Stepmother in charge: Making a fortune through farming and raising her children to fight back

After dinner, Yun Zhenzhen was sitting in the yard to enjoy the cool air when she heard someone knocking on the gate.

At the same time, a middle-aged woman was cursing: "Aunt Qin, open the door! Our chickens are missing. Did you steal them?"

Yun Zhenzhen rolled her eyes. She had just stewed the chicken in the afternoon, and in the evening she came to her house and said that the chicken was stolen. This abacus beads hit me in the face.

However, it’s not so easy to take advantage of me. She called Qin Nan over and whispered a few words in her ear.

"Get out here. You haven't come out for so long. I'm afraid you're too guilty to see anyone."

The cursing outside the door continued. With a creak, the courtyard door opened and Aunt Zhu and her son rushed in angrily.

As soon as I entered the door, I smelled a strong lingering fragrance. I couldn't help but secretly congratulate myself for being so smart. Not only could I get compensation, but I could also ruin her reputation. It was really killing two birds with one stone.

"My chicken, you really stole it." Aunt Zhu secretly twisted her thighs and cried, "You black-hearted woman, give me back my chicken, oh my..." Her crying was deafening and the scene suddenly became ugly.

The commotion in the yard attracted many villagers, who gathered at the door in groups of three or four to watch.

"My hen disappeared at noon, and to my surprise, it ended up in your pot at night. It's fine if you're always harsh on your child, but now you've even taught him to steal. You're truly heartless!"

These words not only slandered her for stealing, but also brought up her past abuse of children. Many villagers who heard them shook their heads and cursed.

Yun Zhenzhen didn't feel embarrassed by being scolded. Instead, she looked calm and said, "Aunt Zhu, what you said is groundless. You can't say that I stole your chicken just because it's missing, right?"

Aunt Zhu was speechless for a moment, her expression frozen, looking very funny.

"If you can't produce evidence, I'll report you to the police and charge you with slander."

When Aunt Zhu heard about the police report, she suddenly became anxious and shouted, "It was you who stole it. My chicken disappeared during the day, and you stewed the meat at night. Everyone knows that your family is so poor that they can hardly afford wild vegetables. It was you who stole it, you little thief, you thief, you black-hearted person."

"Don't be so harsh." Yun Zhenzhen's face turned fierce. "If you can't produce evidence, we will go to the magistrate. The county magistrate will clear my name. If it's too far for Auntie, I can ask the village chief to be a witness."

Everyone thought it made perfect sense and nodded in agreement.

"You...I..." Aunt Zhu was speechless, her eyes wandering around. Suddenly, she saw Qin Nan coming out of the inner room, muttering in a baby voice: "Big fat chicken, big white fat chicken..."

"Yes, I remember now. My chickens are white. They're white egg-laying hens. I can earn twenty coins a month from their eggs. You should at least compensate me with one or two ounces of silver."

As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Li grabbed a handful of chicken feathers from the kitchen and threw them in front of her.

Yun Zhenzhen looked at her coldly: "Auntie, next time, find out more before you try to blackmail me. The chicken I stewed is a mixed color, grayish yellow."

Everyone looked at the chicken feathers on the ground and immediately understood the truth of the matter. They all turned around and blamed her.

"It's not easy for an orphan and a widow to cook a meal, and you have to mess it up."

"That's right, be a human being."

"Why are you so vicious? Has your conscience been eaten by a dog?"

Listening to the discussions around her, Aunt Zhu's face turned red and she fled with her son.

This time they were so embarrassed that they even brought shame to their grandma's house. Seeing that nothing was wrong, the others also dispersed.

Yun Zhenzhen picked up Qin Nan who was beside her and gave him a kiss.

"What a good baby! He remembers everything as soon as he is taught. Our Xiaonan is really smart." He closed the gate and returned to the inner room.

As the night deepened, the entire Qinjia Village gradually became quiet.

The next day, Yun Zhenzhen got up early and rubbed her waist which was sore from sleeping.

The beds at home are all made of hardwood boards, with only straw padding underneath. It is very uncomfortable to sleep on. Fortunately, it is still summer now. If it were winter, it would be really unbearable.

There was no way around it. The lower classes in ancient times could not afford expensive cotton quilts. Not only did they have straw under their beds, but even their quilts and clothes were stuffed with reed fluff.

Qinjia Village, located neither in the south nor in the north, has no habit of burning kangs. In ancient times, there was no air conditioning or heating, so people really had to rely on their integrity to survive the cold winter.

Yun Zhenzhen suddenly felt a lot of pressure. Not only did she have to solve the problem of food and clothing for the whole family, but she also had to get some good cotton before winter came to make quilts and clothes.

Not to mention that the house we live in now is drafty on all sides, so we have to find a way to build a new house.

She quickly got up from the bed and packed up. The children in the house had already gotten up and were sneaking around the door. Yun Zhenzhen waited for a while before pushing the door open and going out. She picked up the pheasant eggs she had picked up yesterday and didn't say a word when she saw there were only four left.

Take it directly to the kitchen, boil water and cook it, one for each person, and it will be today's breakfast.

Qin Li seemed to feel a little ashamed and angry when he saw the egg in his hand, and did not move at all.

Yun Zhenzhen didn't care about his thoughts and looked at the two brothers with a smile.

"I'm going to the market in town today to see if anyone wants to buy the mushrooms that Boss picked up yesterday. I'll exchange them for some food. Does anyone want to come with me?"

The two children remained silent.

They couldn't completely trust their stepmother. What if she sold them when they got to the town? They would never be able to come back then.

For a moment, the room was eerily quiet.

Qin Li and Qin Wen looked at each other, hesitating whether to follow.

At this moment, Qin Nan in the corner suddenly raised his hand.

In fact, Yun Zhenzhen wanted to take the older child with her. After all, it was her first time going there, and at least there would be someone to take care of her along the way. Unexpectedly, it was Qin Nan who raised his hand.

She is obviously a little girl of five or six years old, but because of long-term malnutrition, she looks like she is only two or three years old.

Yun Zhenzhen felt pity for her and picked her up.

"Let's go, let's go!"

The two of them were left there in bewilderment. Qin Li looked at his second brother questioningly, as if asking, "When did Xiaonan become so close to her?"

Qin Nan: "Huh? Where should I go?"

I just stretched, why did he go out?

Even when he got on the ox cart driven by the old man at the entrance of the village, Qin Nan was still a little confused. He kept asking curiously, "Mom, where are we going? This is my first time riding an ox cart."

She was the youngest and didn't remember anything. After Yun Zhenzhen made delicious food for her a few times, she was no longer so afraid of her.

"Let's go to town and buy some things." Yun Zhenzhen touched her little face lovingly: "Let's buy some delicious food for our Xiaonan."

Then he took out a plum from his pocket and put it into her hand.

Qin Nan's eyes lit up instantly when he saw the plums in his hand: "Emmm, delicious..."

The old man sitting in the front driving the ox cart was surprised when he saw it. He heard from the villagers yesterday that this man had become a better person and started to take care of the children. I didn’t believe it at first, but when I saw it today, it was true.

I hope she can treat the child well.