Lin Dabao’s eyes lit up the moment he saw meat. He rushed forward, reaching out to snatch the bone from Lin Beibei, but Jiang Qiuyue was quicker, grabbing his arm.  

“I wanna eat it! Give it to me now!” Despite being small, Dabao was strong. He flailed his arms wildly, and Jiang Qiuyue winced in pain from his hits. She lifted him up and tossed him to Qian Li.  

“Sister-in-law, if you don’t teach him properly, I’ll do it myself next time.” Jiang Qiuyue glared fiercely at Dabao. “Back when you had good food, you never shared with Beibei or Nannan. Now that they have something tasty, you don’t get any either!”  

Dabao sat on the ground, kicking and wailing. “I want meat! Grandma said I’m the treasure of the Lin family! Lin Beibei and Lin Nanan are bastards—they don’t deserve to eat… Waaah!”  

Jiang Qiuyue pinched Dabao’s mouth hard, making him cry even louder. Only then did Qian Li snap out of it and try to shield her son. “Eldest sister-in-law, why are you picking on a child?”  

“What’s going on? What’s all this noise?” Wang Chunhua and the others came running at the commotion.  

Seeing Dabao’s mouth red from the pinch, Wang Chunhua pointed at Jiang Qiuyue and scolded, “You damned shrew! How could you lay a hand on Dabao when he’s so little?”  

“Mom, Beibei and Nannan are also little. How could you lay a hand on *them*?”  

Jiang Qiuyue retorted coldly, “And as for you, second sister-in-law, what do you mean by ‘picking on a child’? I was just helping you teach him since you clearly don’t know how. You’re no good—deceiving Mom and Dad, spoiling your child. If this family falls apart someday, half the blame will be on you.”  

Qian Li: “I—”  

“Don’t bother making excuses. If you really cared about your child, the next time Dabao tries to steal food, you should slap him hard. That’s the only way he’ll learn.”  

People say that human nature is inherently good, but Jiang Qiuyue didn’t believe that. A kid like Dabao, who spewed filth at such a young age, probably inherited his parents’ rotten genes.  

“Beibei, Nannan, take your noodles to the room to eat. When we have good food, we share it with those who treat us well, understand?”  

While Lin Nannan was still frozen in place, Lin Beibei picked up the bowl and scurried to her side. In a voice he thought only his sister could hear—though everyone actually could—he said excitedly, “Hurry, hurry! Mom’s telling us to eat in the room! Mom’s the best—she didn’t make us share with Dabao!”  

The two kids dashed into the room without a backward glance. Jiang Qiuyue picked up her own bowl of noodles, drained the broth in one go, then raised an eyebrow at the Lin family in open defiance.  

Wang Chunhua itched to beat Jiang Qiuyue to death. “Just you wait, you wretch! Don’t think you’ll stay smug forever. One day, you’ll be begging us in tears!”  

Oh? Saying that meant they’d already thought of a way to deal with her?  

The thought flashed through Jiang Qiuyue’s mind, putting her on guard. Two days later, she spotted Lin Sanzhu sneakily stopping the mailman. After he left, she took a shortcut to catch up to the postman.  

“Brother postman, wait!” Jiang Qiuyue ran until she was drenched in sweat. Pulling out a letter she’d prepared, she lied without batting an eye. “My mom said she gave you the wrong letter. She asked me to swap it.”  

The postman had been delivering mail to Taohua Village every week for over a decade and knew everyone there. Without suspicion, he pulled out the letter Lin Sanzhu had given him and handed it to Jiang Qiuyue. “Be more careful next time. If I’d ridden farther, you’d have wasted a stamp for nothing.”  

“Thanks for the reminder. My mother-in-law’s getting old, and her eyesight’s failing. Next time, I’ll double-check for her. Really appreciate your hard work!” Jiang Qiuyue waved at the postman. Once he was out of sight, she confirmed that Lin Sanzhu had sent a letter to the military base. Without hesitation, she tore open the envelope.  

“Tsk tsk.”  

Just as she’d guessed—the Lin family, that bunch of schemers, were trying to frame her.  

They wanted Lin Dazhu to discipline her?  

Hah! In their dreams!  

Back home, Jiang Qiuyue burned Lin Sanzhu’s letter. Mail to and from Taohua Village took half a month round-trip. Let the Lin family keep waiting.  

Seeing her burning something, Lin Beibei thought she was cooking and trotted over eagerly. “Mom, what yummy thing are you making today?”

In the past two days, Jiang Qiuyue had been busy rolling out noodles, steaming buns, and making dried meat floss. The delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen every day drove Lin Dabao wild with hunger, making him wail incessantly.  

Right, what should she cook today?  

Half of the meat Jiang Qiuyue had bought had already been eaten, and the other half had been dried and hung up. She wasn’t in the mood for dried meat today. The house had plenty of rice and flour, but no vegetables.  

Just then, the sound of a child being beaten came from the neighboring Niu family. Lin Beibei whispered softly into Jiang Qiuyue’s ear, “Mom, Brother Zhuangzhuang is getting beaten again. Should we go check on him?”  

Brother Zhuangzhuang had even shared peanuts with him yesterday—he was such a good kid.  

Seeing the little one’s worried face, Jiang Qiuyue took his hand and walked to the Niu family’s door.  

“Granny, I was wrong! I really was! Stop hitting me! I just wanted to get some food for the family!” Niu Zhuangzhuang ran circles around the yard, wearing only a tank top, his pants already stripped off by his grandma and left on the ground.  

Aunt Niu chased after him, sweating profusely, a bamboo switch in hand. “Niu Zhuangzhuang, didn’t I tell you not to go to the river? You little brat just won’t listen, will you? Get over here right now! If I don’t beat the fear into you today, I’m not your ancestor!”  

Spotting someone at the door, Niu Zhuangzhuang saw his savior and immediately hid behind Jiang Qiuyue and Lin Beibei. “Auntie, save me! My granny’s gonna beat me to death!”  

Jiang Qiuyue searched her memory—the Niu family had decent hearts. Aunt Niu had often advised the original owner not to overwork herself, and Niu Zhuangzhuang had always looked after the two kids.  

Since she had nothing else to do right now, she asked Niu Zhuangzhuang what he’d been up to.  

Aunt Niu loudly cut in, “He went to the river to catch fish! Qiuyue, come look—tiny fish no bigger than a thumb! Barely any meat, and they stink! How are we supposed to eat that?”  

As she spoke, she seized her grandson by the ear when he wasn’t paying attention and gave his buttocks a few hard smacks. “Your parents are out working in the fields! If something happened to you, how could I ever face them?”  

Niu Zhuangzhuang howled, “Granny, go easy! I won’t do it again, I swear!”  

Lin Beibei watched fearfully. Granny Niu was so different from usual—would he still be able to come play with Brother Zhuangzhuang after this?  

But Jiang Qiuyue’s eyes lit up at the sight of the small fish in the wooden bucket. Though they didn’t have much meat, they’d be delicious deep-fried. Even better, smoking them and stir-frying them with chili would make for a perfect side dish.  

Just thinking about it made her mouth water. “Auntie, if you don’t want them, how about selling them to me?”  

“What would you do with them?” Aunt Niu asked, puzzled.  

“Eat them, of course.” The moment Jiang Qiuyue said this, Aunt Niu’s expression turned sympathetic—she had clearly misunderstood.  

“Qiuyue, it’s not that I like meddling, but your husband sends you living expenses every month. Why don’t you get yourself and the kids something good to eat? Look at Beibei and Nannan—they’re nowhere near as chubby as Dabao.”