Siheyuan (courtyard house): My father, Li Yunlong!

Looking at her pitiful yet clearly purposeful appearance, Li Zhenhua felt a little amused, but also a strange restlessness.

He deliberately hesitated for a moment, his gaze sweeping over Qin Huairu's chest, which was heaving slightly with nervousness, before lowering his voice and speaking with a hint of mockery.

"Sister Qin, aren't you being a little too hasty?"

Qin Huairu's cheeks flushed red, and she lowered her head, not daring to look at him, her voice barely audible.

"We...we had no choice..."

Li Zhenhua smiled and said nothing more. He turned to the side and gestured for Qin Huairu to come in, his smile deepening.

"It's cold outside, come inside and talk."

Twenty minutes later.

The door to Li Zhenhua's small house in the backyard was gently pushed open a crack.

Qin Huairu darted out like a startled rabbit, then quickly closed the door behind her.

She leaned against the cold wooden door, her chest heaving violently, her cheeks flushed with a lingering redness, and her eyes filled with a mixture of humiliation, panic, and exhaustion from completing her mission.

She was clutching a small piece of something wrapped in old newspaper tightly in her hand, which she estimated to weigh only about half a pound.

After standing at the door for a few seconds to make sure no one was in the courtyard, Qin Huairu hurriedly lowered her head to tidy her somewhat disheveled clothes and hair, carefully buttoning up her cotton-padded jacket one button at a time.

Then, she quickly walked to the public water tap in the yard, ignoring the cold water, bent down, took a big mouthful of water, and rinsed her mouth vigorously, as if trying to wash away some trace and scent.

The cool well water soothed her throat, calming her down a little.

She herself requested that she only take this much meat, which was half a pound.

She dared not ask for too much, fearing that taking too much at once would arouse suspicion from her calculating mother-in-law and her increasingly irritable husband.

She couldn't imagine the consequences.

However, even this mere half a pound of meat cost her an unspeakable price. The young section chief's methods were even more... making her feel utterly ashamed.

After adjusting her breathing and trying to regain her composure, Qin Huairu clutched the small piece of meat and walked into the Jia family compound in the middle courtyard with her head down.

Sure enough, as soon as she entered, Jia Zhangshi's triangular eyes swept over her like searchlights, instantly locking onto the paper package in her hand that was noticeably smaller.

"How come there's only this much?"

Jia Zhangshi's voice was shrill and grating. She snatched the paper package and opened it. When she saw the piece of meat inside, which was more than half the size of yesterday's, her face immediately drooped, filled with disappointment and anger.

"Qin Huairu! Are you dead? You were gone for so long, and all you came back with was this pitiful amount? Who can even fill a tooth gap with that? Did you secretly eat some yourself? Or did you hide the good stuff?"

Jia Zhangshi's finger almost poked Qin Huairu's nose.

Jia Dongxu also came over with a gloomy face, and when he saw the meat, his anger flared up as well.

"What happened? Yesterday there was over a pound, how come there's only this little today? Did you not ask him properly? Or did you say something that offended him?"

Qin Huairu felt as if she were being stabbed with a knife, but she could only endure it and explain in a low voice.

"Dongxu, Mom... it's not that I don't want more. Section Chief Li said this meat is a rare commodity, and it's already good enough if they can share some with us... Besides, it's annoying for them to keep asking for it every day..."

"Annoying? What's he annoyed about? He eats and drinks the finest food every day, what's one more thing?"

Jia Zhangshi wouldn't listen at all, and her spittle flew everywhere.

"I think it's because you don't care! You useless thing! This little bit of meat is barely enough to nourish my grandson and son, and you, you good-for-nothing, still want to eat meat? Dream on!"

These words pierced Qin Huairu's heart like a needle.

She risked so much and endured so much humiliation to get what she wanted, but she didn't even have the right to taste it.

Feeling wronged, angry, and helpless, she recalled the plan she had made during the day.

She sniffled, her voice trembling with tears, and spoke cautiously.

"Mom, Dongxu... I... I want to go back to my parents' home tomorrow. These days, life is even harder for my parents' family. They're getting old... I want to take a few pounds of cornmeal back with me to help them out."

As soon as she finished speaking, Jia Zhangshi bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on!

"What?! Going back to your parents' home? And you want food too?! Qin Huairu! You've gone too far!"

Jia Zhangshi suddenly jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed), put her hands on her hips, pointed at Qin Huairu's nose, and started cursing.

"You ungrateful, spendthrift woman! The Jia family is incredibly unlucky to have married you! These days, food is precious to everyone! We can barely feed ourselves, and you want to send it to your poor family? No way!"

She grew angrier the more she cursed, and seeing Qin Huairu's tearful appearance only fueled her anger. She turned and yelled at Jia Dongxu.

"Dongxu! Look at your wife! Her heart has wandered all the way back to her parents' home! You're not going to teach her a lesson! Go, let her know who's in charge here! Beat her! Beat this ungrateful wretch to death!"

Jia Dongxu was already troubled by the lack of meat and the possibility of offending Li Zhenhua. Now, with his mother's encouragement and his anger at Qin Huairu for "turning her back on her," he suddenly became reckless and malicious.

He suddenly stood up, took two steps to Qin Huairu, and, under Qin Huairu's horrified and incredulous gaze, swung his arm and slapped her hard!

"Slap! Slap!"

Two crisp, loud slaps landed squarely on Qin Huairu's face.

The immense force caused Qin Huairu's vision to go black, her ears to ring, and she was knocked backward, falling heavily onto the cold ground.

Half of my cheek instantly became red and swollen, and it burned with pain.

She lay on the ground, feeling dizzy, and her nose started bleeding.

All she could hear was her mother-in-law's sharp curses and her husband's heavy breathing. In the corner, Banggeng was terrified and cried loudly.

Boundless despair and coldness overwhelmed her like a tidal wave.

She didn't wail, but her shoulders trembled violently, and tears silently streamed down her swollen cheeks, dripping onto the dusty ground and spreading into a small, dark, wet patch.

On this cold night, the physical pain is nothing compared to the chill of a broken heart.

She gave everything for this family—her dignity, her body—but all she received in return was physical abuse and verbal attacks.

That half-pound of meat, obtained at a huge cost, now seemed like the greatest irony to her.

Meanwhile, in Li Zhenhua's small house in the backyard.

After relaxing for a while, Li Zhenhua lay on the newly made kang (a heated brick bed), his consciousness sinking into the Pinduoduo e-commerce system in his mind.

Although Ma Xiaowu pointed out the direction for the case and Lin Taotao was a professional helper, time was tight, and he had to find a way to add some "cheat codes" to himself.

He first habitually clicked on the "Today's Flash Sale" section.

My eyes lit up immediately.

Premium canned yellow peaches, 10 bottles per pack, flash sale price only 2 yuan!

"Canned yellow peaches?"