Si Zhengwei looked at his two sons. Thanks to the grain that Acheng had sent, the two children had grown taller recently, and their diet had also improved. Compared to other villagers, they were quite different.
"We need to be more frugal with the food at home from now on. Although your older brother sent us some food, it will still be a while before we can harvest the crops. We don't want to waste all the food and then go hungry."
Si Zhengwei also knew that Huang Yun hadn't been frugal at all with her cooking lately. Other families would add some wild vegetables when cooking porridge, but Huang Yun didn't add any wild vegetables, and she rarely even cooked porridge, just cooking dry rice.
“You find it difficult to grow food now, but you should also think about your older brother. He grows his own food, unlike before when he could just buy it. I know your mother has the mentality of asking Acheng for more after she finishes eating. But why should he?” Seeing that his two sons were still somewhat indifferent, Si Zhengwei also had a headache, so he simply reopened the wound and let them suffer the pain themselves.
"If you were in your brother's shoes, do you think you would be so generous as to help your stepmother and stepbrother? Your brother is just repaying the debt of raising me; it has nothing to do with you."
Seeing that both brothers shook their heads to indicate that they wouldn't be so kind, he continued speaking.
"Although you are half-blood relatives, he doesn't owe you anything. On the contrary, because of your mother, he has suffered a lot of unspeakable hardships."
Upon hearing this, Si Ming wanted to say a few words in defense of his mother, but he didn't know where to begin.
“I haven’t done a good job myself. I wanted to save trouble and find someone to take care of your older brother, so I asked your mother because I thought she was gentle and could take good care of the child. Later, I neglected so much because I was busy, so I’m too ashamed to ask for help again. So you should give up those ideas and just honestly and diligently farm.”
Si Cheng was unaware of Si Zhengwei's words, and even if he had, he would have dismissed them. If Si Zhengwei had been willing to spend some time caring for him back then, the two of them wouldn't have ended up in this situation. Besides, he was engrossed in his love life at the time and wouldn't have thought of his eldest son. It's just that now that he's in trouble, he feels he's seen through many things.
After the father and his two sons left, Huang Yun followed them out, closed the door, and went to chat with her newly acquainted best friend.
"Xiao Li, what are you busy with? You're injured, why are you still doing so much?"
Huang Yun saw Liu Xiaoli struggling to hang clothes on a bamboo pole from afar and quickly went over to take over.
"Your foot is injured and you still can't stay still, always moving around. It'll just crack again when the time comes. What are you going to do then?"
Some time ago, Liu Xiaoli accidentally cut her foot with a hoe while working in the fields. Her family told her to rest at home for a while, which is why she started chatting with Huang Yun.
“I’m just doing this because I’m bored at home. I’m doing what I can. I can’t compare to you. Your husband and kids treat you so well.” Liu Xiaoli was really envious of Huang Yun. Her family lived with her in-laws. If it weren’t for her foot injury, she wouldn’t have been left idle at home.
"Here you go," Huang Yun looked around and handed her two eggs. "Eat them quickly, I'll take the shells and get rid of them later."
"Sister Yun, why did you bring eggs again? What if we get caught?" Liu Xiaoli said this, but she held the eggs tightly in her hands.
"They won't find out. I'm in charge of everything at home now, and they rarely interfere. Besides, we have more eggs at home. You should eat them quickly, otherwise you won't get enough nutrition and your injury won't heal so quickly." Huang Yun waved his hand dismissively. The dozen or so hens at home were laying hens, and they could collect more than ten eggs every day. Even if they delivered two eggs every day, it wouldn't be a problem.
"Thank you so much, Sister Yun. You treat me even better than my own sister." Liu Xiaoli kept showering Huang Yun with compliments, making her laugh heartily.
"I'm only this open with you. My husband keeps a close eye on those cured meats, otherwise, I would have liked to get some for you."
"No, please. This is a token of our appreciation from Village Chief Si. We can't accept it."
“What Village Chief Si? He’s a complete ingrate. I’ve served him for so many years, and even if I haven’t done anything right, I’ve still put in a lot of effort. But look at him, he only sent clothes to the three of them, father and son, and didn’t even bother to send me a few sets. Look at all the patches on my clothes.”
What angered Huang Yun the most was that Si Zhengwei didn't stand on her side at all, and didn't even mention it. If he had asked, she believed that Si Cheng would have sent her a few sets to save face.
Where she couldn't see, Liu Xiaoli curled her lip in disdain, still flattering her, "Maybe we didn't think of that before, but I believe we can get it by having Accountant Si ask for it."
"Come on, I just complained a bit at home, and they're already telling me to go to the fields with them. Don't they even consider whether my body can handle it? What if I get sick and there's no doctor or medicine? How will we survive then?"
Huang Yun helped her spread out all the clothes. She noticed that all the clothes in the family were covered in patches. "Sigh, I don't know when we can go back to our old life. Look at these clothes, they're all patched up, we can't wear them anymore."
"That's right. I don't dare to change my clothes too often now, for fear that washing them too much will make them fall apart faster. And I have to be extra careful when washing clothes, for fear that I'll tear them if I use too much force." Liu Xiaoli finished the egg in her hand in a few quick movements, cleaned up the shell, and without Huang Yun's help, dug a hole and buried it in the egg.
"By the way, Sister Yun, has your son Ming been looking for a partner? He's probably getting old enough. If you ask me, you should hurry up and find a daughter-in-law so you can have an easier time."
“I would like to, but as you can see, this is all we have right now. How can we bring someone into our home with just two wooden huts?” Huang Yun was tempted by Liu Xiaoli’s words, but when she thought about her family’s situation, she gave up.
"Who cares about such things now? I used to work in the fields with them, and many people were talking about your Ah Ming. Now your family is the most popular marriage partner, and many people are eyeing your Ah Ming and Ah Liang."
"It can't be that bad. My sons, A-Ming and A-Liang, are still young. There are plenty of capable young men in the village." In Huang Yun's heart, her sons were undoubtedly the best, but she wasn't so arrogant as to think that her son was the best. Besides, there were indeed a few very good young men in the village.
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