of the person cooking.

Then we fed the fruit trees, hoping for a good harvest next year.

After three consecutive days without rain, it suddenly started snowing on Lunar New Year's Eve, which is quite rare in Bavaria.

Large snowflakes drifted down, quickly covering the leaves and rooftops with a layer of white.

Nini had never seen snow this heavy before, and she cheered as she tried to catch the snowflakes in the yard.

At just one and a half years old, Caixia was seeing snow for the first time. Wrapped in a little cloak and wearing a tiger-head hat, her little face was rosy as she stared blankly at the sky, lost in thought.

Nini caught a snowflake with a leaf and ran over excitedly: "Little sister, look at the snow, it has six points!"

Caixia pointed to the sky and exclaimed, "Wow! So much snow!"

Wild boars in the mountains have to brave the wind and snow to survive the cold winter, while Peggy is lying in her warm hay hut.

First, he looked up at the two little girls outside who were screaming and running around laughing, and then he turned his attention to the kitchen doorway.

The kitchen smells delicious today; I'm sure I'll have something good to eat soon.