Era: Seven money-losing girls? They're trying to trick me into having a daughter again!

"Shaoli, you don't know, everyone in the village is praising Dawei for his abilities!"

He Xiaofang was holding Wu Shaoli's arm, her mouth still chattering away.

"David was just lucky."

Wu Shaoli said calmly.

"Good luck? Good luck is a skill too!"

He Xiaofang felt she had laid enough groundwork, and suddenly let out a long sigh, her face full of worry.

"Shaoli, you have no idea how bad things have been for our family these past six months... sigh."

She wiped her eyes, her voice slightly choked.

"Since the New Year, our family hasn't had a decent meal. Your cousin doesn't do any real work, and I'm the only one at home making a living by sewing and mending."

"But tell me, what great use can a woman like me be?"

Wu Shaoli frowned as she stared at He Xiaofang, but saw that there wasn't a single tear in her eyes; the redness was from rubbing her face.

"Especially my two kids, you wouldn't believe how hungry they are, they're practically unrecognizable!"

"She looked pale and thin, and her stomach kept growling when she slept at night. She was so hungry for meat that she cried and kept calling out, 'Mommy, I want to eat meat.'"

He Xiaofang wiped her eyes with her sleeve, looking extremely sad and upset.

"Tell me, how do I feel when I hear these words as a mother?"

My heart is shattered into eight pieces!

Daya, who was feeding Liuya rice porridge nearby, scrunched up her face upon hearing this.

Although she is young, she is not stupid.

She remembers perfectly well how this woman treated her family before!

And every time she takes her sisters out to play, as soon as they run into this woman, she'll say things like, "The big loser is taking the little losers out to play," which is so annoying!

"Sister-in-law, what are you talking about?"

Fang Wei, holding Qi Ya, casually replied, "These days, no one has it easy. Don't your two children often go to their maternal grandparents' house in their town? You wouldn't let them go hungry, would you?"

"Oh dear, their maternal grandparents' family isn't well-off either!"

He Xiaofang's face stiffened for a moment, but she immediately laughed it off.

"Besides, the two younger ones just went there to play; they didn't stay there permanently!"

She quickly steered the conversation back on track, her expression becoming even more pitiful. "So, Shaoli, I've come here today to borrow some meat."

Her eyes were fixed on the piglet as she spoke without any politeness.

"This little piglet looks very meaty, why don't you give it to me?"

The moment those words were spoken, the entire courtyard fell silent.

Fang Wei knew his cousin's wife was shameless, but he never expected her to be this shameless!

What era is this?

This person actually dared to ask for a piglet weighing twenty or thirty pounds right off the bat?!

Wu Shaoli's eyes also turned cold.

Her daughter had only been eating meat for two days, and someone had already set their sights on it!

"Look, your family just sold such a big wild boar, you must have made a lot of money, right?"

Seeing that no one answered, He Xiaofang assumed that Fang Wei and Wu Shaoli were hesitating, so she immediately seized the opportunity to take over the conversation herself.

"Now you and Dawei are both rich, unlike us poor folks."

She patted Wu Shaoli's hand and said with a smile.

"This little piglet is just a mouthful for your family, but if you send it to us, it will be a lifesaver!"

"I'm thinking I can raise it a bit bigger so that my two children can have more meat during the Lunar New Year!"

He Xiaofang became increasingly assertive as she spoke, finally stating, "We're all relatives!"

"Isn't it only natural for relatives to help each other? Now that your family is rich, you can't just watch us starve to death, can you?!"

Fang Wei glanced at her, his hands inexplicably itching to pry open her head and see what was inside.

"Shaoli, you're a mother too, you can surely understand how I feel."

He Xiaofang held Wu Shaoli's hand tightly, pretending to be in the same boat.

"You have seven daughters, and I have two children. Putting yourself in my shoes, I think you wouldn't want to see my children go hungry, would you?"

"..."

Wu Shaoli looked at her hand that was being held by her, and suddenly pulled it back.

If it were when she had just married into the family, she might have been forced to agree, but things are different now!

She has seven daughters to support, and if she gives away even a single bite of food, her daughters will go hungry for a whole day!

"Sister-in-law, what you said makes perfect sense."

Wu Shaoli said calmly, "A mother feels more pain than anyone else when she sees her child starving and suffering."

Upon hearing this, He Xiaofang's face lit up with joy, and she quickly said, "That's right! I knew you, Shaoli, would definitely—"

"but."

Wu Shaoli interrupted her directly, looking at him expressionlessly.

"There are nine people in my family, including seven young girls who can't work. Fang Wei and I are the only ones who can support us. Every day when we open our eyes, there are seven mouths that need to be fed."

"You should know how my family has been these past few years, sister-in-law."

"My little girls have hardly ever had a proper meal of meat since they were born."

She looked at the piglet and said, "This piglet does look quite robust, but there are nine of us in my family. If we were to slaughter it for food, each person wouldn't even get three pieces of meat."

"Sister-in-law, you came to our house asking for piglets, but your two children can often go to their grandmother's in town to have some meat. My daughters don't have that."

He Xiaofang was stunned for a moment.

Who would have thought that this seemingly gentle sister-in-law would dare to refuse her?!

"Besides,"

Wu Shaoli glanced at Fang Wei, her expression softening slightly.

"My husband Dawei specially kept these piglets to nourish my daughters. Now that you're leaving, what will my daughters eat?"

"My name is Daya, and I'm the same age as your eldest son, but I don't look even half as fat as him."

"How dare you ask for meat?"

"..."

He Xiaofang's face turned pale with anger, but she quickly changed her expression and laughed.

"Oh, Shaoli, what are you saying! We're really relatives, and I don't necessarily want your piglets."

"Life has been so hard that I've swallowed my pride and come here to beg for something."

As she spoke, she tried to take Wu Shaoli's hand again, but Wu avoided her. Unperturbed, she continued, "Dawei must have made a lot of money selling the pigs, right? Was it really over a hundred?"

Wu Shaoli took the bowl of water from Daya and took a sip without expression.

"Ouch!"

He Xiaofang was so anxious she wanted to pry her mouth open. "We're all family, Shaoli, just say something!"