Wang Lan immediately burst into tears, feeling extremely aggrieved. "How could I get sick just from feeding Xiao Si? I'm old and useless, and people dislike me. Xiao Si only has teeth now, and if I don't chew his food, he'll starve to death! You, you can't be so heartless! Our Lu family can't let a child starve to death."

There are cases of young girls starving or being tortured to death in the village. If there are too many boys and they can't afford to raise them, they will be sold. But the Lu family cannot have children bought and sold. Even though they have been suffering and not having enough to eat for the past two years, they have never had such thoughts.

Qin Xiaozhou felt a toothache, and even the pulp of his teeth was sore. "Kids are prone to getting sick if they eat like this. Besides, if Xiao Si starves, he can eat whatever he can. He'll be fed a lot in the future. Isn't this big bowl of fish enough? We'll just throw it away after this meal."

"How can we throw away such delicious fish?" Wang Lan disagreed. "Let's save it and eat it tomorrow morning..."

"No way!" Qin Xiaozhou was adamant. One fish is just right for so many people, why skimp on it! "Eat it all tonight, no leftovers."

Lu Yunfeng's expression was not good. He kept a close eye on her movements, afraid that Qin Xiaozhou would suddenly attack, after all, her reputation as a shrew was too well-known. "Watch your tone, especially when you're talking to an elder..."

Qin Xiaozhou retorted, "What kind of tone is that? That's how I talk. Only those with a strong and assertive voice can become wealthy. Being weak and pathetic will only trap you! Will others sympathize with you? They'll just laugh at your poverty! If you have bad habits, you have to change them. It's not that whoever is older is right."

There was a moment of silence at the dinner table, followed by soft sobs. Lu Yu lowered her head and wiped away her tears, and then Lu Xiao Si couldn't hold back anymore and hid in Zhao Fen's arms to cry.

Qin Xiaozhou not only had a toothache but also started having headaches. However, many things should be left unsaid; going too far would only lead to more harm than good.

Someone passed by outside the fence, and soon gossip spread throughout the village that the Lu family's new daughter-in-law was not letting the elderly and children eat. "Aunt Wang is so old, it's not easy for her either."

"The youngest child in the Lu family is only ten months old. He's probably going to starve to death!"

“The Lu family’s daughter-in-law speaks very loudly; I can hear her even in my house. She also throws bowls and chopsticks.”

Some busybodies even went to the village chief's house to add fuel to the fire, saying, "Village chief, you should go to the Lu family's house quickly! A fight has broken out, and Aunt Wang and the children are crying. I'm afraid someone might die."

Village chief Wang Xingde took a couple of puffs of his cigarette and followed the others to the Lu family's house. As they walked through the village, most of the people were watching the commotion. It wasn't spring yet, and there was no work to be done in the fields. Only a few people would go to the foot of the mountain to cut some firewood. It wasn't completely dark yet, so it was the perfect time to gather together and chat.

"Village chief, are you going to the Lu family?"

Wang Xingde walked under the walnut tree in the village with his hands behind his back. If a villager was bullied to death by an outsider's wife, how could he maintain his prestige in the hearts of the villagers?

The smell of fish could be smelled from afar, and someone chuckled, "No wonder the young and old members of the Lu family don't get to eat it, it smells so good."

Wang Dali took a few deep breaths and said, "Look at you, drooling already. But the Lu family's fish doesn't taste fishy at all. I wonder how they do it."

“The Lu family are hunters, they know best how to process this meat.” Li Xiumei couldn’t help but swallow. Her family had a fishpond, so they never lacked fish, but no one in her family could cook it so deliciously. She wanted to ask how they made it, but today wasn’t the right day, so she could only remember to ask in a few days.

Arriving outside the Lu family's fence, all that could be heard inside were the sounds of pots and pans being washed. Qin Xiaozhou was cleaning the stove after finishing her meal, Lu Yu was blushing and washing the dishes, and Lu Yan was looking around, not daring to speak. However, she felt full and warm all over tonight, as she hadn't had a proper meal in several days.

Wang Lan's stomach was also full, so her feelings of grievance and discomfort lessened considerably. Mainly, she realized that Qin Xiaozhou was a hardworking and capable person. As long as she could work and prevent the children from starving, it didn't matter if she suffered a little grievance. Qin Xiaozhou was old and lame, and it was no longer her place to make the decisions in this family.

Looking up, he saw the crowd outside the fence and was startled. "Village chief, what brings you here? Come in and sit down."

Wang Xingde entered the courtyard. The Lu family members all had greasy mouths. Xiao Si was teething and spitting saliva as he babbled. His eyes were bright, and he didn't look like he was being mistreated or starved. He changed the subject, saying, "I came to ask about that wasteland behind the house a few days ago. There's been some progress. It can be sold for ten taels of silver."

The Lu family is plagued by old, weak, sick, and disabled members, and the cost of medicine is a hole that needs to be filled. The wasteland is at least thirty acres. Lu An bought it five years ago for twenty-five taels of silver. Now, after planting some fruit trees, only one person is willing to pay fifteen taels of silver. This loss can only be borne by the Lu family themselves.

Lu Yunfeng thought for a moment, "Uncle Village Chief, could you please ask if we could have a little more?"

Fifteen taels of silver is really too little. They've planted fruit trees on that wasteland, and as long as the weather is good this year, they'll have a good harvest.

The village chief was in a dilemma: "Life is tough these days. There are only a few fruit trees on that wasteland, but we can't grow crops there, so nobody is willing to spend a lot of money."

Back then, the Lu family was wealthy. They owned a large house, land, and even sold a barren mountain and a bamboo gully. But now, they're becoming the poorest family in the village. First, Lu Ji and his son Lu An were attacked by wolves in Xishan. Lu Ji's body was shattered into pieces, and Lu An survived. After three months of treatment in the county town, he spent several hundred taels of silver but still died. They lost both their money and their lives. Now, Zhao Fen and her son need medicine, and the family is broke. When will this end?

They were from the same village after all, and the village chief couldn't help but feel sorry for them. He shook his head and left, saying he would go and ask again.

The people waiting outside to watch the commotion bombarded the village chief with questions. The chief sent everyone back inside. Seeing that Wang Lan looked to be in good spirits in the yard and that Xiao Si had also made an appearance, they realized there was no more excitement to be had and could only go home, disappointed, to find other gossip.

The Lu family seemed shrouded in dark clouds, the atmosphere heavy. Qin Xiaozhou couldn't help but feel sorry for Lu Yunfeng. A twenty-year-old man had to shoulder the responsibility of supporting his entire family. Even a hero can be brought down by a penny. This strong man was about to be crushed by a few taels of silver. Indeed, no matter where you are, making money is the only way to go.

While thinking of ways to make money, he washed his worn-out shoes by the moonlight and put them to dry by the fire pit.

It didn't matter if the vines didn't dry completely; she had gathered several vines from the forest that day and simply wove them into a pair of slippers, tailored to her foot length. The vines were flexible and wouldn't break easily, so she could do whatever she wanted with them, but she couldn't wear them for very long, otherwise the soles of her feet would get blisters.

Lu Yan had told her about this method; she said that last summer her grandmother wove straw sandals for her, which saved her a lot of money from buying new shoes. Sitting by the fire, Qin Xiaozhou gazed at the starry sky outside; the world was vast and silent.

In rural areas, firewood is hard to gather from the mountains, and it takes a lot of effort. Many families are reluctant to boil water for bathing, and they hardly bathe in winter. Qin Xiaozhou couldn't stand it, and she still had a strange smell on her body. Fortunately, firewood was easy to obtain at the Lu family's place, and they didn't mind boiling water. Qin Xiaozhou boiled a large basin of water, mixed it with cold water, and carefully washed herself.

Since the person was too fat to reach her back, Qin Xiaozhou called Lu Yan for help. The little girl was very thin and looked like a sapling in front of a mountain in front of her, which was both funny and comical.