“Yo, are you guys busy?”
A sharp voice broke the silence in the courtyard.
Madam Li and Song Jingchen looked up at the same time and saw an old woman and a young woman entering their courtyard.
The two of them looked somewhat similar, especially their eyes. They had inverted triangular eyes. Perhaps it was because they had worked hard all year round, but their skin was dry and tanned.
Song Jingchen glanced at the two of them and frowned slightly before lowering his head to continue reading.
From the moment she entered, Little Madam Liu’s gaze was fixed on the wild boar that was missing its limbs. Greed flashed across her eyes.
Madam Liu secretly pinched her and gestured for her to restrain herself. She turned around and said to Madam Li with a smile, “Don’t tell me you don’t remember me. I’m Dajiang’s wife.”
Due to her upbringing, Madam Li could bring herself to chase her out. She could only say, “I didn’t forget. Sister-in-law, why did you come over today?”
Madam Liu smiled awkwardly. “I should have come over to visit long ago, but unfortunately, I happened to be feeling unwell on the day you returned. I came over today because I’m feeling better.”
Her eyes darted around before she continued, “I’m not here for any particular reason. I just wanted to see if you needed anything.”
Madam Li’s expression was indifferent. She did not think that Madam Liu was really that kind. She said, “Sister-in-law, you’re too kind. We don’t lack anything here. Even if we did, we can take care of it in the next few days.
Madam Liu paused and cursed in her heart, but she smiled. “Of course, it’s only natural for us to help each other out.”
She glanced at the wild boar on the ground and exclaimed, “Oh my, how can you deal with this wild boar like this? Isn’t it a waste of meat? I guess it makes sense as there’s no man in your family to take care of it. Why didn’t you tell your family to get my brats to come over and help? They have so much free time that they’re about to start growing moss from sitting around!”
Madam Li’s heart ached. Her expression turned cold. “Brother Chen is still fine. I wouldn’t dare to trouble my nephews.”
“Sister-in-law, you’re treating me like an outsider.” She glanced at Song Jingchen’s legs in disdain and said with a fake smile, “I heard that Eldest Nephew’s legs are injured!”
She was implying that Song Jingchen was a cripple.
“Sister-in-law, go back if you have no other business here. I’m still busy, so I don’t have the time to entertain you.” Even Madam Li, who was usually good-natured, could not help but chase them away.
Without achieving her goal, how could Madam Liu leave so easily? She pretended not to understand. “Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? We’re a family.”
Glancing at Little Madam Liu, the girl immediately understood and ran into the central room to get a chair for her to sit down.
Sighing, Madam Liu changed the topic and said, “I’m going to be honest with you, sister-in-law. Our family has been having a hard time these past few years. We don’t see meat or fish much every year.”
As she spoke, she even pretended to wipe the nonexistent tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. “Fortunately, my third son is an ambitious person and has just passed the county-level examination. Our family wants him to make a name for himself even though we have to cut down on our spending, how pitiful…”
Ignoring the fact that Madam Li was not on good terms with her, Madam Liu continued to nag for a long time. Her words implied that her family was having a hard time and lacked money and meat.
“In that case, Eldest Aunt shouldn’t have come today. I think Eldest Uncle did the right thing, preventing Cousin’s reputation from being ruined because of us.” A voice suddenly interrupted Madam Liu.
Song Jingchen originally wanted to ignore her, but Madam Liu was too noisy and affected his reading.
Madam Liu choked. She wanted to say, “You’ve all been expelled from the clan. You can’t implicate our third son anyway.”
However, she held her tongue and said reproachfully, “Oh my, Eldest Nephew, don’t say that. However, she held her tongue and said reproachfully, “Oh my, Eldest Nephew, don’t say that. That’s the decision of the elders. Your uncle can’t do anything about it. Besides, blood is thicker than water. No matter what, you still have the blood of our Song family flowing in your veins.”
“I can cut open your veins and help you check if the same blood flows through your veins!” a woman’s voice sounded from inside the house.
