Sun Shi stepped out from the crowd.

She had originally hoped that other women in the village would voice their objections, but to her surprise, everyone remained silent.

So, she had no choice but to be the bad guy herself.

She had done the calculations—ever since her sister-in-law returned to the village, she had been buying a lot of things.

Roughly estimating, she was making at least 200 copper coins a day, an amount that most village households couldn’t even earn in a month.

Earning 200 coins a day but only paying them two coins per pound—wasn’t that too stingy?

With a righteous tone, Sun Shi said, “Donghua is still so young, but as soon as she heard that her aunt needed lantern grass, she immediately went up the mountain to gather it. She spent an entire day picking it and only earned four copper coins. Sister-in-law, don’t you think you should pay a little more?”

As soon as she said that, the other women in the courtyard exchanged glances.

They hadn’t thought about raising the price before, but if it could be increased, that would be great—who would complain about making more money?

Cheng Wanwan smiled and stood up. “Donghua is indeed still very young, and even Xiaomai and Huzi are too small. It’s not worth it for them to risk going up the mountain for just a few coins. That was my mistake. From now on, I’ll leave the task of picking lantern grass to our family’s Ergou, Sanniu, and Dawang and Erwang. I won’t trouble everyone else anymore.”

Hearing this, all the women present widened their eyes in shock.

At two copper coins per pound of lantern grass, a child could gather two pounds in half a day.

They had planned to help pick some themselves to make extra money.

How could such a good opportunity suddenly disappear?

“Zhao Dasaoni, I think two copper coins is a fair price. Let our children continue to help pick the lantern grass!”

“Dashan’s wife, Ergou and Sanniu have to go to town every day to sell goods. Where would they find the time to go up the mountain? You wouldn’t make them climb the mountain in the middle of the night, would you?”

“Youcai’s wife thinks two coins is too little, but we don’t mind it!”

“Exactly!”

Youcai’s wife was Sun Shi.

Her husband, Zhao Youcai, was the third son in the Zhao family.

Since she had no sons, people in the village either called her “Zhao Sansao” or “Youcai’s wife.”

Sun Shi’s face turned red and white with embarrassment. “When did I ever say two coins was too little…”

Cheng Wanwan smirked. “Donghua is too young. If something happened to her in the mountains, I wouldn’t be able to take responsibility. From now on, I won’t accept any lantern grass she picks.”

Sun Shi was livid but had no choice but to swallow her pride and ask, “Then what about Chunhua? Can she bring it instead?”

Cheng Wanwan nodded indifferently.

After a few more words, the women dispersed.

At the Zhao family’s entrance, Old Madam Zhao, was tying dried grass into bundles to use as fire starters.

Sitting at the doorstep and chatting with passersby was the best way to gather all the fresh gossip from the village.

As soon as Sun Shi returned home, Old Madam Zhao scolded her harshly.

“You shameless woman! That’s your own sister-in-law! If you won’t help her lower costs, fine—but to think you tried to raise the price instead? You short-sighted little tramp! How did my third son end up marrying someone like you?”

Sun Shi felt utterly wronged.

So what if she was her sister-in-law?

It wasn’t like she would ever share any of that money with her!

She kept her head down and stayed silent.

Seeing this, Old Madam Zhao grew even angrier and cursed her out until she felt satisfied.

Just then, Zhao Sidaan walked in carrying a bowl. “Grandma, my mom asked me to bring this over.”

He placed a bowl of bone and bamboo shoot soup on the bench in the courtyard before quickly running off—he still had red-braised pork waiting for him at home.

Old Madam Zhao’s face darkened even more. “They’ve only made a few copper coins and they’re already wasting money! Even pig bones cost money! How much can she afford to squander? No, I need to go over there and remind her—she can’t just spend all her money on food. There are still three boys at home who need wives! We need to save every single coin!”

She put the bone and bamboo shoot soup into the pot to keep warm for her husband and hurriedly left.

Sun Shi glanced at the pot, making sure Old Madam Zhao had really left, then quickly took a small piece of pork-covered bone from the soup.

She stuffed it into Donghua’s mouth and whispered, “Eat it quickly and hide! Don’t let anyone see you.”

Donghua swallowed the meat in one bite and couldn’t bear to throw away the bone.

She found a hidden spot and slowly sucked the marrow and fat from it.

..

Meanwhile, Zhao Sidaan was also sucking on a pork bone.

Holding it in one hand, he used chopsticks with the other to pick up pieces of red-braised pork, stuffing his mouth until it was covered in grease.

Just as he was about to grab another piece, Cheng Wanwan pressed down on his chopsticks.

“Leave the rest for your sister-in-law.”

Wu Huiniang, who had been drinking pregnancy-stabilizing medicine, had lost her appetite due to the bitterness of the herbs.

She sat at the table, barely touching her food. After eating just one piece of red-braised pork, she couldn’t eat any more.

Cheng Wanwan said seriously, “Your health is too weak. The baby was almost lost. You need to eat more, even if you don’t feel like it.”

Wu Huiniang felt a bit ashamed.

White rice, pork bone soup, red-braised pork—such luxurious food, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to eat?

Zhao Dashan reheated some wontons and brought them over. “Huiniang, have some light food first. Just fill your stomach a little.”

Wu Huiniang quickly declined. “Wontons are too good for me. Give them to Mother instead—I don’t need them.”

Zhao Sidaan blinked and said, “We already ate in town! Sister-in-law, you should eat so the baby can grow big and strong!”

Zhao Ergou smacked him on the back of the head. “Idiot, it’s not her baby—it’s our nephew!”

“Mom! Erge hit me!” Zhao Sidaan complained, holding his head.

Cheng Wanwan shook her head. “Even with food in your mouths, you two still won’t shut up. Just eat!”

As the family was eating and joking around, Zhao Laotai suddenly barged in.

Her sharp eyes immediately caught sight of the food on the table.

She strode in quickly for a closer look. Sure enough—white rice, pork bone soup, a whole bowl of shiny red-braised pork, and even a dish of pig’s blood!

But she wasn’t just looking at the food—she was calculating the cost.

White rice had probably risen to 30 copper coins per pound.

This was at least three pounds, meaning 90 coins. The pork bones were 10 coins, and the pork itself was 50 to 60 coins. In total, they had just blown several hundred copper coins on one meal!

Zhao Laotai nearly had a heart attack.

“You wasteful woman! Do you think you’re the wife of some high-ranking official? Three or four pounds of white rice in one meal—Even the richest family in town wouldn’t throw money around like this!” she bellowed. “We have three sons who still need wives! If you keep spending like this, what will we eat tomorrow? Fresh air?!”

Cheng Wanwan: “…”

Who could have predicted that the old lady would suddenly burst in like this?

It was just one rare meal of white rice!

In modern times, eating white rice was the norm.

But in this era, there was a saying: The ones wearing silk and satin are not the ones who raise silkworms. In other words, the farmers who grew white rice couldn’t afford to eat it themselves. Reality was just that cruel.

If she didn’t have access to a special marketplace, even she wouldn’t be able to afford 30-coin-per-pound white rice.

The younger boys in the house didn’t fully understand the value of money, but the matriarch, who controlled the family’s finances, knew exactly how much every single grain of millet cost.

Cheng Wanwan quickly explained, “Mother, this was bought a long time ago. We’ve been saving it and only just decided to eat it today. Have you eaten yet? There’s still some rice in the pot, come sit down and eat with us.”