She turned to Lu Xiaoyue and said, “Xiaoyue, if you want to say something, go ahead, don’t be afraid.”

A villager echoed, “Yes, yes, we’re all here, your grandfather won’t dare say anything to you.”

Lu Xiaoyue glanced at Shen Xuezhú and continued, “Yesterday, my aunt asked my mother for some pork, but my mother didn’t give it to her, so she scolded my mother.”

“She even tried to hit my mother, but she didn’t succeed. My mother grabbed her hand.”

“Today, my aunt came back and told my grandfather about this. After hearing it, my grandfather scolded my mother.”

“He even made my mother apologize to my aunt, and not only that, he also said that my mother should send pork to my aunt in a few days.”

A villager clicked his tongue, “What kind of logic is that?”

Another villager, curious, asked why Shen Xuezhú didn’t give the pork to Shen Qingye the previous day.

Shen Xuezhú replied, “My husband has been missing for three years, and she never came to visit me. What kind of sister doesn’t care for her own sister?”

“I was so angry that I didn’t give her the pork.”

The villagers believed that Shen Xuezhú was an honest person who wouldn’t lie.

They all felt sympathetic toward her.

“So that’s what happened! Shen Lao, you even want Xuezhú to apologize to Qingye? That’s outrageous! You’re making Xuezhú suffer!”

“I feel so sorry for Xuezhú. This father wants Xuezhú to apologize to Qingye!”

“What kind of father is this? Not only does he scold his eldest daughter, but he also forces his second daughter to apologize to the eldest. And Qingye, you…”

Before a large villager could finish his sentence, Shen Qingye began to sob quietly, saying between tears, “Please don’t talk about my father, it’s all my fault.”

She pretended to apologize to Shen Xuezhú, “Sister, I’m sorry. I’ve been feeling upset lately, and I lost my temper and scolded you. I promise I won’t scold you again in the future.”

“I won’t ask you for things again.”

A villager acting as a mediator said, “You two are sisters, and since your sister knows she was wrong, just forgive her. Today is your father’s birthday; don’t make him unhappy.”

The one speaking up for Shen Qingye was an elderly woman living next door to the Shen family.

Shen Qingye had always gotten along well with her, and before coming to the Shen family today, they had chatted.

This elderly woman had complained about her eldest daughter-in-law being foolish, and Shen Qingye had agreed with her.

The elderly woman had a good impression of Shen Qingye and, therefore, helped her today.

Shen Xuezhú replied, “It’s not about forgiving or not forgiving.”

Shen Dayou, worried that the villagers would turn their attention to him again, said, “In the end, it’s my fault as the father.”

Shen Xuezhú found it hard to believe these words were coming from his mouth.

She gave him a meaningful look and said, “Father, remember what you said today.”

She then walked away, taking the cured meat to the kitchen.

…

At lunch, Wu Pandi said, “Xuezhú, the cured meat you brought is so delicious!”

Through the memories of the original owner, Shen Xuezhú knew that her mother had died from a snake bite a year before Shen Dayou married Wu Pandi.

On the surface, Wu Pandi pretended to care for the original owner, but behind her back, she scolded and even hit her when she was in a bad mood.

When Shen Xuezhú heard Wu Pandi praise the cured meat, she pretended not to hear it and didn’t want to engage with her.

After a while, Shen Xuezhú’s two younger brothers also praised the cured meat.

After eating a piece of cured meat, Shen Dayou couldn’t stop. “Second daughter, bring back a couple of pieces of cured meat for your brothers to eat next time. They seem to like it.”

Shen Xuezhú put down her chopsticks. “Didn’t you say my cured meat wasn’t edible? Why are you asking me to bring more?”

Shen Dayou became impatient, annoyed by her questions. “Didn’t I eat it before? Look, I ate it and still didn’t say it was bad.”

“My family isn’t wealthy, and now that I’ve split up, I have two children. I don’t have money to buy meat and make cured meat!”

Shen Qingye spoke up, “Xuezhú, since father is asking, you should make some cured meat for him. Otherwise, he’ll be embarrassed.”

“If you think father will be embarrassed, why don’t you make some cured meat and give it to him? As for me, I don’t think father will be embarrassed.”

“Alright, I’m taking my two daughters home,” Shen Xuezhú said, holding Lu Xiaoyue and Lu Xiaoli’s hands as they left.

No one tried to stop them from leaving, and Shen Xuezhú didn’t care to be stopped.

She walked away without looking back.

…

Back home, Shen Xuezhú sent her two daughters to nap.

She went to the back mountain by herself.

She looked at the three plots of land she had been assigned.

Thinking that in a few days, she would start planting vegetables.