The entire village worked together, toiling for most of the day, and the dike only reached half a person's height.

Digging holes, filling bags, transporting, building walls, and driving in wooden stakes—each of these is physically demanding work.

It's even harder and more tiring than farm work.

Sun Jinhua dragged her tired body home.

Seeing the cold, dark paste filled me with resentment and anger!

My mother-in-law is sheltered from the wind and rain at home, and all she has to do is cook two meals a day, yet she refuses to do it!

Mother Fan glanced sideways at Sun Jinhua. After her voice became hoarse, she rarely spoke, only humming through her nose.

Fan Qian, Fan Dazhu, and the other three returned home exhausted.

Seeing the lump of cold, black paste, the five men frowned in displeasure.

"Mother, we've been working in the rain all day and come back soaking wet. Why isn't there even any hot porridge?" Fan Qian asked discontentedly.

As far back as he can remember, all he ate was black flour paste and black flour buns. He followed his mother around, eating endless black flour paste!

These days, it's bad enough that we're eating dark, greasy porridge, but it's cold too!

Over the years, Fan's mother had been used to a life of luxury. Even though life was tough at home, she hadn't suffered. After her two daughters-in-law married into the family, she didn't have to do laundry or cook. In fact, her daughters-in-law would prepare the water for her to wash her feet before her granddaughter.

Asking her to cook today was a huge disappointment, both physically and mentally.

Her face darkened, she pointed at Sun Jinhua, and winked at her son: "Let her go get hot!"

Normally, Fan Sizhu and his two companions wouldn't offend their grandmother for their mother's sake, but today they had worked all day in the heavy rain and knew how tiring it was.

They didn't even want to move after they came back, let alone their mother.

"Grandma, it's just heating up some food, why don't you heat it up yourself?" Fan Sizhu grumbled unhappily.

Fan Sanzhu thought so too, "We're tired after a long day, and all we want to do when we get back is eat something hot."

Not only was there ginger soup and sweet soup waiting, but there wasn't even a hot porridge?!

Fan Erzhu sneered, thinking that his grandmother really thought she was the Empress Dowager, only thinking about enjoying herself and not taking a look at the current situation!

Fan Dazhu kept his head down and remained silent.

Grandma has always been like this, only caring about herself and not about the lives of others.

However, he didn't need to offend his grandmother for his mother's sake; his three younger brothers could take the lead.

Fan Qian looked at his mother, his drooping eyebrows filled with resentment.

I finally finished my work and got home, and they still won't let me have a moment's peace!

It's so noisy and chaotic, there's never any peace and quiet!

He looked at Sun Jinhua and scolded her in a low voice: "Go! Heat up the porridge and also boil a big pot of ginger soup to dispel the cold."

If our whole family gets sick at this time, we'll suffer terribly.

Mother Fan proudly raised her chin.

Sun Jinhua's eyes widened as she looked at Fan Qian in disbelief.

Normally, it's one thing for him, as the husband, to protect his mother-in-law, since she is his own mother after all. He has to take care of filial piety and also the family property and money.

But today she was doing the same work and being just as tired as them, and the head of the household even wanted her to cook again.

She stubbornly insisted, "I'm not going!"

If Mother doesn't cook, everyone will go hungry!

Why is it that her brother-in-law can protect Hu Shuiqing, even if it means separating the family property, rather than taking sides with his mother-in-law, while her husband can't do the same?

Why is it that her brother-in-law and Hu Shuiqing don't have to dig holes and carry mud, while her whole family, including her, has to do it!

Why should Hu Shuiqing not have to live with her mother-in-law and enjoy a happy life in her own little family, while she has to live under the same roof with her mother-in-law every day?

Sun Jinhua's eyes flashed with malice as she looked at her mother-in-law.

She really wanted to kick this old geezer out...

Feeling uneasy under her gaze, Fan's mother quickly moved closer to her eldest son and began to wail and complain in a hoarse voice.