They ushered the Liu family into the main room.
Liu Xiaomai was about to get water for her parents when Qiu Tong stopped her.
“Sister-in-law, you’re not feeling well, so let us brothers do it.”
There was no brown sugar water to serve the guests, nor was there any boiled water; instead, cold water was poured directly into cups and served.
Even so, there were only two cups of cold water, one for Liu Xiaomai's parents. As for her brother, sister-in-law, and children, well, forget about them; they were negligible.
Having just experienced a drought, even cool water is good; it can save lives.
The cold water had barely been served when Liu Qiquan and Liu Zhangshi, who were parched with thirst, hadn't even picked up their cups to drink when Liu's four grandsons started fighting over it.
Liu Dabao shoved Liu Sanbao over and drank the water from the cup in one gulp.
Liu Erbao grabbed Liu Sibao by the collar and threw him aside.
Seeing that his two older brothers had finished drinking the water in the cup, the two boys who hadn't gotten any water were upset and started rolling around on the ground, howling.
The snot was already long, but it got even longer from crying, and it flowed into the mouth, which the child swallowed with a slurp.
The spicy flowers and the bougainvillea were disgusted.
Liu Xiaomai felt extremely ashamed to have such family members.
Liu Zhangshi treated her daughters like servants.
He doted on his grandsons, treating them like precious treasures.
Seeing her grandson cry, she felt sorry for him and glared at Liu Xiaomai.
"You brat, can't you see your nephew is crying like this? Hurry up and pour him a few more glasses of water. Where did your good manners go?"
At this moment, Liu Zhangshi was definitely using a veiled insult. She didn't dare to directly say that Qiutong was ill-mannered, but surely she could insult her own daughter?
Spicy Flower chuckled to herself upon hearing this.
“My dear in-laws, the doctor said that Xiaomai’s health is severely depleted, and she may have difficulty conceiving if she is not properly cared for.”
She had been married into our Zhao family for three years, and we provided her with the best food and drink before she became pregnant with her first child.
I had my pulse checked a few days ago, and the doctor said I shouldn't overwork myself, and I shouldn't be frightened or stimulated.
We treat Xiaomai like a treasure in our family, and we dare not let her do anything.
Let alone pouring water, I wish I could bring her food to her bed.
She was only allowed to come out and meet her in-laws because they were visiting; otherwise, she wouldn't have had this opportunity.
As for family discipline, the children of the Zhao family would never bully each other or throw tantrums over a cup of water.
At this point, Spicy Flower's face turned cold. "Wheat, you must be tired too, go back to your room."
Xiaomai quickly agreed and carefully went back to her room.
Liu Zhangshi was about to speak up to stop her, but seeing the expression on La Zihua's face, she gave up the idea of calling for a halt.
She realized that the Zhao family no longer treated her as their in-laws and were making her lose face, so she simply gave up trying to please them.
“Auntie, I’m a straightforward person, let’s speak frankly.”
Our family came here for no other reason than to borrow some food to take back home. We are really starving and need our help from our in-laws.
Putting everything else aside, just considering that Xiaomai is about to give birth to a grandson for your Zhao family, please help us out, auntie-in-law.
After saying that, he stared intently at the chili flowers.
"Oh, how much are you planning to borrow, in-laws?" Spicy Flower asked, looking down at her fingers.
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhangshi felt there was hope and a smile appeared on her face.
"Oh, my family has more than 20 people, and we eat half a jin of grain every day, which is more than ten jin a day."
Don't lend us much, just three hundred catties of grain so we can get through this month.
Both the vegetables in the fields and the wild greens on the mountain have sprouted, enough to fill our stomachs. I'd like to thank my aunt-in-law for her help.
Liu Zhangshi was a bit shrewd; she thought that if she opened her mouth wide enough, she could negotiate a lower price and still get half of the grain.
She was shrewd in her calculations, and others weren't stupid either.
300 jin of grain—that's the total income from our two mu of land this year.
Spicy Flower gave a cold laugh.
"When do you plan to repay such a large sum of grain, in-laws? Or what will you use as collateral?"
"Our Zhao family's grain didn't come from thin air; we can't just let our in-laws borrow it like that, can we?"
Liu Zhangshi was displeased upon hearing this.
“Auntie, we are really relatives. Once we recover, we will naturally return the grain.”
"What need is there for collateral? That's just a misconception."
La Zihua looked at Liu Zhangshi with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.
"Although we are in-laws, we are two separate families. The in-laws should inquire about how much a pound of grain is selling for now."
Even old broken rice costs 60 wen per catty, but the in-laws are asking for 300 catties, which would be 18 taels of silver.
For a farming family, being able to save 2 taels of silver a year is considered a good life. For the in-laws to ask for 18 taels, are they joking?
Your in-laws can go out and inquire; a young, unmarried woman can be exchanged for 30 catties of grain.
How many kilograms of grain is your wheat worth?
Without collateral, how can I explain this to my entire family?
Liu Zhangshi was speechless, and was immediately replaced by shame and anger.
She slammed her hand on the table. "I say, my dear in-law, if you don't want to lend me the grain, then don't. Why humiliate me like this?"
I'm a perfectly good young woman marrying into your family, how come you don't even have this much courtesy?
It's said that rich people are all bad people.
I'll have to go out and tell them later; the people in Zhao Family Village are so heartless.
They wouldn't even help their in-laws who were in dire need.
As she spoke, she felt she was very right, so she slid off the stool, sat on the ground, and started wailing.
The noise was so loud that it immediately attracted the attention of all the neighbors of Uncle San's house.
Spicy Flower sat at the table, observing coldly.
My neighbor, Aunt Zhao, is a gossip queen; she's definitely the number one gossipmonger in Zhao Village.
Hearing the crying and commotion coming from my third uncle's house, I went straight there.
"Oh dear, auntie, what's going on? Has someone died and someone's here to announce the death?"
Qiu Tong burst out laughing, while La Zi Hua managed to hold back her laughter.
"Your foul mouth is asking for a beating."
What do you mean by announcing a death? My in-laws are all alive and well for now. Please come in and sit down.
Although Aunt Zhao is a bit gossipy, she only says what she sees and hears, and never adds or subtracts anything from the facts.
Compared to the gossipy old women in the village who spread rumors, Aunt Zhao San was actually not annoying.
Therefore, he could sit comfortably in the main room of his third uncle's house and watch the first-hand gossip.
Liu Zhangshi was almost driven to her death by these two old women.
He patted his bottom and stood up.
"Since the Zhao family doesn't consider my Liu family as in-laws, then there's no need for this marriage. Today, take my wheat away."
"Eldest brother, eldest sister, go pack your little sister's things and take her home."
Spicy Flower's eyes turned cold. Qiu Tong immediately stood at the door, blocking the Liu family's way.
"Ha, Liu Xiaomai is my Zhao family's wife. My Zhao family doesn't divorce wives, so you have no right to take her away."
Don't forget, we gave ten taels of silver as a betrothal gift, plus two sets of cloth.
When Xiaomai came in, you didn't even bring her a decent set of clothes; she just came in wearing patched-up clothes.
If you want to take her away, you have to return the betrothal gifts first.
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