The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Under Tong Huaqiong's guidance, the two children happily reconciled.

Tong Huaqiong and Hong returned home with their three children and quickly started a fire to cook corn.

Hong was washing corn in the yard, while Tong Huaqiong was tending the fire.

When Tong Huaqiong first put the clothes on Tong Dajiao, she didn't know how to start a fire, and as the person at the top of the food chain in the family, she didn't have to start the fire herself.

She only learned how to start a fire when she started making pastries.

Now cooking with firewood is no challenge for her at all.

And let me tell you, food cooked in a wood-fired pot in the countryside is full of wok hei (the smoky aroma imparted by the pot) and smells amazing.

After washing the corn, Hong brought it in and poured it into the pot. Then she sat down in front of the pot, handing firewood to Tong Huaqiong while chatting with her.

They talked about how to decorate the yard after it was built, and they wanted to learn from Tong Huaqiong to build a chicken coop and set up a vegetable garden.

Hong had never experienced rural life before, and at this time she was full of expectations for it.

“Raising a few chicks and growing some vegetables, just thinking about it is wonderful,” said Mrs. Hong.

"Grandma, is the corn ready?"

Man'er smelled the fresh aroma of corn wafting from the kitchen and peeked through the door to ask.

When Tong Dajiao was alive, it was impossible for the family to cook fresh corn. This corn had to be saved until autumn when it ripened, then threshed and sold to Gu Jingzhe to pay for his schooling.

Even if a few are cooked occasionally, Man'er never gets a chance to eat them.

At this moment, the aroma of fresh, tender corn wafted out, making Man'er's mouth water.

"It'll be ready soon," Tong Huaqiong replied to Man'er with a smile.

I looked up and saw three little heads huddled together at the kitchen door, waiting to eat corn.

Liu Yanhong and Yaozu were eating some snacks, which Man'er had taken out from the mysterious space.

Fortunately, Liu Yanhong only knew how to eat, and didn't question the origin of these things.

"Grandma, here's a piece of candy for you." Man'er took a piece of chocolate and put it in Tong Huaqiong's mouth.

"Grandma Hong, this is for you." Man'er took out another one and put it into Grandma Hong's mouth.

Gu Yaozu and Liu Yanhong were not to be outdone, and they took out candies and cakes from their pockets and stuffed them into the hands of Tong Huaqiong and Hong Shi.

Tong Huaqiong is used to this kind of scene.

Anyway, she's the "patriarch" of the family, and Man'er and Yaozu treat her with such filial piety every day.

This was the first time Mrs. Hong had experienced such filial piety, and she was extremely envious.

"Sigh, I really envy families with children, so lively and cheerful." Mrs. Hong looked at the three children in front of her with great envy.

Tong Huaqiong naturally knew what was on Hong's mind.

In this era, women often regard not having children as the greatest regret in life.

As someone whose very being is steeped in this era, the Hong family is no exception.

The presence of Man'er, Yaozu, and Liu Yanhong's three children touched upon the Hong family's deep concern about having no children of their own.

Seeing the gloomy look on Hong's face, Tong Huaqiong comforted her, "Not having children is not a regret. Look at my Dashu Taohua's children, they all look decent now, and not one of them is easy to deal with. Before, they were lazy and always causing trouble. I had to clean up their messes a lot. You have no idea how much effort I put into correcting them. It was both mentally and physically exhausting. To be honest, I might have lived a few years longer without them."

Even so, the Hong family was envious.

How wonderful it is for the whole family to be together and have a lively time!
"Oh no," Tong Huaqiong thought to herself. She had meant to comfort Hong Shi, but her words sounded like something out of Versailles.

Honestly, she had no intention of living in Versailles. If she were in her past life, where women could live independently, she would have abandoned this family long ago, given these few rotten bamboo stalks.

In her previous life, she studied all the way to graduate school and never had any thoughts of getting married or having children.

The Hong family is different; the Hong family were people from ancient times.

Let alone in ancient times, even in modern times, a large number of women still believe that a woman's life is only complete if she has children.

Tong Huaqiong continued, "Sister Hong, you might think I'm showing off. I really didn't mean that. If I could just walk away, I would have done it long ago. Really, it's so peaceful without children. If you happen to have an unfilial son, it's better to have a piece of barbecued pork."

Madam Hong chuckled and said, "I know what you mean, you don't need to comfort me with words. As for having children, if it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be, and I've already accepted it." "Grandma, the pot's boiling, is the corn ready yet?" Liu Yanhong asked, drooling.

Liu Yanhong interrupted Tong Huaqiong and Hong's discussion about childbirth.

At this moment, the whole house was filled with the aroma of boiled corn.

"OK OK."

As she spoke, Tong Huaqiong lifted the lid of the pot.

Hong used tongs to take the corn out and place it on the bamboo strips.

The three children were practically drooling over the steaming corn. Liu Yanhong couldn't resist grabbing one, but it was so hot that he jumped up in shock.

It made Man'er and Yaozu laugh non-stop.

Tong Huaqiong casually grabbed a plate and handed it to Liu Yanhong to put corn in.

As soon as the corn cooled down a little, Tong Huaqiong picked one up and started eating.

Each plump, tender kernel of corn bursts open between the lips and teeth, fragrant and sweet, just like the corn Tong Huaqiong fondly remembers eating at her grandmother's house in the countryside when she was a child.

Tong Huaqiong ate two in one go.

The three children sat by the fence, happily eating corn, which made many other children in the village drool.

Many children, upon returning home, asked their mothers to shred and cook corn.

Although every household in Qinghewan grows corn these days, very few families are willing to eat fresh, tender corn.

Most families rely on corn as their winter food after it ripens; eating fresh, tender corn freely at other times would be considered wasteful by the villagers.

At this moment, the spendthrift Tong Huaqiong placed a bowl of fresh, tender corn next to her three children.

Enough.

Only Chunni and her brother Chunwang remained after the children left.

Seeing Chunni's envious expression, Man'er took an ear of corn from the basin and handed it to Chunni.

Before Chunni could even put the food in her mouth, it was snatched away by her younger brother Chunwang.

Why did you take her corn?

Liu Yanhong stood up and asked Chunwang a question.

During his stay in Qinghewan, Liu Yanhong met some of the village's children through Man'er and Yaozu. He especially disliked Chunwang, who bullied Chunni at the drop of a hat and threw tantrums whenever things didn't go his way. Chunwang also acted like the eldest son of the family, putting on a much bigger show than Liu Yanhong, the county magistrate's son.

He felt that since the corn was given to Chunni by Man'er, Chunni should eat it, and Chunwang shouldn't take it away.

Chunwang even snatched it right in front of them. Did he even respect him, the young master of the county magistrate?

"I should eat all the good things in my family," Chunwang said.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yanhong retorted, "Shameless! The corn isn't yours; it was given to you by Man'er."

He snatched Chunwang's corn back and stuffed it into Chunni's hands.

Chunni dared not eat it.

Man'er also disliked Chunwang. She said to Chunni, "Chunni, you eat it. What's given to you is yours."

Then he said to Chunwang, "This is for Chunni, don't try to take it anymore."

Chunwang's eyes lit up, and he reached out to ask Man'er for some corn. Man'er had originally intended to give one to Chunwang after giving one to Chunni, but the annoying Chunwang snatched it from Chunni, so Man'er didn't feel the need to give it to him.

"No!" Man'er remained unmoved by Chunwang's outstretched hand and continued eating her corn.

Chunwang reluctantly withdrew his hand, glared at Chunni, and said, "Give me your corn."

Chunni was about to hand the corn in her hand to Chunwang.

Man'er stopped Chunni from giving it to her, and said to Chunwang, "Why should I give it to you? This corn belongs to my family. I can give my things to whomever I want, and I don't have to give them to whomever I don't want."

Chunwang was furious upon hearing this, and glared at Man'er, saying, "My grandma said Chunni is a money-loser, and money-losers shouldn't eat good things." (End of Chapter)