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

After putting down the deer blood, Old Lady Yang didn't linger and turned to go home.

Tang Susu looked helplessly at the ceramic bowl on the table, ultimately deciding not to risk giving it to Miao Yulan to drink.

She planned to dry and slice the deer blood and store it until Miao Yulan had given birth and recovered before using it—after all, she was pregnant now, and it would be troublesome if there were any pathogens in the deer blood that could harm the pregnant woman and the fetus.

Time flies, and half a day has passed in the blink of an eye.

When it was lunchtime, the whole family sat around the table, each holding a cornbread and eating the stewed pigeon meat.

Miao Yulan remained unconscious. Tang Lifu carefully fed her the pigeon soup little by little, holding the bowl.

Seeing his aunt unconscious, Yang Xiaobao's anger towards Yang Houcai intensified.

After finishing the meal, he offered to wash the dishes. After washing the dishes, he lied to Tang Susu, saying he was going to the fields to catch grasshoppers to feed the chickens. In reality, he carried a bamboo basket and walked straight towards the big banyan tree in the village.

The midday sun was scorching. Yang Houcai leaned against the banyan tree trunk, his face haggard and his spirits low. He was no longer responding to the pointing and whispering of passersby.

Yang Xiaobao had already made an appointment with the three brothers, Yang Dafu and Yang Erfu. The three of them collected a whole bamboo basket full of egg-sized pebbles by the roadside and sneaked to the big banyan tree, preparing to take revenge on Yang Houcai.

Yang Xiaobao picked up a pebble and threw it at Yang Houcai.

The pebble missed its mark, but it startled Yang Houcai, causing him to spring to his feet. Seeing it was a group of teenagers, he roared and threatened, "You little brats, you dare throw something at me? Don't you want to live?"

Yang Erfu then threw a stone, which accurately hit Yang Houcai in the neck.

"Hahaha, I won!" He laughed triumphantly.

Yang Dafu aimed at the base of Yang Houcai's legs and threw the stone with force, hitting it squarely.

"Ah—" Yang Houcai screamed in agony, clutching the affected area tightly with both hands and bending over.

After recovering from his shock, Yang Houcai angrily picked up a stone from the ground and was about to throw it back at the three brothers.

Yang Xiaobao immediately invoked the claim that her "deceased husband's spirit had appeared," loudly threatening, "You dare to smash it and see what happens! My father is watching from heaven. If you dare to lay a hand on it, he will definitely come down and kill you!"

Yang Houcai froze instantly, breaking out in a cold sweat, and the pebble in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

He looked around in terror, as if some unseen force was watching him, and dared not make any further moves.

Just then, the brothers Yang Fuqiang and Yang Fugui passed by—they were on their way to work at Tang Susu's house.

Hearing Yang Erfu say enviously, "Xiao Bao really has a good father who can protect him," Yang Fuqiang's anger flared instantly. He rushed over and yelled at his son, "What nonsense are you spouting! Shut up right now!"

Seeing this, Yang Fugui waved for the three children to go home quickly.

Although he didn't completely believe in the "spirit of her deceased husband," he guessed that perhaps Yang Fujun's soul had truly returned to his hometown to protect his family, so he acquiesced to his children's actions.

Yang Xiaobao stuck out his tongue and obediently turned around to go to the field to catch grasshoppers.

The brothers Yang Fuqiang and Yang Fugui entered the Tang family's courtyard, skillfully picked up their tools, and began to make lantern seeds.

With more experience, they became skilled workers, making their work easier and faster.

On the other side, Tang Susu was putting the four wooden buckets that Grandpa Yang had just made into a pot of boiling water to cook them.

According to the standard procedure, after the wooden barrel is made, it should be soaked in water until it swells and becomes dense before being coated with oil.

She changed to boiling water to cook the wood, then drying it before brushing it with oil. This treatment not only prevents insects but also makes the wooden buckets more durable.

Tang Lifu and Tang Liqiang did not go to the fields, but were busy making adobe bricks in the backyard.

After Yang Houcai easily broke into their home, the two brothers realized that the existing mud wall, which was only knee-high, plus a fence, could only keep out chickens and ducks, and could not keep out thieves and bad people at all.

They were determined to raise the courtyard wall and even planned to build a few new houses.

Making adobe bricks is the cheapest way. The mold was borrowed from the village head's family, and the soil was dug up from the mountains by Tang Lifu a few days ago. However, the soil was not sticky enough and needed to be mixed with straw to be shaped.

Tang Liqiang used a shovel to scoop up the soil and pour it into the mold, while Tang Lifu put straw inside and then used tools to tamp and flatten the soil.

Tang Susu went over to check and felt that the adobe house was still too sturdy. It would easily collapse in heavy rain or snow and would require frequent repairs.

She wanted to build a brick house, but worried that if the house was built better than the village head's, it would arouse envy from the whole village and bring unnecessary trouble.

After hesitating for a moment, Tang Susu quietly purchased "earthen wall coagulant" from the trading platform.

While Tang Liqiang turned around to shovel soil, she quickly poured the coagulant into the soil.

The soil instantly became sticky, clinging to the shovel and impossible to shake off.

Although this makes making adobe bricks more laborious, the resulting houses are much sturdier and more durable than ordinary adobe houses.

After making just a few adobe bricks, Yang Fuqiang and Yang Fugui finished making lantern seeds.

Tang Susu came over to settle the wages and gave each person fifteen copper coins.

The two carefully tucked the money into their pockets, said goodbye to Tang Susu, and prepared to go home, pick up their farm tools, and head to the fields to work.

Just then, Yang Xiaobao, carrying a bamboo basket, happily walked into the yard and shouted, "Mom! I caught so many grasshoppers, enough for the chicks to eat for several days!"

Yang Fuqiang looked up and saw that the bamboo basket was full of locusts. His face changed instantly, and he was startled.

He worked in the fields all day and only saw a few locusts.

Last year, when locusts ravaged the village, they devoured all the crops in just half an hour.

He couldn't help but worry that the locust plague might recur.

Yang Fugui, however, was unconvinced and patted his brother on the shoulder, saying, "Don't worry, as long as it's not a swarm of locusts flying over, there won't be any problem."

The two brothers exchanged a few words and then turned and left.

Yang Xiaobao walked excitedly to the chicken coop and poured the locusts in.

When the chicks saw the locusts, they immediately swarmed around them, vying to peck at them.

These chickens eat locusts and grow much faster than they eat wild vegetables. Not long ago, they were covered in yellow feathers, but in the past few days they have gradually turned white and have grown much larger.

As the sun set, the sky gradually darkened.

Tang Lifu and Tang Liqiang stopped making adobe bricks, picked up farm tools, and went to the fields to fertilize and weed the crops.

Tang Susu went into the kitchen and began preparing dinner.

While I was cooking, I suddenly heard a slight noise coming from inside the house.

Tang Susu rushed over to check on her and found that Miao Yulan had actually woken up.

She immediately stepped forward and pressed Miao Yulan down, telling her to stay lying down: "You just woke up, you're still weak, don't move around."

She gently comforted him, "Don't worry, the baby is fine. It's because you're too weak that you almost hurt the baby. You just need to rest for a while and you'll be fine."

Upon hearing this, Miao Yulan's tears welled up instantly. She took Tang Susu's hand and choked out her gratitude, "Big sister, thank you... thank you for saving me and my child."

Tang Susu turned around and went into the kitchen to reheat the milky white fish soup she had prepared at noon.

This fish soup, with both the fish meat and the broth, is specially prepared to nourish Miao Yulan's body.

Miao Yulan was moved to tears and quietly ate the fish soup and fish.

Tang Susu divided the remaining fish head and tail among Yang Xiaobao and her two younger brothers-in-law.

She never competes with the children for food; if she wants some, she'll quietly buy more from the trading platform.

After dinner, the whole family gathered in the main room to continue studying the Three Character Classic.

Because they hadn't fully grasped what they had learned before, Tang Susu asked Yang Zhimao not to come and teach for the time being, and instead let everyone read and recite the material repeatedly to reinforce what they had already learned.

The next morning, before Tang Susu had even gotten out of bed, she was woken up by Aunt Liu's loud shouts from outside the yard next door.

Although she doesn't get up late every day, she still falls short compared to the locals.

Usually by this time, Aunt Liu would have already finished a round of work.

"Susu! Something terrible has happened!" Aunt Liu's voice was filled with panic.

Tang Susu quickly dressed, opened the courtyard gate, and asked, "Aunt Liu, what's wrong? What happened?"

Aunt Liu gasped, "It's Yang Houcai! He's still lying under the banyan tree, his face deathly pale. No matter how we call him, he doesn't respond. He looks like he's stopped breathing. But then he suddenly starts convulsing, muttering incoherently, and keeps begging Yang Fujun for forgiveness!"

She paused, then mimicked Yang Houcai's tone, saying, "He was shouting, 'Yang Fujun, it's my fault, please forgive me this time!' 'Fujun, let me go, I'll kowtow and apologize to you!' 'Don't come near me, don't kill me!'...!"