Chapter 205 Qin Huairu's Outburst, and the Arrogant Jia Zhangshi

Jia Zhangshi, who returned home first, had walked a long way today and was now starving.

She hurried to her small kitchen, hoping to find something to eat to tide her over. Otherwise, she would starve to death before noon.

Knowing that her mother-in-law was going to be released from prison today, Qin Huairu, although unable to buy meat, still indulged in a rare luxury, steaming eight cornbread buns, cooking a cucumber, and stir-frying a plate of shredded potatoes.

There were eight cornbreads, each weighing three or four ounces, which had already been distributed. Her mother-in-law, husband, and son each received one, and she and her daughter shared one, which was just enough for dinner.

As soon as Jia Zhangshi entered the kitchen, she saw the cornbread and vegetables on the stove.

She was so hungry that her eyes were blurry, and she didn't care that her hands were dirty. She grabbed a cornbread and stuffed it into her mouth.

One, two, ...

"Cough cough cough..."

Because she ate too quickly, Jia Zhangshi choked, causing the veins on her face to bulge. Fortunately, there was a water ladle and water nearby, so she quickly scooped up a ladle of water and gulped it down.

Just as Jia Zhangshi was enjoying her meal in the kitchen, Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu returned home one after the other with their child.

"Dongxu, there were so many people outside just now, I was too embarrassed to ask, why did you hit the child?"

"Why did you hit him? This little brat has grown up and is now talking nonsense about his own grandmother."

Next, Jia Dongxu recounted the good deed his son had done.

"Do you think this little brat deserves a beating?"

Seeing her husband's lingering anger, Qin Huairu could only weakly say...

"I didn't say you hit the wrong person. Couldn't you have hit him less hard? Look at those five marks on the child's face. Don't hurt the child."

Seeing his wife's weak and helpless appearance, and then looking at the slap mark on his son's face, Jia Dongxu had no choice but to give in.

"Okay, I know. Mom just got back today. If I hadn't given it to him then, I was afraid she would have gotten angry. I won't do it again next time."

When his mother was mentioned, Jia Dongxu suddenly realized that the two of them had been so engrossed in chatting that they hadn't noticed where his mother was.

"Where's my mom? Didn't she come back before us? Why haven't we seen her?"

Jia Dongxu asked so many questions in one go, how could Qin Huairu possibly know?

But this house is only so big, and since it's not inside, it must have gone to the kitchen.

So the two went to the kitchen, and as soon as they entered, Qin Huairu was stunned.

What did she see?

The old woman was licking the soup off her plate, while the cornbread on the stove had vanished.

Seeing this, Qin Huairu understood everything. Her mother-in-law had actually eaten all the food meant for their family of five in one meal.

The thought of adults and children going hungry brought tears to her eyes.

After Jia Zhangshi licked the last drop of soup off the plate, she realized that her son and daughter-in-law had arrived.

"Dongxu! Mom is so hungry, I'll just eat a few cornbread buns to tide me over. When are you going to start cooking the meat? I can't wait!"

Unaware of the situation, Jia Dongxu could only chuckle and wink at Qin Huairu, trying to gloss over the matter.

But Qin Huairu was heartbroken and only focused on crying, completely ignoring her husband's gaze.

"Mom, wait a minute, let me ask Huai Ru what happened?"

After Jia Dongxu finished speaking, he was about to pull his wife outside to discuss how to smooth things over.

But Qin Huairu still didn't move, and Jia Dongxu thought his wife was acting.

Just as I was about to pull again, Qin Huairu suddenly erupted!

"Eat, eat, eat! All you ever do is eat. You've eaten up the last bit of food in the house. How are the rest of the family supposed to survive?"

Qin Huairu's sudden shout startled everyone in the room.

Jia Dongxu couldn't understand why his usually timid wife was suddenly so angry.

My mom only ate two cornbread buns, is it really that big of a deal?

By then, Madam Jia Zhang had finished eating and drinking and was worried about where to digest her food. Seeing that her daughter-in-law dared to provoke her, she decided to set some rules for her.

"You shameless slut, you jinx! Don't you know how to respect your elders? What's wrong with me eating a few cornbread buns at home?"

Seeing that Qin Huairu remained silent, Jia Zhangshi became more animated and continued speaking.

“You’re just a woman from the countryside. Our family is in this state because of you. What right do you have to point fingers here? If you don’t want to live like this, get back to the countryside…”

Faced with her mother-in-law's unfounded accusations, Qin Huairu didn't say a word, silently wiped away her tears, and turned to walk into the room.

Jia Dongxu watched the whole thing without uttering a single word. Between his mother and his wife, he leaned more towards his mother.

Seeing her daughter-in-law leave in anger, Jia Zhangshi walked out of the kitchen like a victorious general.

By this time, a large crowd had gathered in front of the Jia family's house; they were all neighbors who had come to see what was going on after hearing the commotion.

Having eaten too much, Jia Zhangshi hadn't had enough of cursing earlier, but now, seeing these people, she started ranting again.

"You people have so much free time, huh? I'm disciplining my daughter-in-law, what's it to you? What are you all standing around looking at?"

Well, the neighbors didn't get to see the excitement and got themselves into trouble, so they all scattered like birds and beasts.

Seeing that all the neighbors had left, Jia Zhangshi, like a victorious general, said to her son...

"Dongxu! Your mother's health has been poor these past few years. Go and rest on the kang for a while. Don't forget about my flesh!"

After saying this, Jia Zhangshi went into the house without regard for her son's feelings.

Once everyone had left, the two children ran out again, and the area in front of the Jia family's house became completely quiet.

Jia Dongxu sat alone at the door, smoking silently, thinking about the events of the day and feeling lost about the future.

At noon, everyone else was eating, but the Jia family's stove and pot remained cold.

Qin Huairu remained lying in bed, silent, while Jia Zhangshi, on the opposite kang (heated brick bed), snored loudly and slept soundly.

The two children came back and started fussing for lunch, so Jia Dongxu reluctantly went to the kitchen to prepare a meal for them.

But he searched the entire kitchen and couldn't find a single grain of cornmeal. All he had left to eat were a few pounds of sweet potatoes.

If he remembered correctly, there should have been enough cornmeal in the house to last for two days, how could there be none left?

It was only then that he realized the seriousness of the problem: Could it be that his mother ate it all?

No wonder his wife was so angry. The whole family was saving food, and his mother ate two days' worth in one meal. Anyone would be furious in that situation.

Having no other choice, Jia Dongxu could only steam a few sweet potatoes for the child to barely appease him before dragging his exhausted body out to try his luck and see if he could buy some food to tide him over.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Jia Dongxu returned from outside, carrying a small bag and looking very happy.

I was lucky today; I only managed to buy a dozen kilograms of cornmeal at five times the price at the grain store.

Although the quality of cornmeal today is very poor, it is almost all corn with only a little bit of corn, but being able to buy it is a stroke of luck, because their family has run out of food.

I just got home, barely had time to settle in, and the troublemakers are already here again.