Once all the onlookers had left and only the Zhu family remained in the courtyard, Lü Sufeng covered her mouth and pretended to help the Zhu Cuilan sisters.

But Zhu Cuilan pushed him away forcefully; "Get out of here! Do you need to come here crying like an ostrich?"

Before the two sisters got married, they not only had a bad relationship with Liu Yingying, but also with their other two sisters-in-law.

Therefore, Zhu Cuilan was convinced that Ma Qiumei and Lü Sufeng were just laughing at her.

"Cuilan, what are you saying?" Even Zhu Erqiang couldn't stand it anymore and muttered under his breath, "Your sister-in-law is right, you really have no manners!"

Although the voice was soft, it did not prevent Zhu Cuilan from hearing it clearly.

As if provoked, she sat on the ground, disheveled and screaming, to vent her anger.

"This is insane! Absolutely insane..."

Zhu Erqiang and his wife Zhu Sanqiang ignored them and went straight back to their room.

The two elderly people of the Zhu family were left behind. They looked at their two daughters and then at the house.

In the end, they tacitly decided to go back and eat the dumplings first to fill their stomachs.

When Zhu Cuilan and her sister finished crying and called out, they went inside and found only an empty bowl on the table.

Ahhh!

They were the ones who got the dumplings back after being beaten by Liu Yingying and making a fool of themselves in front of everyone, but their parents secretly ate them all!

Already blinded by anger, the two sisters had another big argument with their parents, and then started throwing things around in the house for a while.

Zhu Youcai let out a helpless sigh.

Ma Jinhua cried out in a voice that sounded like she was about to be childless and have no descendants.

The Zhu family, including Erqiang and Sanqiang, who were watching the commotion... made a fool of themselves today!

On the other side, Liu Yingying checked on Grandma Zhang and her grandson's injuries and was relieved to find that they were just superficial abrasions.

He applied the medicine to them and then personally went home to bring them two bowls of dumplings.

When she got back and was about to enter the courtyard, she discovered that someone was following her.

Whose place is that?

Liu Yingying turned her head and looked at an abandoned courtyard wall not far away.

A thin little girl, clutching the hem of her clothes, walked out timidly with her head down.

"Aunt Liu, it's me..."

"Cui Cui?"

Liu Yingying was slightly surprised; "Cui Cui, what are you doing here? Did you run into some trouble?" She gave a kind smile.

If Lin Cuicui hadn't come to tell her about Zhu Cuilan and her sister causing trouble at Grandma Zhang's house, she might not have found out at all.

Lin Cuicui shook her head; "No! I'm fine. I just wanted to check how badly Zhao Di was injured."

She and Zhao Di grew up together and had a good relationship.

Liu Yingying laughed; "Then what are you standing outside for? Come in quickly!"

Lin Cuicui was pulled into the courtyard in a daze. She saw Zhao Di and her two younger brothers sitting at the table, and the injuries on their faces had already been treated.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Zhao Di, he prepared to leave.

Liu Yingying came out of the kitchen carrying a large bowl of dumplings, smiling and saying, "Since you're here, sit down and eat some dumplings before you go back!"

"How can that be! I can't eat such expensive things from you!"

Indeed, in this famine year, dumplings filled with meat were incredibly precious to ordinary people!

Liu Yingying, however, did not take it seriously and ordered her to sit down without any room for discussion. She served her ten dumplings and only let her leave after Lin Cuicui finished eating them in a state of anxiety.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and Liu Yingying took the opportunity to tidy up her house inside and out.

The house is still the same dilapidated house, but it is much cleaner and tidier, giving people a brand-new feeling!

The village still forbids Zhu Youcai's family from fetching water, but in this famine year, how can people survive without food and water?

Finally, Zhu Youcai, swallowing his pride, went to the village chief, hoping he could make an exception for him.

He added, "Back then, my eldest son was the only scholar in the village, and he helped your Wang family solve a lot of problems. You can't just watch our family die of thirst now, can you?"

However, Wang Delu wasn't buying it, waving his hand and saying, "Forget it, it was just a mutually beneficial arrangement, but things are different now..."

Wang Delu looked at Zhu Youcai meaningfully.

“Now that your eldest son is dead, it was your eldest daughter-in-law who led the whole village to find a water source, and with so many people she saved supporting her, if she doesn’t let you use the water, I can’t be ungrateful and go against her, can I?”

"Then...what should we do?" Zhu Youcai panicked upon hearing this. "Village Chief, you have always been highly respected in Taoyuan Village. Please, please show me a way to survive!"

Wang Delu squinted and beckoned to him with his finger.

Zhu Youcai leaned closer to listen...

The next morning, Zhu Youcai and his wife, along with their two sons and their families, came to Liu Yingying's home.

He apologized to her in a very sincere manner.

“Sister-in-law, I was ignorant in the past, please don’t hold it against me… Um… this plum blossom hairpin was a gift from my brother, I’m returning it to you now.”

This hairpin was taken from the original owner's head by Ma Qiumei when she came to cause trouble two years ago.

As Ma Qiumei spoke, she reluctantly handed a slightly worn peach wood plum blossom hairpin to Liu Yingying.

Although this hairpin is not a valuable item, it is still quite rare in the eyes of the villagers, since no peasant woman would wear such an exquisite hairpin to work in the fields.

Liu Yingying glanced at the hairpin, but felt quite disgusted.

But since it was a gift from the scholar to the original owner, she reluctantly accepted it.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!