Sure enough, Wang Xiuying immediately shifted her gaze to Jian Xiu.

Zhang Zixuan didn’t know about this matter either, so he also looked at Jian Xiu curiously.

With no other choice, Jian Xiu nodded and said, “I only helped Third Brother secure this job opportunity. Whether or not he can do it well is up to him.”

“I will definitely do my best! I won’t let you down!” Zhang Zifu said with determination.

“It’s not me you need to impress; it’s Manager Rong,” Jian Xiu corrected him again.

“Yes, yes, you’re right…”

But then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he continued, “But if I go to the county to work, what will happen to the house construction here? This won’t do…”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of the house construction,” Zhang Zixuan interrupted him.

He clearly understood what having a stable job in the county meant.

Moreover, this job was now the only source of income for their household.

If they lost even this, they would have no income at all.

Adults could survive without food for a couple of days, but children couldn’t afford to go hungry.

“Alright, let’s not dwell on this. Things will work themselves out. Come and eat first!” Jian Xiu called out to Zhang Zifu.

At this point, Wang Xiuying had already sat down to eat; only Zhang Zifu was left.

Seeing this, Zhang Zifu awkwardly walked over and sat down.

When he and his wife saw the table full of food, their faces were filled with shock.

“Jian Xiu, even if you have money now, you shouldn’t be spending it like this…” Wang Xiuying said, looking at the spread of meat dishes.

“Third Sister-in-law, just eat! I have some connections with Manager Wu at Yuexiang Restaurant, so these dishes didn’t cost anything.”

“Really?”

“Of course! Go ahead and eat!” Jian Xiu reassured them.

Sure enough, after hearing that it was free, the couple finally felt at ease enough to pick up some food and place it in their bowls.

However, upon seeing the white rice in their bowls, they couldn’t help but feel distressed again.

Even if the meat was gifted by the restaurant, surely the rice wasn’t?

Jian Xiu could easily guess what they were thinking.

So, she put down her chopsticks and said, “Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law, you don’t have to worry about this little bit of rice. Ever since we moved out of the old house, we’ve been eating rice every day.”

“In my opinion, only by eating well can we think clearly. And only by thinking clearly can we work effectively. If we can’t even fill our stomachs, how can we have the strength to work? When you eat well, you have more energy, and you can work much faster than when you’re starving.”

“So, why should I make myself suffer by working on an empty stomach and barely getting anything done?”

Her words left Zhang Zifu and Wang Xiuying completely stunned.

They hadn’t even noticed when their Fourth Sister-in-law became so articulate.

They wanted to argue that she was being wasteful, but when they thought about it, they realized they had no grounds to refute her.

After dinner, the couple diligently helped clean up the courtyard.

Zhang Zifu, in particular, took the initiative to carry out all the broken pottery shards that had been smashed earlier.

“Fourth Sister-in-law, you’re even raising pigs?” Zhang Zifu asked, noticing a small pigpen nearby.

Hearing this, Jian Xiu couldn’t help but smile.

Clearly, Zhang Zifu had no idea that his mother and second brother had been thrown in there.

She didn’t intend to keep it from them, though.

Outside the pigpen, Zhang Zifu was merely curious, so he glanced inside.

That one look left him completely speechless.

Earlier, he had been too preoccupied with the family separation and had forgotten to ask how Jian Xiu planned to deal with their mother and his so-called “good” second brother.

Never in his wildest dreams did he expect that Jian Xiu would throw them into the pigpen.

Thinking about it, though, it did seem like something Jian Xiu would do.

His Fourth Sister-in-law was no longer the person she used to be.

Even Zhang Zifu found it hard to believe that someone could change so much.

At this moment, Old Madam Liu and Zhang Zihua had already passed out.

Or rather, they had fainted from exhaustion.

They were in a miserable state—clothes covered in pig filth, faces and hair caked with dirt.

Zhang Zifu felt a pang of sympathy, but he didn’t dare plead for them in front of Jian Xiu.

After all, their suffering was nothing compared to Zhang Zixuan, who had been covered in blood.

Besides, they weren’t in the right here.

Jian Xiu’s actions were not entirely unjustified.

Still, she was his mother.

After thinking it over, Zhang Zifu decided to step inside.

As soon as Jian Xiu saw him enter, she knew what he wanted to do.

“Don’t worry, after tomorrow, your mother should be able to return home. As for Zhang Zihua…”

Seeing Zhang Zifu hesitate, Jian Xiu preemptively answered his unspoken question.

“My second brother… what are you planning to do with him?” Zhang Zifu quickly asked.

“Nothing much. If everything goes as planned, he won’t be coming back tomorrow.”

“Jian Xiu…”

“You’re so naïve. Didn’t you see what happened during the family separation? Even your supposedly kind-hearted eldest brother, Zhang Zirong, wanted you to leave with nothing. What do you think your so-called ‘good’ second brother would do?”

Before Zhang Zifu could finish speaking, Wang Xiuying interjected impatiently.

“You think of him as a brother, but he doesn’t see you the same way!”

Hearing this, Zhang Zifu didn’t dare to argue.

Because deep down, he knew Wang Xiuying was right.

Jian Xiu, meanwhile, had another thought.

She was planning to go to the county office tomorrow, but she couldn’t let them go looking and smelling like this.

More importantly, once she reported the case, the constables would definitely go to the old house to find people, so she needed to make sure they were home and waiting.

But she wasn’t about to provide them with fresh clothes herself.

After considering for a moment, Jian Xiu turned to Wang Xiuying and said, “Third Sister-in-law, I need to trouble you to go to the old house again.”

“That’s no problem! What do you need me to tell them?”

“Not much. Just take a set of clothes for Old Madam Liu and Zhang Zihua. They’ll need something to wear when they go out tomorrow.”

She deliberately didn’t say where they would be going.

“Alright, I’ll go right away!”

“Wait, Third Sister-in-law—don’t tell them I sent you. Just say that I’ll be taking them to the county town tomorrow.”

“I got it!”

With that, Wang Xiuying hurried off.