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

When Zheng the Scoundrel's wife heard that Tang Chengyu would only stay in Yangqu Village for a little over a month before leaving, she was extremely anxious and was determined to arrange a marriage between her own niece and Tang Chengyu.

She made up her mind to rush back to her parents' home to pick up her niece, planning to create a rift between the two and force Tang Chengyu to marry her niece.

The way back to her parents' home had to pass by Tang Susu's house.

The morning light was dim and her vision was blurred, but she could vaguely smell a pungent odor of blood.

My feet moved involuntarily toward the source of the smell, my heart filled with both curiosity and trepidation.

As they approached Tang Susu's courtyard gate, Zheng the Rascal's wife was shocked to find a lot of prey laid out at the entrance.

She counted carefully and found a total of nine rabbits and two pheasants. Each of the prey had a bloody hole in its neck and had already died.

Zheng the Rascal's wife swallowed hard, her mouth watering.

She looked around to make sure there were no passersby, and then she vaguely heard inhuman noises coming from the yard. So she mustered her courage, bent down, picked up a wild rabbit, and stuffed it into her bosom.

At first, he wanted to leave immediately, but looking at the remaining wild game, he couldn't resist the temptation. He bent down and picked up two rabbits and a pheasant. Then, not daring to delay any longer, he ran home as fast as he could.

When Zheng the rascal's wife returned home, it was still pitch black.

Zheng, who was fast asleep, was awakened by the sound of her opening the door. He grumbled impatiently, his tone sharp: "What's wrong with you making such a racket in the middle of the night? Are you going back to your parents' house again?"

Zheng the Scoundrel's wife smiled smugly, placed the three stolen rabbits and one pheasant on the table, and showed them to Zheng the Scoundrel: "Look what I brought back!"

Zheng the Rascal's drowsiness vanished instantly. He jumped up, his eyes wide, yet his face was full of suspicion: "So much wild game? It must have come from illegitimate sources!"

He even verbally abused him, asking, "Do you have some kind of illicit relationship with Hunter Yang to be able to get these prey?"

Zheng the Rascal's wife was so angry her face turned red. Pointing her finger at his nose, she retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting! You're just throwing accusations at me!"

He then proudly explained the truth: "I found these wild animals when I passed by Tang Susu's house; they were placed right at the entrance of her yard."

"I bet there's something fishy going on between Tang Susu and Hunter Yang. Otherwise, how could a widow like her have so much game?"

She secretly scoffed, "Only honest people like those in Yangqu Village wouldn't suspect their relationship."

Zheng the Rascal frowned, still skeptical: "I've never seen Hunter Yang and Tang Susu exchange a single word. You must be mistaken."

Zheng's wife, however, was unconvinced and sneered, "It must have been secretly placed there by Hunter Yang. Tang Susu is timid and cowardly; even if she discovers her prey has been stolen, she'll just have to suffer in silence. Why not take it if it's free?"

Zheng the Rascal's wife instructed, "Cook these wild animals first. I'm going to my parents' house to pick up my niece now; we can't delay!"

Zheng the Rascal was usually extremely lazy and found even the slightest movement tiring, but the thought of being able to eat meat made him instantly diligent. He got up and ran to the kitchen to boil water, busy preparing to clean the wild animals.

As soon as the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, Tang Susu got out of bed.

She hurried to the courtyard gate and found that the chicken she had placed in the bamboo basket the night before to protect against wild wolves had all disappeared, not even a single bone was left.

Instead, the bamboo basket contained six wild rabbits and one pheasant.

Tang Susu understood immediately; she knew without a doubt that these were the gifts from the four wolves she had recently fed.

She secretly rejoiced that, fortunately, after Wolf King had eaten his fill, he still left a lot of game for the family. Then she called Tang Lifu over: "Lifu, clean up these prey, I'll go to the kitchen to prepare breakfast."

After saying that, he turned and went into the kitchen.

At this moment, Yang Dabai bit Tang Susu's trouser leg and gently pulled her outside.

Tang Susu bent down and picked up Yang Dabai, asking with a smile, "What's wrong? Do you miss your mother, or do you want some milk?"

Yang Dabai nudged her palm with his head in response.

Tang Susu glanced around and saw that her family members were all busy with their own things and no one was free, so she picked up Yang Dabai and went into the kitchen to make some milk powder for it.

Seeing this, Yang Dahuang, who was standing nearby, also imitated Yang Dabai, whining and acting cute around her feet, wanting to drink milk as well.

Tang Susu gently stroked Yang Dahuang's head, soothingly saying, "Sweetie, there's only one bottle. Let Dabai drink first, and then it'll be your turn, okay?"

Yang Dabai finished drinking his milk contentedly, his belly becoming round and full. He slowly moved to his doghouse, lay down comfortably, and soon began to snore softly.

Breakfast that day was exceptionally lavish.

Tang Susu cooked a pot of rabbit meat, made a delicious chicken soup, and lined the pot with white dough balls. She also cooked a bowl of dumpling soup with eggs and homegrown vegetables.

The family had been eating wild vegetables for a long time, but now they were enjoying fresh, sweet homegrown vegetables, along with fragrant rabbit meat and chicken soup. They found it exceptionally delicious and ate every last drop of food on the table, leaving not even a drop of soup.

With a large number of wild rabbits at home and plenty of chicken soup, Miao Yulan couldn't possibly finish it all by herself.

Tang Susu then served a bowl to everyone in the family, saying with a smile, "We can't just let the dog drink milk while the kids don't even get to drink meat soup. Let's all drink together."

After saying that, he ladled out a large bowl of chicken soup and placed it on the table for later use.

Tang Susu took a cleaned wild rabbit from the clothesline, carrying it along with a bowl of warm chicken soup, intending to deliver it to the old house.

Firstly, the family has plenty of wild game, and the elderly couple usually live frugally, so it's time to let them eat some meat to nourish themselves.

Secondly, since Madam Shen was pregnant, it was only right for her, as her younger brother's wife, to visit her and bring her some meat soup.

As soon as Tang Susu entered the courtyard of the old house, she saw Shen lying on the long bench made by Old Master Yang—this long bench was usually used by the two elders to rest.

Madam Shen, utterly lacking in decorum, ordered her two daughters around, her tone extremely arrogant: "Fangjuan, quickly go cook me a bowl of noodles, my mouth feels tasteless, I'm craving something!"

Then he scolded Tao Hua, "Don't be lazy! Wash all the clothes in the yard clean, and don't dawdle!"

Seeing this, Old Lady Yang scolded Shen in an annoyed tone: "Where would we get flour at home? If you want some, go to town and buy it yourself with a few coins. Don't stand here complaining like that, who are you trying to impress!"

Madam Shen immediately stroked her belly, feigning misery, and said in a wronged tone, "Mother, I'm carrying the blood of the Yang family, and I'm getting old, so I should be taken good care of."

She further argued, "It's not that I want to eat white flour, it's that the Yang family blood in my belly wants to eat it, and I can't help it."

Old Mrs. Yang was furious and pointed at her, scolding, "Don't give me that! You're so cunning, you want to eat white flour yourself while the whole family has to eat chaff and wild vegetables?"

She even mocked, "You're not carrying a gold nugget, don't use the baby in your belly as an excuse!"

Enraged, he immediately suggested, "Since you're so delicate, why don't we separate and live separately! After we separate, you can eat whatever you want, even if you want the moon, I won't care!"

Upon hearing about the division of the family property, Madam Shen panicked, and the aggrieved look on her face vanished instantly.

She knew in her heart that she didn't have many copper coins saved up, and if the family were to split up, she would spend all her money after eating a few meals of white rice noodles.

Moreover, the second wife only had Yang Fugui as a male to do farm work, and she was unwilling to let her husband work himself to death. Life after the separation would definitely not be as comfortable as it is now.

So she immediately backed down, stood up awkwardly, and lied with a forced smile, saying, "Mom, I was just kidding. I wouldn't really want to separate from the family. I'm willing to eat with the whole family and I won't be picky about food anymore."

Tang Susu walked into the courtyard at the right moment, breaking the awkward situation.

She placed the chicken soup on the table and said with a smile, "Mother, Second Aunt, this bowl of soup was originally reserved for Li Fu's wife. But when I learned that Second Aunt was also pregnant, I specially served you a bowl to nourish your body."

Upon seeing this, Madam Shen's eyes lit up instantly, her face filled with joy, and she quickly stepped forward to express her gratitude: "Thank you so much, sister-in-law! Thank you so much, sister-in-law!"

She thought she wouldn't get to drink the chicken soup and was worried that Old Lady Yang would lock it up and not let her have it, so she immediately picked up the chicken soup and drank it in big gulps.

The freshly made chicken soup was hot and flavorful, with a layer of oil floating on top. After taking a sip, Shen felt full of energy, and even the bland taste in her mouth disappeared.

After taking a couple of sips, Madam Shen couldn't bear to continue. Feigning concern, she asked, "Sister-in-law, how could you bear to kill the chicken at home to make soup? It would be so much better to keep it to lay eggs."

Tang Susu answered truthfully: "These are not chickens raised at home. They were sent by Yang Dabai's mother."

Those four wolves would bring over some game every day, probably because they were worried that Yang Dabai wouldn't eat well here.

Tang Susu picked up the wild rabbit in her hand again and said, "We have too much wild game at home, we can't finish it all. You and Dad can cook this rabbit and eat it. It weighs about five or six pounds, and you can cut a lot of meat from it."

The children in the old house, upon seeing the wild rabbit on the table, immediately drooled, their eyes fixed on it, unable to look away.

Tang Susu smiled, said nothing more, and turned to leave the old house.

Old Mrs. Yang carried the wild rabbit into the kitchen to prepare it, planning to cook it for the whole family for lunch.

Madam Shen carried the chicken soup back to her room, called Tao Hua over, picked up a piece of meat from the bowl, and stuffed it into her mouth: "Eat quickly, don't let anyone see."

Peach Blossom swallowed it without chewing, then looked at Madam Shen with bright eyes, wanting to eat another piece.

Madam Shen glared at her and ordered, "Go and call your sister Fangjuan over. Let her taste the meat too."

Peach Blossom nodded and ran to the courtyard gate to look for Fangjuan, but found that Fangjuan was not in the courtyard. She immediately ran back to the room and lied, "Mother, my sister went out. I'll take the meat out and deliver it to her."

Madam Shen had no suspicion and gave her another piece of meat: "Go quickly, don't steal any."

Peach Blossom took the meat, ran to the yard, and without even looking for Fangjuan, stuffed the meat into her mouth, chewed it quickly a couple of times, and swallowed it, not forgetting to wipe the oil from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve.

Yang Erfu suddenly jumped out from behind a pile of firewood, pointed at Tao Hua, and loudly questioned, "Tao Hua, what are you eating? Is it meat?"

Peach Blossom panicked and wiped her mouth with her sleeve, stubbornly lying, "I didn't eat anything, I didn't eat anything at all."

Yang Erfu persisted, shouting at the top of his lungs, "I clearly saw it! It was Third Aunt who brought the meat, and you secretly ate it all, leaving me no share!"

After saying that, he immediately shouted towards Shen's room, "Second Aunt! Second Aunt! Peach Blossom stole the meat! She stole the meat you gave to Sister Fangjuan!"

As Shen was slowly savoring her chicken soup in her room, she heard Yang Erfu's shouts and immediately understood the truth, which made her grit her teeth in anger.

She grabbed a thin bamboo stick from the corner of the wall, rushed out of the room, and started hitting Peach Blossom's bottom, yelling as she did so, "You greedy cat! You dared to steal food! You dared to lie! How dare you steal your sister's share of meat! I'll beat you to death!"

Peach Blossom cried loudly as she was beaten, and in pain, she ran out of the courtyard. Madam Shen chased after her, hitting her and cursing her all the while.