After carrying Jia Zhangshi and the others home, Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu didn't dare to waste a moment, as neither of them had eaten yet. After settling the four of them in, they immediately returned the oxcart and went out to the fields to find wild vegetables.
At this moment, they all regretted not having stocked up on some food in advance like others. If they had stored some food beforehand, their families wouldn't have had to rely solely on wild vegetables.
But when they arrived in the suburbs, they had a headache because there wasn't much greenery in the wild, and everything edible had already been eaten.
But to avoid going hungry, Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu had no choice but to search everywhere for anything edible. Nature is like a treasure trove; plants are sometimes incredibly resilient, and even in drought, many plants can still survive.
Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu had no choice; they picked all the non-poisonous plants. Neither of them wanted to take just a bunch of plants home.
After placing the plant at Jia's house, Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu went outside again. Passing a river, Yi Zhonghai suddenly remembered that his mother seemed to have eaten some aquatic plants when she was young.
Since everything on the mountain had been taken, they had no choice but to try something from the water. Even though the water was freezing, Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and went down, then scooped up a lot of algae and other things from the river.
The algae contained not only snails but also small clam shells. Even though Yi Zhonghai was barely surviving, he didn't look down on these things, because he had no right to.
"Dongxu, hurry home and get your things, then take them back. Our situation is already so dire, we need to prepare for the long term. Even if we can't finish them now, we can dry them. When we want to eat them later, we can still soak them in water and eat them."
Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, Jia Dongxu immediately ran towards the courtyard house, retrieved several bags and other items, washed the things Yi Zhonghai had retrieved, packed them into the bags, and then the two of them carried everything back to the courtyard house.
As evening approached, Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu were still washing various kinds of seaweed. While others ate, the Jia family could only eat seaweed and seafood soup.
Because there weren't many ingredients, and the seaweed contained a lot of snails and shellfish, the Jia family's soup today had a slightly fishy taste, but it also had a unique flavor.
Since these things cost almost nothing, everyone received several bowls. Although they tasted slightly fishy and bitter, no one minded. They were just grateful to have anything to eat. The entire Jia family didn't even know what they would eat tomorrow.
Seeing that the Jia family was completely subsisting on wild vegetables, almost everyone else in the courtyard was laughing so hard their stomachs hurt.
Everyone thought the Jia family deserved what they got. If the Jia family hadn't committed so many sins, how could things have turned out this way?
The Jia family could only pretend not to hear what others were saying. Jia Zhangshi, lying in bed, had no way to cause trouble.
This brought a rare period of peace to the courtyard house for nearly a month. However, once Huang Xiaojuan returned to the courtyard house after giving birth, things became somewhat unsettled again in the Jia family.
Even though life is tough right now, Ma Wen still managed to get a lot of things for Huang Xiaojuan to help with lactation. Meat and other such things are hard to come by, but Ma Wen and Sha Zhu aren't stupid; they started catching fish in advance.
The fish wouldn't die as long as the water was changed every few days. Although Yu Li started a little later than Huang Xiaojuan, it wasn't by much. To ensure a sufficient supply of breast milk, they had started catching fish several months earlier and had already accumulated a considerable amount of meat ration coupons.
When Huang Xiaojuan returned from the hospital, Ma Wen started cooking crucian carp soup. In the past, the Jia family might have been able to buy some meat or get some good food from elsewhere, but now the Jia family was no longer the Jia family it used to be.
How could the Jia family, who ate wild vegetables and seaweed every day, withstand such an attack? The Jia family had very little wealth, and they couldn't stand the smell wafting from the Ma family.
Desperate for food, Jia Zhangshi immediately climbed out of bed and, dragging her injured leg, went to the Ma family's house.
"Juanzi, I'm your sister-in-law from the Jia family. You probably know our family's situation. My granddaughter is practically craving fish soup. Could you share some with me?"
"No fish soup, but do you want a hammer? Do you want me to share one with you? You can only fool people with words like that. When have you, Jia Zhangshi, ever cared about your granddaughter?"
"Didn't you used to call me a money-loser all the time? Now that you want something to eat, you're acting like a granddaughter?"
"Don't you even know what time it is? Do you really think everyone will pamper you like Yi Zhonghai? Everyone's struggling to get enough to eat right now, why should I give you food?"
"Is it because you, Jia Zhangshi, are capable of adultery, or because you, Jia Zhangshi, are shameless? Or because you would lead your daughter-in-law to steal grain?"
Huang Xiaojuan's words were like a knife piercing Jia Zhangshi's heart. She was so angry she felt like hitting her. But Jia Zhangshi dared not do anything; continuing the discussion would only ruin her reputation. Once word got out, it would be even harder for the Jia family to face people in the courtyard. Most importantly, Ma Wen was standing to the side, watching her intently. Even if Jia Zhangshi wanted to, she didn't have the guts.
Watching Jia Zhangshi leave, dragging one leg, Huang Xiaojuan felt extremely happy. Not only had she given birth to a son, but she had also defeated Jia Zhangshi in a fair and square victory.
The thought of finally being able to hold her head high made Huang Xiaojuan eat faster.
Meanwhile, Jia Zhangshi returned to the Jia family in a fit of rage. Upon arriving, she immediately lay down on the bed and launched into a tirade against Qin Huairu, who was also lying on the bed.
In the past, Qin Huairu might have tolerated it, but now she no longer wants to.
I used to think Jia Dongxu treated me well, but now it seems he didn't treat me well at all. Not only was he not good to me, he was actually quite bad.
Thinking about Xu Damao's attitude towards Lou Xiao'e, Qin Huairu felt a pang of envy, jealousy, and resentment. If she had known Xu Damao was so good to his wife, she would have waited several years to marry him instead of Jia Dongxu.
If it were just Xu Damao, that would be one thing, but Yu Li, after marrying into the courtyard house, also started to take charge of the household. Although Sha Zhu wasn't as good to his wife as Xu Damao was to Lou Xiao'e, they weren't far off.
Aside from not doing laundry or cooking, Sha Zhu does all the other housework. In terms of being a doting husband, Sha Zhu is quite good. Especially after Yu Li became pregnant, Sha Zhu was practically on par with Xu Damao. He usually did the laundry and cooking, and he would even go out of his way to prepare delicious meals for Yu Li.
Not only Qin Huairu was jealous, but there were several other women in the vicinity who weren't.
"Dongxu, you need to control your mother properly. If this continues, how can we continue living like this? Our family has become like this, and she still acts all high and mighty. If she hadn't gone to Weihua's house to steal things, how could our family have ended up in such a miserable state?"
“If she hadn’t insisted on going there to pick wild vegetables, we wouldn’t have had this accident. It’s made our whole family stay at home every day eating wild vegetables and seaweed. I’m almost smelling like wild vegetables myself.”
"You, Qin Huairu, now you're blaming me? Why didn't you object before? If you had objected, would I have done this? I did this for our family, didn't I?"
"Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You just look down on our Dongxu because you think he has no future. Why didn't you say a word about it before?"
"So what if I complain? Don't I have the right to complain? Since I married into the Jia family, have I ever had a single good day? You sit on the bed all day like an official's wife, making me do everything. Have I ever uttered a single complaint? Now my hands and feet are injured, and you still make me do chores. Isn't that going too far? Am I not a human being?"
"Why do you get to take your frustrations out on me when you're upset elsewhere? Who am I supposed to vent to when I'm upset? If you hadn't encouraged Yi Zhonghai to take over Wei Hua's house, our family wouldn't be in this state now."
"If it weren't for you, Yi Zhonghai wouldn't have become like this. We don't owe you anything, so why should we keep indulging you?"
Hearing Qin Huairu's words, Yi Zhonghai hated Jia Zhangshi even more. Fortunately, Jia Dongxu stepped forward in time. Otherwise, Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu might have gotten into a fight.
"Both of you stop arguing. I know you're both angry, but things are already like this in our family. What's the point of arguing anymore?"
"Instead of arguing, you should rest in bed and heal your injuries. That way, our family will have hope for the future. Do you want to eat tree leaves every day? I certainly don't want to anymore."
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