Meng Shuyun's expression was cold and stern. She snatched the old hen back and said in a chilling voice, "Now that you're family, you want to use morality to pressure me? You even want to steal a pregnant woman's food. If you're really that greedy for chicken, why don't you ask Xiang Bei to buy it for you? Or is it that he's unwilling to spend the money?"

“He wouldn’t dare not buy it for me! I have all the money in my hands, and if he wants to buy it, it’s just a matter of me saying the word.”

Meng Shuyun's lips curled into a mocking smile: "Since that's the case, seeing how much you want to eat chicken, I'll sell it to you cheaply, fifty yuan a chicken. The chickens are already killed, so it's a bargain for you."

"You're charging me fifty yuan for a chicken? Isn't that blatant robbery?"

"I'm practically robbing you right now. Are you going to buy it or not? If not, get out of here. Either you can't afford it, or you're just trying to get a bargain!"

Su Xiangbei's face was ashen, and he dragged Jiang Xue back.

"Alright, aren't you ashamed? Go home and eat. What are you standing here for? Making a fool of yourself over a chicken is utterly disgraceful. I give you all the money I earn from my job every day. Can't you buy what you want to eat yourself? It's just a chicken, it's not like we can't afford it."

Jiang Xue's face turned pale and then red, all because she wanted to eat chicken.

They were so big and so fat; these chickens were originally raised for her to eat.

Now that she can't eat them, others are benefiting instead; she herself hasn't even had a few.

"Alright, you know perfectly well that your mother doesn't acknowledge us sons. Come home and eat," Su Xiangbei said impatiently.

Wasting so much time on a chicken, if Mom treated them like she treated the neighbors, making them lose face, how disgusting it would be to make them eat shit.

It would be better to hurry back to eat, appease the second son, and get the compensation money.

Seeing that the water was almost boiled, Su Xiuju heard the noise outside the courtyard and knew that she must have been arguing with her neighbors again.

Upon going outside, he exclaimed in astonishment, "Second Brother!"

Su Xiangnan turned around and saw Su Xiuju. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but it disappeared in an instant.

"Hmm." He responded indifferently, then turned and went into the neighboring yard.

Meng Shuyun threw the chicken into the bucket of water, rolled it around a few times, and tested it. The feathers came off easily, so she picked up the chicken and started plucking the feathers, asking as she did so, "Why did you come out? Is the water boiling?"

“Mother… my second brother…” Su Xiuju clutched the hem of her clothes, unsure how to begin.

"His leg is broken, didn't you see? He came back in a wheelchair."

"How's your second brother's leg? Has he seen a doctor? Will he be able to stand up again?"

Meng Shuyun said frankly, "I don't know."

“Mother, how could you not know! Second brother, he, he…” Su Xiuju’s eyes welled up with tears as she looked helplessly at Meng Shuyun.

Su Xiangnan's leg is not incurable.

I went to the hospital for a checkup in my past life, and they said that as long as my leg is reattached and I persist with rehabilitation training, there is hope for recovery.

But after Gu Xue was lost, his personality changed drastically, and he refused to go back after only half a month of rehabilitation training.

"Mother, may I go see my second brother?" Su Xiuju asked cautiously.

"Go if you want. If someone insults you, insult them back. If you can't win an argument, fight them. If that still doesn't work, just shout and I'll be there right away."

She could ignore those unfilial sons, but she couldn't stop her daughter from getting close to the people she wanted to be close to.

They are all independent individuals with their own thoughts, and she respects their ideas.

If those blind ingrates dare to bully her daughter, she will repay them a hundredfold.

Meng Shuyun took a deep breath and went back to the kitchen to stew the chicken.

After stewing the chicken, she carried a bucket of hot water into Xiulan's room and said softly, "It's hot today, you must be feeling unwell. The water temperature is just right, wipe yourself down. If you want to wash your hair, tell your mother, and I'll light a charcoal fire in the room so you won't catch a cold."

Su Xiulan got out of bed and asked curiously, "Where's Xiuju? I haven't heard her speak."

She had been traveling and experiencing emotional ups and downs these past few days, and now that she was home and relaxed, she felt sticky and uncomfortable all over, with strands of her hair sticking to her scalp and her hands covered in oil when she touched them.

"I'm watching the fire in the kitchen. What do you want to eat tonight, rice or porridge?" Meng Shuyun carefully closed the room window and took out a dry towel from the cabinet.

These towels were originally intended for Jiang Xue's unborn child, but fortunately they were washed and put away early on.

All that heartfelt devotion was rewarded with being kicked out and left without even a way to survive. Such an ungrateful wretch doesn't deserve it.

Su Dahai wants to get a marriage certificate with Qin Hongying, right? Let them handle it themselves.

"Xiulan, you wash first. I'll go get a basin of charcoal fire so it can dry your hair faster. Call me if you need anything."

Su Xiulan was moved to tears. "I understand, Mother."

She truly felt her mother's care and thoughtfulness, and secretly vowed to treat her mother even better in the future.

In the living room of the neighboring courtyard, Su Xiangbei's face was so gloomy it seemed like it could drip water. Looking at the dishes on the table, there was stir-fried cabbage, radish, and bok choy, with the only meat dish being pig's head meat.

The vegetables had been cooked for who knows how long; they were yellowish in color and had no oil or sap left, looking more like pig swill.

Jiang Xue is such a brainless person. She doesn't even know how to buy something nice. Instead, she's trying to trick Su Xiangnan out of his pension!

He looks unappetizing; he's really not presentable.

Jiang Xue noticed Su Xiangbei's unpleasant expression and her face darkened as well. What did Su Xiangbei mean by this? Having a meat dish was already a blessing; these days, who could afford meat on a regular basis?

Whether they eat it or not, she's pregnant and still has to cook for them; she should be grateful.

Su Xiangbei quickly tried to make amends, saying, "We were in a rush to pick you up from the train station today, so we didn't prepare anything special. It was just some simple home-cooked food. I'll buy something better for Xiangnan another day."

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