Cheng wandered around outside until dark before returning home, looking as if she knew something important.

As soon as she stepped into the house, Madam Cheng shouted, "Mother, Mother!"

Old Mrs. Zhao looked displeased. "What are you yelling about? I'm not dead yet, why are you wailing like a mourner!"

Upon hearing this, the children and Tao rushed over. They were all curious about what Zhao Xiaocao had said yesterday and couldn't wait to know if it was true.

As soon as Cheng entered the room, he poured himself a large gulp of water and gulped it down.

Everyone in the room stared at Cheng, waiting for her to speak.

“I went to inquire, and the He family’s house is just a bit dilapidated, but their food and daily necessities are better than ordinary people!” Cheng said, clicking her tongue. “The house is warm and cozy with coal burning inside, and there are even preserved fish hanging on the walls. The rice bags are always full of grain!”

"What?! Are you telling the truth?" Old Mrs. Zhao was very shocked.

"How could it be fake?" Cheng said with absolute certainty. "Not only that, I checked several houses in the village, and now all the good embroiderers in the village are doing cross-stitch. He's family has some too! The village head's daughter-in-law said she charges twenty coins for each one!"

She spent a long time observing Zhao's daughter-in-law today and felt that the job wasn't difficult, and she could do it too!

Thinking this way, Cheng felt that if she could also get this job, she could sit at home every day and embroider things to make money.

The old woman would not only not make her do any work, but would definitely treat her like an ancestor.

After all, twenty coins is no small sum!

Zhao Xiangnan toiled like a dog in the mines, working like a beast of burden, earning only thirty copper coins a month. She, on the other hand, could easily embroider seven or eight pieces a month by sitting at home!

“The second son’s wife must have found a job to live a good life, otherwise, where would a widow like her get the money?” Zhao Xiangnan said, expressing his opinion.

The whole family agreed after hearing this. It was all their fault for not being close to the villagers; they had never heard of such a good opportunity to make money.

"Have you found out where that cross-stitch you mentioned came from? Who did you sell it to?" Old Mrs. Zhao asked.

"This..." Madam Cheng was speechless for a moment. "That Zhao family's daughter-in-law is very tight-lipped. I talked to her for a long time, but she wouldn't say anything."

Cheng Shi got very angry when she talked about this. Zhao's daughter-in-law, Cheng Ying, was from the same village as her, Cheng Family Village.

Back then, she was the first to marry into Changfeng Village. Two years later, when Zhao Tingzhang's son reached marriageable age, it was she who acted as matchmaker.

This brat is still playing the "turn your back on me" game with her, what bad luck!

Old Mrs. Zhao glanced at her youngest daughter-in-law. This Cheng Shi was alright for minor squabbles, but she was useless when it really mattered.

“By the way, Mother, why don’t you go and ask Liu, the wife of Zhao Tingzhang, for information?” Cheng Shi decided to approach her mother-in-law.

She was determined to get such a great job so she could hold her head high at home!

Old Mrs. Zhao ignored Cheng, but she was already making plans in her mind. She would go to the village head's house tomorrow to see what was going on.

By evening, the snow in Changfeng Village had gradually lessened.

The whole village was quiet; you couldn't even hear a dog barking. But these days, people had nothing to eat, and apart from the Zhang hunter's family who had a few dogs, no one else in the village could afford to keep them.

He Tiantian returned from work at the mine, holding a tattered oil-paper umbrella. These days, she had been working much longer hours than before. Director Song said that her wages for this month would be one tael of silver. He Tiantian's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she felt energetic no matter what she did.

Money doesn't really matter; the main thing is that she likes to work overtime.

When she arrived home, Sister-in-law Yulan told her everything about Cheng's visit that day.

"Maruko's mother, I think this Cheng woman is definitely up to no good. You'd better be careful lately."

Zhao Denglong and Zhao Wanzi also ran over and took He Tiantian's hands, their eyes filled with worry as they looked at their mother.

These two children were probably bullied and traumatized when they lived in the Zhao family's old house. That's why they feel uneasy and afraid every time they see members of the Zhao family.

He Tiantian patted the two children's heads and comforted them, "Don't worry, Mommy's here for you no matter what."

Sister-in-law Yulan had already cooked dinner. After dinner, the four children gathered together to play with the little rabbit.

After several months of careful nurturing, the four little rabbits have grown quite a bit. They are covered in snow-white fur and have small, agate-red eyes.

He Tiantian glanced at the children in the corner, and felt genuinely worried.

Cheng is a difficult person to deal with, and she has malicious intentions. This trip was probably not her idea alone; that old woman Zhao is likely the mastermind.

When she was kicked out of the house by that old woman, she didn't get a single penny of the family property.

But the money that the original owner's husband, Zhao Xiangyang, had earned while working outside, as well as the money he had earned working in the mine, was all in that old woman's hands.

Hmph, she hadn't even gone to the Zhao family to settle these matters, and these people were already setting their sights on her.

One must be wary of petty people. With that in mind, He Tiantian asked, "Sister-in-law Yulan, do you know anyone in the village who has a dog? I'd like to get one."

Sister-in-law Yulan was a little surprised. "What's wrong? Why are you raising that thing? It needs to eat grain."

“We can’t eat much food, and keeping a dog can help guard the house. It’s not very safe for us to live in this dilapidated temple. If we sleep soundly at night, we might not notice any disturbances in time.” He Tiantian thought back to when they first arrived here, she always felt like there was a pair of eyes watching them at night.

After Sister Yulan and the others moved in, it seems they disappeared.

But as long as the person behind it isn't brought to justice, this danger will persist.

"If only there were dogs, small animals have such sensitive hearing!" He Tiantian had heard dogs barking at night before, but the village was so big, she didn't know whose dog it was.

Sister-in-law Yulan immediately felt that what He said made a lot of sense. She got up, patted her clothes, and said, "Come on, before it gets completely dark, I'll take you to Zhang the hunter's house. He's the only one in the village with hunting dogs. Zhang the hunter lives far away, and I don't feel comfortable letting you go alone."

He Tiantian nodded and walked towards Zhang the Hunter's house with Sister-in-law Yulan.

On the way, they also encountered Zhao San and Zhang Wulai, as well as a few young men who usually didn't behave properly.

A few people huddled together, acting suspiciously, and no one knew what they were saying.

Sister-in-law Yulan pulled He Tiantian away by taking a detour, saying, "These scoundrels are definitely up to no good, we don't need to bother with them."

[Author's Note]: Thank you all for your support of today's featured post!