Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Tang Susu sneered, refusing to budge an inch: "What does it matter whether Tang Chengyu acknowledges me or not? I only ask you, when are you going to return those twenty-seven taels of silver?"

"You shameless wretch!" Old Mrs. Tang trembled with rage. She turned and grabbed a bamboo stick from the corner, then began to beat Tang Susu mercilessly. "You shameless slut! How dare you defy your own family! I'll beat you to death!"

"Sister, watch out!" Tang Lifu reacted quickly, rushing in front of Tang Susu and blocking the bamboo branch.

The bamboo stick struck his back with a sharp "snap," making him wince in pain.

Tang Susu shoved the bamboo stick out of Old Lady Tang's hand, her eyes as cold as ice: "Since we can't reach an agreement, then let's not talk anymore. Let's go to the county government office right now and let the magistrate judge this!"

After she finished speaking, she turned around and left without the slightest hesitation.

"Don't go!" Aunt Tang rushed forward to stop her, whispering in Old Mrs. Tang's ear, "Mother, don't be impulsive! You beat her too badly yesterday, she's furious right now, she might really dare to go to the authorities!"

"Agree to give her twenty-odd taels of silver for now. She might forget about it once she calms down. Even if she asks for it again later, once Chengyu becomes an official, she won't have to worry about not being able to pay it back."

Old Mrs. Tang was stunned for a moment, then instantly understood the implications.

Tang Chengyu's future is of paramount importance and must not be ruined by this small amount of money.

Although she was furious, she could only grit her teeth and nod in agreement.

Seeing that they had compromised, Tang Susu's smile deepened.

She turned to Aunt Tang, who was watching the commotion, and calmly instructed, "Aunt Tang, keep an eye out for me. Whenever Aunt Er has some money, go to Yangqu Village and let me know. Don't worry, I'll give you twelve taels out of these twenty-seven taels."

Aunt Tang stood there, stunned, her face full of astonishment.

Her son was not as valued as Tang Chengyu and was always overshadowed by Tang Ershen, which made him resentful. He was secretly pleased to see Tang Ershen run into a wall.

Upon hearing Tang Susu's suggestion to divide the money, her eyes lit up instantly, and she nodded quickly, "Okay! Okay! I'll definitely keep an eye out!"

This was exactly the effect Tang Susu wanted. By using their conflict to make them fight amongst themselves, they wouldn't have the energy to cause her trouble later.

After giving her instructions, she walked straight towards the Tang family's kitchen with an imposing aura. None of the Tang family members dared to stop her; they all stood there dumbfounded.

Soon, Tang Susu came out carrying a large bowl of steaming hot old hen soup—this soup was originally saved by the Tang family for Tang Chengyu to drink when he came home from school.

She shoved the soup into Tang Liqiang and Yang Gousheng's hands, saying, "Drink up, it'll help you recover."

"How dare you!" Aunt Tang jumped up and down in anger, rushing forward to snatch it. "This was saved for Chengyu!"

Tang Susu smiled faintly and stepped aside, saying, "Didn't we just say we'd compensate you three taels of silver for the chicken? I accept the three taels; since you've taken the money, the chicken soup should naturally be mine. What, does the Tang family want to take the money and keep the soup?"

Aunt Tang was speechless, and could only watch helplessly as Tang Liqiang and Yang Gousheng gulped down the soup from the bowl.

The two were both hungry and thirsty, and didn't care that it was hot. The scalding chicken soup slid down their throats, but they felt extremely comfortable.

After finishing the soup, the two of them each tore off a large chicken leg and began to devour it, also tearing off two chicken wings and handing them to Tang Lifu.

Tang Lifu took the chicken wing and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, broke off half of the chicken and hid it in his sleeve pocket—he was thinking that Miao Yulan was pregnant and he should leave her some meat to nourish her.

Old Mrs. Tang trembled with heartache at the sight.

Not only did they fail to extort any money, they also lost twenty-seven taels of silver, and even the stewed chicken soup was all drunk up.

She pointed at Tang Susu, her voice trembling with anger: "You ungrateful wretch! Don't ever set foot back in the Tang family again, or I'll break your legs! From this day forward, you're severing all ties with the Yang family and our Tang family. If you're ever bullied, don't expect us to help you in the slightest!"

Tang Susu didn't care at all. She patted the dust off her hands and her gaze suddenly fell on the silver hairpin in Old Lady Tang's hair.

The silver hairpin had a simple design, but it was bought by the original owner's husband with money he had saved for a long time. Later, the original owner "gifted" it to Old Lady Tang.

She strode forward, ripped off the silver hairpin, and stuffed it into her bosom: "This hairpin was originally bought for me by my man, and now it's returned to its rightful owner."

"You...you dare to steal my things!" Old Mrs. Tang was so angry at the word "steal" that her throat tightened, her vision went black, and her body went limp and she fell backward.

"Mother!" Aunt Tang Er and Aunt Tang San rushed forward to support her.

Tang Susu ignored them and waved to Tang Lifu and the other two: "Let's go home."

As the sun sets, the sky is painted gold with a rosy glow, and Yangqu Village is bathed in a warm glow. A gentle evening breeze brings a touch of coolness.

When Tang Susu and the other three returned home, Yang Xiaobao and Miao Yulan were already anxiously waiting outside the gate.

"Mom! You're finally back!" Xiao Bao ran forward quickly.

Miao Yulan quickly came forward and, seeing that Tang Liqiang and Yang Gousheng looked better, breathed a sigh of relief: "Are you alright? Did you suffer any losses?"

"It's okay, wash your hands and eat first," Tang Susu said with a smile.

Miao Yulan quickly turned around and went into the kitchen, bringing out the food that was still warm in the pot. Tang Lifu took out half a chicken that he had hidden in his sleeve and put it in a clean bowl.

The small round table was instantly filled with food: stewed chicken with mushrooms and cabbage, tea tree mushroom, cabbage and egg drop soup, stir-fried green beans with chicken oil, half a hen that had just been brought from the Tang family, plus six bowls of steaming buckwheat rice, so plentiful that it was hard to believe.

Tang Liqiang and Yang Gousheng thought they had caused trouble by going to the Tang family on their own and would definitely get a beating when they came back, but they didn't expect to get so much meat to eat. Their mouths watered instantly.

Yang Xiaobao had been looking forward to this delicious meal since noon, and was so hungry that his stomach was practically sticking to his back. He couldn't wait to pick up his chopsticks.

"Wait a minute." Tang Susu called out to him and instructed Yang Gousheng, "Gousheng, go to the kitchen and get an empty bowl."

Yang Gousheng was stunned for a moment, then quickly ran to get a bowl.

Tang Susu picked up a bowl full of chicken, mushrooms, and cabbage from the basin and handed it to Xiaobao: "Take this to Grandpa and Grandma."

Xiao Bao looked at the meat in the bowl, swallowed hard, and obediently took the bowl, saying, "Okay, Mom."

After saying that, he ran towards his ancestral home, afraid that he would miss the family meal if he was too late.

At this time, the Yang family ancestral home had already eaten dinner.

The family sat around the table, eating cornbread made with corn bran and wild vegetables, accompanied by a bowl of boiled red beans. Each person had one cornbread, which was enough to barely fill them up.

Grandpa Yang sat to the side, smoking his pipe, his brow furrowed: "Judging from this situation, in a few days, I'm afraid more than half the families in the village will run out of food."

Old Mrs. Yang, holding her needlework, sighed: "I heard the county magistrate said that the royal family is going to offer sacrifices to the rain god to pray for rain. Maybe in a few days, the government will distribute relief grain."

Just then, Yang Xiaobao's voice came from outside the courtyard gate: "Grandma!"

Old Mrs. Yang put down her needlework, frowned, and stood up: "What's wrong with this child now? Did he get beaten again and come begging for food?"

She walked to the door and saw Xiaobao holding a bowl, the food in the bowl emitting a rich aroma of meat.

"Grandma, Mom asked me to bring this!" Xiao Bao shoved the bowl into her hands, turned, and ran off. "I'm going home to eat chicken!"

Old Mrs. Yang stood there, staring at the chicken and mushrooms in the bowl, unable to believe her eyes—Tang Susu would actually be so kind as to bring meat.

The rich aroma of meat quickly filled the ancestral home, attracting everyone inside to come out of the house.

Yang Erfu, the eldest son of the old man Yang, came over and his eyes widened in surprise: "It's chicken! I heard from Qiangzi that Xiaobao caught a pheasant on the mountain today!"

Yang's eldest and second daughters-in-law also gathered around, their faces full of shock.

In their memory, Tang Susu had always only squeezed benefits from the ancestral home and had never given anything in return. It was really abnormal that she was now taking the initiative to send meat.

The second son's wife, recalling what happened during the day, said, "At noon, Xiaobao came and took three cabbages, a handful of green beans, and an egg. Could it be an exchange of equal value?"

"It doesn't seem like it," Old Mrs. Yang shook her head. "At noon, she had Xiao Bao give her five coins, so they should be even. Now she's sending so much meat. What is she trying to do?"

In the past, Tang Susu would only feign goodwill when she needed help from the ancestral home.