The eldest sister-in-law became rich by farming in the mountains

Chen had not expected the boomerang to come so quickly. She was instantly furious and stamped her feet, shouting, "How can a little whore like you interrupt when the elders are talking?"

Hearing this, Xu Yingtao sneered, "You are worthy of being called an elder? What elder would insult and abuse the younger generation without reason? It is true that my family owes money, but we did not say that we would not pay it back. Besides, you always ask my mother to sell me out, so do I have to respect you?"

Jiang was dumbfounded and once again deeply shocked by her eldest daughter-in-law's eloquence.

Chen was so angry that her face turned blue.

Ever since she married into Nanxi Village, she has been invincible in the village when it comes to scolding people.

But this time, she was so angry at that yellow-haired girl that she felt like her breath was stuck in her chest, unable to go up or down.

Just as she spat fiercely and prepared to fight for another 300 rounds, she heard her man yelling in the house: "What are you making a fuss about? Don't you think it's embarrassing enough?!"

Chen's expression changed, she rolled her eyes at the two of them, and walked into the house.

Jiang sighed, "You don't have to hate your aunt. It's not easy for everyone. In the end, it's our family's fault."

As long as the borrowed money is not repaid, they are the party in the wrong.

Xu Yingtao didn't say anything, she understood the reason.

Only when the granaries are full can people know etiquette. In their remote and poor place, villagers can fight for a penny, let alone two hundred pennies.

She didn't care about the conflict between the two branches of the Xie family, but if Chen dared to speak out in front of her again in the future, she would never swallow her anger.

There is no need to say this to Jiang.

After the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law left, Chen's expression changed as soon as she entered the room.

His previous arrogance and harshness disappeared instantly, and his eyes turned red in the blink of an eye.

"Xie Daniu, you are such a heartless man. Did I make a mistake in collecting debts for our family?" Mrs. Chen raised her voice. "I told you not to lend me the money, but you insisted on borrowing it. Now the second son's dowry is still a long way off, and the third son is almost old enough to get married. The youngest son wants to eat some maltose, but I can't bear to buy it. Why am I so unlucky to find a prodigal man like you..."

Xie Daniu's ears have almost become callused from listening to his wife's nagging over the years. His initial guilt has turned into impatience.

He frowned and said, "Don't you know what the second house's conditions are? Will you be satisfied if I force their orphans and widows to death?"

Seeing that her husband was trying to protect the second wife again, Chen's original pretense suddenly turned into anger and embarrassment.

She immediately sat down on the ground, kicking her legs and crying: "Dad, Mom, if you know what's going on in the afterlife, please open your eyes and look at your son. I gave birth to four grandsons for your Xie family, and he treats me like this..."

Several blue veins suddenly popped out on Xie Daniu's forehead.

Over the years, his wife would start throwing tantrums whenever she disagreed with him. It was by relying on this trick of a young widow crying at the grave, crying day and night, that she forced him to separate from his second wife.

Out of guilt, he gave his second brother 200 coins to buy medicine, but she accidentally found out about it. From then on, there was no peace in the family.

Whenever he encountered this kind of situation, he had to admit his mistake, give in, and promise not to help the second wife in the future.

But for some reason, he lost his patience today.

Perhaps thinking of his ill-fated brother and nephew, or perhaps out of sympathy for the orphans and widows of the second house, Xie Daniu could no longer endure it and shouted, "Enough!"

When he spoke, his aura frightened Chen, and her crying stopped suddenly.

However, the next moment, Chen rushed towards him like a madman, punching him all over his body like raindrops. Even more miserable and shrill crying and cursing sounded again. Xie Daniu allowed himself to be beaten and scolded with a tense face.

At the same time, the children and grandchildren of the two branches of the Zheng family gradually woke up from their naps.

Mrs. Zhou had already divided the remaining green jelly into seven portions according to the number of people. The old man and his two sons got larger portions, while the remaining four grandchildren each got only four pieces.

Farmers usually only have wild fruits as snacks, so this fresh and delicious food naturally made the Zheng family members exclaim in amazement.

Although it was a bit spicy, no one in the Zheng family was willing to put down their chopsticks.

The younger ones even licked the bowls clean, and then the whole family laughed together.

When the spicy feeling subsided, Zheng Wen, the eldest son of the Zheng family, was still not satisfied and said, "It's really delicious. I didn't expect Sister Jiang to have such cooking skills."

Mrs. Zhou corrected her promptly: "It wasn't Jiang, it was her eldest daughter-in-law who figured it out and said she wanted to take it to the town to sell."

The second son, Zheng Wu, was surprised: "The girl who married from Xujia Village?"

Mrs. Zhou nodded: "I think that girl is a good one. Although her life is a bit hard, she is smart and eloquent. The Xie family may have to rely on her in the future."

Village Chief Zheng took a sip of tea and said, "I think this deal can be successful. If her family needs any help in the future, you can lend a hand if you can."

The younger generations in the family all agreed.

When Xu Yingtao and Jiang arrived home, they saw Xie Li fetching water and washing dishes. Looking around, they didn't see Xie Bai, so Jiang asked, "Where is your second brother?"

Xie Li shook her head.

She was so busy eating that she didn't even notice that her second brother had left the house.

Jiang didn't ask any more questions. After all, her Erlang was steady and she was not worried.

After placing the Zheng family's bowls, Jiang looked at Xu Yingtao expectantly: "Big brother's wife, before it gets dark, shall we go pick some more leaves?"

Xu Yingtao smiled and said, "It's still not too late to pick them tomorrow. Right now I have something I want to ask mother."

"You ask."

"Then I'll tell you straight out, Mom. From whom did our family borrow money? And how much was the specific amount?"

These words had been brewing in Xu Yingtao's mind all the way. Since she was going to take over this family, she should have the right to know about this family's debts.

Jiang's expression was visibly depressed. She sighed softly, "Now that things have come to this, I should tell you the truth."

A moment later, Xu Yingtao learned about all the debts of the family.

This included three taels and four cents of silver borrowed from the Zheng family, two hundred coins from the eldest branch of the Xie family, and silver ranging from fifty to one hundred coins from four other households in the village.

After counting, it was almost four taels of silver.

Xu Yingtao let out a breath.

It’s okay, that bastard Xie Bai didn’t lie to her.

For ordinary farmers, four taels of silver is a huge sum of money, especially in today's year. The amount of money a family can afford is probably pitifully small.

Xu Yingtao is quite optimistic.

She has skills and is confident that she can lead her family to a good life with enough food and clothing.

As for abandoning this family of burdens and making a living on her own, Xu Yingtao had never thought about it.

Not to mention that the household registration management system in ancient times was extremely strict. Apart from refugees who were able to run around, the farthest place an ordinary person would have been to in their lifetime was the county town.

Even if she wanted to go out and explore the world, she had no guidance.

Furthermore, her current body looks like that of a thin little girl. Without the protection of her family and village, it is still unknown whether she can survive.

In the evening, Xie Bai, who had not been seen for a long time, finally returned home in the sunshine.

Seeing her son's face covered in blood and his clothes and pants torn into several holes, Jiang was so scared that her voice trembled: "Xiao Bai, did you go to fight with Xie Bao again?"

It’s no wonder Jiang thought so.

The eldest wife of the Xie family had four sons in total, and they were named after the four characters "招财进宝" (meaning "bringing wealth and treasure") respectively. Xie Bao is the youngest son of the eldest wife and he is eleven years old this year.

It is said that the emperor loves his eldest son and the people love their youngest son. Chen doted on this youngest son and raised him to have an arrogant and domineering character at a young age.

In addition, she would scold the second wife at home from time to time, and Xie Bao was deeply influenced by her and also "held a grudge" against the second wife.

Not daring to provoke his elder cousin, Xie Bao would provoke and insult his younger cousin Xie Bai for no reason.

Even a clay man has some temper. No matter how patient Xie Bai was, he was angered by Xie Bao's repeated personal attacks. When he got the chance, he had a fierce fight with Xie Bao.

Although Xie Bai was one year older than Xie Bao, long-term malnutrition meant that he had no physical advantage. Instead, he was pinned to the ground and beaten by Xie Bao, leaving him with many bruises.

Fortunately, Xie Li joined the battle in time and turned the situation around with her strong fists and great strength. She beat Xie Bao so hard that he cried and went home to find his mother.

If Xie Daniu and his three sons had not stopped her, Chen would have wanted to kill the second branch's family with a knife.

Jiang was also very frightened. Whether Xie Bai was injured or Xie Bao got into trouble, it was something she could not bear.

From then on, the adults of both families warned the two children not to provoke each other again.

Now it has been more than a year since the last fight, but when Jiang saw her son in such a miserable state, she still subconsciously thought of her son's miserable condition.

Upon hearing that, Xie Li stood up suddenly and said, "Xie Bao dares to hit you again? I'll beat him until he crawls on the ground!" As she spoke, she had already rolled up her sleeves, ready for a big fight.

Xu Yingtao was amused by her sense of righteousness. She patted her shoulder soothingly and then turned her gaze to Xie Bai: "Did you go to pick peppercorns?"

Xie Bai turned sideways and took off the banana leaf covering the backpack with his backhand.

The backpack is filled with bright red pepper branches. You can smell the rich aroma unique to peppers without having to get close.

"Child, adults have to go to the back mountain in groups. How dare you go alone? If anything happens to you, how can your mother live?" Thinking of the dense forests in the mountains full of ferocious beasts, Jiang was filled with fear and her legs were shaking.

"The wounds on my body are not serious, they are all scratched by the prickly ash thorns." Xie Bai chuckled, "My mother always said that the fortune teller said that I have a noble life. When tigers and wolves in the mountains see a noble person, they don't even have time to dodge, so how dare they hurt me."

Jiang knew that her son was trying to comfort her, but she was relieved to see that he only had minor injuries. However, she still scolded him, "You are the best at comforting people!"

"Mom, you take a rest. I'll make dinner." Xu Yingtao planned to make dinner as delicious as possible as a reward for Xie Bai's hard work.

Just as she was about to step into the kitchen, Xie Bai called out to her, "Sister-in-law, I got a few nests of bird eggs. They can help you replenish your body."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yingtao stopped involuntarily and looked in the direction Xie Bai handed the eggs. Only then did she notice that he was carefully holding a dozen round and smooth bird eggs with the hem of his clothes.

"Specially for me?" She raised her head in surprise and met a pair of dark, clear eyes.

At this moment, his eyes were sparkling, with an imperceptible glimmer of uneasiness mixed in with his anticipation.

Xu Yingtao was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Wait a moment, I'll get a bowl to serve it."

Never mind, whether the child was trying to please her or accepted her sincerely, she would let bygones be bygones.

That night, Xu Yingtao used bean flour and bird eggs to make oil-free pancakes, and she also made wild vegetable soup, which she paired with the remaining green jelly. Everyone ate their fill.

They were obviously wild vegetables, but when cooked by her, they tasted especially delicious. Jiang couldn't help but ask her for the secret.

Xu Yingtao did not keep it to herself and told Jiang all the methods of processing different wild vegetables. Jiang's eyes became brighter and brighter after hearing it, as if the door to a new world had been opened.

"Do you still understand this?"

Xu Yingtao remained calm and said, "My parents taught me this."

Anyway, there is no evidence.

Jiang was stunned. She didn't know anything about her in-laws whom she had never met, and she had no way to find out anything about them.

But she had heard to some extent about the miserable life her eldest daughter-in-law had lived under the control of her brother and sister-in-law.

She sighed, her eyes showing some distress as she said, "I'm sorry that you've been wronged by marrying into our family."

Although she was not a wicked mother-in-law who mistreat her daughter-in-law, she became a widow less than half a month after her marriage and could barely feed herself, which really made her feel hopeless.

If her parents-in-law had not passed away early, how could such a good girl have married into her family?

Xu Yingtao just smiled but didn't say anything.

Because they couldn't afford lamp oil, the Xie family had to wash up and go to bed early as soon as it got dark.

There were limited rooms, and before the original mother got married, her parents-in-law and Xie Li slept in one room, and the two brothers of the Xie family slept in another.

After the original body got married, her parents-in-law set up a small bed for their youngest son in their room and made a separate room for the eldest son and his wife.

Now that her husband was gone, Xu Yingtao felt embarrassed to occupy a room all by herself, so she suggested that Xie Bai sleep in this room while she squeezed in with Jiang's mother and daughter.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened his mouth, Xie Bai showed some resistance on his face. Judging from his expression, it was definitely not out of politeness and humility.

Xu Yingtao:?

What do you mean?

It was Jiang who cleared her confusion.

"This child has been afraid of the dark since he was young and dares not sleep alone."

Xu Yingtao: “…”

Where's the momentum you used to threaten me before?

In the end, Xu Yingtao still slept alone in a room, and the three mothers continued to maintain the status quo.

Xu Yingtao lay on the bed, looking at the tattered roof through which the moonlight shone, feeling extremely melancholy.

Even she herself didn't know whether she was worried about Xie Bai, who was twelve years old but didn't know the proper rules for boys and girls, or she was worried about the broken roof that couldn't keep out the rain.

In the second half of the night, a sudden thunder ripped through the silence of the night, like a roar from the sky, waking Xu Yingtao suddenly. She thought she was having a nightmare.

However, immediately afterwards, lightning streaked across the sky, instantly illuminating the house as bright as day, followed by a dull thunder, announcing that heavy rain was about to come.

Xu Yingtao stood up and held her forehead with her hand. What she feared was bound to come true.

She quickly got out of bed, rolled up the bedding into a ball using the light of lightning, and stuffed it into the broken box in the corner. She then quickly went to the main room, covered the peppercorns that Xie Bai had picked in the afternoon with a winnowing basket, and moved it under the table. Her whole set of movements was smooth and fluent.

At this time, rustling sounds were also heard coming from Jiang's room.

"Cherry, is that you?" Jiang's voice came from inside the house.

"Mom, it's me, don't be afraid."