The third wife, Guo, gave birth to the fourth son, Yun Tianyi, and the second daughter, Yun Manyin. A concubine, Shen, gave birth to the fifth daughter, Yun Manqian. Yun Manyin was thirteen, a tender age of youthful innocence, and witnessing her family's misfortune at this critical juncture, she cried half the night before. Yun Tianyi was seven, and Yun Manqian was five; they were still very young.
The fourth wife, Madam Yu, entered the family late. Her eldest daughter, Yun Manying, was only ten years old. Her two sons were Yun Tianzhi, the fifth son, and Yun Tianjiao, the sixth son, who were six and three years old, respectively.
Now, two of the six boys are not present, but all five girls are there, making a total of nine grandchildren. There aren't enough seats at the table, so the eldest, Yun Manwan, consciously didn't squeeze onto the table but stood to the side, watching longingly.
We didn't prepare any food last night, and the group of us had been hungry for most of the day. The fact that we were able to wake up so early this morning was mostly because we were starving.
Madam Zhou gestured for everyone to eat a steamed bun to fill their stomachs first. She then took a bowl of thin porridge and two steamed buns and brought them into the main room to serve the old lady her meal.
My nose started to sting as I walked.
In the past, the Yun family would have been a wonderful sight with many descendants! Now... all they have to do is open their mouths to eat, reach out to get dressed, and close their eyes to sleep.
Fortunately... I felt grateful to my cousin Su and her brother Jiang.
She went into the house, lost in thought, and handed the porridge and steamed buns to the old lady.
Li Mama and Wang Mama's lips twitched, but they didn't dare say anything more and retreated.
Since the old lady was born, she has never eaten such a simple meal.
Zhou realized what was happening and could only explain, "Yesterday was too rushed, I didn't..."
Madam Yun, however, was not unreasonable. She didn't say anything, but simply reached out and took a steamed bun. "No need to say more, how could I not know? You go and eat too."
No sooner had she finished speaking than the sound of something breaking came from the direction of the kitchen, followed by Li's scolding voice and the faint sound of a child crying.
Exhausted, Zhou curtsied and said, "I'll go take a look first."
The old lady's face darkened. "After breakfast, call everyone to me."
"yes."
She knew that the old lady finally had the mood and time to give family instructions.
It's time to give them a good talking to.
She walked into the kitchen and saw steamed buns scattered all over the floor. Li was angrily scolding seven-year-old Yun Tianyi, who was crying loudly.
Madam Yu from the fourth branch was also scolding six-year-old Yun Tianzhi in a low voice. When Yun Tianjiao saw his brother being scolded, he also cried quietly beside him.
When Zhou entered the kitchen, this was the chaotic scene she saw.
Her head started to ache even more.
His eldest daughter, Yun Manwan, stood helplessly to the side.
She glanced at them and said sternly to Yun Manwan, "As the eldest sister, isn't it your responsibility to discipline your younger siblings?"
Yun Manyan felt wronged. Her second aunt and fourth aunt were both there. With the elders present, how could she be the one to scold her younger siblings?
When Li saw her sister-in-law coming over, she quickly said, "Sister-in-law, how can you blame the eldest daughter? It's just that Yi-ge'er is ignorant and hasn't realized our current situation. It's normal for him to lose his temper because of the temporary setback."
Yun Tianyi, who had just been scolded by her, was carefully wiping away his tears and crying to Zhou Shi, "Aunt, it was my fault, I know I was wrong."
Yu gave Yun Tianzhi a push.
Yun Tianzhi quickly stopped crying and admitted his mistake, "Nephew also knows he was wrong."
Zhou then asked in a deep voice, "Do you know you're wrong? Do you know how you're wrong?"
Yun Tianyi glanced at Li Shi's face, then at his aunt, and then at the white steamed buns scattered on the ground. He sobbed, "Nephew shouldn't have knocked the buns down..."
Under his mother's pressure, Yun Tianzhi obediently admitted his mistake, "I shouldn't have broken the porridge bowl..."
Suppressing her anger, Madam Zhou said, "In that case, you will all be punished by not eating anything this morning. The rest of you, after you have finished eating, go to the old lady for a lecture."
Li and Yu were the first to respond, "Yes, sister-in-law."
The other girls and boys responded in unison, "Yes, Mother/Aunt."
Zhou herself had no appetite, so she casually picked up a bowl of porridge, drank some while standing, and then stood outside the door to wait.
Li and Yu also slowly walked to her side.
Li comforted her, "Sister-in-law, you've worked hard. This huge change may not all be a bad thing for these children."
Zhou smiled wryly, "I hope so. There's still much to learn. I'll need my two younger siblings' help with household chores in the future."
Li and Yu quickly replied, "It's our duty, sister-in-law, you don't need to be so polite."
The children gradually finished their breakfast and came out.
Madam Zhou looked at the second daughter, Yun Manyin, and said, "Your mother is unwilling to leave her room, so you should take the fourth son with you for now."
Yun Manyin held her younger brother's hand tightly and nodded, saying, "Yes, Aunt."
My younger brother just did something wrong, got scolded, and was punished by not being allowed to eat. He'll probably throw a tantrum again soon.
Seeing that all the children had arrived, Zhou nodded and said, "Let's go in."
When the group of people entered the main room, the floor was so crowded that you couldn't even insert a needle.
After a night of adjustment and the breakfast incident, no one dared to complain about the situation anymore.
The old lady glanced around and asked, "Where is the third son's wife?"
Zhou stood at the front and said, "Qian'er wet the bed this morning. She said her clothes were soiled and she had no clothes to change into, so she couldn't go out."
"You insolent brat! Is this the time to be so concerned about such things? Bring her here!" Old Madam Yun said sternly.
Hearing this, Granny Li, who was outside the door, went towards Madam Guo's room.
After venting her anger in the room, Madam Guo kicked Qingyu out and told her to call Aunt Chen over.
Under her coercion, Aunt Shen reluctantly took off her own clothes and then asked Qingyu to borrow a set of maid's clothes to wear.
With her face badly bruised and battered, Qingyu reluctantly carried her soaking wet bedding outside to air it out. Then she hid in a corner and cried.
Urged on by Granny Li, Madam Guo awkwardly entered the old lady's room.
It must be said that Aunt Shen's slender figure is much better than Guo's.
Her clothes almost burst under the pressure of Guo's obese body.
But at the moment, no one was in the mood to laugh or comment; they all lowered their eyes to the ground, looking like they were listening attentively to a reprimand.
Old Madam Yun cleared her throat and said, "Our Yun family has suddenly suffered such a calamity, and I believe everyone is mentally prepared after a night's rest. When the Yun family members left home, they took nothing but the clothes on their backs; not a single thread was taken with them. As you all know, we are only able to stay in this courtyard last night because of the families of your eldest sister-in-law and eldest aunt, who spared no effort to lend a helping hand at this sensitive and critical moment, allowing us to avoid being homeless and to have a roof over our heads. This morning, we were even able to have a bowl of porridge and a steamed bun to fill our stomachs."
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