As they left the grain shop, Lu Yunfeng's brows furrowed even more. "Where did you get the money?"

"Of course I earned it." Qin Xiaozhou briefly explained about the vegetable-selling recipe, and continued to boast without any shame, "I figured these out on my own before."

The Qin family are butchers, so it's not surprising that they know some ways to cook pork dishes. However, Lu Yunfeng didn't expect that Qin Xiaozhou was actually going to sell recipes. He had just thought she was trying to trick him into leaving, that she liked to eat alone. After thinking for a moment, he asked again, "Then why didn't you sell them before?"

Nonsense, of course it's because of her that I transmigrated here, but Qin Xiaozhou said without batting an eye, "Qin Fu isn't good to me, why should I make money for him?"

Qin Fu is Qin Xiaozhou's biological father, but now that she has a stepmother, she is also a stepfather. After she got married, she was like water spilled from a cup. Her better clothes were taken by her stepmother and altered into her own clothes. She didn't receive a single penny of dowry.

Therefore, Qin Xiaozhou pretended not to know about the three-day homecoming custom.

Qin Xiaozhou's stomach was growling with hunger. It was already lunchtime, so she went to a steamed bun stall and ordered five meat buns. She took two for herself and handed the remaining three to Lu Yunfeng.

Meat buns cost two coins each, while vegetarian buns and steamed buns cost one coin each.

Lu Yunfeng took it and asked the stall owner for four more meat buns.

Qin Xiaozhou was stunned. This person has such a huge appetite? "You eat this much in one meal?"

"A half-grown boy is going to eat his father out of house and home! Is this twenty-year-old husband going to eat her out of house and home? Seven meat buns in one meal. She started to wonder if she had bought too little rice and flour. At this rate, the grain she had just bought wouldn't be enough to feed the Lu family for ten days."

Lu Yunfeng collected the food and stuffed it into his basket, saying, "I'll take it home for them to eat."

Well, Qin Xiaozhou was speechless. This made her seem so selfish. She could only ask the shopkeeper for three more and stuff them into Lu Yunfeng's hands. "Eat up, or you'll have to spend money to treat your illness later. It's such a hassle!"

The two went to the butcher shop and bought ten catties of fatty meat, five catties of lean meat, and ten catties of pork fat. Seeing that she wanted a lot, the shopkeeper gave her two big pork bones as a gift. There wasn't much meat on them, but they could be used to make soup. The old and young people in the family were all malnourished and were skin and bones.

Under the blazing sun, the two walked home. Qin Xiaozhou was so tired that she was panting and sweating profusely. Before they even reached the village, Wang Guizhi was already spreading the word: "I just came back from the county town. The Lu family's new bride went to Fulai Restaurant to enjoy herself. She went in alone, and the Lu family's eldest son was waiting for her outside. He wouldn't even let her in the restaurant."

Wang Guizhi is the envy of many in the village. At only 42 years old, she often goes to the county town to enjoy life with her eldest son. She only returns to the village once every ten days or half a month to check on the vegetable garden and fields. After working for three to five days, she takes the vegetables she grows back to the county town.

Wang Guizhi's sister-in-law exclaimed in surprise, "Really? That new bride is rich?"

Wang Guizhi added fuel to the fire, "The young couple went to sell bamboo shoots and baskets early this morning. I bet the new bride ate it all in one meal. The food in that restaurant is expensive. My eldest son took me there once two years ago, and oh my, a plate of mutton cost 108 coins!"

"One plate costs 108 coins?!" the villagers exclaimed. "That's really expensive! If you bought a piece of cloth, it would be enough to make a whole outfit."

"That new bride is all she can do is cause trouble. Yesterday morning she tore down the Lu family's door, last night she didn't feed the Lu family members and even beat and scolded them. Look at her, she's off squandering money again today!"

"This fat woman... It's a sin for the Lu family to marry such a shrew."

"Poor thing."

Wang Guizhi was in the county town with her grandson. Her daughter-in-law was a difficult person, and they couldn't get along. With no one to gossip with, she always rushed around the village, eager to show off. Soon she arrived at the Lu family's house, pulling Wang Lan aside and nagging, "Aunt Wang, Sister Zhao, oh dear, don't bother! Your new daughter-in-law has squandered all of your son's hard-earned money..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Lan's eyes went black. The money from selling the baskets was meant to buy medicine for Xiao Si and Zhao Fen. Without the money, both mother and child would die from illness! Zhao Fen also felt like the sky had fallen. Her husband and father-in-law had passed away when she was pregnant, and her health was already compromised during her pregnancy with Xiao Si. Xiao Si was born sickly, and she couldn't sleep every night because of guilt and heartache. She never expected that a daughter-in-law would come in and refuse to treat Xiao Si. This was tantamount to taking Xiao Si's life.

Lu Yunfeng was tall and strong, with great stamina and long strides. He carried dozens of kilograms of weight and walked with incredible speed. Qin Xiaozhou had a hard time keeping up with him. When they finally arrived in the village, they were pointed at and gossiped about.

It's three o'clock in the afternoon. Since it's not yet the beginning of spring, there's no work to be done in the fields. The elderly, women, and children are all washing clothes in the river in the middle of the village, gossiping along the way, making it quite lively.

She overheard a few snippets of gossip, including one mentioning her name. Qin Xiaozhou listened carefully, then felt inexplicably indignant. When had she ever scolded or beat the Lu family? When had she ever been eating alone? When had she ever been living the high life in the county town? When had she ever tried to wear down Lu Xiaosi?

Fuck your mother!

Who spread this rumor?

However, she was dying of thirst and didn't want to argue with these people. She quickly caught up with Lu Yunfeng, wanting only to go home and rest.

Li Fengxian blocked the bridge under the willow tree and eagerly ran over to peek into Lu Yunfeng's basket. "Dayun, what good things did you buy? To show your respect to your great-uncle."

On top of the basket was the mixed flour that Lu Yunfeng had bought first. Many people in the village ate mixed flour, so it wasn't particularly eye-catching. However, Li Fengxian wanted anything that the Lu family had, and she reached out to take it.

"What are you doing!" Qin Xiaozhou chased after him, deliberately shouting loudly, her face fierce and menacing. "You dare to touch me!"

Everyone by the river got excited and started fighting!

Li Fengxian lost face, her face flushed red, and she spat out, "It's just some mixed flour, I don't care for it!" With that, she ran away!

Back home, Lu Yu sat at the kitchen doorway mending clothes. She was the one mending all the clothes for the Lu family now. Lu Yan and Lu Yunxing were not home. The sound of Xiao Si crying could be heard from inside. Zhao Fen held and comforted her, her voice choked with sobs, probably about to cry again.

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