Zhou Jinfeng stood behind her and cursed, "You silly woman, you say all sorts of things."

This is something you can discuss. Alright, if there's nothing else, hurry up and tidy up the house. Since we can't go into the mountains, I'll go check the other side of the river.

The aroma of fish wafted from every household; with so many people in their family, they couldn't just stand by and watch.

The cold wind was stronger on the other side of the river, but he had no choice now.

Bai Zhaodi didn't care whether Zhou Jinfeng greeted her or not. He was a clueless person who had no respect for his elders. It would be beneath her to argue with him.

"So you didn't catch anything either!" Bai Zhaodi felt a little better, but she was still disappointed. It seemed she wouldn't get anything out of it today.

"By the way, your Xiaolan has been staying at my place these past few days, and my wife is almost bursting with exhaustion. Could you please tidy up your place and not let her come over tonight?"

Bai Ailian's face changed when she heard this, but when she saw Bai Shuangmei following behind her, she swallowed the words she was about to say.

"Aunt, you see, my house is really too small right now. How about Xiaolan sleeps on the floor at your place?"

"Are you crazy?" Bai Zhaodi's expression changed. She was selfish, but not to this extent. "In this weather, you're making her sleep on the floor. If she gets frostbite or freezes to death, you'll come after me."

Since we're going to be sleeping on the floor anyway, why bother coming all the way to my house?

"The aisle next to you two is enough. Fine, if you're willing to abuse your daughter like this, then what am I, a distant relative, doing here?"

Bai Ailian said with a bitter face, "I had no choice. By the way, Shuangmei has been here for so many days. Is she planning to spend the New Year with you?"

Bai Shuangmei: "...I will listen to my great-aunt."

Bai Zhaodi understood that Bai Ailian was indirectly asking Bai Shuangmei about Zhou Xiaolan's intentions. Although Zhou Xiaolan had told her that she only liked the second son of the Hua family, she was fully aware of the Zhou family's plans.

"I'm an old woman, and I'm afraid of being alone. Let her stay here with me a little longer." Seeing that she couldn't gain anything this time, Bai Zhaodi had no intention of staying here any longer. She would visit other people's houses and maybe gain something. "Tell Xiaolan not to go over there tonight. It's too crowded at my place."

If all else fails, let her squeeze in with you; after all, she's your own daughter.

Bai Ailian said, "It's not very convenient with the child's father around..."

Bai Zhaodi looked at her with disdain, "We're an old married couple, why can't you leave each other?"

If you ask me, I'd say you should let your man sleep with Xiaojun. There's plenty of room for Xiaolan in your room, isn't there? Why do you insist on squeezing in with this old woman like me for so many days, without even helping to gather a single piece of firewood? You only do this because you think I'm easy to talk to."

In her eyes, Bai Ailian couldn't live without a man for even a day, yet she still had the nerve to take advantage of her here.

Bai Ailian said, "...Things have been really tough for the family lately. I'll gather a bundle of firewood and bring it to you after spring..."

"Heh, then I'll be waiting." Bai Zhaodi said, turning and leaving. She remembered someone saying they'd picked up several hundred pounds for her...

Once everyone was out of sight, Zhou Xiaolan came out of her room. "Mom, where am I going to sleep tonight?"

"How am I supposed to know where you sleep? It's no use at all. You always found a place to sleep before, didn't you? This year, I'll have to come up with a solution for you again."

If all else fails, go ask the Li family and see if you can squeeze in with their two daughters.

“Their bed is even smaller than mine,” Zhou Xiaolan said in a muffled voice, “How about Dad and my younger brother go to bed tonight…”

"..."

Hua Xiangyun didn't go out today. She stayed home, turning over fish, and every few days she would run to the door to watch the argument outside.

“Look, with so many people smoking fish together, this is where the conflict arises,” Tian Guihua said, holding up the freshly fried small fish. “Try it, it seems like there’s not enough salt.”

Hua Xiangyun immediately started cooking, saying, "It's crispy and delicious. Your cooking skills are getting better and better."

"Eat more if you like it. There's plenty of fish this year, but it takes a lot of oil."

Tian Guihua felt a pang of regret thinking about how much oil had been used up; the fish was good, but it wasted a lot of oil.

Hua Xiangyun, however, was thinking about where to get some oil, otherwise the family would probably have nothing to eat after the New Year.

Their family was doing well, so naturally they didn't bother to find out where the black market was. Everyone knew about its existence, and they all kept quiet about it.

I did manage to find out some information when I went to the city last time, so I guess I'll have to find an opportunity to go there again.

The argument outside continued, the main topic being whose fish were fewer or smaller.

“These fish all look pretty much the same, they’ll shrink if you smoke them over a fire.” Hua Xiangyun was speechless at the insults exchanged between these people. “I don’t believe that the aunties and other women don’t have any common sense about these things.”

Tian Guihua said, "Heh, look over there, those families aren't arguing because they've all marked their fish."

Whether these businesses forgot or did it on purpose, these smoked fish will cause a lot of trouble later.

Hua Xiangyun is now somewhat envious of the detached house next door, at least it's much quieter.

"Grandma, do you think they might start fighting?" Hua Xiangyun saw several elderly women getting very agitated, almost pressing their faces against each other.

“No,” Tian Guihua said confidently. “You’ll see, the families will make up again soon. These people are just too idle. They’ll settle down after the New Year and when they go back to work.”

Hua Xiangyun, "..."

I thought this topic would linger for a few days, but unexpectedly, something else happened that night.

Just as everyone was falling asleep, a grand opera began to unfold outside.

He didn't want to pay any attention, but unexpectedly the other party kept banging on his gate.

"Why are you making such a racket so late at night?" Tian Guihua shouted from the yard, wearing a coat.

"Grandma Hua, please open the door and let me in for one night, or I'll freeze to death!" Zhou Xiaolan's pitiful voice rang out from outside the door.

"Do you really think our family is easy to bully?" Tian Guihua's face darkened. "All these years, your parents haven't let you freeze to death, but today you come to my doorstep saying you're going to freeze to death."

Even if you freeze to death, what does that have to do with our family? Don't try to blame it on me.

Thinking back to the time she took in this ungrateful wretch, Tian Guihua felt endless regret. After witnessing several farces this year, she thought she would never have anything to do with her family again, but she never expected that this ungrateful wretch would still have the nerve to come knocking on her door.

Zhou Xiaolan wrapped her clothes tighter. Today, Zhou Xiaojun didn't want to sleep with Zhou Jinfa, and under Zhou Jinfa's urging, she had no choice but to get off the warm kang (heated brick bed).

Unexpectedly, none of her family paid any attention to her, leaving her to sit at the dinner table and fend for herself.

She had already approached several families, but none of them were willing to take her in. Their reasons were all the same: they weren't well-off and there simply wasn't enough room for her.

She walked around the yard for a while, and finally, she gritted her teeth and went to the Hua family's house.

She knew the Hua family wouldn't give her a friendly look, but there was nothing she could do about it.