Yan Qingqing sighed, "Sigh, Dalang is really unlucky. He just left this morning, and we're already having fish for lunch."
Li Xiangkang, who was standing to the side, chimed in, "Yeah, big brother is really unlucky. Mom, I want to eat fish again tonight."
Hearing this, Yuan Huiniang cautiously asked, "Mother, there are still several fish in the bucket. Can we leave one for Dalang, Erlang, and Sanlang?"
Yan Qingqing looked at Yuan Hui and said, "Of course you can. I remember when you gave birth to Niu Niu, your family sent you twenty eggs. You can pick out two big ones and send them to them so they can have a taste."
Yan Qingqing remembered that when Yuan Huiniang gave birth, there was no banquet because it was a girl. However, the Yuan family was the only ones who sent a gift through a third party.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Huiniang quickly waved her hand and said, "Mother, no need. Just leave one for Dalang and the others. I'm pregnant now, so keep the rest for me to nourish my body."
Yuan Huiniang felt that her mother-in-law had gone to great lengths to bring a few fish home, and she dared not take such good things back to her own family.
Although she is now the eldest daughter-in-law in the family, she always remembers to fulfill her duties as a daughter-in-law. Moreover, she always felt guilty for not being able to give birth to a son in her first pregnancy, so she never dared to complain no matter how much work she did at Old Li's house.
Seeing Yuan Huiniang's resistance, Yan Qingqing sighed inwardly. The family was still too poor. Since Yuan Huiniang was unwilling, so be it. When the family's life improved in the future, Yuan Huiniang would naturally have more confidence.
At that moment, Old Li's family next door was also having dinner. Several adults and boys were sitting around the table, while several girls were squatting at the door with their bowls.
Zhao Yumei finally couldn't help but say, "I wonder what delicious food my second sister-in-law is making at home, it smells so good."
Li Sanniu and his wife Xu Suying exchanged a glance but said nothing.
Seeing that no one paid attention to her, Zhao Yumei continued, unwilling to give up: "Although the family has separated, her parents are still her parents-in-law and grandparents of several children. They did not mistreat the second branch of the family when the family was separated. So, she should show her respect to her parents when she makes something delicious."
Besides, they were able to eat meat so soon after separating from their family; who knows how much money they'd been hiding from their parents before.
The more Zhao Yumei spoke, the darker Old Mrs. Li's face became. She used to think Yan Qingqing was a quiet, unassuming person, but she never expected her to be so cunning. She even dared to hide money from her.
Just as Old Mrs. Li was about to explode in anger, Old Mr. Li coughed and said, "Alright, the family has already been divided, why are you still concerned about what others eat? If you're so capable, go and eat meat yourself!"
Grandpa Li usually doesn't interfere in family matters. But once he speaks, there's no room for discussion. So Grandma Li and Zhao Yumei instantly fell silent.
Meanwhile, Yan Qingqing had lunch and rested for a while. She then decided to go fishing again, since news travels fast in the village, and maybe others would know how she caught the fish by tomorrow.
Although not everyone can learn to fish, with enough people, someone will eventually learn.
Sure enough, when Yan Qingqing and her group went there again in the afternoon, several people came over to inquire.
Yan Qingqing would brush off anything she could, and if she couldn't brush it off, she would give a few words of reply.
Yan Qingqing caught more than ten fish that afternoon. She planned not to come back tomorrow, because judging from today's situation, she estimated she wouldn't catch many even if she came tomorrow.
That evening, Yan Qingqing and the others ate fish again. While eating, Li Xiangkang asked, "Mom, are we going fishing again tomorrow?"
Yan Qingqing shook her head and replied, "No, we're not going. These fish are enough for us to eat for several days."
Li Xiangkang was somewhat disappointed by Yan Qingqing's words. He really couldn't understand why his mother, who was so good at fishing, wouldn't go.
Yan Qingqing patted Li Xiangkang's head and explained, "Silang, this Canghe River doesn't belong to us. We've already caught enough fish. There are still many people in the village who can't afford meat. We need to leave some opportunities for others."
After saying that, Yan Qingqing felt guilty. This kind of "cultivating one's own virtue when poor, and helping others when successful" mentality was indeed not suitable for her. If she weren't afraid of losing face because there would be too many people tomorrow and she wouldn't be able to catch any fish, hmph, why would she have given up such a good opportunity?
Although Li Xiangkang didn't quite understand, he nodded anyway. If his mother was right, then she must be right. He didn't know why, but ever since they separated from the family, he felt that his mother had become more and more capable and reliable.
The next day, Yan Qingqing had just gotten up when she heard Li Yueniang whispering to Li Xinniang, "Sister, I just went to the riverbank secretly and saw that there were people fishing everywhere. Some of them even got into a fight over a spot."
Upon hearing this, Xinniang tapped Yueniang's head with her finger and said, "Didn't I tell you yesterday that we should leave the opportunity to others? Why did you still go?"
Li Yueniang stuck out her tongue and said, "I was just curious to take a look, sister. I feel like Mother is different from before."
Li Xinniang countered, "What's different?"
Li Yueniang replied, "Mother seems to have become more formidable. She's been kinder to us now. Before, when Grandma and Aunt scolded us as a burden, Mother never protected us or let us sit at the table to eat."
Li Xinniang sighed and said, "I have no choice. Grandma never liked our family, and she liked you even less. Now that we've separated the family, you can make the decisions, so naturally she'll treat us better."
Li Yueniang disagreed, saying, "But my sister still wants to marry that cripple. Why doesn't Mother cancel the marriage?"
Li Xinniang's face changed instantly when this matter was mentioned. She didn't want to marry that cripple either, but her family had already accepted the bride price, so what could she do?
Upon hearing this, Yan Qingqing remembered that back then, in order to raise money for Li Chengye's schooling, Old Madam Li had arranged a marriage between Li Xinniang and a cripple who had lost his wife. She accepted two taels of silver as a betrothal gift from the man, but the marriage did not take place immediately because Li Xinniang was still young.
To put it bluntly, they sold Li Xin's mother out.
Although the original owner was unwilling, he did not dare to voice his objections.
The truth is, the original owner of this body had a deep-seated preference for sons over daughters, which is why Li Xinniang and Li Yueniang weren't close to her. Yan Qingqing had also noticed this in the past few days.
Yan Qingqing didn't want to eavesdrop on her two friends' conversation any longer, so she pretended to cough.
Startled, Li Xinniang and Li Yueniang quickly stood up and cried out in unison, "Mother!"
Yan Qingqing glanced at the two of them and said, "After you finish eating, take me to the mountain to have a look."
Li Xin's mother quickly replied, "Mother, I'll go find whatever you need. It's not convenient for you to get it while you're pregnant."
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "No need, I'm just going to take a look. The doctor said that I'm getting old and more movement is good for childbirth."
After Yan Qingqing said this, Li Xinniang had no choice but to nod in agreement.
As Yan Qingqing walked past her, she said, "Don't worry, Mother won't let you marry that cripple. I'll definitely find a suitable opportunity to annul this marriage."
As for why not now, it's because she doesn't have any money. Even if Li Xinniang is unwilling, Old Madam Li has already accepted the betrothal gifts, so even if she breaks off the engagement, she still has to return the gifts.
Upon hearing Yan Qingqing's words, Li Xinniang burst into tears. Regardless of whether the matter could be resolved or not, she knew that her mother cared about her.
The reason Mother didn't object before was because the family hadn't separated, and Mother couldn't make decisions. Now that Mother can make decisions, she's treating them better. Without Yan Qingqing needing to explain, Li Xin's mother provided the perfect explanation herself.
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