This is absolutely humiliating for him in the village!
Zhao San stepped forward and kicked Liu Shi into the river. Pointing at Liu Shi, he cursed, "You lazy, son of a bitch, I'll divorce you sooner or later!"
The river wasn't deep, and Liu struggled for a couple of moments before standing up.
After seeing Zhao San clearly, she became so angry that she immediately started throwing a tantrum, "Zhao San! How dare you kick me? Ugh, I can't live like this anymore! Ever since I married into your Zhao family, I've lived worse than a pig or a dog all these years..."
Several women nearby discussed pulling Liu Shi out of the river, worried that she might freeze to death in such cold weather.
The riverbank was filled with chatter; in such a small village, even the smallest thing spread like wildfire. Before long, half the village's women had gathered to watch the spectacle.
He Tiantian and her two daughters hid behind the local earth god temple, eating meat buns.
Zhao Denglong couldn't even remember the last time she ate meat. The meat buns and roast chicken that her mother brought were so delicious that she wished she could swallow her tongue.
Zhao Wanzi was so engrossed in gnawing on her chicken leg that she didn't even have time to speak.
The mother and her two daughters devoured the steamed buns and roast chicken in a flash, even chewing up and swallowing the remaining bones.
He Tiantian slumped to the ground, licking her lips with satisfaction.
"Lantern Dumpling, remember not to tell anyone that we're eating meat today." She had seen through it all; Changfeng Village was too poor, and no one wanted anyone to be better off than themselves.
Everyone wants others to be worse off than themselves, so they can feel more at peace.
"Mother, but we've eaten all this food. What will we do tomorrow? What about the day after?" Zhao Denglong asked worriedly. She felt that her mother had changed. She was no longer as stingy as before when she had food.
"Think about tomorrow later, let's focus on getting through today first. We can't mistreat ourselves in this life," He Tiantian earnestly advised.
She had no children in her previous life, so she naturally didn't know how to raise them. But she did know that a mother's love for her child is selfless.
He Tiantian turned to look at her two dirty daughters, their faces grimy and their hair greasy and matted, clumped together on their scalps.
Needless to say, the smell on his body was unbearable to smell and look at; it was as if he hadn't taken a bath in years.
He Tiantian got up and immediately began to give instructions, "Lantern, go and find some more firewood, the more the better. Wanzi, take the jar outside and shovel snow, fill it up. Mother will give you a good bath later."
Zhao Denglong was stunned. Taking a bath...
It is indeed a luxury.
When we lived with Grandma, she wouldn't allow us to take baths in winter. She said it was cold and there wasn't enough firewood on the mountain, so we had to use it sparingly for cooking.
Actually, Zhao Denglong had gathered all that firewood by herself. She knew in her heart that her grandmother disliked her and her sister and was always finding ways to give them the cold shoulder.
While the two children were out, He Tiantian decisively opened the online store and bought a bar of soap and a few pieces of rags. They were the cheapest items, costing her ten coins.
To prevent Lantern and Dumpling from seeing what she was holding, He Tiantian personally washed them little by little after the water was boiled, and secretly applied a small bar of soap she had bought to their hands.
After a busy afternoon, He Tiantian looked at Zhao Denglong and Zhao Wanzi with satisfaction.
Very nice, the two little girls are pretty and have a childlike appearance.
Ever since Old Lady Zhao kicked her second daughter-in-law and two granddaughters out of the Zhao family, the chores that originally belonged to them naturally fell to the eldest and third sons.
The eldest daughter-in-law, Tao, was a gentle and honest woman who gave birth to three sons in succession after marrying into the Zhao family. It was precisely because of her three grandsons that Old Mrs. Zhao did not make things too difficult for her eldest daughter-in-law, Tao.
However, Tao's life in the Zhao family was not easy either. She dared not resist and could only let her mother-in-law do as she pleased. In this family, she was her mother-in-law's personal maid, serving her everything from serving tea and water to her daily life.
The younger daughter-in-law, Cheng, was quite clever and meticulous in everything she did. However, she didn't dare to openly oppose her mother-in-law, otherwise, if Old Lady Zhao kicked her out of the house, she would never see her two sons and daughter again.
On this day, Old Lady Zhao called her eldest and youngest daughters-in-law over.
Her face was stern and serious. Both Tao and Cheng were too frightened to utter a sound.
“He has been expelled from the family. From now on, our Zhao family will pretend that she never existed and never mention her again.”
Tao and Cheng nodded quickly. They stood by and watched that day, so frightened that they couldn't recover for a long time, and they had nightmares that night.
Old Mrs. Zhao glanced at her two daughters-in-law, snorted coldly again, and continued, "But the housework can't be neglected for even a day. From now on, cooking will be Tao's responsibility. Gathering firewood, chopping wood, and feeding the chickens and ducks will be yours, Cheng."
Tao had no objection, nor dared to have one.
Madam Cheng felt it was very unfair. "Mother, you're so biased towards my sister-in-law! You give her such an easy job like cooking, while I'm always given the hard and tiring tasks!"
Where could she gather firewood in the dead of winter? Those chicken and duck pens always smelled terrible; where could she find wild vegetables for them to eat?
Old Mrs. Zhao glared at her with a sharp look, "If you think it's unfair, then come and serve me and take over your sister-in-law's job!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng was so frightened that she quickly shrank back.
She didn't want that. Her sister-in-law served her until late at night every day, even in the cold winter. She couldn't stand it.
Forget it, I'll just have to bear with it a little longer. In two years, after my eldest son, Zhao Pang, gets married, I'll propose that we separate from the family and live on our own, so I can finally experience being a mother-in-law.
In winter, it gets dark earlier, so He Tiantian asked the two children to stay in the dilapidated temple to clean and tidy up, keeping what could be used and throwing away what couldn't be used.
She went up the mountain again, and bought a worn-out fishing net at the mall to take with her.
The spot where Song Yun fell into the water today gave her a sudden idea. Since there was a hole in the river that had been created, she could try to catch some fish with a fishing net!
Without hesitation, He Tiantian felt like she was walking on air as she quickly arrived at the riverbank at the foot of the back mountain.
The ice that had been broken open was not completely frozen solid yet. He Tiantian used the wooden stick in her hand to pound it hard, breaking up the thin layer of ice that had just formed.
Then he slowly poured the fishing net into the water.
A wisp of steam rose from the river, and He Tiantian sat on the bank waiting and waiting.
Suddenly, a mocking voice rang out from the opposite bank of the river.
"Oh, who do we have here? It's Mrs. He. You're not planning to drown yourself in the lake in the dead of winter, are you?"
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