The incident began like this: Granny Shen slept until 8:30, and when she got up to make herself breakfast...
They discovered that the grain cabinet they used for storing grain had been pried open, and half of the grain inside was missing.
This year, losing half of their grain is tantamount to killing their entire family.
Old Mrs. Shen, of course, couldn't stand for that. She started yelling about catching the thief early in the morning, making a scene all morning, and even threatening to search every house.
The people in the compound certainly couldn't stand for that. Just because your family lost grain doesn't mean you can search my house—that's utterly unreasonable!
Sister-in-law Zhou winked and said, "This matter has been making a fuss all day and hasn't calmed down yet."
Buling nodded. Indeed, she could hear Granny Chen's cursing from the backyard even from the doorway.
"So, has this matter been resolved? How can so much grain just disappear like that? Could it really be someone from the yard?" This was no joke; if there really was a thief in the yard, she wouldn't sleep soundly.
Sister-in-law Zhou shook her head; she didn't know either.
The two exchanged a few words at the gate, then went into the courtyard and parted ways.
Pushing her bicycle back into the house, Bling roasted two sweet potatoes on the coal stove. After thinking for a moment, she walked towards the backyard.
When Bu Ling arrived, a large crowd had already gathered. She spotted Sister Mo, walked over, and quietly asked, "Sister Mo, how far has the situation progressed?"
Sister Mo glanced at Bu Ling and whispered, "Their grain was taken by Jiang Sheng!"
At this point, Sister Mo sighed, "It's hard to guard against a thief within the family!"
"Why did Jiang Sheng take the grain secretly?" Bu Ling was very puzzled.
Sister Mo said, "Of course he did it secretly. He didn't take the grain for himself; he delivered it all to Widow Liu's house."
Bling looked surprised.
"So...so foolish...so deeply affectionate?" What kind of utterly tragic figure is this?
Sister Mo glanced at Bu Ling. Don't think she didn't realize that the little girl wanted to say "idiot."
That's right!
What kind of idiotic mentality is this?
Everyone could see that Widow Liu was just stringing him along, but Jiang Sheng thought he was a hero for saving his sister Xiaolian's family from dire straits.
Or the kind where your own family starves to death.
Bu Ling asked again, "Where are Sister Liu and Mr. Jiang? Why is only Aunt Shen here?" Shouldn't this be another argument?
Sister Mo returned earlier than Bu Ling, so she watched the whole thing.
"Jiang Sheng left after saying that he had given the grain to Sister Xiaolian. As for Widow Liu's family, they haven't returned yet."
Bu Ling glanced at the sky. This shouldn't be happening; Widow Liu should have already left work at this hour.
"Could they have run away?"
Sister-in-law Mo said, "It's possible!" Liu Lian is a very shrewd woman; knowing the situation is unfavorable to her, why would she come back to suffer?
"How long can she hide? She can't stay away forever, can she? Where will she and her son live if she doesn't come back?" Bu Ling asked.
"Who knows?" Sister-in-law Mo didn't know either.
There were quite a few people whispering like Mo's sister-in-law and Bu Ling; the two of them talking amongst themselves didn't seem out of place at all.
Granny Shen sat in the middle of the courtyard, feeling utterly hopeless. Jiang Hua stayed by her side, gently comforting her, though he himself was filled with resentment.
That was their family's lifeline, and their second brother just handed it over to a vixen like that.
Looking at the mother and daughter, Aunt Wu felt very sorry for them and advised, "Old Shen, get up first. Jiang Hua, help your mother up. Widow Liu isn't here right now, so don't worry. When she comes back, we'll definitely make her give your family an explanation."
This time, Widow Liu and Mr. Jiang went too far. It's tantamount to killing the Shen family. And this is only because the eldest son and his wife haven't returned yet; if they had, it would have been another lawsuit.
Granny Chen wouldn't listen. She felt utterly hopeless. What kind of situation was this? It was a drought! How could her family survive without food?
And then there's her beloved daughter, who's going to the countryside next month—how could she bear to part with her?
Although Jiang Hua had many ulterior motives, she still felt sorry for her mother, Granny Shen. She wiped away her tears and said, "Mom, get up. We'll settle accounts with Second Brother when he comes back. Don't cry yourself sick, or that vixen will get away with it."
Old woman continued to cry.
Seeing his mother like this, Jiang Hua felt heartbroken: "Mom, think about me. If you cry yourself sick, what will I do? When we get to the countryside, my brother and sister-in-law won't take care of me. You're all I have left, Mom!"
Jiang Hua clearly knew how to comfort Granny Shen.
Upon hearing her daughter's words, Granny Shen glanced at her with teary eyes, then roughly wiped away her tears and stood up.
“My daughter is right. We absolutely cannot let that vixen get away with this. When she comes back, I refuse to believe she can stay away forever.”
For her daughter's sake, she couldn't let herself collapse. Her daughter was right; her two sons were heartless. If she collapsed, no one would care about her daughter.
If her daughter is sent to the countryside and doesn't receive any financial support from her family, how much suffering will she endure?
She pulled Jiang Hua towards home: "Daughter, let's go home!"
She needs to conserve her energy; she's not sure that wretched woman won't come back tonight.
And then there's Jiang Sheng. A glint of ruthlessness flashed in Granny Shen's eyes. Although she favored her daughter and tormented her daughter-in-law, she had never wronged her two sons.
She was a widow who raised three children to adulthood; only she knows how much suffering she endured.
Since Jiang Sheng risked his entire family's lives for a woman who looked down on him, from this moment on, Jiang Sheng is no longer her son. Until then, he must return the family's grain.
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