Seeing this, Old Madam Liu immediately began to curse.

“Die, wretched person! If you touch this duck today, I will not spare you!”

“I not only want to eat this duck, do you see that pig over there? I won’t spare that pig either!”

Upon hearing this, Old Zhang could no longer stay seated.

He walked out and said to Jian Xiu, “These chickens and ducks are kept for laying eggs. If you kill another one, don’t blame me for being rude to you.”

Old Zhang had always been the one to make decisions in the house, and no one dared to defy him.

Now, seeing him look stern, who would dare say anything?

But Jian Xiu seemed not to notice.

She grabbed the duck by its neck and gave it a light twist, sending it off to become salted duck eggs.

Seeing this, Old Zhang became so angry his nostrils seemed to smoke.

“I told you to let go! Didn’t you hear me?” As he spoke, Old Zhang began moving toward Jian Xiu, ready to strike.

However, before he could get close, Jian Xiu casually picked up a stick and held it in her hand.

“Did you forget what happened yesterday? Or do you still think I’m the same naive Jian Xiu? The one who wouldn’t fight back when you hit her? Let me tell you, I’m no longer that person. I guarantee, if any of you here dares to lay a hand on me, I will repay you ten times over. Want to try?”

With this, Old Zhang immediately stopped in his tracks.

He stared at her, wide-eyed, unable to speak a word, his mouth opening and closing in disbelief.

Holding the duck in her hand, Jian Xiu gave Old Zhang another cold look before walking slowly toward the small dark room.

This small room in the fourth house was barely big enough for two beds.

It didn’t even have a window and was the smallest and darkest room in the house.

Jian Xiu had set up a small cooking station near the door, because cooking inside would make the whole room filled with greasy smoke that couldn’t dissipate.

So, she often cooked outside, and the other three houses could see her, including Old Zhang and Old Liu.

When Old Madam Liu saw the plump duck Jian Xiu had placed whole into the pot, she felt as if someone was cutting flesh from her body.

“Old man, what do you think we should do?” After a while, Old Madam Liu couldn’t hold back and asked.

Originally, she thought they would stay together for a while longer, and that Jian Xiu would work diligently like before.

But now…

Old Zhang was also troubled.

If they really separated the fourth house, they would suffer a great loss.

Though Zhang Zixuan was paralyzed in bed, they didn’t need to care for him.

The people of the fourth house took care of him.

The most important thing was, the people in the fourth house ate less than the others, but worked several times more.

So, Old Zhang was reluctant to separate them.

However, given the current situation, it wasn’t feasible to let them keep living like this.

In the fourth house, Jian Xiu guessed that they would soon be fed up, but there was still one more day.

Tomorrow, she had to slaughter the pig as well.

“Ke ke, Ke ke!”

“Yes, Master!”

“Is it easy to accumulate points?”

Once the family separates, with Old Zhang and Old Liu’s personalities, the people in the fourth house wouldn’t be able to take anything with them.

So, she had to make plans for what to do after the separation.

“Master, it’s hard to say. If it’s a rare plant or animal, then you can earn more points. One point equals one yuan. Right now, rice in the supermarket costs three yuan per kilogram, but it might be cheaper during promotions.”

“Looks like I need to head to the deep mountains soon!” Jian Xiu said again.

“Yes, Master. Your points are still zero. The more points you earn, the more the system will level up. There may be unexpected surprises!”

“Upgrade? The system can upgrade?”

“Yes, but I don’t know what it’ll look like after the upgrade, because I haven’t experienced it myself.”

Hearing this, Jian Xiu fell into deep thought.

It seemed the separation was an urgent matter.

With this in mind, Jian Xiu couldn’t wait for tomorrow.

She immediately turned to Liu Tou and said, “Liu Tou, watch the fire here! I’ll go out for a bit.”

“Okay, be careful, Mother!”

Since she was going to slaughter a pig, Jian Xiu headed toward the kitchen.

She found the axe she used for chopping firewood and spent some time sharpening it on the whetstone.

Once it was sharp enough, she stood up and gave the others a cold glance.

The others were confused and didn’t understand what she meant by this action.

The duck was already dead, so what else was there to be dissatisfied with?

For some reason, Old Madam Liu had a bad feeling.

“Whore, I warn you, don’t try any tricks. If you…”

Before she could finish, Jian Xiu headed straight for the pigpen.

Realizing her intent, Old Madam Liu didn’t hesitate and immediately blocked her way, stretching her arms out to stop her.

“If you dare touch that pig today, I won’t spare you!”

“Oh? And how will you not spare me?” Jian Xiu said lightly.

“I… I…” As she spoke, Old Madam Liu looked around, searching for a weapon.

“Look, there’s a stick over there. Pick it up if you want!”

Old Madam Liu was speechless.

She felt as though Jian Xiu had completely changed since yesterday.

Or had she always been hiding her true self?

“What? Not going to pick it up? Then I won’t hold back!” Jian Xiu said lightly.

Once the words left her mouth, she grabbed Old Liu, who was blocking her, and casually pushed her aside.

“You dare?” Old Zhang angrily asked Jian Xiu.

“Just stand there and watch. See if I dare!” Jian Xiu sneered.

The Zhang family had two pigs, but the fourth house was the only one that took care of them, so for Jian Xiu, killing one pig was already showing them respect.

“Why are you still standing there? Stop her!” Old Zhang yelled at his three sons.

These pigs were a major income for the Zhang family.

In the whole village, their pigs were the fattest, and Old Zhang hoped to sell them at a good price by the end of the year.