My best friend is living a famine-stricken life; you're going crazy, I'm farming.

After much deliberation, Yang Fenglan finally decided not to invite her best friend.

Turning to go into the kitchen, she saw Wang Guihua and Wang Shi carrying buckets of water toward her house.

Wang walked ahead, her imposing manner as if she were a bull seeing a red cloth and wanted nothing more than to charge at it.

Even someone with athlete's foot could guess why these two had come.

She rushed into the kitchen, hid the purchased grain, and then moved the steamer, rice soup, and two large fish to a corner and covered them up.

In the kitchen, only a pot of water and a palm-sized fish remained.

"Yang, come out here!" Wang shouted as she rushed into the courtyard. "What are you hiding for? Don't you have any face to show?"

Yang Fenglan came out of the kitchen with an innocent look on her face. "Mother, sister-in-law, what brings you all here? Oh, did you come to see Jingyi?"

"Stop pretending!" Wang threw down the bucket. "I'm asking you, what's going on in your field?"

"My field?" Yang Fenglan was stunned for a moment, then looked at Wang Guihua behind Wang Shi, "Sister-in-law, what's going on? Didn't we agree not to tell anyone..."

Wang Guihua smiled awkwardly, "I was afraid of being watched, so I asked my mother to help. She's not an outsider. Don't worry, we've been carrying water the whole time, and no one has suspected anything."

"Shut up! You idiot!" Wang glared at Wang Guihua, then stared at Yang Fenglan. "Yang, why did you lie to your sister-in-law and say there was money in the fields?"

“I didn’t lie to my sister-in-law.” Yang Fenglan immediately pointed to the sky and swore, “If I lied to my sister-in-law, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death.”

There was money in the field to begin with; she lost it, so it's not considered a lie.

Seeing Yang Fenglan's resolute determination, Wang couldn't help but wonder if she was being too suspicious.

While Wang hesitated, Yang Fenglan took out a palm-sized fish from the kitchen. "Mother, look what this is."

Wang's eyes lit up as soon as she saw the fish.

“I found a dozen or so copper coins by the field last night, and I thought I’d buy you something nice. I made a special trip to the county today to buy you a fish. It hasn’t rained for months, so fish are hard to catch and are quite expensive.”

What Yang Fenglan said is true.

In the morning in the city, she saw someone selling fish and asked about it. The price was indeed a bit higher than usual, but not as expensive as she had said.

Upon hearing this, Wang's expression changed. "You bought this dead fish for a dozen copper coins?"

"They were alive when I bought them. They also sell dead ones, but they were all rotten. I bought the freshest one. If Mother doesn't want it, I'll keep it for Jingyi..."

"How could I not want it?" Wang Guihua smiled and took the fish. "You know that I love fish the most."

Wang remained silent, tacitly agreeing.

Yang Fenglan gave a fawning smile and lowered her voice, "Mother, don't worry, I'll go water the fields again tomorrow. If I find any more money, I'll buy fish to show my respect to you. No, I won't buy fish, I'll buy you a big piece of fatty pork."

Wang looked at the fish, then at Yang Fenglan, her face full of disappointment. She asked again, unwilling to give up, "You bought just one fish for a dozen copper coins?"

“Yes.” Yang Fenglan blinked. “In her daughter-in-law’s opinion, as long as it’s for her mother to eat, it’s worth buying the best, no matter how expensive it is.”

"At least you have a conscience." Hearing the kind words, Wang's expression softened a bit.

She was definitely overthinking it.

Although they separated their households twelve years ago, Yang has remained respectful and filial to her all these years, always giving her the best things she could find.

Once she finishes her own work in the fields, she can come and help her with her work whenever she calls.

Given Yang's personality, how could she possibly come up with such an outrageous reason to coax her into helping her water the fields?

In a flash, Wang Shi calmed herself down.

His gaze towards Yang Fenglan softened slightly, but more than that, it was one of disappointment and frustration.

"You idiot, you've been ripped off for spending a dozen or so coins on such a small fish. You should have just given me the money instead of traveling all the way to the city to buy it."