Jiang Qiuyue saw that Lin Beibei’s knees were indeed scraped and frowned. She had rushed out, only leaving sweet potatoes for the two kids, not expecting to catch a ride on a tractor — which is how she ended up missing lunch.

Wiping Lin Beibei’s tears, she mentally calculated how to settle the score with Wang Chunhua and her daughter-in-law while pulling out the meat buns. “Don’t cry, or you’ll turn into a little mess. I brought you meat buns—eat up.”  

At the sight of the buns, Lin Beibei instantly stopped crying. “Th-These are for us?”  

“Of course, I bought them just for you,” Jiang Qiuyue said.  

Lin Beibei had never eaten a meat bun before, but he’d heard other village kids say they were the most delicious thing in the world. He took a big bite. “So good!”  

Watching the two children wolf them down, Jiang Qiuyue added another mark against the Lin family.  

She unpacked her purchases and put them away. Yesterday, she’d decided she would cook separately from now on and no longer eat with the Lin family. Even if Lin Fugui refused to divide the household, it didn’t matter—her money was hers alone. This was what she deserved for taking care of Lin Dazhu’s children.  

After boiling a pot of water and washing up with the newly bought soap, Jiang Qiuyue finally felt truly alive.  

She then bathed the two kids, though Lin Beibei, shy at his age, insisted on washing himself. She let him.  

Freshly cleaned, with even the bedding washed, Jiang Qiuyue sat under the eaves and took a deep, contented breath. “Now this is living.”  

Lin Beibei, after his bath, immediately dragged his sister out to brag to his friends about eating a meat bun.  

Qian Li, who had returned home to cook, overheard this. She pulled Lin Beibei aside and grilled him repeatedly before rushing to the fields to tattle to her mother-in-law. The two of them, carrying Lin Dabao, hurried back home.  

The moment they entered the yard, Wang Chunhua bellowed at Jiang Qiuyue, “Jiang Qiuyue, did you spend my money?”  

“*Your* money?” Jiang Qiuyue fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan and laughed.  

“Yes! The money Dazhu sent back is *my* money!” Wang Chunhua thrust out her hand. “Hand it over now.”  

“No money left. I spent it all,” Jiang Qiuyue said.  

“What?” Wang Chunhua thought she’d misheard. The only reason she’d held back yesterday was because of that twenty yuan. “Say that again if you dare!”

Jiang Qiuyue stood up and enunciated each word clearly to Wang Chunhua:  

“I said—I spent all the money! Didn’t I tell you yesterday? From now on, I won’t be eating with you all, so of course I had to buy my own rice and flour!” 

Qian Li’s heart ached when she heard the money was gone. She had been counting on it to buy eggs for Dabao. “Twenty whole yuan—how could you spend it all?! Sister-in-law, Mom and Dad raised Eldest Brother for so many years—this money is his filial duty to them! Even if you’re angry at Mom, you shouldn’t hoard it! How will you explain this to Eldest Brother?!”  

“Oh, listen to you. Mom and Dad also raised Second Brother for over twenty years. Tell me—how much has he given them in filial support?” Jiang Qiuyue fanned herself lazily, her mind still on how they had pushed the children at noon. She wasn’t about to let them off easy. “What’s wrong, Second Sister-in-law? Cat got your tongue? Why does Dazhu have to give money, but Second Brother doesn’t?”  

“You—you’re twisting things!” Qian Li, knowing she had no ground to stand on, turned to her mother-in-law for help.  

“Oh-ho, Second Sister-in-law even knows idioms now!” Jiang Qiuyue smirked. “If you want money, I don’t have a single cent. But here’s an idea—since I’ve been contributing household expenses for six years since marrying Dazhu, how about you pay for the four years since you married in? I’ll even give you a discount. After those four years, we can start splitting costs together.”  

Qian Li’s meager savings were reserved for herself and her own family—she would never part with them willingly.  

Seeing Qian Li’s frown, Jiang Qiuyue turned to her mother-in-law. “Mom, didn’t Second Brother earn two yuan helping build that new house a while back? Seems Second Sister-in-law wants to keep it for her own family instead of giving it to you.” 

“Two yuan?!” Wang Chunhua’s eyes bulged. “Qian Li, you told me Erzhu only earned a few eggs—no money at all!”  

“Mom, don’t listen to her nonsense! There really wasn’t—”

“Whether I’m lying or not, Mom can just ask the next village over. Second Sister-in-law, it’s not that I wanted to expose you, but you’re just too much—how could you hide money from Mom and Dad? We’re not even living separately yet! You should’ve handed it over!” Jiang Qiuyue fanned the flames. “Oh, and remember that Mid-Autumn Festival two years ago? Second Sister-in-law kept all the eggs meant for Dabao and secretly sent them to her parents. Mom… don’t tell me you didn’t know about that either?”  

Wang Chunhua *hadn’t* known. When she demanded to go verify the story and Qian Li frantically stopped her, she realized she’d been deceived.  

Already seething from the past two days, she immediately slapped Qian Li across the face.  

Qian Li didn’t think she’d done anything wrong. Her in-laws had just taken twenty yuan from the eldest sister-in-law—they were practically rolling in money! Why were they nitpicking over her meager savings?  

Stung by the slap, Qian Li wailed, “Mom! Sister-in-law is just trying to drive a wedge between us!”

“Jiang Qiuyue might be a troublemaker, but you’re no better—stealing from your own family!” Wang Chunhua grabbed Qian Li by the hair. “No wonder Dabao was so skinny back then! You were funneling food to your parents!”  

She dragged Qian Li toward the house. “If you don’t hand over that money today, I’ll make your life hell!” 

The more Wang Chunhua thought about it, the angrier she got, landing two more slaps. Lin Dabao sat on the ground, howling.  

(Back when Dabao was just one, he couldn’t even remember what he had or hadn’t eaten—that’s why Qian Li had occasionally pocketed an egg or two.)  

But she had painstakingly saved over twenty yuan—there was no way she’d give it up now. She braced herself against the doorframe, refusing to budge no matter how hard Wang Chunhua pulled.  

By the time the Lin men returned, they found Qian Li slumped on the ground, her voice hoarse from crying, and Wang Chunhua still cursing up a storm beside her.  

Lin Erzhu rushed over to ask what happened. Jiang Qiuyue cut in smoothly:  

“Second Brother, you and your wife have been so unfilial! Earning money but lying to Mom and Dad about it. Well, secrets don’t stay hidden forever—Mom’s furious with both of you!”  

She shook her head and sighed. “Dad, my heart truly aches for you. And to think—Second Brother is your own flesh and blood!”  

Lin Fugui, nearly choking on his rage: *…No matter how I spin it, that woman is mocking me!*