After crossing over: kidnapping a female hunter to be the stepfather of the three cubs

When Zhao Huanxi heard her father-in-law ask this, she was a little speechless. How did he know when that bastard would come back? She was not a worm in Xu Feng's stomach.

She even replied respectfully, "Dad, my husband left home before dawn this morning. When he left... he didn't say when he would be back."

Old Mrs. Tian should have told the old man what happened, but she didn't know what the old man's attitude was. If he favored his son, Zhao Huanxi would divorce.

If all else fails, then let Lu Feng divorce her. After all, she was a non-marriage advocate in her previous life. As for those false reputations, Zhao Huanxi doesn't care about them at all. Even a dog wouldn't be able to live this life.

Old Master Lu took two more puffs of his pipe, and Old Lady Tian took out a cloth bag from her bosom and opened it to reveal a few taels of silver. Zhao Huanxi was puzzled as to what these old couple were doing.

Old Mrs. Tian handed the silver to Zhao Huanxi, but Zhao Huanxi refused it.

Old Master Lu said, "Take it. This is the compensation from the second wife and the two of us old people. The second wife added two taels, and the rest is a token of our appreciation."

Zhao Huanxi thought that she couldn't take this money, let alone the money from the second wife.

Old Mrs. Tian stuffed the silver into Zhao Huanxi's hand and found a bench to sit on.

He said to Zhao Huanxi, "If you don't want to take this money, the second wife's money is a loan to you. After the autumn harvest, you can sell the grain and pay it back little by little. I came to see the children at noon and they were starving as monkeys. There is no food at home. If you don't feel sorry for the children, don't you feel sorry for yourself?"

Zhao Huanxi touched his wrist, only feeling a thin layer of skin. He felt like he weighed only about 70 or 80 kilograms. Zhao Huanxi was about 1.65 meters tall, so this weight indicated severe malnutrition. And there were indeed a lot of things to buy at home.

Lu Lin, who had been silent the whole time, spoke to Zhao Huanxi and consoled her, "Sister-in-law, take it. My wife and I are giving this money voluntarily because we feel bad for you taking care of three children alone. You don't have to worry about anything else."

Lu Lin thought that his sister-in-law was afraid that taking the money would make his wife unhappy, so she explained a few words.

When his wife heard her mother tell her in the afternoon about what her eldest brother had done, she felt sorry for her sister-in-law who was a few years younger than her. She also had a daughter and children, and they would grow up and get married in the future, so she could empathize with him. When Lu Lin asked her, she took out two taels of silver without hesitation and gave it to her sister-in-law.

In Liu's own words, this is called accumulating virtue for her daughter.

Mrs. Liu also spoke to Zhao Huanxi to comfort her, "Don't worry, sister-in-law. There's no rush to pay back the money. Use it first. We're not strangers, so just take it."

Old Master Lu knocked the ashes from his pipe and said to Zhao Huanxi, "Don't worry. When that kid comes back, I'll take him to the clan leader to open the ancestral hall. I won't let you down."

Zhao Huanxi hadn't expected this family to be so kind. He'd thought they were out to provoke him, but now he felt they were genuinely concerned for him and his children. He just didn't know how Lu Feng, that bad bamboo shoot, could have emerged from the good bamboo.

However, Zhao Huanxi was still somewhat surprised. In ancient times, opening an ancestral hall was no small matter. If they opened an ancestral hall because of a scumbag like Lu Feng, everyone in the Lu family would be ridiculed. Moreover, there was no such thing as prohibiting the abuse of lynching in ancient times. If this was made public, it would be punished according to the family law.

I heard that the Lu Family Ancestral Hall was opened once ten years ago. There was a scoundrel who was lawless in the village, stealing chickens and dogs, and molesting decent women. Later, he was punished for opening the ancestral hall, and then he got married and became an honest farmer... etc.

The timing is right too. Isn't this really about that bastard Lu Feng? Well, as expected, a dog can't change its eating habits.

Seeing Zhao Huanxi's stunned look, Old Mrs. Tian sighed deeply. The eldest daughter-in-law was a talkative woman when she first got married. She would ask Pan'er to bring some delicious food to the second room to share.

Now she had become silent and taciturn. She stood there, wearing clothes that were a little too big for her, her cheeks sunken, and her body devoid of any flesh. Thinking of the daughter-in-law who had passed away from the first wife's family, she sighed deeply, thinking of her son's sin.

Zhao Huanxi saw the old lady sighing repeatedly and the old man smoking his pipe.

He simply spoke slowly: "Dad, Mom, uncle and second sister, I know your intentions, so I will shamelessly accept it. This family really has nothing, otherwise I would never accept money from you two elders. I will happily remember this kindness."

After saying that, he wiped his tears and asked a few children to come over and kowtow to their grandparents.

It would be a lie to say that I'm not touched. Money is hard to make these days.

Two taels of silver was the average family's annual expenses. Old Master Lu and Lu Lin and his son both carried heavy bags at the docks, earning fifty wen a day, which they only earned about a week a month. It would take them a long time to save up just these few taels.

The three little girls knelt down and Pan'er said to their grandparents, "Grandpa and grandma, we will take good care of the house and take good care of our sisters."

Old Mrs. Tian felt sorry for the children. Although they were all girls, they were all sensible and filial. She quickly pulled the children up from the ground and brushed the dust off their legs.

Then he said to Zhao Huanxi, "Don't cry. I asked the second son's family to bring a few pounds of grain. We just planted the seeds in the fields, and we don't have much left at home. This is all we have. You and the children can make do with it."

Liu held out a cloth bag, weighing about 20 jin (approximately 150 kg). Zhao Huanxi became uneasy and frowned, saying, "How can this be possible? I've already taken the money, so how can I take the food?"

Mrs. Liu smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, this is what mother told me. She said that the food prices outside are a bit high now. It's better for our family to save some food than to buy it outside."

Old Mrs. Tian also said: "If you have brought it here, there is no reason to take it back. Just eat it with peace of mind. We won't starve to death."

Old Master Lu also said to Zhao Huanxi, "Early tomorrow morning, your uncle Lu Gen will pick you up at the village entrance to go to the town to buy some oil and salt. You don't need to pay, and your mother will go with you tomorrow morning." He was mainly worried that his young wife would not come back after going out, but it was difficult to say that.

Zhao Huanxi quickly responded, "I understand, Dad."

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Old Master Lu prepared to go home. Before leaving, Old Lady Tian asked Zhao Huanxi to wait for her at the big rock at the village entrance at dawn. Zhao Huanxi agreed to everything.

After a few people left, they took the food into the bedroom and hid it. They felt at ease only after the bedroom was locked. One must always be on guard against others.

They boiled some water for everyone to wash up. It felt like it was only around seven o'clock. The sun had finished its work for the day, retracted its light, and the moon took over its shift.

Zhao Huanxi looked up at the half moon hanging in the sky, and an unknown emotion surged in her heart. She missed her grandma.

The children were dragged to bed. The bed was small, so Zhao Huanxi and Nian'er slept on one end, and Pan'er and Yin'er slept on the other. They could squeeze in and sleep. Soon, the sound of even breathing could be heard. Only Zhao Huanxi couldn't sleep.

This day seemed to be longer than her previous life combined. In her previous life, she was a staunch non-marriageist. Last night, she was still thinking that after completing that project, she would finally be able to buy her own little home in City A. Tonight, she lay on the narrow bed and doubted her life, with her scumbag husband, poor child, and broken self.

What if the scumbag comes back and wants to consummate the marriage with him? Should he follow the example of the one on TV who kills the father and keeps the son?

No, no, at worst I can just fight him. Those with bare feet are not afraid of those with shoes. Besides, Zhao Huanxi is new here and is unfamiliar with everything here. I don’t know what to do in the future. Thinking about this, I fell into a deep sleep.