At the dinner table, Zhan Chunyun hesitated for a long time, still wanting to see how her parents would treat her: "I'm leaving in a couple of days."

Zhan Hongyu was quite talkative today: "Going? Where are you going, Second Sister?"

Zhan Chunyun found his bewildered and ignorant look annoying; only happy people acted that way. She had never seen that look on her eldest sister's or third sister's faces: "Going to the countryside! Where else can I go? Do you think I'm going to enjoy a life of luxury?!"

“Your brother just asked a question, couldn’t you just answer it nicely? Why are you yelling at him? It’s not like he’s the one who sent you to the countryside.” Xu Lixia immediately objected when she heard Zhan Chunyun’s angry tone.

"Yes, your youngest son is precious, you can't say a word against him!" Since she was going to the countryside anyway, Zhan Chunyun didn't want to put up with it anymore.

"You! Did we offend you today? Why are you so aggressive? Can't you speak properly?" Xu Lixia was also very unhappy after being hit with those words.

Zhan Chunyun rolled her eyes, turned her face away, and stopped talking.

"Where's your rural allowance? Give it to me, and I'll help you get the supplies for your trip to the countryside." Seeing that she had become obedient, Xu Lixia finally remembered the important matter.

Upon hearing this, Zhan Chunhua and Zhan Chunlan both looked up at Xu Lixia, seemingly unable to believe that someone could be so shameless.

Zhan Chunhua glanced at Zhan Chunyun with concern, but said nothing. In this family, how well she wanted to live was entirely up to her.

"I'll buy it myself." Zhan Chunyun dared not hand over the money and tickets; she didn't want to gamble her future security on Xu Lixia's conscience.

"What do you know, you're just a young girl? Do you even know what you need to bring when you go to the countryside?" Xu Lixia said with a look that said, "I'm doing this for your own good," which made the three sisters feel disgusted.

“I’ve lived in the countryside before, I know what you need there, I can buy it myself, you should worry about your own son.”

Zhan Chunyun's words showed no respect whatsoever, nearly infuriating Xu Lixia.

Zhan Hongyu, on the other hand, was not affected at all. When it came to him, he also had to express his opinion: "Sister, I heard that it is difficult to come back after going to the countryside. You have so much money, buy me some meat to eat. I want to eat meat."

"Meat! Meat! I think you are meat!" Zhan Chunyun would never agree to this. She had spent a lot of money to buy meat, and in the end, she could only eat one piece. "If you want to eat meat, go to your parents. I'm just your second sister, not your parents!"

"How can you talk like that? You're the second eldest sister, you have so much money, what's wrong with buying some meat for your younger brother?" Zhan Zhiqiang was displeased when he heard her say that. As the eldest, what's wrong with caring for and looking after the younger one? Isn't that how it is in every family?

"You have more money than me, so if you're worried about the cost, buy it yourselves. I'm not going to buy it." She's not crazy, why would she buy meat for her brother? After she went to the countryside, she could eat all the meat she bought herself. She wouldn't waste her money and meat coupons on this little brat.

"I don't care, I want to eat meat tomorrow! How long has it been since I've had any meat?" Zhan Hongyu sat down on the ground, kicked his legs, and started yelling, "I want to eat meat! I—want—to—eat—meat—!"

He launched his "magical attack," the shrill, piercing cry echoing through the room like a demonic shriek, its penetrating power unstoppable and its reach continuing to expand. No one in the Zhan family could escape it.

Seeing her son crying so sadly, Xu Lixia immediately felt sorry for him: "Buy it! Mom will buy meat tomorrow!"

Zhan Hongyu doesn't care who buys it; as long as he gets what he wants, he's done. Once he gets the desired result, he's done. This ability is unique to him in the Zhan family, and only he can use it effectively.

The next day, Xu Lixia really did buy meat, and it was still 1 jin of pork belly.

Someone saw her buying meat again and teased her, "Lixia, you bought meat? We're in for a treat today. The aroma of your meat makes us want to eat two extra bowls of rice."

She was good at saving face in public, always telling everyone, "My second son is going to the countryside, so I bought some meat for him to nourish himself."

People around her believed her story: "Everyone says Xu Lixia favors boys over girls, but it seems she still loves her daughter."

"Yes, what family would send their daughter to the countryside to buy meat? Lixia has indeed done a very good job."

The three Zhan sisters: They're so wonderful, why don't you become her daughter?

Regardless of the reason, the journey home improved Xu Lixia's reputation considerably.

As a result, when it came time to eat, the three sisters still only got one piece of meat.

Zhan Chunlan: Luckily I'm smart, being a cook isn't so bad after all.

Zhan Chunyun spoke up directly: "Didn't you say you were going to buy meat to help me recover since I was going to the countryside?"

"Didn't I give you some meat? You're a girl, one slice is enough to taste. Don't be so greedy, or people will say I haven't raised you well." Seeing how much she enjoyed it, Xu Lixia started her altruistic lecture again.

“You’re a girl too, how can you eat so much? Why don’t you just eat one piece to taste it? Did your grandmother not teach you properly?” Zhan Chunyun directly used the opponent’s own words against them.

"Zhan Chunyun, are you...? I've been thinking about you going to the countryside these past few days, so I haven't teased you. Are you smug about that?" Adults are like that; if they can't win an argument, they resort to physical attacks.

Zhan Chunyun immediately refused to accept it. She had taken the blame and used it to boost her daughter's reputation, but she got all the benefits while she got nothing. How could she possibly get such a good deal?

She stood up abruptly and, taking advantage of everyone's inattention, poured all the meat from Zhan Hongyu's bowl into her own.

Zhan Hongyu was completely dumbfounded. He was eating peacefully, and then suddenly his rice bowl was gone, then it came back, and the meat was gone too?!

"Waaaaaah!!!!" Zhan Hongyu cried, and there was no way to comfort him.

Looking at his crying youngest son, angry wife, and smug second daughter, Zhan Zhiqiang was furious. He grabbed a feather duster from the side and started hitting Zhan Chunyun.

Zhan Chunyun wasn't going to stand there stupidly and wait for him to hit her. She ran to the door with the bowl in her hand, put the bowl in one hand and the doorknob in the other: "If you want to hit me, I'll open the door and yell. Let's see who's embarrassed then!"

Zhan Zhiqiang was so angry that he lost his speech. He pointed at Zhan Chunyun with a feather duster but couldn't say a word. Zhan Chunlan was worried that he would explode with anger.

Seeing how angry she had made Zhan Zhiqiang, Xu Lixia immediately stepped forward to support him: "You're a dead man, are you trying to anger your old man to death? You're completely out of control now, I can't even say a few words to you, you brainless bastard, how did I give birth to a debt collector like you!"

Zhan Chunyun didn't care. Anyway, she was going to the countryside and didn't know when she would be back. Scolding her a couple of times wouldn't hurt her or affect her eating one or two pieces of meat less.

Zhan Chunyun: Eating meat is a momentary pleasure, and eating meat all the time is an even greater pleasure!

While the commotion was raging, Zhan Chunlan quietly picked the meat from Zhan Zhiqiang's bowl and put it in her own. Hehe, when she went to get Xu Lixia's bowl, she found Zhan Chunhua doing the same thing. The two sisters smiled at each other and quickly ate their meat. They decided to eat first and talk about it later.

Zhan Hongyu... he was just a step too late and got nothing: "Wow~~~" He was even more heartbroken. In the past, he always ate the most, but today, he didn't even get to taste a single piece of meat.

When Zhan Zhiqiang and Xu Lixia turned around, they found that the meat in their bowls had been taken away long ago. They were so angry that their temples throbbed. They were too lazy to even argue, and they lost their appetite. They put down their chopsticks and went back to their room to lie down.

Zhan Hongyu was still crying at the top of his lungs, but this time, no one paid any attention to him.

The three sisters silently finished the meat in their bowls, then each filled their bowls with rice. They glanced at each other, their lips curved into barely concealed smiles—this was the first time in so many years that they had eaten their fill, and such a large bowl of meat at that. They were happier than if it were New Year's Day.