Su Lu sucked on his upper teeth and looked up.

I used to think I was doing pretty well, but compared to Qin Xiaoxiao, I was nothing.

So depressed!

Su Lu glanced at the woman who was eating without a care in the world, snorted coldly, and awkwardly turned her head away.

He's the guy she likes, so why is he always staring at her?

It's been more than ten days since we last saw each other. I wonder if she misses him?

Qin Ergou leaned on Su Lu's shoulder and looked into his bowl. "Brother, are you still eating? There's still plenty left in the pot. I'll go get you a bowl."

Su Lu quickly ate the offal in the bowl and handed it to Qin Ergou, saying, "Hurry up, it'll be gone in a minute."

There are never enough wolves in the village to go around; if you act too late, you'll have nothing left.

Qin Ergou quickly brought back two bowls, and while eating, he said, "Brother, I must say, Brother Qin Ye's skills are really good. If it weren't for him, something terrible would have happened this time."

Su Lu paused, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes, but a smile appeared on his face. "That's right. If it weren't for Brother Qin Ye, this would have been really dangerous. Even if no one died, six or seven people might have been injured."

"That's right, after all, Brother Qin Ye was a soldier, and he's different from us."

But bro, you're pretty good too, and..."

Su Lu suddenly turned around and glared fiercely at Qin Ergou. Qin Ergou seemed to realize something and immediately shut his mouth. "Hehe, I was just joking. I didn't say anything."

Su Lu glared at Qin Ergou and whispered, "Speak less, and don't blurt out everything."

Qin Ergou shuddered and said, "I-I know, bro."

Su Lu stopped looking at him, quickly finished the offal in the bowl, threw the bowl to Qin Ergou, and got up to leave.

Qin Ergou didn't dare follow any further and obediently washed Su Lu's bowl and handed it to Wan Guihua.

Where is my Su Lu?

Qin Ergou chuckled憨厚ly, "My brother left first, he's probably gone home, Auntie, you don't need to worry."

Wan Guihua breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "I understand, you should go back now."

"Okay, Auntie."

Wan Guihua walked back to Grandma Su's side with the bowl in her hand and said with a smile, "Fourth brother has gone back, Mother, you don't need to worry."

Grandma Su nodded and said in a low voice, "I don't know if he was hurt. Go home and check on him later. Don't keep quiet because you're afraid we'll worry, or it will delay things any longer."

"Okay, Mom. I'll go see her when I get home."

The mother and daughter were talking in hushed tones, which drew envy from the aunties and grandmas around them.

"If you ask which family in our village is the most harmonious, it has to be the family of the brigade leader and the secretary. Look at them, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law get along just like mother and daughter."

"That's right, Grandma Qin and Ma Dahua are the same. Look over there, how well Dahua takes care of her mother-in-law. Oh, Dahua is even putting meat on Grandma Qin's plate."

"I wouldn't even share the food with my mother-in-law, she's such a good daughter-in-law."

"Grandma Qin and Grandma Su are so lucky to have such a daughter-in-law. If it were mine, haha."

"Don't say that. People treat each other with kindness. You build relationships by getting to know each other. If you treat your daughter-in-law well, she will treat you well in return."

"Come on, I'm good to her? Ha! I haven't forgotten how she gave me the cold shoulder when I was sick two years ago. If I hadn't been able to talk to my old man, I don't know how much torment I would have suffered in secret."

"That's your fault too. If you had taken good care of her during her postpartum period, she wouldn't have treated you like that."

"Serve her during her postpartum period? She gave birth to a worthless child, and I'd serve her during her postpartum period? Dream on."

"Then you can't blame her."

"That's right, Auntie, you really can't blame them. They say that resentment arises during the postpartum period. It's the easiest time to touch someone's heart during this time, but it's also the easiest time to form a grudge."

"So what if I have a daughter? Aren't we all women? In what way are we women any less capable than men? We earn just as many work points every day, and we also have to take care of housework."

"You can't say that... Hey? Xiaoxiao, when did you get here?"

When the aunt turned around, she saw Qin Xiaoxiao holding melon seeds, squatting down next to everyone with a smile. She didn't seem out of place at all; it was as harmonious as if she was meant to be there.

Qin Xiaoxiao laughed so hard her eyes disappeared. "I was already here. I was here when you were praising my grandma and my aunt."

The group looked slightly embarrassed upon hearing this, but then relaxed when they realized that the women hadn't said anything bad about the Qin family.

"Little Xiao, have you finished eating? Why haven't you gone home yet?"

Qin Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "I came over as soon as I heard you praising my grandma. I'll tell her about it later and make her happy."

At this point, no one knew what to say. Should they be happy to praise the brigade leader's family and let them know, or should they blush and disperse?

Qin Xiaoxiao seemed oblivious to everyone's expressions and continued to persuade, "Women have it tough. Think about it, at home you have to listen to your parents, and you have to do all the housework, right? You have to cook, right? You have to feed the chickens and pigs, right?"

Oh, right, not every family is allowed to raise pigs, but there must be a lot of housework to do. The yard has to be swept, clothes have to be washed, and you also have to help take care of your younger siblings.

Even so, she always ends up eating the least at mealtimes, because she's a girl.

They're a bit older and should be in school. If the family is poor, forget about it. If the elders in the family are farsighted, they can go to school, but how many parents will let their children continue their education after they enter junior high school?

If she has many children in her family, her younger brother is also going to junior high school, and her family is not well-off, she will definitely be the one to drop out of school in the end.

Then it's time to get married. Who you marry is up to your family; whether you like him or not is completely unimportant.

Then comes the endless work and housework, followed by the perilous journey of childbirth. If it's a boy, that's fine; at least you'll get attention from your in-laws. But if it's a girl... well...

Aunts and grandmas, we are all women. Think about it yourselves. You work in the fields every day to earn work points. When have you ever earned less than men?

Even if they lose one or two work points, wouldn't that be enough to feed themselves? Do they really need the men to support them?

When we get home, we still have to do housework, but what about the men? They don't have to cook, sweep the yard, or wash clothes. They just lie on the kang (heated brick bed) like old men, mouths agape, waiting for their meals.

What's the point of having a man like that? You'd be better off living alone.

I'm not advocating that men are unimportant; men have an indispensable place, that's a fact.

However, women already have it hard enough. We are all women, so why should women make things difficult for each other?

Whether you're a daughter-in-law or a mother-in-law, who didn't go through childhood? And how many of them are truly favored by their families?

That auntie is right. You reap what you sow. If you treat her well, she will naturally feel embarrassed to treat you badly.

Whether you're happy or angry, a day is still a day. Life is hard enough already, why not make yourself happy!

After Qin Xiao finished speaking, she came to her senses and looked around. Good heavens, everyone was looking at her with strange and complicated eyes. She was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat and almost fell to the ground.