Old Madam Zhou knew exactly that Li Chunzhu was after the meat, so she deliberately humiliated her.
Li Chunzhu, however, was dumbfounded.
Staring at the ground, she swallowed hard in anxiety.
The words in her mind slipped out before she could even think: “Then where is the pork? Weren’t you coming over here to secretly cook meat?!”
Old Madam Zhou had just pulled up Mianmian’s little trousers, and she immediately glared at Li Chunzhu.
“What do you mean ‘secretly’? Fourth’s wife, it turns out you think I have something and am deliberately hiding it from you to eat it all by myself, is that it?!”
Being shouted at like this, Li Chunzhu finally realized she had said the wrong thing.
She quickly shrank her shoulders and smiled apologetically, “Your daughter-in-law didn’t mean that.”
“I think that’s exactly what you meant!” Old Madam Zhou took off her shoe and vigorously knocked out the pebbles inside.
“Fourth’s wife, you spend all day slacking off and being sly, and all you know how to do is stare at what your mother-in-law takes and what she makes. This is unfilial! If you dare act like this again, get the hell out of the Zhou family!”
Li Chunzhu was thoroughly shaken. Her face turned pale with fright, and she dared not utter another word.
They were fleeing a famine right now; if she were truly abandoned by the Zhou family, what chance of survival would she and Meifu have?
Moreover, Fourth Zhou had a hot temper and never coddled her bad habits.
If Old Madam Zhou truly gave the word, Fourth Zhou would certainly not tolerate her any longer.
Having disciplined this restless woman, Old Madam Zhou put on her shoe with a grim face, picked up little Mianmian, and walked back.
Zhou Mianmian clapped her little hands, cheerfully sticking out her tongue.
On the other side, Old Madam Li from Blacksmith Li’s family was also letting her youngest son relieve himself under a tree root.
Seeing that Old Madam Zhou actually carried her granddaughter away to avoid people before coming back, Old Madam Li could not help but mock her.
“She’s just a tiny child. It’s not like she’ll lose a piece of flesh if people look at her a couple of times. Since when did she become so delicate and expensive?”
Old Madam Zhou glanced at her.
“My sweet granddaughter is the precious darling of our family. I wouldn’t trade her for several grandsons combined. It is only right that we raise her delicately.”
Such words had long been nothing out of the ordinary within the Zhou family.
However, when it fell into the ears of outsiders, they naturally found it bizarre; what kind of family would treat a mere girl as a treasure?
This was especially true for someone like Old Madam Li, who had been blessed with a son late in life and spent every waking moment flaunting her boy.
Old Madam Li clicked her tongue and chuckled a couple of times, the wrinkles on her face squeezing together from her laughter.
She then pulled her youngest son into her arms and shook her head triumphantly.
“How can a baby girl compare to a boy? Boys are still better; boys can take charge of things when they grow up.”
Old Madam Zhou also held the little one in her arms tightly, “Mianmian is the most important matter in our family! Whoever takes charge of things or doesn’t, none of it is as useful as taking good care of my Mianmian!”
“What use is there in spoiling a mere girl so much? She’ll have to be married off in the future, which makes her water thrown out—a money-losing commodity!” Old Madam Li curled her lip again.
Old Madam Zhou disliked hearing this even more, and her eyebrows knitted together.
“Weren’t you a mere girl when you were little? Then you are a money-losing commodity too!”
Old Madam Li choked on her words, her face turning somewhat unsightly; why did this sound like a deliberate insult directed at her?
Yet it also seemed to follow the very logic she herself had just laid out…
This muddle-headed Old Madam Zhou, she was only saying this for her own good!
A girl simply could not compare to a boy. After raising her, wouldn’t she just belong to someone else’s family in the end? She hadn’t said anything wrong.
Seeing that his woman was running her mouth again, Blacksmith Li also came over with a smile to smooth things over.
“Big Sister Zhou, my wife is only advising you because she wants what’s best for you. She is clumsy with her words and doesn’t know how to speak properly, so please don’t lower yourself to her level.”
Old Madam Zhou turned away, unwilling to pay them any more attention.
Want what’s best for her? Being good to her granddaughter was the only way to truly want what was best for her!
Old Madam Zhou reached out to stroke Zhou Mianmian’s small forehead; it was soft and white, and the more she stroked it, the more precious she found her granddaughter.
Zhou Mianmian also narrowed her eyes, puffing out her little cheeks like a white flour meat bun.
Looking at her sweet granddaughter’s adorable appearance, Old Madam Zhou felt a bit more at ease.
She was just about to forget the nonsense spouted by that old crone from the Li family.
Yet right at this moment, that Old Madam Li just had to gossip again.
“Exactly, I mean well too. Look at your grandsons, they are all at the age where they are growing. How can you only care about your granddaughter?”
“If it were me, I would have given the granddaughter away long ago. In times like these, it’s hard enough to look after the boys; where is there any spare rations for a girl to eat? What a waste.”
Hearing this, Old Madam Zhou grew rather furious, the veins at her temples throbbing a few times.
It was only because she feared scaring little Mianmian that she restrained herself from exploding.
“Look at my big, fat boy, how lovable he is. If you ask me, girls are just weeds, while boys are the real treasures!” Old Madam Li added smugly.
Zhou Mianmian cast a contemptuous look at Old Madam Li.
Kicking her little legs and pouting her little mouth, she was immensely displeased.
Seeing her sweet granddaughter upset, Old Madam Zhou could no longer tolerate it. Her eyes widened, and she whipped around to spit toward Old Madam Li.
“Give it a rest, you gossiping old hag!”
Old Madam Zhou countered directly, “Do you think everyone is like you, addicted to shortchanging their own sons?!”
“You gave birth to seven girls in a row, unable to lift your head before your mother-in-law for years, and ran to the riverbank to seek death three or four times—wasn’t that you?!”
“You finally managed to scrape together a boy at such an advanced age. It would be enough to just celebrate secretly, yet you insist on shouting it everywhere. Are you trying to let everyone know that an old sow like you finally knows how to drop a litter?!”
The moment these words were spoken, the fellow villagers nearby burst into a roar of laughter.
Old Madam Li’s old face instantly stiffened.
It was true that she had spent more than half her life giving birth to daughters.
Only near the very end had she finally managed to fight for a son, which allowed her to hold her head high at last, though it had also brought about many jokes in the village.
Everyone said it was an old clam producing a pearl, while others said she was still restless despite her advanced age.
But those were things spoken secretly behind her back. One shouldn’t strike someone in the face, yet this Old Madam Zhou had just blurted it out directly.
Old Madam Li finally became subdued and no longer spoke up.
Zhou Mianmian also stuck out her little tongue in delight, grinning widely straight at Old Madam Zhou.
This grandma is great; she’s a keeper!
Right at this moment, a rustling sound suddenly came from the nearby bushes, drawing Zhou Mianmian’s attention.
Zhou Mianmian’s hearing was ten times sharper than that of an ordinary person.
Before anyone else could notice, she quickly squirmed out of Old Madam Zhou’s arms.
Taking short steps with her little legs, she pattered two paces toward the direction of the sound.
This commotion seemed to be…
Seeing that her granddaughter was up to something, Old Madam Zhou didn’t bother to pay any more attention to that gossiping old crone from Blacksmith Li’s family and hurriedly went over to look after Zhou Mianmian.
“What’s wrong, Mianmian? Do you want to go pee-pee again? Grandma will take you.”
Zhou Mianmian shook her little round head, her large, round eyes brightening instantly.
“Grandma, there’s a wild boar!”
What? A wild boar!
Third Zhou and the others heard it too, and they all hastily stood up.
“Sweet granddaughter, what did you say there is?” Old Madam Zhou asked again quickly, terrified that she had heard wrong.
Zhou Mianmian extended her fair little hand and swallowed hard.
In her urgency, her voice sounded exceptionally babyish.
“Over there, there’s a wild boar! Catch it quickly, Father!”
Hearing his daughter give the word, Third Zhou cast everything else aside. He broke off a thick tree branch and dashed toward the direction Mianmian pointed with a single stride.
Fourth Zhou followed closely behind him.
Seeing how hurried the two of them were, the other fellow villagers all rushed over after them.
They hadn’t tasted meat in a very long time, so they all hoped there really would be a pig to eat.
Blacksmith Li’s youngest son was playing with urine and mud nearby. The men ran so fast that one or two of them didn’t notice him, knocking him over and causing him to take a great tumble.
This broke Old Madam Li’s heart completely.
She rubbed her son’s leg, “What is the rush? A little girl doesn’t know any better and talks nonsense, but do you adults not know any better either?!”
“Where would a wild boar come from? My eyesight is so good, yet I didn’t see a thing.” Blacksmith Li also shook his head.
Yet right at this moment, the men ahead all began to shout excitedly.
“There really is a wild boar!”
“It’s a massive one!”
“Catch it quickly!”
Old Madam Li’s expression froze.
After a short while, they saw Third Zhou leading the way in high spirits, with Fourth Zhou guarding beside him. The two brothers, together with the fellow villagers, were carrying a massive wild boar back on their shoulders!
“We have meat to eat!” The boys of the Zhou family were all overjoyed, rushing forward to greet Third Zhou.
Old Madam Zhou was even more triumphant. She turned her head and curled her lip at the Li family.
“What use is there in giving birth to a boy? To not even see such a massive wild boar makes him a true money-losing commodity! It’s still a baby girl who is best—a sweet little quilted jacket who can get us meat to eat. She is truly the one taking charge of things!”
Old Madam Li’s face flushed red and turned pale by turns.
A huge breath of air stuck in her chest, suffocating her so much that she could not utter a single word.