Good! Of course, it's not good! The things Qin Shuangshuang brought back from the mountain alone, not to mention feeding two people, could feed four or five people! This money all goes into Old Chen's pocket!
Just like Qin Shuangshuang said, the money a daughter-in-law makes, except for her dowry, has to be handed over to her mother-in-law, but if a girl can earn money, that is her future dowry. If the family dares to take it, they will be criticized by others!
Little Chen was choked up by Qin Shuangshuang's words and didn't dare to say anything, sneaking a glance at her aunt's face, as dark as the bottom of a pot, and knew that she got herself into trouble with her words.
Little Chen couldn't help but want to slap herself. How could she forget that this damn girl is sharp-tongued and likes to show off outside, but never spares face for anyone at home!
Old Chen's face darkened, she gritted her teeth, and forced out a skin-deep smile, trying hard to suppress her anger as she said to Qin Shuangshuang, "Don't listen to your Aunt-in-law's nonsense! She's someone with a missing brain, what she says is as if she's farting. The food is right there, who stopped you from eating?"
Qin Shuangshuang's anger couldn't be pacified, and she gave a cold laugh, glancing at Little Chen sideways, "Even eating a few bites has to be talked about! I really don't dare to pick up the chopsticks again since I didn't even bring a copper coin back to the family, how dare I eat so much food!"
Qin Shuangshuang clearly gave no face to Old Chen, which naturally made Old Chen unhappy, but there was no choice. If Qin Shuangshuang really didn't hand things over to the family, the loss would be huge, and Old Chen couldn't bear that.
Glancing at Little Chen who didn't dare to say a word, Old Chen felt some anger toward her. If this stupid niece didn't speak without thinking, how could this damn girl catch hold of her mistake and not let go.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Old Chen, unusually, stood up and slapped Little Chen several times, scolding, "Can't even shut your mouth while eating, what nonsense do you babble all day! If you don't speak, would anyone think you're mute? If you talk too much, have your mouth sewn shut!"
Little Chen was stunned, being shamed like this for the first time in front of a table full of sisters-in-law and children. Little Chen, who had never experienced such a blow, couldn't bear the hit to her self-esteem, and tears started flowing immediately!
Little Chen, too, had a big temper, so she threw down her chopsticks and ran back to her room, and soon, sounds of crying came from inside.
Old Chen was furious at her for speaking nonsense, and kept scolding, "Crying! Have the nerve to cry! Big-mouthed woman, with no door on her mouth, babbling all day long, have the eldest divorce you!" As soon as Old Chen's words fell, Little Chen's crying in the room got even louder, full of grievances!
Seeing their mother crying and running away, Da Lang, Third Lang, and the Eldest Lady were also frightened. They were stunned for a moment, slipped off the dining table, and ran after their mother Little Chen. Soon, Little Chen's crying was accompanied by more sounds.
On the other side of the table, Mrs. Fang quietly shrank back, secretly relieved that when she wanted to please her mother-in-law earlier, Little Chen got ahead of her. She thought to herself that in the future, she shouldn't provoke Mrs. Bai too much, as the Second Lady protects her mother too much. Provoking the Second Lady is like stirring a hornet's nest, nothing good comes of it!
Not only Mrs. Fang but the men eating at the other table were all silent, as if they hadn't heard the commotion here. Even Qin the Third, who loved to stir up trouble, didn't say a word, showing how deeply the fact that Qin Shuangshuang was not to be trifled with had ingrained itself in the Qin Family.
Old Chen darkened her face and pushed the wild vegetable dumplings toward Qin Shuangshuang, then sat down to start eating, clearly intending to gloss over what happened before!
Living under the same roof, Qin Shuangshuang didn't want to make things too tense, so she let Little Chen's departure slide, and took two more wild vegetable dumplings, placing the half-dumpling in Mrs. Bai's hand back into the basin, and handed a whole one to Mrs. Bai.
With her head down, she silently gobbled up her food. Qin Shuangshuang dragged Mrs. Bai back to the room, repeatedly telling Mrs. Bai to stay away from Old Chen, to avoid her as much as possible. After several assurances from Mrs. Bai, she picked up the rope for bundling firewood and headed up the mountain.
Recently, Qin Shuangshuang was a bit anxious because she was already five years old, and there was less than a year left until Mrs. Bai's death. But Qin Shuangshuang racked her brain so much it was about to explode, yet still couldn't figure out how exactly her mother died!
This made Qin Shuangshuang very uneasy, not knowing what to do. Sometimes, in frustration, Qin Shuangshuang thought she might as well just take Mrs. Bai and run now!
Unfortunately, neither she nor Mrs. Bai had any money for running away, and they were both women. A woman could only get an official permit if she established a female household, such as if she were a widow or a divorced or unmarried woman.
Someone like her mother, Mrs. Bai, who was a married woman, couldn't get an official permit. Without an official permit, they couldn't leave; they would be treated as vagrants and captured by the government.
But the Qin Family absolutely couldn't be stayed in long-term. Even if Mrs. Bai's death catastrophe could be overcome, it would still be a big trouble when the disaster years hit in a few years. Back then, Qin Shuangshuang was lucky to be saved; otherwise, she would have ended up being cooked in someone's pot.
Even so, after being saved, she was still sent back to the family that had sent her off to be cooked. Now, with Mrs. Bai, there was no guarantee the Qin Family wouldn't come up with even more disgusting tricks. The truth was, Mrs. Bai had nowhere else to go besides the Qin Family!
Mrs. Bai was a wife bought from human traffickers by the Qin Family with money, without any support; naturally, she could only be pinched and prodded any way the Qin Family liked. If Mrs. Bai hadn't been without her own family, and was a bought wife, how would Old Chen dare to torment her so excessively.
Although in this world, it's common for mothers-in-law to torment daughters-in-law, it wasn't to the excessive degree of Old Chen, just because Mrs. Bai had no support.
Now, Qin Shuangshuang, thinking until her head almost exploded, could only think of one solution, which was to take Mrs. Bai and flee during a major disaster. Anyway, soon everyone would be fleeing from disaster, and nobody would ask fleeing refugees for a permit.
She would take Mrs. Bai and settle down somewhere, then claim that her entire family had perished in the disaster. A woman without a husband can establish a female household, and Qin Shuangshuang believed that with her immense strength, she could provide for Mrs. Bai even by hunting.
Moreover, once they fled from disaster, from then on they'd be traveling all over the place, and the chances of running into someone from the same village in this lifetime was almost zero, so there was no fear her lies would be exposed!
The more Qin Shuangshuang thought about it, the more she felt that this idea was feasible. After pondering and refining some details, and even thinking of how to convince Mrs. Bai, she finally felt a bit more settled in her heart.
The foot of the mountain wasn't far from where the Qin Family lived, and Qin Shuangshuang soon reached the foot. The firewood at the foot of the mountain was mostly picked clean by the village children, so Qin Shuangshuang headed directly up the mountain, planning to check the wild fruit trees she found a few days ago to see if any fruit had ripened.
But before she reached the wild fruit trees, a strange sound caught Qin Shuangshuang's attention!