The next morning, Gao Shuzhen heard from others that Yun Qi had also come and was staying at her brother's house.

She did want to go and cause trouble, but remembering the loss she suffered at Yunqi's hands last time, she could only hold back.

In her view, as long as Si Cheng was persuaded, Yun Qi wouldn't be able to cause any trouble.

She didn't want the couple to have it so easy, so early in the morning she sent Gao Dongxing to the village entrance to keep watch. As soon as he saw Si Cheng, he was to tell him that he wanted to see him.

Gao Dongxing refused outright, saying, "Forget it, their heart is made of iron. No matter how many methods you try, it's all in vain."

“We have to give it a try. You, as the younger brother, are of marriageable age. Although we don’t have the same father, I’m still here. He should at least show some appreciation.” Gao Shuzhen was almost driven to the brink of collapse by this life. She was eating wild vegetables every day to fill her stomach, and she was always thinking of ways to get some more food. She didn’t even mind using the potatoes and sweet potatoes from before.

Gao Dongxing curled his lip, "You're kidding me! They don't care about blood ties. Anyway, I'm not going to go looking for trouble."

After Gao Dongxing finished speaking, he picked up his hoe and prepared to go to the field. Instead of wasting time getting angry, he would rather weed the crops in the field. At least the land would give him some harvest.

Seeing that he was about to leave, Gao Shuzhen went up to him and grabbed the handle of his hoe, saying, "Who am I doing all this for?"

Gao Dongxing snatched the hoe from him. "Don't always say you're doing this for my own good. You always use the guise of doing this for my own good, but every time you're the one who benefits. Now many people in the village are laughing at me. Anyway, I can't escape the fate of being a farmer, so I might as well rely on myself."

After being tempered by reality for some time, Gao Dongxing has gradually accepted it. Now he just wants to take good care of the crops in the fields and restore his image in the eyes of the villagers.

He'd had enough of the strange looks he was getting and didn't want to create any more buzz for everyone.

Seeing her youngest son leave without paying any attention to her, Gao Shuzhen stood there stamping her feet.

After a night of contemplation, Gotsian finally couldn't help but speak.

While Hu Lingling went to the backyard to feed the poultry, he walked up to Yun Qi and said, "Xiao Qi, now that you're in the village, go and see your mother-in-law. After all, she's your elder."

Yun Qi looked up at him quietly, and Gao Zian felt a little guilty because of his clear black and white eyes.

His voice softened involuntarily, "The matter is in the past. Si Cheng and his mother are still bound by blood ties. As the younger generation, you should take a step back first, and the relationship between everyone will gradually ease."

Yunqi was filled with regret at this moment. Why didn't he follow his aunt to the back? Sometimes he felt that whenever it came to his mother-in-law, Gao Shuzhen, his uncle seemed to be a completely different person.

“Uncle, Cheng-ge and I wrote everything down in black and white last time we came here. We will follow the regulations in the future. As for your suggestion to ease tensions, that’s impossible,” Yun Qi patiently replied to Gao Zian.

“It’s just that the conditions are too difficult right now. If you are able, please help them out. Their lives are really tough right now. They’re eating wild vegetables every day to fill their stomachs, and both of them are skin and bones from hunger.”

Gotsyan felt heartbroken seeing his sister so pale and thin. He wanted to send some of the family's food to her, but his wife kept a close watch on her, so he couldn't help his sister at all.

Yunqi glanced at his uncle. Since being bitten by the leopard, he hadn't been allowed to do any heavy work at home. After such a long period of recuperation at home, his uncle had become a bit more plump than before.

Yunqi raised his hands, which were covered with thick calluses. "Look at my hands. Everything we have now is the result of our hard work. You only see that we are living a better life, but don't forget that all of this is the result of our family's hard work, not something we obtained by taking from others."

Yunqi didn't want to leave him with any more illusions. "Cheng-ge and I will definitely fulfill the agreement we signed before. This is already our way of repaying her for giving birth to us. As for anything else, that's all."

After saying this, Yunqi wanted to go find his aunt, but as soon as he turned around, he saw Hu Lingling standing on the eaves.

Gotzen also noticed his wife standing there, but he didn't know how much she had heard, so he turned his head away guiltily.

Hu Lingling threw the bamboo basket in her hand at Gao Zian, who was caught off guard and hit squarely.

Hu Lingling angrily pointed at him, "You're the only good person, everyone else has ulterior motives. Xiao Liang and I work ourselves to the bone at home, and all you think about is giving away our things. You've even gone after Xiao Qi now, but why should you do that?"

Hu Lingling, who had been holding in her anger for so long, seemed to have found an outlet. "Your sister is starving there. Is this our fault? People with even greater burdens than them are not living as miserably as they are. This is entirely their own responsibility. Who can support them for the rest of their lives?"

"Since you seem so concerned about them, but I didn't see you thinking about them when we were eating meat, don't always think about being generous with other people's money." He became a bit reckless towards the end.

Seeing that his aunt's words were becoming increasingly absurd, Yunqi quickly pulled her to the back.

But Hu Lingling seemed to have found an outlet, and began to tell Yun Su about the frustrations she had been feeling these past few days.

“They are both selfish, just not before. Your uncle always complains about how hard his sister suffers, but when it comes to meals, he never eats less or thinks about leaving some for her. He thinks about giving away the family’s food because he knows that Liang and I will not go hungry.”

Yunqi suddenly felt some sympathy for her aunt. She knew all too well how much harm such selfish people who wanted to portray themselves as kind could cause.

“If he could save his own food rations to support his sister, I would respect him as a man. But he always tells us how hard his sister’s life is only after he has finished eating. If he really cared, he could save his own food rations. What’s the point of always complaining to us? Does he expect me and Gao Liang to be harsh on ourselves to accommodate them? I’m not that noble.”

Hu Lingling felt increasingly aggrieved, and since her niece happened to be visiting, she began to pour out her grievances.

Yunqi was speechless after hearing this, and he could understand his aunt's feelings. Living with such a person and dealing with them like this for a long time would be really disgusting.

All I could do was listen silently to her story and quietly stay by her side.