Before Yu Dong even entered the house, he was met with a barrage of insults from Zhang Cuihong.

"You worthless little bitch! All you do all day is eat, eat, eat, and do no work. You're so useless. Now you've even dared to steal your brother's steamed eggs, haven't you?" Zhang Cuihong twisted her eldest granddaughter Yu Zhaodi's ear with her hand, and kept hitting her with the stick in her hand.

Yu Zhaodi was chased around in circles, trying to escape.

"Waaah..." But with her ear being twisted, she couldn't outrun Zhang Cuihong's stick. Tears welled up in her eyes as she begged for mercy: "I just wanted to help my brother taste the saltiness. I didn't steal any food. I didn't steal any food."

"Would you like to try some of the saltiness from the cesspool?"

Yu Dong's face was dark. Without even looking at his granddaughter, he coldly asked, "Is the rice ready? I'm starving."

"All he does all day is eat." Zhang Cuihong dropped the stick in her hand, saw that Yu Dong's trousers were mostly wet, and frowned as she asked, "Where have you been again? You came back so late and didn't even bring me a bundle of firewood. And your trousers are all wet."

Zhang Cuihong was reluctant to entrust the cooking to her granddaughter, fearing that she would waste food or steal some.

He then went into the kitchen.

Yu Dong wrung out the water from his trousers and said irritably, "Today when I was weeding, I saw that the three members of the Lin family had actually caught several large fish weighing several kilograms from the river."

"How is this possible? The water level in our river has only risen for a few days. How could there be a fish weighing several kilograms?" Zhang Cuihong's family was located upstream on the river, and their eyes became increasingly suspicious.

She had visited her parents' home a few days ago and saw that the river above was still dry.

Since the water didn't come from upstream, it's even less likely that fish would grow so quickly.

"Why would I lie to you? That little girl is just different from the others." Yu Dong said, "When I went down with the others, none of us caught a single fish, not even a loach, let alone a fish."

Zhang Cuihong was not angry but pleased.

Doesn't this just prove that her previous guess was correct?

Lin Wanyue is such a lucky star.

With her around, we'll never have to worry about food and drink at home!

Their family will be able to live a good life from now on!

Ideally, I'd like to live like the wealthy people in town, in a brick house with tiled roofs, own a few shops, and eat chicken, duck, fish, and meat as much as I want!

Zhang Cuihong was already overjoyed just from imagining it in her mind.

"See? I told you so! That little girl is not only capable, she'll definitely make our family rich... As long as we can win her over, will we ever have to worry about not having fish and meat to eat? We can hire a maid to cook fish and meat for us every day!" Zhang Cuihong said enticingly from the side.

If I could really buy a maid, I wouldn't just cook for her, I'd also massage her shoulders and back!

Yu Dong's face also showed a hint of joy. If what his wife said was true, and he was going to buy a maid, it would be best if she was eighteen years old and fresh-faced.

Yu Dong swallowed hard, unsure whether it was for the chicken, duck, fish, and meat he could eat, or for the tender maidservant.

"Let's get started quickly, lest things get complicated."

Why would Yu Dong need to say that?

After returning from her parents' home and receiving confirmation, Zhang Cuihong had been itching to make a move.

For two days in a row, he didn't go out to help with the work in the fields; he just kept a close eye on Lin Wanyue.

However, she wasn't stupid. Every time she went, she would carry a basket, using the pretense of picking wild vegetables to secretly find out Lin Wanyue's whereabouts.

He wanted to take advantage of her being alone to kidnap her.

But ever since Lin Wanyue helped the village headman snatch his youngest son, Zhou Jiren, back from the female ghost, all the little kids in Ning'an Village, regardless of age, always love to gather around her.

Even when she was eating and going home, the Lin family's twins were inseparable from her.

Zhang Cuihong wasted two days of her time, but couldn't find a way to start.

I was anxious, my mouth was bubbling, and my eyes were red.

As soon as I got back, I saw my own granddaughter, who was so short-sighted, daring to steal the steamed egg I made for my grandson!

Zhang Cuihong was already furious and had nowhere to vent her anger, so she took the opportunity to beat her granddaughter Yu Zhaodi.

"..." Upon hearing her words, Yu Dong frowned, then came up with an idea and said, "Since you say that little girl is always surrounded by someone and you can't find an opportunity to make a move, why don't we have our younger family members lure her out first?"

"How could I not have thought of that idea? I'm just worried that they're too young and might leak the news!" Zhang Cuihong set out the prepared food.

The little grandson was already slurping his food down.

Eight-year-old Yu Zhaodi stood to the side, not daring to even pick up the bowl without her grandparents saying anything.

“Then let Zhao Di go,” Yu Dong said.

"Let her go..." Zhang Cuihong's disdainful words were cut short as she burst into laughter.

Although my granddaughter is greedy and ugly, she's easy to manipulate.

"Zhao Di, come here." Zhang Cuihong turned to Zhao Di and said, "After you wash the dishes, go and bring that little girl from the Lin family to the village entrance, or you won't get to eat. If she finds out, I'll beat you to death!"

"..." Yu Zhaodi shrank back slightly.

Under the watchful eyes of her grandparents, she nodded involuntarily.

Yu Dong and Zhang Cuihong, a married couple, made up their minds and were overjoyed.

...

After lunch.

As a "thief" who dared to steal her younger brother's steamed eggs, Yu Zhaodi naturally didn't even get a sip of leftover rice soup.

In fact, after Zhang Cuihong forced Yu's daughter-in-law out, his family's life became increasingly difficult. His son was working away from home, leaving his grandson and granddaughter at home. Zhang Cuihong was someone who disliked girls, and they even had trouble getting enough to eat, let alone having leftover rice gruel.

Outside the bamboo grove, a few older children stole a sickle from home, cut down some bamboo stalks to make bamboo horses, and rode on them as if they were on a stage.

"Giddy up! I am the mighty general! Who dares to stand in my way?" The child riding the bamboo horse held a short stick in his hand as a long sword, followed by several younger soldiers.

Lin Wanyue managed to snag the title of princess among her two older brothers, but she still had to wield a "long sword" on the battlefield.

Lin Wanyue: Although I don't want to admit it, the game is really fun!

After all, due to her physical condition, she never dared to play games with children her own age when she was young.

After playing for a while, a little girl dressed in tattered clothes walked up to Lin Wanyue and asked, "If you're a princess, why don't you even have a hairpin in your hair?"

The little girl was slightly older than them.

Lin Wanyue recognized her as Yu's eldest granddaughter, who was eight years old this year.

Eight-year-olds, regardless of gender, are often not very willing to play with these little kids, partly because they don't have much free time to play.

Even at only eight years old, they are capable of serving as half a labor force.

Like his second brother, Lin Zheyun, because of his strength, his father and grandmother often took him to work in the fields. Although he only did light work such as weeding and catching insects, he didn't have much time to play.