But she also knew that if she didn’t come up with a plan now, even if it reached midnight tonight, she would still have to go gather pig fodder.

Ever since that slut, Jian Xiu, killed the pig, the last remaining one was treated by Old Liu as her lifeline.

She couldn’t let the pig be short of food, not even a little.

In the past, she never had to worry about these chores, but now, with the fourth house gone, all the responsibility for the chickens, ducks, and pigs had fallen onto her shoulders.

“Ah, mother… mother, I hurt my waist this morning. I was going to tell you, but I forgot. I was even thinking about having Zihua go to my brother’s place to get me some medicine, but he’s only just come back now,” said Chen Sixi, making a show of holding her round waist.

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiuying finally forced a bitter smile, tugging at the corners of her lips.

“Third family, don’t worry about cooking. Go get some pig fodder!”

As expected, she hadn’t finished the work in her hands when the loud voice of Old Liu came from outside.

Old Liu, hearing that Wang Xiuying hadn’t responded, grew impatient.

“What’s this? You can’t hear me now?” She flung the door open and grabbed Wang Xiuying’s arm, pinching it hard.

“Ouch… Mother, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’m going right now!” Wang Xiuying said hurriedly.

“Then hurry up! If that pig goes hungry, I’ll hold you responsible,” Old Liu said, gritting her teeth.

When Zhang Zifu entered the house, not yet understanding what was going on, he saw his wife, her eyes red, carrying the basket and heading out.

“Mother, what’s going on? Isn’t Xiuying back just now? Where is she going?” Zhang Zifu asked in confusion.

Today, like everyone else, his wife had been working in the fields all day until dark.

How could she come home and then be sent out again to work?

“What? You feel sorry for her now? I just told her to go get some pig fodder. What’s wrong with that? You can eat, but the pig can’t? If that pig gets thin, no one will have a good life,” Old Liu snapped.

“But mother, didn’t you say this morning that…”

“Enough! It’s just a basket of pig fodder, that’s the end of it!” Zhang Laotou interrupted his son’s words.

If they kept arguing, it would drag on until dawn.

Seeing that his parents were like this, and feeling sorry for his wife, Zhang Zifu quickly ran after her.

It was late at night, and he couldn’t let her go alone to the foot of the mountain to gather pig fodder.

Sure enough, as soon as he stepped outside, he saw his wife walking slowly toward the village’s edge with the basket on her back.

“Why are you going to gather pig fodder over there?” Zhang Zifu asked as he took the basket from Wang Xiuying.

“Jian Xiu used to say that the best pig fodder is at the village edge, but hardly anyone goes there, so no one has noticed,” Wang Xiuying whispered.

Normally, Wang Xiuying was gentle and submissive, not one to compete with others, much like Jian Xiu in personality.

That’s why she and Jian Xiu had gotten along so well at home, and they used to talk the most.

“Xiuying, I’m sorry, I didn’t know mother would do this!” Zhang Zifu whispered.

“You don’t owe me an apology. Actually, sometimes I really envy Fourth Sister-in-law,” Wang Xiuying said.

“Envy what?”

“Envy her being able to split off and leave, no, being able to cut ties with them,” Wang Xiuying said quietly.

This hint was already very obvious, and if Zhang Zifu wasn’t a fool, he should be able to hear it.

Zhang Zifu understood what she meant, but thinking of how Jian Xiu looked when she split off, he was really worried that after they separated, he wouldn’t even be able to fill their children’s stomachs.

At least in the old house, they had a place to live.

They might not be able to have enough to eat for three meals a day, but they still ate three meals.

If they separated, like the Fourth House, how long could they last?

And after Fourth House split off, they were relying on Jian Xiu’s strong will.

Even if they really split off, he worried that with Fourth Brother’s attitude, their lives wouldn’t last long.

Thinking about this, he didn’t want to split off.

It wasn’t because he was afraid of hardship, but because he was worried about his children suffering and living in hunger, just like they were now.

After thinking this through, Zhang Zifu lowered his voice and said, “Xiuying, life in the Fourth House might not be easy.”

“I know, we can check on them when we pass by there,” Wang Xiuying replied.

“That’s fine. We can also see how Fourth Brother is doing,” Zhang Zifu said, feeling around his body.

“I didn’t know you were going to the village edge. I would have brought some food for us.”

“You forgot, didn’t you? Jian Xiu took dozens of pounds of rice and over a hundred pounds of pork with her last time. They should be fine for now.”

Actually, Wang Xiuying wanted to say that after Jian Xiu’s change in attitude over the past few days, she felt that maybe with Jian Xiu around, the Fourth House’s life could improve.

But seeing how worried Zhang Zifu looked, she swallowed her words.

She understood him—he wouldn’t believe it until things were at that point.

“It looks like it’s there,” Wang Xiuying said, pointing to the thatched house ahead.

“Hmm, it looks like the roof has been repaired.”

“Yeah, it should have been fixed by Zhang Zhiyong and Zhang Haifei for Fourth Sister-in-law.”

“They’re probably asleep. Should we go in?” Zhang Zifu hesitated.

“Maybe not? Let’s hurry and gather the pig fodder, we probably won’t have any food left when we get back,” Wang Xiuying said sadly.

Thinking of this, the thought of splitting off resurfaced.

The Fourth House got nothing after splitting off, but the Third House was different. At least Zifu could still work.

Moreover, given Old Liu and Zhang Laotou’s personalities, she should give them a little push.

Otherwise, they might always think the Third House people were easy to bully.

Thinking of this, Wang Xiuying asked Zhang Zifu, “Do you think we should bring up splitting off?”

“Are you crazy? You really dare to mention it?” Zhang Zifu exclaimed.

“Why not? The Fourth House has hands and feet. If father and mother gave us one or two acres of land, we could support ourselves. And you could even go to the county town to do some odd jobs. Wouldn’t that be better than how we’re living now?”

“Also, haven’t you noticed? Since the Fourth Brother and his family split off, all the work that used to be theirs has fallen on our shoulders. Gathering pig fodder was originally the Second House’s job, but now, who’s doing it?”

Although Wang Xiuying usually didn’t speak much, she was a wise woman.