Ma Aning sighed deeply and replied helplessly, "Sigh, it's probably true most of the time."

Upon hearing this, Shen Zishan became as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth restlessly.

He kept muttering to himself, "What are we going to do? This drought is no joke, and it's been going on for three whole years!"

"If we don't prepare in advance, who knows what will happen to the village! We need to find a way to notify the villagers right away!"

Ma Amu stepped forward and blocked Shen Zishan's path. "What are you trying to do?"

“I’ll go and inform the villagers,” Shen Zishan said.

"Will they believe what you say? Even if they do believe you, what will you say when they ask you how you got the information?" Ma Amu's words were always incisive.

Shen Zishan's expression turned visibly heavy. "Then what should we do? Now that we know this news, if we do nothing, I won't be able to get over it in my heart. If someone runs out of food and can't survive, or if something happens, I will feel guilty for the rest of my life."

“Don’t rush things. Let’s think of a foolproof plan before notifying the villagers. My family’s safety is my top priority,” Ma Amu said.

Shen Zishan calmed down as well, "Yes, the safety of my family is the most important thing."

"There are still two or three months left, there's plenty of time, no need to rush."

"But the most crucial issue right now is what kind of attitude you have towards my older sister, and whether my older sister still wants to live with you."

Ma Amu stared intently at Shen Zishan and asked seriously.

From Ma Amu's incredibly earnest gaze, Shen Zishan could clearly read the firmness and determination in his eyes.

He knew very well that if he responded even slightly wrong this time, his wife might really leave him.

“Brother-in-law, your eldest sister is the one who will spend the rest of my life with me. Can you give my mother another chance this time? If she continues to favor one side excessively as before, we will separate and live separately without any lingering ties.”

As Shen Zishan spoke, he looked at Ma Aning with pleading eyes.

In fact, Ma Aning also had deep feelings for Shen Zishan and couldn't bear to see him in such a predicament.

She gently advised, "Amu, why don't we give him another chance? After all, we've been husband and wife, and it hasn't been easy for us to get to where we are today."

Hearing his sister say this, Ma Amu was unwilling, but in the end he couldn't go against her and had no choice but to give in: "Alright, since you've spoken, I'll trust you one more time."

"But let me make this clear first: you must go back home first and get your parents' guarantee. Only then will I feel comfortable letting my older sister go back with you."

"No problem, I'll head home right away. Aning, you must wait for me to come back. I'll get it sorted out as soon as possible."

After finishing his sentence, Shen Zishan looked at Ma Aning with deep affection, then turned and hurriedly headed home.

"Alright, now that the decision has been made, let's not worry about it anymore. Let's think about how to get through the next three years." Ma Quan was still thinking about the drought.

"Honey, how much money do we have left in total?" Ma Quan asked Wenli.

“It adds up to 234 yuan in total,” Wenli gave an exact figure.

"Give me 210 yuan, and keep 24 yuan at home for emergencies," Ma Quan said with a worried look on his face.

“Dad, I have twenty or thirty yuan here, take it with you,” Ma Amu said, taking out all the pocket money he had.

"Keep it for yourself for now. You have over two hundred yuan at home. Use it to buy grain first," Ma Quan said, holding the money in his hand, not knowing what to do.

"Dad, the most urgent thing is for us to build a cellar in the house, preferably under the kitchen, where it will be cool and the things won't spoil easily."

“The drought will start in two or three months. You can tell from the weather. Tomorrow, the three of us will split up to collect grain. We’ll buy as much as we can,” Ma Quan said, dividing the money in his hand into three portions.

"Dad, is there anything I can help you with?"

Ma Aning, with her hands supporting her waist, struggled to straighten her high, protruding belly as she slowly stepped forward and asked.

Hearing this, Ma Quan turned to look at his daughter. When his gaze fell on her round belly, his eyes softened instantly: "My dear daughter, you're almost due, and you're very heavy. You don't need to do any work!"

"Go and rest, don't tire yourself out or the baby in your belly. Dad promises you, no matter what, I will never let my grandson go hungry."

Ma Aning shook her head, her face stubborn, and said, "Dad, no! I'll go back to the Shen family tomorrow. What kind of place is it for me to keep staying at my parents' house?"

"They're eating and drinking for free every day. If anyone should be eating or drinking, it should be theirs. Besides, a drought is on the horizon. If I stay here, we'll have to feed another mouth to feed, and life will be even harder."

Upon hearing this, Ma Quan's face immediately darkened. He frowned and said to Ma Aning in a serious tone, "Girl, what nonsense are you talking about! You don't need to worry about the food at home. As long as your father has something to eat, you and the rest of you will definitely have enough. You stay at home and rest during your pregnancy. You're not allowed to go anywhere!"

Ma Aning had no choice but to listen to her father and go back to her room to rest.

The father and his two sons hurriedly left home, first going to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy grain, but they didn't manage to buy much.

It was already dark when they got home, and the three of them had only managed to buy 50 jin (25 catties) of rice and flour.

"Tomorrow we'll go to a more distant village to collect, and use as much money as we can to buy rice and flour," Ma Quan instructed.

The Ma brothers nodded. "Dad, why don't you stay home and keep busy tomorrow? There's no rush to buy rice; we'll take care of it."

The whole family is working together to try and buy drought-stricken food.

Shen Zishan had already arrived at his doorstep. "Father, Mother, I'm back."

"Where's your wife? Why didn't she come back with you?" He frowned deeply, looking at Shen Zishan's back with a puzzled expression. When he realized that only his son had returned alone, he raised his voice and asked.

Shen Zishan took a deep breath and slowly said, "Father, Mother, when we went to my mother-in-law's house this time, my father-in-law and mother-in-law asked you to give them a guarantee that they would no longer mistreat Aning from now on."

He spoke carefully, trying to make his tone as tactful as possible.

Upon hearing this, Qian Danu flew into a rage, put her hands on her hips, and shouted loudly towards the door, "Who abused her? Huh? How dare you say that I, this old woman, abused her?"

"Which newlywed wife in these surrounding villages doesn't work diligently? Why is she so precious?"

Shen Zishan's face grew increasingly grim, but he still suppressed his anger and patiently explained, "Mother, please don't be angry. I know exactly what kind of person Aning is, and you should understand that too."

"I went through a lot of trouble to marry her. She's the wife I've decided to spend my life with, and now she's carrying our child!"

As he finished speaking, Shen Zishan's voice trembled slightly, and a look of pain appeared on his face.

“I never expected you to be good to her. When my eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law were pregnant, they were treated like precious treasures. You never let them do any work in the fields!”

"They won't even let them wash their own clothes." Shen Zishan said indignantly, his voice rising several decibels involuntarily.

He paused, then continued, "Look at how many eggs you gave women during their postpartum period, and how many chickens you bought, all to help them recover properly."

But what about my wife? Forget about eggs, there wasn't even a glimpse of them. Even the eggs my mother-in-law specially brought for her to nourish her body, you just took them without a word. Is that acceptable?

When he got excited, Shen Zishan slammed his hand on the table, making the teacups on it shake.

"And another thing, as soon as my eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law got pregnant, you immediately raised several chickens, eagerly waiting to slaughter them for them to eat when they were in confinement."

“But now my wife is about to give birth, and we can’t even find a single chicken feather in the house.” Shen Zishan became more and more angry as he spoke, and his eyes even turned red.

Finally, he took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and stared straight at the heavy figure in front of him who was smoking a pipe.

His heavy brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

“Every month, I work hard to earn every penny and hand it all over to you. Mother, tell me, how exactly do you treat my wife? You either let her go hungry all the time or make her do all sorts of hard and dirty work. It’s practically abuse!”

At this moment, Zhong Chen, who had been silent all along, finally put down his pipe, slowly raised his head, looked calmly at Chen Zishan, and said indifferently, "Third brother, just say what you want, don't beat around the bush. What exactly do you want?"