“We don’t eat fish. These two fish can’t be eaten,” Xiao Zisu quickly shook her head. Yesterday, her younger sister had cried for a long time because of these two fish. They couldn’t eat them.

“Ah… Isn’t fish meant to be eaten?” Li Xiaoni asked in return.

“What’s the point of having them if we can’t eat them?” Li Daqiang said.

“You don’t understand,” Xiao Zisu glanced at the small white fruit and quietly told her newly made friends, “My sister likes them. We keep them to show her.”

Li Xiaoni and Li Daqiang’s faces drooped, their disappointment obvious.

Li Wuzhen was still staring at the fish in the basin.

“Your sister is so disobedient,” Li Xiaoqiang mumbled. “Who keeps fish without eating them? If you have fish and don’t eat them, you’re a foolish child!”

Xiao Zisu immediately became upset.

“You’re the one who’s disobedient! My sister is the most obedient, and she’s the best! She’s even more adorable than me!” In her small heart, her sister was the best and the most well-behaved.

Xiao Zisu loved her sister, Xiao Baiguo, more than anyone else.

Even her parents couldn’t say anything bad about her sister.

Who was Li Daqiang to say otherwise?

“Don’t say anything bad about my sister! My sister likes fish, and we’re keeping them!” Xiao Zisu said angrily. “These are our fish, what does it have to do with you?”

“How can you be so nosy? They’re not even from your family.”

“Anyone who keeps fish and doesn’t eat them is a fool. Your sister is a fool!” Li Daqiang shouted.

He couldn’t have the fish, and there was someone next door who was acting foolish, keeping fish and not eating them.

When Xiao Zisu heard this, she was furious.

“How dare you insult people? You’re the fool!”

“Anyone who keeps fish and doesn’t eat them is a fool!”

“You’re the fool!”

“…”

The two children were about to fight.

Li Qiurong walked out of the house. “Why are you two fighting?”

Xiao Zisu rushed over to hug her leg and complained, “That big fool called my sister a fool. My sister isn’t a fool at all, he’s the fool!”

Children’s quarrels, and the fact that her own child kept calling the other a fool, left Li Qiurong speechless.

With the parents of both families in the yard, Xiao Zisu felt confident running to report the complaint.

Li Daqiang stood dumbfounded in place, the child who was neglected.

The child who was neglected didn’t even dare complain.

“Li Daqiang, you’re just a little kid, why talk so much?” Li Dama shouted at him, “Other people’s fish, if they want to eat, they can eat, if they don’t, they don’t, what does it have to do with you? Why do you have to say so much?”

It wasn’t enough to just shout at him.

She grabbed Li Daqiang’s ear and twisted it hard.

“You’re making trouble in someone else’s house. Go home!”

Li Daqiang’s ear turned red immediately.

Though it hurt, and tears filled his eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to cry.

Seeing this, Li Qiurong hurried to advise, “Children don’t know better. They’re just arguing a bit. Li Dama, please don’t be mad at the children.”

“This boy talks too much. I’m taking him home. Let Wuzhen and Danni play together.”

Li Dama, holding her grandson, dragged Li Daqiang away by his ear, not giving him a choice.

Li Daqiang was too foolish, only thinking about food.

Wasn’t it obvious that the Bai family was indulging their children by buying fish to keep for them to look at?

And yet, Li Daqiang had the audacity to call their child a fool in front of them. Who was the real fool?

Before leaving, Li Daqiang looked back at everyone with teary eyes, feeling very wronged.

He couldn’t understand.

How could it be foolish not to eat fish?

Was he wrong?

He wasn’t wrong.

Xiao Baiguo was the fool!

Once Li Daqiang left, the atmosphere became peaceful. Li Xiaoni was smart, Li Wuzhen was timid, and Xiao Zisu wasn’t unreasonable.

The three of them, now alone, couldn’t keep arguing and quickly started playing together.

Bai Zhi and Li Qiurong didn’t stop them.

After all, it was their own yard.

Their children weren’t being bullied, and Xiao Zisu wasn’t being taught to behave badly.

They let the kids play.

After lunch, Li Xiaoni and Li Wuzhen came again.

The three little girls played together all day and had already gotten quite familiar.

Old Lady Li had long seen through her three grandsons.

When talking about them, her tone was filled with disdain: “The three brothers are useless. The younger ones must be taught well; don’t let them turn out like these three brothers, with shallow minds.”

“What do you mean our children are useless?”

“Ha, only you think they have any success.”

After being mocked by her mother-in-law, Mrs. Li quickly changed the subject.

“That couple next door is living with their daughter. Their next generation has two daughters. It would be better if they married into our family. They live nearby, and their family feels at ease. We can also feel at ease since both families live next to each other. We can teach the granddaughter-in-law from a young age, ensuring she meets our expectations. Besides… when the children grow up, they won’t have to worry about finding a job.”

Mrs. Li was good at calculating.

Both Bai Zhi and his wife were cultured people, and the couple next door was capable.

Knowing that they only had two daughters, she thought about matchmaking.

While the children were still small, it would be a good idea to arrange a betrothal.

The granddaughter-in-law could grow up under her nose, and she could raise her herself.

She got more and more excited: “They love their children. Otherwise, they wouldn’t live with their daughter. And the next generation is spoiled too.”

Mrs. Li only stayed at the Bai family for a short time, with little interaction with Bai Zhi and his wife, but she had a good eye for people.

As soon as she saw the two children, clean and well-loved, it was clear that their parents spoiled them.

Families who dote on their children generally don’t want to marry them far away.

If they could marry into a family nearby with good connections, what wouldn’t they want?

Old Lady Li couldn’t help but sneer, “You’ve said they spoil their children, but have you thought about your own children? Who’s taken care of them seriously? They’re as dirty as beggars. Do you think anyone would want your grandson? So shallow!”

Mocked by her mother-in-law, Mrs. Li didn’t give up.

“I’m thinking about my family’s grandson. It’s also a good thing for the family next door.”

“Only you think it’s a good thing. Do they want someone from your family? What do you have? No one’s successful, the whole family crammed into a small courtyard, and they can’t even live comfortably. What could they want from your family? Is it the number of people? Stop embarrassing yourself!”

Mrs. Li wanted to argue but couldn’t.

With three sons who had no major achievements, and daughters-in-law who weren’t much better, the fact that they couldn’t live comfortably in their home was undeniable.

There were too many children to feed.

What would the other family want from them?

If proximity was the advantage, there were plenty of other families nearby.

Mrs. Li couldn’t say anything.

Their family didn’t really have any advantages.

Her energy deflated, and she dryly muttered, “Well, maybe they’d want a good grandmother, a good great-grandmother. Marrying into our family, she won’t be bullied by the in-laws. I’ll treat her like my own granddaughter.”

Hearing this, Old Lady Li sneered and ignored her.

Some people just like to humiliate themselves.

They couldn’t see their own worth, yet thought their family was something special!

…

Mrs. Li didn’t give up.

The next day, she sent Li Xiaoni and Li Wuzhen next door to play with Xiao Zisu, while she herself took her grandson over.

She didn’t reveal her intentions and didn’t speak out of turn while sitting in the Bai family’s courtyard.

Li Qiurong and Bai Zhi didn’t notice her hidden motives.

Seeing she was considerate and not talkative, they treated her neither too close nor too distant.

After all, they were just neighbors; visiting wouldn’t cause any issues.

By the third afternoon, one of the two carp in the basin died.

Little Bai Guo was sad.

Her fish had died after only a few days.

The other one probably wouldn’t last much longer either.

The fish wouldn’t wait for her to grow up; what could she do? She had no choice but to let her grandparents eat it!

As soon as the carp died, Bai Zhi picked it up from the basin and was about to prepare it for cooking.

He glanced at Xiao Bai Guo, wondering if she would throw a tantrum.

Seeing her eyes red and full of reluctance but without crying, Bai Zhi was confused.

Was this child sensible, or not?

It seemed like she knew the fish was dead, and instead of crying or throwing a fit, she let go of it.

Xiao Bai Guo turned her back to Bai Zhi in Li Qiurong’s arms.

It was her fish, but she couldn’t eat it, and seeing him prepare it for cooking felt too cruel.

She bit her small fist, saliva spilling on Li Qiurong’s clothes.

Little Zisu, very considerate, comforted her sister, “Don’t be sad, little sister. When I grow up, I’ll buy you fish every day so you can eat and get nice and plump.”

Little Bai Guo nodded seriously.

She remembered it and hoped her sister would keep her promise!

Li Qiurong also paid attention to Xiao Bai Guo’s feelings.

Seeing she wasn’t crying or throwing a fit, she relaxed and sighed, “Children may not speak, but they are quite sensitive.”

Bai Zhi agreed, “She’s just young, not foolish!”

The Bai family’s fish was dead, and Li Xiaoni was the happiest. Previously, they wouldn’t kill the fish, and she couldn’t even ask for some fish soup. Now, they were going to eat fish, right?

Bai Zhi was sitting at the door of the courtyard, killing the fish. She leaned over and watched him skillfully scrape off the scales and gut the fish.

Looking at the white fish meat, Li Xiaoni couldn’t help but swallow.

“Grandpa Bai, what kind of fish is this? Does it smell good? Is it tasty?”

After a string of questions, Bai Zhi answered, “This is a carp, it tastes alright.”

Li Xiaoni, with big black-and-white eyes full of hope, asked, “Grandpa Bai, I’ve never had carp before. Could you give me a little fish soup to taste?”

How would she know if she’d ever eaten carp?

She couldn’t tell what fish was what.

Saying she hadn’t eaten it was just a way to play the poor card and find an excuse to beg for some.

Before Bai Zhi could respond, Mrs. Li’s voice came from behind.

She immediately scolded, “Li Xiaoni, is your family lacking food or drink? Coming to other people’s house begging for food, are you ashamed of yourself?!”

Mrs. Li had a wooden basin in her hand.

As soon as she stepped out of her own yard, she saw her granddaughter crouching next to Bai Zhi.

When she got closer, she overheard Li Xiaoni begging for food.

Her family wasn’t lacking food, yet she acted like a beggar.

She was so familiar with begging, it was clear she had done it many times before, embarrassing the whole family.

Mrs. Li was furious!

“Grandma…” Li Xiaoni was caught red-handed.

Her face immediately turned red, and she quickly denied, “I… I wasn’t begging for food at someone else’s house.”

“Do you think I’m deaf? Shameless thing, you’re begging like a beggar! Were you born hungry?” Mrs. Li scolded fiercely.

Li Xiaoni immediately burst into tears.

Bai Zhi glanced at her, but how other families educated their children was none of his business.

He wasn’t a talkative person, so he just watched.

“Old Bai, I’m so sorry. My granddaughter isn’t well-raised. Don’t mind what she said. I’ll have her parents properly teach her.” Mrs. Li said.

“It’s okay. Children need proper guidance, just don’t hit them,” Bai Zhi responded politely.

Mrs. Li dragged Li Xiaoni back to her own courtyard.

Soon after, the sound of Li Xiaoni crying could be heard from her house, disturbing Xiao Zisu and Li Wuzhen in the Bai family’s yard.

“Did the grandmother next door hit the child?” Xiao Zisu asked fearfully, patting her chest and looking at her friend Li Wuzhen. “Did you get hit?”

“I have. If you’re naughty, you get punished,” Li Wuzhen replied in a low voice.

“Scary. Good thing I’m not your family’s child.”

“If you’re obedient, you won’t get hit.”

After a while, Li Xiaoni’s crying stopped.

With no adults around, Li Wuzhen whispered, “Do you take a bath every day at home?”

“Who doesn’t take a bath every day?” Xiao Zisu blinked her big eyes.

“I…” Li Wuzhen scratched her head, feeling a little embarrassed.

They used to bathe every few days, but since the Bai family moved next door, they had to bathe every day.

She was a little resentful at first, but thinking about how Xiao Zisu bathed every day, she felt strangely comforted.

What kind of thought was that?

When she suffered, hearing that others were suffering too made her feel better.

“You’re pitiful.” Li Wuzhen sympathized with Xiao Zisu, pointing at Xiao Bai Guo, who was carried inside by Li Qiurong. “Does your little sister take baths too?”

“Yes, my sister takes a bath every day, even more often than me. When we lived in the countryside, she would bathe two or three times a day,” Xiao Zisu replied.

“Two or three baths a day?” Li Wuzhen was stunned.

Wow, poor little Bai Guo!

She was so young, and she had to suffer through so many baths every day.

So tragic!!

With the even younger Xiao Bai Guo as the bottom of the pyramid, Li Wuzhen suddenly felt so happy.

What if she had to scrub her skin with a loofah? It didn’t hurt at all!!

…

The first carp had died, and there was one left. Xiao Bai Guo had already lost interest.

She knew the fish wouldn’t ever reach her mouth, so she didn’t bother thinking about it. She’d spent these days thinking about it in vain. What a waste!