The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

After Chen Pandi was pulled to a corner of the yard by her daughter and son-in-law.

She decided to drop the pretense and get straight to the point:

"Mingcai, Lili, let me be frank. This time, your brother's family and I have come here to ask for grain."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Wu Li's face darkened: "Mother, we've been sending you ten catties of grain a month, isn't that enough?"

"Of course not, what can ten pounds do with that?"

Chen Pandi's face darkened, and she started counting on her fingers.

"There are six of us: your father, your younger brother Dazhu, and I. How many mouths are there to feed? And your little nephew is growing too; he needs to be fed!"

"Mother, how much do you need?" Uncle Li Mingcai asked softly, standing next to his wife.

He was thinking that if there were an extra five or eight pounds, he would grit his teeth and give it to them.

Chen Pandi was secretly delighted, but she remained outwardly calm: "Mingcai, I don't need much. Just give me fifty catties of grain every month."

She paused for a moment, then added, "Oh, by the way, half of these fifty catties must be refined grains."

These in-laws have really made it big. That table of food they just served is not something an ordinary family can afford. How can I not take advantage of their success?

As she thought about it, her eyes grew increasingly greedy.

"What?"

Uncle Li Mingcai exclaimed in surprise, then lowered his voice, "Mother, how is this possible? How could our family possibly provide so much grain every month!"

Don't give me that crap!

Chen Pandi glared at him with her triangular eyes. "Isn't your eldest brother from the city? And your nephew, working as a driver in Beijing, how could he not have food?"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Wu Li, who was standing nearby, immediately spoke up:

"Mother, that's my eldest brother's family. What does it have to do with us?"

"I don't care!"

Chen Pandi shook off her daughter's hand, her voice becoming shrill, "Give me the grain today, whether you want it or not! Otherwise, I'm not leaving this yard today!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Dazhu came over, looking pitiful.

"Sister, please help us! Look how thin your nephew and niece have become!"

Actually, Wu Dazhu hadn't even realized what was happening yet.

Originally, he and his mother had discussed at home that he would only need ten more catties of grain per month from his eldest sister. Unexpectedly, his mother directly asked for fifty catties, half of which had to be refined grain.

Uncle Li Mingcai was so angry at the shamelessness of the two that his lips trembled for a long time, and he couldn't say a word.

"impossible!"

Suddenly, Wu Li, the second aunt standing to the side, raised her voice and became more resolute.

"Mom, your husband and I will give you a maximum of fifteen catties of coarse grains each month. That's all we'll give you."

Chen Pandi was stunned for a moment, then sat down on the ground, slapping her thigh and wailing, "Oh dear, my daughter got married and doesn't care about her mother anymore! How am I supposed to live like this!"

This howl drew the attention of everyone in the courtyard.

Uncle Li Mingcai immediately broke out in a cold sweat and rushed forward to comfort his mother-in-law.

"Mom, please stop shouting! Let's talk this out!"

"What else is there to say!"

Chen Pandi wiped away non-existent tears and raised her voice even louder.

"You all dislike me and want to abandon me!"

As she spoke, she started throwing a tantrum again, kicking her legs wildly on the ground: "How could I have given birth to such an unfilial daughter! God, open your eyes and look!"

Second Uncle Li Mingcai wanted to persuade him again.

Aunt Wu Li stopped her husband, her eyes red, and said, "Husband, don't interfere, just let her make a scene!"

She spoke with such conviction, yet tears were already streaming down her face.

Uncle Li Mingcai felt a pang of heartache upon seeing this. His lips moved, but he didn't know what to say.

Just then, her mother, Qin Xiuli, came over.

Looking at her sister-in-law, whose eyes were red-rimmed, she asked softly, "Lili, what happened? Do you need my help?"

"It's alright, sister-in-law!"

Second Aunt Wu Li forced a smile, but her voice trembled slightly, "We...we can handle things here, you...you should go back first!"

She was genuinely afraid that her mother would take advantage of the situation and cling to her sister-in-law.

What you fear most is what will happen.

Chen Pandi saw Qin Xiuli coming over.

She immediately scrambled to her feet and grabbed her arm: "Xiuli, right! You have to talk about my daughter's situation. As her sister-in-law, you can't just ignore it!"

Chen Pandi knew that whether or not they could get the grain today depended on the person in front of her.

Qin Xiuli was pulled so hard she stumbled, but thankfully she managed to regain her balance.

"Aunt Chen, what exactly happened? Let's talk this out."

"What else could it be! I raised Wu Li all these years, and now she's married into your Li family, and she won't even give me fifty catties of grain a month. Tell me, is she even human?"

As Chen Pandi spoke, she pretended to wipe away tears.

Upon hearing this, Qin Xiuli instantly understood that this was an attempt to freeload.

She subtly withdrew her arm, her tone still relatively calm: "Aunt Chen, you know Lili's family's situation. Where would you get so much food for them?"

"She doesn't have any, but you do!" Chen Pandi blurted out. "You're workers in the city, how could you possibly lack a little bit of food?"

As soon as she said it, Aunt Wu Li's face turned pale again.

She rushed forward and grabbed her mother, her voice trembling: "Mother! What nonsense are you spouting in front of my sister-in-law!"

"You said she's your sister-in-law, so what's wrong with helping her?"

Chen Pandi retorted confidently, "Besides, I didn't ask her for it. Why don't you just ask Mingcai to borrow some from her and pay it back?"

"Borrow? You make it sound so easy!" Aunt Wu Li trembled with anger. "When are you going to pay it back? And with what are you going to use?"

As she spoke, she looked at Qin Xiuli with a pleading expression: "Sister-in-law, please leave! I really can handle things here."

Mother Qin Xiuli opened her mouth, then sighed.

He knew in his heart that Wu Li was trying to maintain her last shred of dignity, and that if he stayed any longer, he would only embarrass her.

But just as she turned to leave, Chen Pandi rushed up and grabbed her sleeve tightly:

"You're her sister-in-law, you can't leave! You need to give us an explanation!"

Qin Xiuli frowned and stopped in her tracks: "Aunt Chen, what explanation do you want?"

"I want grain! Fifty catties a month, half of it refined grain!"

Chen Pandi held up five fingers, then smiled and said, "You city folks are well-off, so just consider it helping out your relatives in the countryside. It'll be good for your reputation if word gets out!"

"Don't agree!" Wu Li screamed, rushing forward to grab her mother's arm. "Sister-in-law, you go first!"

Seeing Qin Xiuli about to break free, Chen Pandi panicked and turned to her son, shouting, "Dazhu, what are you standing there for? Come and help!"

"Oh, oh!" Wu Dazhu finally realized.

He then stepped forward and blocked Qin Xiuli's path, a fawning smile on his face: "Sister Qin, please, have mercy on me!"

Second Uncle Li Mingcai wanted to step forward to help, but was stopped by Wu Dazhu's wife.

For a moment, the situation reached a stalemate.