“Look at what you’re saying, Mother. What kind of nonsense is that? We’re not three-year-old children—why would we steal food? Don’t worry, I’ll hide it well for you,” Chen Sixi said with a smile.

Her sister-in-law, Fang Miaojun, rolled her eyes at her.

She had never been fond of Chen Sixi’s smooth-talking nature.

“Alright, alright, hurry back now. Don’t get in our way while we’re looking for money,” Old Madam Liu said with a wave of her hand.

With that, the three of them set off in a grand manner toward the old house.

…

After digging up the dendrobium orchids, Jian Xiu had already stored them into the system.

She put the remaining few plants into her basket—these could be taken home and cultivated there.

Their courtyard was spacious enough, so growing the orchids wouldn’t be a problem.

While growing dendrobium orchids seemed difficult for others, for Jian Xiu, who often grew flowers and plants, it was quite easy.

“Keke, has the point calculation for that hamster-like creature from the other day come out yet?” Jian Xiu asked out of boredom on the way back.

For some reason, ever since she had dug up those orchids, she had felt uneasy.

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong, but she had a bad feeling, as if something was about to happen.

She wanted to suppress the ominous premonition, so she tried talking to Keke.

But after calling out several times, Keke didn’t respond.

“Keke?” Jian Xiu called again.

Still, there was no reply.

“Did the system crash?” she wondered.

Keke: “…”

“Keke?”

“I’m here! You should hurry home—I have a feeling something has happened at your house.” Keke finally responded truthfully.

Hearing this, Jian Xiu’s heart sank. “What happened?” she asked anxiously.

“I can’t scan exactly what it is, but I have a heightened sensitivity to familiar places. I’m sure something has happened in your courtyard.”

Upon hearing this, Jian Xiu didn’t hesitate.

She quickly placed Zhang Feilan into her basket and rushed home.

“Mother, I can walk on my own!” Zhang Feilan(Er Ya) said, feeling sorry for Jian Xiu.

“Be good and listen. Something urgent has happened at home—we need to hurry!” Jian Xiu said anxiously.

Even she didn’t know why she felt so frantic.

She only knew that she didn’t want anything bad to happen.

“Mother, you go ahead. My younger brother and I are familiar with this road—we can walk back on our own,” Zhang Feixuan(Liu Tou) said thoughtfully.

He wasn’t wrong. Back when they lived in the old house, they often came here to gather pigweed.

It was a bit far, but the pigweed here was tender, and the pigs liked to eat it.

Jian Xiu glanced at their surroundings. They weren’t far from Zhangjia Village.

If she hurried, she could reach home in less than fifteen minutes.

For the two children, it would take a little longer, but not by much.

“Alright, but be careful. I’ll go ahead. Don’t play around on the way, understand?”

“We know, Mother! Hurry home!” Zhang Feixuan(Liu Tou) and Zhang Feiyi(Qi Tou) responded obediently.

They hadn’t yet realized the seriousness of the situation. They thought maybe their father had fallen or something.

That kind of thing happened often at the old house, so they were used to it.

..

When Fang Miaojun, Zhang Zirong, and Chen Sixi returned to the old house, they immediately hid everything carefully.

They followed Old Madam Liu’s instructions to the letter, not daring to be careless.

“Sister-in-law, do you think the meat will spoil if we hide it here?” Chen Sixi asked worriedly.

Although they had taken a lot of good things from the village outskirts this time, the wild boar meat was what she was most satisfied with.

Their second household especially loved eating meat.

It had been so long since they had eaten meat that she couldn’t even remember when the last time was.

“If we don’t hide it here, where do you think we should put it?” Fang Miaojun said impatiently.

Just from Chen Sixi’s expression, she could tell exactly what she was thinking.

Besides, with their mother-in-law absent, as the eldest sister-in-law, Fang Miaojun wouldn’t hold back when speaking.

“If we put it in my room, it might be safer,” Chen Sixi(Chen Shi) said with a grin, as if she hadn’t noticed Fang Miaojun’s annoyed expression.

Of course, she was just talking. What could they really do to her?

Hearing this, Fang Miaojun rolled her eyes and said sarcastically:

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. This is our family’s food supply! Besides, wild boar meat doesn’t keep for long—we have to cook it all tonight, or it’ll spoil. And anyway, it’s not up to me where it’s stored—it’s up to Mother. If you’re so concerned, why don’t you go ask her?”

Hearing this, Chen Sixi immediately backed down. “You’re right, Sister-in-law. The meat won’t keep long anyway,” she said quickly.

That actually suited her just fine.

It meant she could enjoy a feast for the next few days.

Once they finished this batch of meat, their second household wouldn’t have to crave meat for a while.

When they finally returned to the fields, the third household had already been working for nearly two hours.

Even their lunch of steamed buns had already been eaten.

“Eldest Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, why are you only coming now?” Zhang Zifu asked, unable to hide his frustration.

His tone carried a hint of resentment.

Their family owned over a dozen acres of land, yet most of the work always fell on their third household.

Even when they went home, it was their third household that had to gather pigweed.

Yet when it came to eating, their third household always got the least.

Just now, his wife, Wang Xiuying, had even complained in his ear, asking why he hadn’t brought up splitting the family.

“Third Brother, what are you saying? We were just a little late—why are you acting like we committed some unforgivable crime?”

Before the two women could respond, Zhang Zirong cut in impatiently.

Ever since their trip to the village outskirts, he had found Zhang Zifu increasingly unpleasant to look at.

That day, their eldest and second households had both been beaten by that wretched Jian Xiu.