The wicked sister-in-law is in charge; meals include fish and shrimp.

Chapter 35 Wen Zizhou Throws a Tantrum

"Eldest brother, tomorrow you go to the fields to weed, and third brother go down the mountain to collect two loads of firewood."

Old Mrs. Zhou looked at her two sons dividing the work and said that the family's food was almost gone, and if they ate only one meal a day, they could barely last until the autumn harvest.

There are more weeds than grain in the field. If we don't clear them out soon, we won't be able to harvest anything in the fall. Plus, we still have to pay taxes, so there might not be any left over.

There was no firewood at home yesterday and today, so we couldn't cook. She was so hungry that she was almost too weak to eat. She drank several large bowls of water and felt a little better. If this continued, she was afraid that she would starve to death like Old Sun's wife.

"Mom, I haven't eaten for the past two days and I'm feeling weak. I need to rest tomorrow," Wen Dazhuang said, pulling Qian Zhaodi towards home.

Wen Zhuzi stopped the two of them with a grin and said, "Brother, if you're not energetic, your sister-in-law certainly is. She's so healthy, she can go hungry for two days without any problems."

"Someone has to do the work in the fields!"

Qian Zhaodi was used to being lazy, and when she heard him say that, she immediately got angry. "I said, Third Brother, my body and face are still sore, why don't you ask your wife to do it?" She glanced at Old Zhou.

It's all that old man's fault! He tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead! Her mother said that she was born to enjoy a life of luxury, which is why she has such a blessed look on her face now.

How's it going now? It's disfigured her! If it affects her fortune in the future, she'll definitely confront that old man! He's useless except for feeding her; he can't even control his son Wen Lao Er's wife and children!

With a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, Wen Zhuzi said in a sly tone, "Tomorrow your sister-in-law is going back to her parents' home to ask my father-in-law for some money. If my sister-in-law can also bring money back from her parents' home, then she won't have to do any work." He grinned at Wen Dazhuang and Qian Zhaodi.

Old Zhou was secretly delighted to hear that her youngest daughter-in-law was going back to her parents' home to get money, but she didn't show it on her face. She slammed her stick on the ground a few times and said impatiently to Qian Zhaodi, "The eldest son isn't feeling well. Why are you, as his wife, talking so much nonsense when you should be doing some chores?"

"If you complain that your sister-in-law doesn't work, then you go back to your parents' house tomorrow and bring back some money for your mother!"

Qian Zhaodi shrank back. The last time she went home to ask for money, she was beaten and thrown out by her younger brother and sister-in-law. Not only did she not get a sip of water when she went back to her parents' home, but she also became the subject of gossip.

She pouted and said, "Fine, I'll go! At worst, I'll find a shady spot to sleep and come back."

Qian Zhaodi snorted coldly, her face bruised and purple, and swayed her plump body as she followed Wen Dazhuang home.

Wen Zhuzi grinned and sidled up to Old Zhou, diligently massaging her shoulders. "Mother, I have to go to town tomorrow to find work. I can't gather firewood now, so please let my money-losing son go instead."

Wen Zhuzi and Wu Hong only had one daughter named Wen Pandi. Several years after giving birth to her, Wu Hong's belly stopped showing any signs of pregnancy, and everyone believed that Wen Pandi had brought bad luck to her son.

Little Pandi was only eight years old, but she took care of all the chores at home. When the little girl was hungry at home, she would dig up some tree roots, boil them in water, and chew them.

Old Zhou didn't care about anything else, as long as there were people in the family to do the work. She was happy to hear that her youngest son was going to town to find work, knowing that any money he earned would definitely be kept by his mother.

Sure enough, Wen Zhuzi seemed to know what she was thinking and said, "When Zhuzi earns money, he'll give it all to Mother so I can take good care of you."

Old Mrs. Zhou was delighted by his coaxing and said with a beaming smile, "You can go to town and make big money for your mother without worry. Your older brother is still here at home."

……

The villagers took the seeds and stood in the yard in several groups. Wen Luozhi and her family explained the planting methods to them in detail.

After everyone left, the family started eating. Wen Zizhou looked at what was in his bowl and muttered, "Why are we eating this? We had fried eggs for lunch."

Xie He slammed down her chopsticks and yelled, "Even food can't shut you up! If you're not going to eat, get out of here!"

The others were so frightened that they even held their breath and ate much quieter.

Wen Zizhou was unhappy. His fourth brother had just told him that he had eaten a lot of delicious food, including fish and meat, the day he came back.

He hadn't drunk a drop of water on an empty stomach, waiting for a good dinner, but all he got was porridge and a bowl of pickled cabbage stalks—no meat at all!

"Mother! You're unfair! Fourth Brother gets all the good food when he comes back, why do I only get a bowl of plain porridge and some lousy pickled vegetables?"

Wen Zi'an, who was called out, scratched his head and explained, "Third Brother, it's too..."

"Third Uncle, we don't support idlers in our family."

"Fourth Brother brings all his earnings home from his work in town. What have you been doing? Did you come back and touch a broom or pull a weed from the field?"

Wen Luozhi interrupted Wen Zian, her eyes flashing with a hint of coldness as she looked at Wen Zizhou.

She hadn't bought the ingredients for tomorrow because of this lazybones. She could exchange some vegetables from the system, but it was too late and she didn't want to tire her family out, so she just thought she'd make do with something simple.

I can't believe this lazybones is getting so arrogant!

"Fine, I won't eat then! I'm going to sleep!" Wen Zizhou was intimidated by her gaze and said in a low voice before crawling into the house.

Wen Zian felt something was wrong and got up to chase after him, but Wen Luozhi grabbed him and pressed him back into his seat. "Fourth Brother, don't mind him! The more you try to control him, the more energetic he becomes. If he doesn't eat, you eat." After saying that, she brought over the bowl of thick white rice porridge that Wen Zizhou had and placed it in front of Wen Zian.

From childhood to adulthood, Wen Zi'an's biggest fear was his younger sister getting angry. Seeing her expression now, Wen Zi'an didn't dare to say anything and obediently ate the porridge in his bowl.

In the middle of the night, Wen Zizhou's stomach was growling with hunger, and he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

However, the thought of Wen Luozhi going to town made him happy, thinking that once she went to town tomorrow, she wouldn't be able to control him anymore.

He can pretend to be pitiful and his mother will feel sorry for him, then he can ask his mother to cook meat for him! Yes, that's the plan!

With that thought in mind, he endured the hunger in his stomach, closed his eyes, and waited for dawn.

Because she didn't have to prepare food to sell in the morning, Wen Luozhi got up later than she had in the previous few days.

When she entered the kitchen, Xie He was sitting in front of the stove, frowning as if she was thinking about something.

Hearing the voice, she looked up and saw it was Wen Luozhi. She quickly brought her a basin of hot water and said, "Girl, it's still early. Why are you up so early? You don't have to set up your stall today."

Wen Luozhi washed her face and said, "Get up and see how the seeds I sowed are doing. Why do you look preoccupied, Mother?"

Xie He gave her a reproachful look and said, "What's on your mind, Mother? It's just that we don't have anything at home, so I'm thinking of making something for your fifth brother to take with him."

“Why worry about this mother? Watch me,” Wen Luozhi said, and then exchanged a large black carp weighing four or five pounds and some vegetables in the system, including cucumbers and tomatoes.

Everything was placed on the stove, and Xie He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise when she saw these things appear out of nowhere.

She quickly glanced outside, and seeing that no one was around, said to Wen Luozhi, "Don't be so reckless in the future! It would be terrible if someone saw this."