Chapter 6

Luo Zhier put down her bowl. "Miaomiao, you eat first. Mother is going out to take a look!"

"Okay, Mother!"

Luo Zhier put down her bowl and ran outside; it was a chaotic scramble out there!

Seeing her come out, Li Zhenzhu's eyes darted around, and she immediately began to disparage her

"Third Sister-in-law, really, why didn't you make more of this snake meat? I saw that snake earlier was huge, why is there only this little bit? Did you and Miaomiao eat it all in secret?"

"Zhenzhu, you're wronging me. Miaomiao and I hadn't even started eating when Eldest Sister-in-law came in and scooped out a bowl, and then Mother scooped the rest out too..."

"I remember you both saying you wouldn't eat it just now!"

An awkward silence filled the air. Everyone lowered their heads to eat, ignoring her.

Luo Zhier looked aggrieved... "Look, even Little Uncle has quite a pile in his bowl!"

Li Gui, who was looking meaningfully at the several segments of snake piled in his bowl, felt the gaze.

Aside from Old Man Li, he had the most in his bowl...

Hah! She knew it...

Li Gui was gnawing away happily, grease coating the corners of his mouth. He hadn't expected Third Sister-in-law to run out and shift the trouble onto him.

For a moment, remembering how he had complained this morning that the snake meat was dirty and disgusting, he felt a bit flushed...

"Little Uncle, is this snake meat tasty?"

"Uh, this... this stuff is just okay. Mother scooped it out, so I couldn't not eat it..."

Li Gui was evasive, still making excuses to save face!

In his heart, he found it a bit annoying that she had called him out in public. He didn't know if she did it on purpose, but she truly lacked cultivation and didn't know how to respect people.

Third Sister-in-law was ugly, fat, lacked cultivation, had no background, and couldn't make money. A woman like that was worthless in his eyes!

Luo Zhier usually looked down on men like this the most... they wanted the good things for themselves, yet they insisted on maintaining their dignity and didn't dare to act like cowards!

Mrs. Zhou also quickly added, "Exactly. This stuff is just something to make do with to swallow. We're eating it just to give you face..."

Upon hearing this, Little Mrs. Zhou and Mrs. Chen chimed in as well. Although they also looked down on Little Uncle's behavior—especially since he made them men earn silver while he was still in school—they had also expressed disdain earlier, and they didn't want Luo Zhier to win!

They had to maintain their own dignity too...

Luo Zhier, acting simple-minded, shook her round little head as if she had just realized something, and said,

"Oh? I thought it was delicious. I was thinking of catching another one tomorrow to make salt and pepper snake for you all, but if that's the case, then never mind!"

"Ah, this..."

"Haha, Sister-in-law, we're just joking!"

Little Mrs. Zhou said awkwardly.

For a moment, they were filled with regret, their faces turning pale and then flushed. How could they not have thought of this...

"Little Uncle, since it's not tasty, I saw a few of the little ones eating it quite happily. Why don't you give it to Liu Liu, Yunliang, Muxin, and the others to eat?"

"What?"

"This... isn't quite appropriate!"

Li Gui hesitated. How could he bear to part with it? He had finally managed to get some meat, and it was so delicious!

Looking at his mother for help, Mrs. Zhou immediately shouted,

"What are you saying? How could the things Gui-wa has eaten be given to little children!"

Luo Zhier pouted. "Alright then!" She obediently ran over to Old Man Li.

"Father, how is this snake soup?"

Old Man Li said with a smile, "Not bad. I really didn't expect this thing could be eaten like this; it's quite fragrant."

"Father, then I'll make more for you to eat tomorrow!"

"Aye!" This third daughter-in-law was quite good. The other two daughters-in-law had never done anything for him...

"However... this snake is poisonous. Earlier in the village, Li Erdan was bitten by a snake, and his leg swelled up so much he couldn't even put on his pants; he almost died. You must be careful!"

"Father, don't worry. The one I caught isn't poisonous, nothing will happen!"

"Haha, that's good then!"

Before dark in the afternoon, Li Sanmao returned to the village carrying a wild boar.

A crowd of onlookers and children chased behind him, shouting, "Pig slaughtering! Li Sanmao caught another wild boar!"

Some villagers were green with envy seeing him catch such a large wild boar.

They wondered how much silver it would sell for, and besides, this wild boar meat tasted even better than the domestic ones sold outside!

They all hoped he would slaughter the boar so they could hack off some meat to satisfy their cravings!

Old Man Li truly had raised several good sons. The eldest was a top-tier worker, the second helped his wife's maternal family with their business in town, the third was good at hunting, and the fifth was studying and had even passed the exam to become a *tongsheng*.

Li Erdan also followed along. Seeing Old Man Li helping to scrape the bristles, he said with a flattering face, "Brother Li, your family is living so prosperously, it really makes people envious. Look at these sons of yours, every single one of them is promising!"

Hearing this, Old Man Li felt immensely gratified. He had said so, hadn't he? Finally, someone recognized how good his family was.

He gave a happy laugh, "Haha! Brother Erdan, you're joking..."

"Not at all, brother, I'm telling the truth!"

"Hahaha!"

Originally, whenever he thought of Zhao Er's words from this morning, it felt like a knife was gouging his heart.

Now, he finally felt relieved...

Zhao Er had also come, hoping to get some scraps of meat to take back.

"Brother Li, look at how big this wild boar is. Could you give me some of the extra bits like the tail or the ears? I'll take them back to satisfy the kids' cravings at home!"

"Haha, Erdan, look, this wild boar is only this big. Tomorrow Sanmao has to take it to town to sell. Even the tail can sell for ten or twenty wen!"

Zhao Er's face turned pale and then flushed.

What a joke, how could things be that easy? Would you, Zhao Er, be willing to give me twenty wen for nothing? He was brushed off by Old Man Li!

(End of Chapter)