Now only Liu Chenshi remains in the courtyard.

"Ying'er, I'm doing this... for your own good!"

"Is this for my own good, or for your son's?" Liu Yingying asked sarcastically.

Liu Chenshi choked, "Dabao is still your brother, you can't just watch him stay single for the rest of his life, can you?"

"So, what do you want me to do?"

“At least Chen Sangou has his own business. If you marry him, you can help Dabao and you won’t have to suffer from food and clothing shortages like you do now.”

Liu Yingying sneered. In the end, she still couldn't give up on wanting her to remarry.

“Mother, if I remember correctly, Chen Sangou is over fifty years old this year, and he has married three wives. Everyone knows that he beat each of them to death. For the sake of your son, you have already sold me to this Peach Blossom Village. Do you still want my life?”

How dare you talk to me like that? I'm your mother!

"Since ancient times, marriage has been a matter of parental arrangement and matchmaker's words. In short, your father and I have already arranged this marriage for you. You have no choice but to marry!"

Liu Chenshi's attitude was tough; she thought this was still the same submissive daughter who was always at her mercy.

"Ha!" Liu Yingying's eyes were like a cold pool as she stared intently at Liu Chenshi, making Liu Chenshi's heart tremble.

"Unfortunately, you are not qualified to make this decision, because my current identity is that of Zhu Xiucai's widow!"

In ancient times, women obeyed their fathers at home, their husbands after marriage, and their sons after their husbands' death.

Now that her husband is dead and her son is still young, who can make decisions for her?

"You...you're breaking ties with the Liu family?" Madam Liu clutched her chest in disbelief, glaring hatefully at Zhao Di and her brother beside her. "They're not your children, and they won't be filial to you in the future!"

"Thank you for your trouble!"

Liu Yingying had lost all patience for arguing with the old lady. She took a step closer, her aura instantly radiating outwards. "If Mother is really worried about my future, why not have Da Bao return all the grain and money he borrowed from my family?"

Liu Dabao had already squandered all that money; how could he possibly repay it?

Liu Chenshi's face was ashen, like that of someone who had been constipated for ten years. She had come here today for two reasons: first, to avenge her son, and second, to see if Liu Yingying had really changed her personality as rumored.

Seeing that he couldn't get any benefit from it, he naturally left in embarrassment.

"Liu Niang"

Liu Yingying had just breathed a sigh of relief and was about to sit down and rest when she saw Zhao Di come out again. She quickly asked, "What's wrong? Did they hit you again?"

In the original owner's memories, the Zhu family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law often took their anger out on Zhao Di.

The reason is simply that they think girls are a waste of money!

"No!" Zhao Di shook her head, looking at Liu Yingying with unusual determination; "Mother Liu, don't worry, I will definitely take care of you in your old age!"

"You're so young, don't think so much. I just hope you can grow up to be upright people, that's the best way to repay me!" Liu Yingying said, both amused and exasperated, and gently poked her forehead with her finger.

"Alright, it's getting late. Help me cook in the kitchen!"

With Zhao Di's help, Liu Yingying bled and plucked the pheasant, cut off a portion of the outer layer to render oil, and chopped the rest into pieces for stewing. She also boiled four eggs, and a pot of yellow rice was simmering on the stove.

This rice was redeemed with the last of my points.

Smoke curled up from the rooftop, and the aroma of food drew the attention of the surrounding neighbors.

"Am I seeing things? That fragrance is coming from Scholar Zhu's house?"

"It smells so good! How long has it been since I've tasted meat?"

At that moment, Ma Jinhua was standing at the door, looking at her eldest son's house with a complicated expression.

In the past, whenever the eldest daughter-in-law had something good, she would always be the first to send it to her mother-in-law as a token of respect.

But today she saw with her own eyes that Liu Yingying brought back such a fat chicken, and by now it's probably even gnawed the bones clean, and she didn't see the children bring her a bowl!

"Ha! A daughter-in-law is truly an outsider!"

Achoo!

Who's insulting me?

Liu Yingying was standing in front of the stove wiping her nose with her sleeve when she ladled out a bowl of chicken and handed it to Zhao Di. "Take this to Grandma Zhang's house. We'll wait for you to come back for dinner."

"Okay!" Zhao Di happily took the bowl and left.

In the courtyard, Zhu Jiawang grumbled to his younger brother, "Why do I feel like... that woman only has eyes for our eldest sister now?"

Zhu Jiafu: ...

Despite his young age, he didn't dare utter a single word, afraid that he might say something wrong and get beaten again.

"Grandma Zhang, this is chicken my mother asked me to bring to you!"

Zhao Di carefully placed the fragrant bowl of chicken into Grandma Zhang's hands. Bao'er, standing to the side, stared intently at the bowl of meat, her stomach rumbling.

“This is unacceptable. In this famine year, food is scarce. You’re sharing chicken with us, grandparents and grandchildren. What will you eat?” Grandma Zhang said, trying to shove the bowl back into the bowl.

Zhao Di had already taken a few steps back, and said with a smile, "My mother said that this is for you and Bao'er, so please don't be shy. My mother is waiting for me to go back for dinner. If you need any help later, just ask Bao'er to come to us!"

After Zhao Di left, Grandma Zhang looked puzzled, but Bao'er's soft voice brought her back to reality.

"Grandma, can I eat this meat?"

"Sigh!" Grandma Zhang sighed. Although she was a little embarrassed, she and her grandson had truly reached the end of their rope.

It would be better if she, an old woman, died peacefully, but her only grandson couldn't starve to death too!

"Alright, eat up, it's all yours!"

At the Zhu family's house, Liu Yingying had already sat down and started eating with the children.

Although the food wasn't particularly refined, it would still be considered quite amazing by today's standards in Taoyuan Village.

After wolfing down their food, the two boys, having temporarily satisfied their hunger, began to gossip about the village that day.

"Liu Niang, you left early today, didn't you see anything you shouldn't have seen?"

"No! What's wrong?" Liu Yingying shook her head, feigning ignorance.

Next, Zhu Jiafu vividly described Su Daqiang's "glorious deeds".

The gist of the sentence is that Su Daqiang has always had serious problems with his conduct, and now he's getting increasingly unruly, which is having a bad influence in the village.

In addition, he was not originally a resident of Taoyuan Village, but a child brought by his mother when she remarried. So the village chief and the village head were still discussing in the ancestral hall whether or not to expel him from the village.

Liu Yingying listened without saying much; she figured she wouldn't bother anyone unless they bothered her.

After this ordeal, if that Su Daqiang still dares to provoke her...

hehe!

She's not some delicate little girl who just cries "No, no!" She's got plenty of tricks and strength!

In the dead of night, only Ma Qiumei quietly left the house, heading straight for Su Daqiang's home.