Su Xiaoqi put away the grain and went into the yard.
The sun had already climbed high above the simple bamboo fence.
The Shen family members were all busy with their own tasks.
Madam Zhao was resting in the house, while Shen Erdan and Shen Yun were tidying up the firewood they had gathered from the mountain in the yard.
Shen Xiaomei was busy in the kitchen.
Su Xiaoqi's stomach rumbled with hunger, and she walked towards the kitchen.
"Sister-in-law, you're up. You worked hard last night." Shen Xiaomei, sixteen years old, was kind by nature.
The Shen family had intentionally kept their previous night's activities from Su Xiaoqi, so they treated her as usual.
"Is there anything to eat?" Su Xiaoqi smiled at her, cherishing Shen Xiaomei's friendliness.
Shen Xiaomei nervously rubbed her coarse cloth clothes and said cautiously,
"We only have a little bit of black flour left. I mixed it with wild vegetables to make steamed buns.
And I roasted half of the rabbit that elder brother brought back."
Sister-in-law had only been married into the family for a few days and had always been picky about their food.
Originally, when elder brother got married, he had bought some white flour, but it was all taken by their maternal aunt's family that very day.
Sister-in-law had no choice but to eat black flour buns with them.
After today, they wouldn't even have black flour buns to eat.
This year, there had been floods, and the entire Mianzhou Prefecture had suffered a disaster, causing grain prices to skyrocket.
Their family had been living on the money elder brother earned from copying books, but now that was almost spent.
Shen Xiaomei frowned with worry, sighing continuously.
Su Xiaoqi couldn't get used to the black flour buns. In a moment of impulse, she returned to her room and took out a bag of rice from her space.
With some effort, she carried it to the doorway and saw Shen Yun staring intently at her.
Su Xiaoqi was startled and directly shoved the rice into his arms.
Shen Yun took the rice from her hand and weighed it. This bag must have been at least ten catties.
If they ate sparingly, it would be enough for their family to eat for half a month.
He gently brushed off the white rice clinging to his hand and glanced at Su Xiaoqi without a trace of emotion.
His fingers moved slightly, pretending to inadvertently touch Su Xiaoqi's fingers, and he heard her inner thoughts:
"Oh my gosh, please don't ask me where this rice came from, I wouldn't know even if you did."
Shen Yun's handsome brows furrowed slightly, "Where did this rice come from?"
Su Xiaoqi, thinking quickly, blurted out, "My maiden family sent it."
The Su family was so wealthy; it should be fine to borrow their name.
However, Shen Yun was not easily fooled.
He narrowed his eyes and said indifferently, "When did they send it? How come I didn't know?"
In fact, the Su family had been very stingy with them.
Using the excuse of his insufficient betrothal gift, they hadn't given her any dowry.
He suspected if she was even related to the Su family.
Su Xiaoqi didn't want to answer. She turned and saw Shen Xiaomei and quickly made an excuse:
"Hey, don't ask now. Mother-in-law is injured.
We need to simmer some rice porridge, and Erdan is young and still growing, he needs to eat rice..."
Compared to Shen Yun, Shen Xiaomei was much easier to coax.
Su Xiaoqi merely mentioned it casually, and she believed it, helping to steam the rice.
Soon, the aroma of rice filled the dilapidated courtyard.
However, before it could be served, the courtyard gate was pushed open with a "creak" and swung violently.
Before Su Xiaoqi could understand what was happening, she heard Shen Xiaomei exclaim, cover her mouth, and stomp her feet in panic:
"Oh no, oh no, it's all my fault. I haven't steamed rice in so long that I forgot to lock the door."
As Su Xiaoqi was about to ask further, she saw a dark and thin middle-aged woman and a young girl rush in like a gust of wind.
The two, familiar with the place, went straight to the stove, opened the pot lid, and pointed at the fragrant, white, steamed rice, shouting.
"How wicked, how wicked! Your family is eating alone again." The middle-aged woman looked at Shen Xiaomei with ill intentions.
Su Xiaoqi's mind flashed, and she realized who they were.
They were Shen Yun's maternal aunt, Qian Shi, and her cousin, Zhao Xiaolan.
Their house was next door, and they were downwind. As soon as the rice was cooked, they smelled the aroma.
"No, no, Auntie, we didn't." Shen Xiaomei shrunk her shoulders and clasped her hands, looking timid and fearful, clearly terrified of them.
The mother and daughter did not stand on ceremony. While accusing her, they took the pot and the rice.
They also took the rabbit meat placed on the stove.
They said that since they weren't eating alone, it should be offered to their maternal grandfather and grandmother first.
Shen Xiaomei kept her neck shrunk and her head lowered throughout, not daring to utter a word.
Seeing their practiced movements, Su Xiaoqi knew this was not the first time they had done this. Enraged, she stopped the mother and daughter:
"Stop! Who gave you permission to take my food?"
As she spoke, she snatched the pot and bowls from the mother and daughter's hands and placed them back on the stove.
"Where did this lowly slut come from? Oh my, isn't this that slut who was drowned for having an affair?"
Qian Shi's mouth was notoriously sharp and mean. None of the Shen family members