Dressed as a farmer's widow, she brought her daughter to stock up on food and reached the top

The houses, which had once been in good condition, were now in a terrible state after the hailstorm. The thatched roofs were riddled with holes, the mud walls had mostly collapsed, and some had even collapsed entirely, leaving a shabby mess.

Broken tiles and pieces of wood were scattered all over the ground. People were helplessly searching for usable objects in the ruins, and cries and sighs were intertwined.

Zhao Cunliang continued walking until he finally reached his second aunt's house. His second aunt's house was one of the few brick and tile houses in the village, and since they had some wealth, they had suffered the least losses in the disaster.

The solid brick wall only had a few tiny cracks, and although some tiles had fallen off, the overall structure was still intact, and the big hole in the roof had been repaired.

Zhao Cunliang arrived at his second aunt's house with a dejected look on his face, empty-handed and with a shaky step. His clothes were worn and dusty, his hair was a little messy, and he looked utterly miserable.

My second aunt was smoking a water pipe in the yard. When she saw him like this, she immediately had an idea in her mind.

There was a severe drought this year and the harvest was poor. The Zhao family was now in dire straits, and it was obvious at a glance that they were here to borrow food.

Second aunt frowned, curled her lips, and said sarcastically: "Oh, isn't this the stored food? Why do you come here looking so poor? I think you must have no rice to eat, so you come to borrow food from me!" As she said this, she put her hands on her hips, her eyes full of contempt and impatience.

Zhao Cunliang raised his head and opened his mouth to explain, but swallowed the words back. He just looked at his second aunt helplessly with a trace of pain and grievance in his eyes.

My family is a wealthy one in the village. How could I possibly come here in person to do such an embarrassing thing as borrowing grain?

But his second aunt didn't give him a chance to speak. She continued sarcastically, "Let me tell you, I don't have much surplus food at home, and I don't have any to lend you!"

As she spoke, she took a few steps back, as if Zhao Cunliang was a plague god that would bring trouble.

When Zhao Cunliang heard his second aunt's harsh words, he was so angry that he wanted to turn around and leave.

He clenched his teeth tightly, his hands unconsciously clenched into fists, and his body trembled slightly with anger.

He recalled angrily in his heart that his second aunt's family was extremely poor back then, but they still relied heavily on the Zhao family for benefits.

When the Zhao family was prosperous, they would send rice and noodles to my second aunt's family every now and then, and would also give some money to support them during festivals. Now that the Zhao family is in trouble, I just want to visit them, but she is so heartless. She really looks down on others!

However, Zhao Cunliang thought about the purpose of his coming here, took a deep breath, and tried hard to calm down the dissatisfaction in his heart.

He kept reminding himself in his heart that he must not act on impulse and must hold himself back. Zhao Cunliang slowly loosened his clenched fists, forced a smile, and tried to make his voice sound calmer: "Second aunt, please don't misunderstand me, I'm not here to borrow food."

When Second Aunt heard that Zhao Cunliang was not here to borrow food, her tense face instantly relaxed and her whole demeanor was no longer so defensive.

She patted her chest, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Oh, I wish you weren't here to borrow food. You scared me."

However, before the second aunt could fully recover, Zhao Cunliang burst into tears.

He cried heartbreakingly, his face covered in snot and tears. As he cried, he told his second aunt about his tragic experience, exaggerating it: "Second aunt, my mother...she died in that terrible hailstorm!"

Zhao Cunliang wept so hard that his whole body trembled, his voice choked with sobs. "And Xiuying! Our family has been struggling, but now she's well-off. But she's not filial to my mother-in-law at all! My mother never had a full meal until she died!"

He wailed at the top of his lungs, and from time to time he secretly glanced at his second aunt. His second aunt was Zhao's mother's sister. Knowing that Xiuying abused her mother-in-law, she would definitely settle the score with Xiuying!

Unexpectedly, when Second Aunt heard the news of Zhao's mother's death in the hailstorm, there was no trace of grief on her face, not even a trace of pity. Her eyes were cold and her mouth was slightly curled, appearing extremely ruthless.

On the contrary, she immediately couldn't wait to ask about Xiuying.

Second aunt's eyes lit up instantly, and she asked anxiously: "Xiuying? The second son's wife? How did she become rich?" Her tone was full of curiosity and greed, and she completely ignored Zhao Cunliang's grief at the moment.

When Zhao Cunliang saw his second aunt's appearance, he felt even more sad. He didn't expect that his aunt would react like this after hearing the news of his mother's death.

Zhao Cunliang wiped the snot stuck to his face with his sleeve, suppressed his grief and anger, and slowly told his second aunt: "Second aunt, you don't know, Xiuying's family is in a terrible situation now!

Her family raised over 200 chickens and ducks, and every day the yard was bustling with chirping and twittering. They also had over ten sheep, their wool glossy white, and each one growing fat and strong.

"She has four big fat pigs, each of them is plump and strong. Moreover, her family has built a magnificent brick house, which is tall and large, and it is the only one of its kind in the village!"

As Zhao Cunliang spoke, envy and jealousy flashed in his eyes.

Zhao Cunliang paused, glancing at his second aunt's expression, which was filled with longing and greed. He then continued, "Second aunt, you haven't seen that the doors and windows of that house are all new, with beautiful carvings. The yard is also very spacious, and there's a stone wall that's over three meters high."

There was a hint of sourness in his voice, as if these riches should have belonged to him.

Having said that, Zhao Cunliang could no longer suppress his inner grief and anger, and began to cry to his second aunt again.

His voice trembled, and tears welled up in his eyes again: "Second Aunt, Xiuying's family is so well off, but before the disaster, I begged her desperately, but she was unwilling to take my mother there to hide.

On weekdays, I wouldn’t even give my mother a single grain of food. Life in my home was so hard for her!

Zhao Cunliang kept slapping his thighs with his hands, his face full of pain and helplessness.

"But you know what? She's very generous to other people in Murakami!"

There were sparks of anger in Zhao Cunliang's eyes, and his voice rose a few degrees: "If any family has difficulties and asks her to borrow some food, she will give it to them without saying a word. She also sends meat to others and invites people to pig-killing banquets, but she is so cruel and heartless to her own mother-in-law!" Zhao Cunliang became more and more excited as he spoke.

When the second aunt listened to Zhao Cunliang's crying, her face was full of surprise and disbelief, but there was no sympathy. She never imagined that the now impoverished Zhao family would produce such a wealthy person.