The echo in the valley was very strong, and because Zhong Mailian was deliberately cursing loudly, Zhao Guihua and the others could hear it clearly.
"What's wrong with the second son and his wife? They can tolerate being insulted like this. It's one thing for them to be bullied, since it's their own choice. It's just a pity for the two children, suffering with their parents, never having enough to eat. What kind of life are they living?"
Back when the family hadn't separated, the eldest branch of the family was often bullied. At that time, Zhao Guihua was relatively weak and didn't dare to argue with her parents-in-law. She would endure any hardship when doing heavy work, but her five sons didn't go hungry.
She and Zhou Laoda could eat less, but they couldn't let their children go hungry. If anyone dared to cut back on the food for their five children, the couple would make a scene. If it weren't for that, would all five boys have survived to this day?
“Zhou Daya and Zhou Dafa were hungry every day. Last time, my brother and I were catching loaches in the stream. The two siblings watched longingly, their mouths watering. We couldn’t bear to see them like that, so we gave them some of the biggest loaches.”
Zhou Sanfu's expression was indescribable as he recalled the situation. "Da Ya and Da Fa took the loach and wanted to put it in their mouths. They were obviously very hungry. I stopped them and said that it was raw and had to be cooked before eating. Do you know what Da Ya said, Mom and Dad?"
"What did they say?" Zhao Guihua asked cooperatively.
“She said if she took it back, she and her brother wouldn’t have anything to eat. Her grandparents would definitely give it to her third and fourth uncles’ children, and they would go hungry again,” Zhou Sanfu said indignantly.
“No wonder I saw Daya and Dafa take bird eggs and eat them raw when we were on the mountain. I thought they liked to eat raw food.” Because she didn’t want to have much contact with the Zhou family, Zhao Guihua had always been reluctant to get close to anyone from the Zhou family, whether adults or children.
So when I saw Zhou Daya and her brother eating bird eggs raw, I didn't think much of it. But now that I think about it carefully, it's because their food is always taken away when they eat at home. They can't even get the eggshells. When they are very hungry, they have to find food to fill their stomachs themselves.
Zhao Guihua shook her head with a heavy heart, "What kind of parents are the second son and his wife? It's only because the two children are clever that they found something to eat outside to fill their stomachs, otherwise they might have starved to death. But they are still too young. On their own, they can at best not starve to death, but they are still skin and bones."
“Da Ya and Da Fa are quite timid. When we ran into them on the mountain before, I thought they were as bad as Zhou Da Hua, Zhou Da Jin, Zhou Da Yin and Zhou Da Cai. My brothers and I went to block them, but before we could even say a word, Da Ya handed us the cicada tortoise she had caught.”
Xingxing chirped along, but in reality, she rarely saw Zhou Daya and her brother. The two were like invisible people, with very low presence. The few times she had run into them, she had only seen them stuffing things into their mouths.
“They always eat raw food. They eat small fish, shrimp, and loaches raw, and they also eat cicadas and turtles raw. Third Brother said that people who like to eat raw food are savages. So, are Daya and Dafa savages?”
Zhao Guihua glared at Zhou Sanfu. What nonsense was this child spouting in front of his sister, misleading her precious daughter?
Zhou Sanfu looked away from his mother, scratched his head and said, "Later I found out that it wasn't that Daya and Dafa liked to eat raw food, but that they didn't have a tinderbox. Even if they did, they wouldn't dare to light a fire to cook food. If Zhou Dahua and Zhou Dajin found out, they would not only steal the food they had finally found, but they would also get a beating."
So they chose to eat it raw, even though it was very uncomfortable, it was better than going hungry.
“Da Ya and Da Fa are very greedy. The other children in the village laugh at them. Whenever someone is eating, they stare at them longingly, drooling and sucking their fingers,” Zhou Wufu added.
Xingxing nodded in agreement, "Last time I was eating dried fruit, they were watching me and drooling, so I shared some dried fruit with them. After that, they would smile at me whenever they saw me. Sigh, I always feel like they smile at me because they want my food."
Zhou Daya is eight years old this year, and her younger brother Zhou Dafa is six years old. They are still children, so it's no wonder they are hungry all the time.
“These two children aren’t as bad as Zhou Dahua and the others. It’s okay if you share some food with them,” Zhao Guihua said, frowning. “I think we need to talk to my second brother and sister-in-law about this. This can’t go on. If the children really starve one day, it will be too late to regret it.”
Zhou Laoda also felt it was necessary to remind his second brother and his wife, but, "My second brother's blockhead might not listen to advice. He treats filial piety like a sacred decree, and it's hard to change his mindset."
"My second sister-in-law is indecisive and listens to my second brother in everything. I really don't know what to say to them. Let's just leave it at that. It's a family matter. If we interfere too much, we might just cause trouble." Zhao Guihua really didn't want to get involved in the Zhou family's affairs. She had only acted out of pity earlier.
Thinking about it carefully, it's none of her business. The Zhou family is so troublesome. It's better to avoid trouble. It's not her child who's starving. Their parents don't care. Why should outsiders worry about it?
"Imperial edict? Imperial edict? Imperial edict?" The word sounded very familiar, and Xingxing repeated it to herself as if she were talking to herself.
“An imperial edict is a decree issued by the emperor. The emperor is supreme, and his word is law. No one dares to disobey him. Disobeying an imperial edict means losing your head. So, Uncle is being old-fashioned. Grandpa and Grandma are not the emperor, yet Uncle treats their words as imperial edicts.” Zhou Sanfu’s tone was disdainful. Grandpa and Grandma are so biased. Only a fool would like grandpa and Grandma like that.
"Imperial edict? Emperor?" Xingxing's big, clear eyes were blank. She felt like she had heard these things somewhere before, but they were both familiar and unfamiliar. So where had she heard them before?
Ugh, thinking about it is giving me a headache. It's so annoying, I don't want to think about it anymore.
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