"How can this be? I asked you for help in the first place, how can I take your things?"
Madam Gu tried to mediate, saying, "Please accept it. Qinghe is able to continue his studies thanks to the help of the clan. I've been busy with my stall these days and haven't had a chance to visit you much. This is a good opportunity for you to try Qing'an's wife's cooking."
"Alright, then I'll try Qing'an's wife's cooking." He took the pancake from Meng Zhao's hand, put his hands behind his back, and left.
After seeing the village chief off, Madam Gu was still worried that Meng Zhao might be unhappy.
"It's alright, Mother. This kind of situation is bound to happen sooner or later when we're harvesting vegetables in the village. Originally, I wanted to establish my authority so that others wouldn't dare to fool us like this. But now that the village head has given his assurance, it's actually a good thing for us."
Seeing that Meng Zhao wasn't angry, Gu Shi was relieved.
The village chief came out of the Shen family's house and hadn't gone far when he encountered Granny Fang waiting by the roadside. Granny Fang saw that he didn't look well, so she went up to him in a flattering manner.
"Grandpa, what did the Shen family say?"
"What else can I say? Do you think everyone is like you? You're just a neighbor who does all sorts of bad things. They told you to deliver the vegetables as usual tomorrow."
Hearing the village head say that, Granny Fang finally felt relieved.
"That's great, that's great! I knew it was just a small matter, no need to make such a fuss."
Hearing her speak, the village chief was furious. "Old Fang, do you still not know what you did wrong? What you did is, at the very least, disrupting neighborly harmony, and at worst, it's cheating and swindling. If the amount involved were larger, it would be enough to send you to the yamen."
Hearing that she was to be sent to the yamen (government office), Granny Fang was a little frightened. "I know, I know, I was wrong to do this. I gave her the money for today's vegetables. I will never do it again."
The village headman took a few deep breaths, his anger almost uncontrollable, but the vegetable pancake in his hand continued to emit a delicious aroma, making him want to go home and enjoy it as soon as possible, and he didn't want to say too much to the person in front of him.
"You better learn your lesson. If you do something like this again, I won't help you mediate."
"I understand, sir. There will definitely not be a next time."
Granny Fang fawned over the old man, but after he left, she immediately rolled her eyes, spat in the direction of the Shen family, and walked home with a face full of resentment.
When he got home, he couldn't stand the sight of his eldest daughter-in-law cooking in the house.
"Elder sister, have you been slacking off while I'm not home? You're so slow at cooking. Do you want our whole family to starve to death?"
A thin woman walked out of the house. She was Li Yuanxiang, the eldest daughter-in-law of Granny Fang. Seeing her mother-in-law was angry, Li Yuanxiang clasped her hands and dared not speak.
Seeing her like this, Granny Fang became even angrier.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and cook. You look so dejected. Just looking at you annoys me. How could my son have married such a slut like you? At least a chicken I raise will lay eggs. You've been married for years and all you've given birth to is a money-losing brat."
Li Yunxiang was used to her mother-in-law's humiliation. Hearing this, she lowered her head and went back to the house to cook. A little girl in the yard angrily threw the basket in her hand to the ground, scattering most of the grain. The chickens in the yard rushed over to eat it.
The young girl ignored her, glared at Granny Fang, and angrily ran to the kitchen.
Granny Fang hurriedly picked up the basket and saw that the chicken had eaten most of it. She was so angry that she jumped up and down. "You brat, are you trying to rebel? Oh my, you damned old hen, get out of here, get out of here!"
Granny Fang was busy salvaging the grain and had no way to arrest the person to teach them a lesson, so she could only keep hurling insults at them.
When Li Yunxiang saw the little girl run into the house, she wanted to scold her, but seeing the little girl's stubborn face with tears in her eyes, she couldn't bear to scold her and could only wipe away her tears.
“You shouldn’t waste food. If you spill the food, your grandma won’t let you eat dinner tonight.”
The little girl was seven or eight years old, as thin as a bamboo pole. Her tattered clothes made her look like a sack, swaying back and forth. If her face wasn't clean, she would probably be mistaken for a little beggar if she went out.
Li Yunxiang glanced outside and saw Granny Fang still picking up the grain that had fallen on the ground. She quickly and secretly took a cornbread from the bowl and hid it in her daughter's clothes.
"Eat it when no one is around at night, so your grandma doesn't see it."
Tears streamed down the little girl's face, but her expression was unusually firm. "I can work, I can farm. I'm not a money-loser, and neither is Mom. Dad is. All he does is drink every day. He never helps in the fields during the busy farming season. Dad is the only money-loser in our family."
These words startled Li Yunxiang, who quickly covered her daughter's mouth, saying, "What nonsense are you talking about? Be careful someone hears you."
Granny Fang came in at this moment, grabbed Li Erya by the ear and dragged her out. "You wretched girl, you good-for-nothing, get out of here right now. You're not allowed to eat anything tonight. It would be better if you starved to death, so we can save you some food."
Li Yunxiang watched as her daughter was being dragged around by Granny Fang until she could barely stand, yet she dared not resist at all. She could only blame herself for being so useless; she had been married into the family for ten years and had only given birth to a daughter. If she had been able to give birth to a son, she and her daughter wouldn't have to be scolded every day.
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