Sister-in-law Zhou always loves to stand up for others, and she's got a sharp tongue; she never loses an argument!
"Auntie, don't blame me for being nosy, but Li Zhenzhen is really not the kind of wife who can live a good life. You have no idea how badly Gou Dan and Er Niu have been led astray by her!"
"Sister-in-law, please speak less." Zhou Er's sister-in-law was most afraid of her sister-in-law's mouth, which could easily offend people. In Lijia Village, the Zhou family was not well-liked, largely because of her sister-in-law's mouth.
Sister-in-law Zhou pursed her lips and didn't say anything more unpleasant.
Old Mrs. Li said irritably, "Hmph, my Zhen family dares not have a daughter-in-law like her. I'm afraid I'll lose my life to her before we even finish fleeing the famine!"
These words were very serious. Even if Sister-in-law Zhou was simple-minded, she knew that human life was at stake, so she dared not respond.
Zhen Wanwan laughed and changed the subject: "I saw that Brother Zhou and the others brought back a lot of wild game today. If they eat it sparingly, it will last them for half a month!"
As Zhou's sister-in-law spoke, she came down, and the group sat on the rocky cliff, chatting happily about everyday things. Before they knew it, it was time to prepare dinner.
Today is a bumper harvest, and some families have already cleaned the wild game and are now taking out ingredients to cook!
Zhen Wanwan couldn't cook, so she helped out. When Wang Cuihua wasn't looking, she secretly put a handful of rice into the rice cooker and added salt and spices to the stewed pheasant pot.
The sight of the fire pit drew the attention of the neighbors, and the children led by Zhen Xiaohu gathered around it, drool dripping from their chins to their feet.
The twins, devastated by their mother's divorce, no longer begged for food as obnoxiously as before.
Zhen Wanwan occasionally indulges in meat in private. She wasn't particularly craving meat, but when the aroma of authentic wild pheasant wafted out, she couldn't help but swallow her saliva.
Even Zhen, who is usually honest and not good with words, pretended to take a deep sniff while delivering firewood. His stomach was rumbling loudly, and he blushed with embarrassment.
He dashed off to gather firewood again.
When the food at Zhen's house was almost ready, Grandpa Zhen also returned.
They could smell the aroma from afar, and their stomachs were rumbling with hunger. They quickened their pace to get home, and the unpleasantness at the Li family's house dissipated somewhat.
Zhen Wanwan had just finished serving the chicken soup and a few pieces of tender meat and was about to deliver them to Grandma Li when she saw her father return.
"Dad, Second Brother, you're back just in time! Wash your hands and get ready for dinner," Zhen Wanwan said happily.
"good."
Grandpa Zhen led the second son of the Zhen family directly to the dining area and ate with their hands still black and dirty. Washing hands was such a luxury.
Zhen Wanwan was just used to it and said it casually, without noticing anything was wrong.
She carefully avoided the stumbling blocks under her feet and slowly served the chicken soup to Old Lady Li.
"Mom, you are weak right now, you should drink more chicken soup to nourish yourself."
Zhen Wanwan tried to feed Old Lady Li, but she refused, saying, "Don't wait on me here, go and drink more meat."
She smiled but didn't answer. She went back to get a bowl of rice for Old Lady Li, but saw her sister-in-law staring at the pot with a pale face.
"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?" Zhen Wanwan asked curiously, following her gaze. There was nothing special about it except rice.
To everyone's surprise, Wang Cuihua burst into tears: "Little sister, I... I remember I only put in a little bit of brown rice, how come there's suddenly so much rice in the pot?"
"Waaaaah~ What am I going to do? My mother is going to beat me to death!"
Wang Cuihua was genuinely frightened. Usually, when she was cooking, it was Old Lady Li who would bring her the food. This time, however, she was only able to get it herself because she was injured.
Who knew it would turn out like this? She was really scared!
Seeing her sister-in-law's ashen face, Zhen Wanwan knew it was because she had eaten too much rice, which had alerted her to the problem.
Realizing it was a misunderstanding she had caused, Zhen Wanwan touched her nose, feeling a little embarrassed. She comforted her, "Sister-in-law, is it because you added too much water that it seems like there's too much rice?"
Wang Cuihua looked at her like she was a fool, as if asking her if she was serious.
"Ahem, sister-in-law, why don't you go check how much grain is left in the rice bag?"
Wang Cuihua was reminded by Zhen Wanwan that she hadn't checked the rice bag yet!
When she took the rice, she carefully counted it many times to make sure that not a single grain of rice was more than the amount that Grandma Li usually used before she felt at ease putting the rice in the water to cook.
Thinking of this, she stopped crying and rushed to the donkey cart to check it carefully.
"Auntie, auntie~ my stomach is growling so loudly, when are we going to eat?" Erniu sniffed hard near the pot, and seeing that his aunt left without serving any food, he touched his stomach and anxiously asked Zhen Wanwan for help.
Looking at the children, Zhen Wanwan felt both heartbroken and amused: "We'll be eating soon. Take your bowls and line up to get your rice!"
"Yay!"
Seeing that Zhen Wanwan was busy by herself, Zhen Lao Er hurriedly came over to help.
Wang Cuihua hurriedly arrived at the donkey cart, and Elder Zhen asked in confusion, "Weren't you cooking? What are you doing here?"
There was no response to her words; Wang Cuihua's mind was completely focused on the grain, and she couldn't hear Zhen Laoda's complaints at all.
She tore open the rice bag and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the amount of rice in the bag was the same as the weight of the grain she had taken out.
"Phew~ thank goodness..."
The eldest daughter, Zhen, asked with dissatisfaction, "What are you doing, muttering to yourself? Aren't you going to cook?"
Wang Cuihua realized she hadn't added too much brown rice, and her mood improved again. She was too lazy to stay angry with Zhen Fugui.
"Master, the rice is ready. Hurry up and serve the donkey so it can eat!"
Wang Cuihua left without looking back, leaving Zhen Fugui staring blankly at her retreating figure, completely bewildered.
However, he quickened his pace considerably, the aroma irresistibly wafting into his nostrils, making the worms in his stomach rumble with anticipation.
"They've all lined up to get their meals, from little kids to adults! Little Tiger organized his younger siblings to line up..."
Zhen Wanwan methodically divided the rice among the children, and then distributed the already limited chicken pieces according to their appetites.
After the family's meal was arranged, she symbolically picked up two pieces of chicken, but perhaps because of her pregnancy, she lost her appetite after eating only two pieces.
Zhen Xiaohu noticed his aunt's unusual behavior and considerately gave some of the chicken from his bowl to Zhen Wanwan.
"Auntie, you're pregnant with your little brother, and Grandma says you should eat more."
Zhen Wanwan looked at the child in front of her who was barely up to her shoulder and earnestly taught her how to raise her. She then gave her almost all the chicken in her bowl, leaving herself only the smallest piece of chicken with the most bones.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't touched! She pinched Little Tiger's cheek tenderly: "Keep these for yourself, you still need to grow!"
Zhen Xiaohu shook his head firmly: "No way!"
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