Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

How much cunning can a child have? Zhao Yongbo was too young; his world consisted only of food and drink. Of course, this was also entirely due to Zhang Cuilan's laziness; she hadn't yet had the chance to instill any wrong ideas in Zhao Yongbo.

"Big sister, let's make some dumplings. There was a big commotion over there today. My third aunt stole the noodles I bought and I caught her. I chased her, and she ran away. In a moment of carelessness, she got kicked by a cow. Anyway, she ended up in a pretty mess. She probably went back to her parents' house. My grandma took her to the clinic, so there's not much else at home. The children are still young; I hope they don't go hungry," Zhao Da'e said.

Although Zhou Chunwen didn't really want to make dumplings, since Zhao Da'e had suggested it, she kneaded the dough and made dumplings with sauerkraut filling.

While Zhao Da'e was eating dumplings with his third uncle's son, Zhao Yongbo, they were enjoying their meal. Meanwhile, Zhao Tiegang and the others, seeing that Wang Guixiang seemed to be alright and had recovered, prescribed some traditional Chinese medicine, including herbs to promote blood circulation, remove blood stasis, clear heat, and detoxify, to be brewed for Wang Guixiang when they got home.

Afterwards, the group carried Wang Guixiang home.

Seeing that nothing had happened, Zhao's nephews figured that their morning's work had failed, they hadn't gotten any food, and had wasted their morning, so they went home.

When Wang Guixiang got home, she sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), which was still freezing cold. Since no one was lighting a fire, it got even colder after all the fuss.

A moment later, Zhao Tiegang rushed over: "Mom, Dad, something terrible has happened. Everyone in the family is gone."

Zhao Tingxu was feeling down when he heard this and asked, "Everyone's gone?"

Zhao Tiegang said, "I just got back to the house, and my wife isn't home. Your eldest grandson is also missing."

Zhao Tingxu immediately panicked: "What happened now? Hurry up and go out to ask if anyone has seen anything?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Guixiang immediately burst into tears: "I can't live like this anymore! I can't live anymore! My second son's wife has gone back to her parents' home, and my third son's wife has disappeared too. They're trying to drive me to my death! I'm not going to live anymore! I'll give them what they want! I'll die right now and show them!"

When the neighbors heard Wang Guixiang wailing inside the house, they came over.

Zhao Tingming had just returned from helping out when another member of the Zhao family came over and said, "Grandpa, something terrible has happened. Wang Guixiang is going to hang herself."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tingming flew into a rage: "They don't do anything else all day but keep busy with Wang Guixiang's family's mess. They're always causing trouble, never a moment's peace. They're really good at stirring up trouble. They were just saved by Chen Shuyi, and now they're trying to hang themselves?"

"I don't know, but she's crying at home. It's normal that every household is fighting over poverty as the New Year approaches. That's because our village is poor."

Zhao Tingming fumed, "Fighting won't solve the problem of poverty. If fighting could make a couple rich, then their relationship would be better. Wouldn't that just make them poorer? They do no work all day, just act like they're going to die. What's the point? I think ever since Da'e and her mother Cheng Jinxiang left this house, no one has been doing any work. And when no one is doing work, there's a lot of trouble. The whole family is lazy, and it's almost December. They have nothing to eat or drink. Zhang Cuilan is over thirty years old, and she has no shame. She stole Da'e's flour. How can she be so greedy? She has no money to buy it herself, so she just starves."

"As for their family, I really can't say anything." Zhao Tingming lit a cigarette and smiled. "Don't rush over, wait a bit. Let's see how much trouble Wang Guixiang can cause. Didn't she say she was going to hang herself? Didn't she say she wanted to commit suicide? Wait a few minutes, let's see if she dares to cut her own throat. Day after day, she doesn't act like a mother-in-law at all. When her daughter-in-law steals, she stays far away. If anyone were to speak up for Zhang Cuilan, saying, 'Even if it was stolen, I'll pay for it,' wouldn't that be the end of it? Now she's upset? Serves her right."