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

As the sun was about to set, Yang Houcai's house was in complete chaos.

After Houcai's wife returned home, she didn't say a word. She neither cooked nor moved. She just lay on the bed, listless, with empty eyes.

Yang Houcai followed him into the house, trembling with anger, and raised his fist to smash it against Houcai's wife.

Upon seeing this, the eldest son, Yang Tieqiao, immediately rushed forward, grabbed his father's arm, and stood firmly in front of his mother, shouting, "Dad, you can't hit Mom!"

Yang Houcai cursed angrily, "It's all because of this wretched woman that I've lost face in front of the whole village! Get out of my way!"

Houcai's wife suddenly sat up abruptly, grabbed the clutter from the bedside table and slammed it to the ground, roaring, "I can't live like this anymore! Yang Tieqiao, Yang Tiegun, you two choose, are you with your father or with me!"

The brothers Yang Tieqiao and Yang Tiegun exchanged a glance and stood beside Houcai's wife without hesitation.

Enraged, Yang Houcai pointed at his wife's nose and declared, "Fine! Very well! I'll divorce you right now!"

He kicked over the tables and chairs in the room and slammed the door shut as he left.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he was surrounded by his elderly parents who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

His elderly mother grabbed his arm and pleaded, "Son, you can't divorce her! Without her, who will do your laundry, cook for you, and take care of the children? Hurry up and go inside to apologize to her and coax her back. Life has to go on."

Yang Houcai pushed his parents away and ran straight out of the house.

But as soon as he reached the village entrance, he heard villagers gathering in twos and threes, gossiping about his and Lan's scandalous affair, their pointing and whispering gazes making him feel utterly ashamed.

Unable to bear it any longer, he turned and walked towards the back of the village.

Lan wanted to find a quiet place to hide, but unexpectedly, she ran into Yang Houcai in the wild forest behind the village.

Yang Houcai was like a lit powder keg. He went up and slapped Lan across the face. The stinging sound was particularly clear in the silent forest.

"Did you throw my underwear at Tang Susu's house to frame me?" he demanded angrily.

Lan, clutching her face in pain and anger, screamed at Yang Houcai in retaliation: "My reputation is ruined, it's all your fault! You have to take responsibility for me! I'm sticking with you! You better divorce that old woman and marry me! What do I lack compared to her?"

Yang Houcai's face was gloomy, his eyes full of disdain: "You compare yourself to her? Although she is old and ugly, she can give me children, and she can do all kinds of work at home and in the fields. Look at you, with your long fingernails, you are obviously not cut out for heavy work. I will not marry a lazy ancestor."

He secretly planned that even if he were to remarry, he would marry someone as beautiful and wealthy as Tang Susu.

When Yang Houcai thought about how the villagers all said Tang Susu's business was booming, and even Manager Zhong of Ruyi Workshop personally came to pick up goods, he realized that she must have made a lot of money, and he began to have designs on her.

He remembered that Yang Defu followed Tang Susu around delivering goods every day, and might know about her profits, so he turned and walked towards Yang Defu's house.

Lan was so angry she was jumping up and down, but because she was too shy to chase after him in a crowded place, she could only stomp her feet and curse.

Yang Defu was carefully inspecting the wheels of the oxcart at the gate of his own yard, fearing that something might go wrong on the way to deliver goods tomorrow.

When he saw Yang Houcai coming over, his heart skipped a beat.

Yang Houcai leaned forward, grinning, and asked, "Defu, you deliver goods to Tang Susu every day. How much does she earn a day from her cold noodle business?"

Yang Defu quickly waved his hand and said dismissively, "I'm just a rickshaw puller, I only deliver goods, how would I know about these things?"

He paused, then couldn't help but offer a word of advice: "Houcai, I advise you to stop coveting women's money. Focus on managing your own rice paddies, and don't rely on your wife for everything. A man should act like a man."

Just then, a shout came from afar: "Yang Houcai! It's your turn to patrol the village! It's your turn to be on duty tonight, don't make excuses to shirk your responsibilities!"

Although the village patrol team still follows the rules and performs their duties on time, many people have recently been frequently making excuses to be absent.

Yang Houcai was about to curse, but then an idea came to him. He immediately put on a cheerful expression and replied, "Coming!" He then turned and ran to hand over the duties to the previous patrol team.

After it was completely dark, Tang Susu closed the courtyard gate herself.

The jelly to be delivered tomorrow has already been prepared, the number of chickens and ducks has been counted, and Yang Dahuang and Yang Dabai, having eaten and drunk their fill, are already curled up asleep in their doghouse.

Yang Gousheng, however, still hadn't returned home.

Tang Susu instructed Tang Lifu to prepare torches, and then led the whole family to continue learning to read in the main room.

Yang Zhimao came by in the afternoon. Tang Susu asked him to teach her more before giving him the eggs. Yang Zhimao insisted on teaching her until she was convinced that "if you don't teach, your nature will change."

Considering that Tang Lifu, Tang Liqiang, and Miao Yulan had difficulty recognizing characters, Tang Susu decided to focus on reinforcing the three characters "Xi Xiangyuan" tonight.

She first taught them word by word, then had the whole family read it aloud ten times, and then recited the previously learned content together: "At birth, people are inherently good. Their natures are similar, but their habits differ."

Yang Xiaobao listened attentively and asked curiously, "Big sister, what does that mean?"

Combining the interpretation she had learned from the manager of Chongwentang, Tang Susu patiently explained: "This saying means that when people are born, their nature is pure and kind. Everyone's nature is originally similar, but their character and conduct will change depending on their living environment and the habits they develop later in life."

Yang Xiaobao pressed further, "Then why do some people turn bad?"

Tang Susu smiled and gave an example: "Children start out like blank sheets of paper. Later, they grow up in different families. Some families value education and are full of love; others are poorly cared for or have incorrect parenting methods. In addition, they make different friends. Some friends are positive and motivated, while others are mischievous. Over time, they develop different personalities and habits, and differences arise between people."

Yang Xiaobao nodded as if he understood, and fell into thought.

Miao Yulan sat to the side, looking at Tang Susu with envy.

She was trying to take notes while Yang Zhimao was teaching, but she couldn't remember them no matter how hard she tried.

Tang Susu only listened to it once, but she was able to remember it perfectly and even tell it back to everyone. She's really amazing.

Before long, Yang Xiaobao was the first to memorize these few sentences.

Tang Susu simply let him be the little teacher, watching Tang Lifu and Tang Liqiang recite.

After learning to read, the whole family began learning arithmetic.

This made Tang Lifu and Tang Liqiang even more devastated, and they both wailed that arithmetic was ten times harder than recognizing characters.

Tang Susu was also somewhat helpless and couldn't help but complain that the two of them were "pumpkin brains." She had taught them addition and subtraction within ten several times, but they still couldn't remember them.

She couldn't help but miss Yang Gousheng—Yang Gousheng was an arithmetic genius who could learn any arithmetic, no matter how complicated.

Before going to sleep, Tang Lifu was still muttering to himself, "Eight minus two equals six, eight plus six equals what... Wife, let me count with your hand..."

Miao Yulan squinted, feeling extremely sleepy, but still generously extended her hand, allowing him to use her fingers to perform the calculations.

As night deepened, darkness enveloped the entire Yangqu Village like a vast net.

Tang Susu and Yang Xiaobao were both fast asleep. Yang Xiaobao had a smile on his lips and occasionally let out a soft snore.

The footsteps of the village patrol team grew louder as they passed by Tang Susu's house.

There were only two people on this village inspection, one of whom was Yang Houcai.

He stared at the dark courtyard, and wicked thoughts began to surface in his mind again.

He told his companion, "I'm going to take a piss over there. You go ahead and patrol, I'll be right behind you."

His companions already knew that Yang Houcai was unreliable and lazy, and that he had just caused such a scandal with the Lan family, so they didn't bother arguing with him. They waved their hands and walked ahead alone.

Yang Houcai immediately lowered his body and crouched down to hide in the haystack outside the courtyard wall.

After confirming that no one was around, he quietly appeared.

He didn't dare go through the main gate. Instead, like a sneaky little monkey, he suddenly flipped over the low mud wall and quietly sneaked into the Tang family's courtyard.

Knowing that there were chickens, ducks, and dogs in the yard, he moved with exceptional agility, tiptoeing carefully towards the main room.

Just then, the door creaked open.

Miao Yulan, who is pregnant, was rubbing her eyes as she prepared to get up and go to the outhouse in the corner of the yard, as pregnant women are more likely to get up at night.