An Ning sighed. She could see a sense of pride and anticipation rise in Du Guijuan at the mention of it.

But in the next moment, An Ning just gave a firm nod and went back to eating.

Du Guijuan was no fool.

She could tell that An Ning was angry with her.

Du Guijuan was trying to figure out how to salvage the situation. She wasn’t about to let something like ’face’ get in the way of benefits she could easily obtain.

"Mom, what money? Does she even need to save her pennies and dimes?"

Anjing was indignant and refused to believe An Ning had any money.

Growing up, she had always been the one everyone doted on.

But here in the countryside she looked down on, her status had completely changed. Everyone ignored her—or worse, despised and berated her. This made her constantly want to one-up An Ning.

Anjing’s interruption made Du Guijuan put down her chopsticks. For the first time, her expression changed, putting on a fierce front.

"The adults are talking. Children shouldn’t interrupt."

Those words made Anjing feel deeply wronged.

"You’re scolding me? You never scold me!"

"You’re all taking her side! What’s so great about her?!"

Anjing pointed at An Ning, screaming and yelling.

Du Guijuan felt like all her plans were being ruined by Anjing. She spoke again, her tone harsh and severe.

"Anjing, what are you shouting for? What do you have to compare with An Ning? Do you see her screaming and yelling?"

"Shut your mouth and eat!"

After the scolding, Du Guijuan turned to An Ning with an apologetic smile.

"An Ning, please bear with her. She’s just a child, she doesn’t know any better—"

"AHHH—"

Anjing screamed like a maniac and tried to flip the table with both hands.

An Ning had seen it coming. She pressed one hand on the tabletop as a tide of spiritual power washed over Anjing.

"If you’re not going to eat, then get out!"

The harsh command, combined with An Ning’s murderous glare, scared Anjing.

But after her fear came not retreat, but fury born of humiliation.

"You’re all bullying me!"

Anjing grabbed the nearest serving plate and, with a CRASH, smashed it on the floor.

A plate of braised prawns scattered across the ground.

But it wasn’t over. As if she had just won a victory, Anjing reached for another plate.

"To hell with you!"

Lin Cuihua, who was sitting nearby, quickly blocked Anjing. An Ning also came over from the other side, single-handedly restraining the still-struggling girl.

On the kang, Anjing was pinned down by An Ning and Lin Cuihua.

At the table, the talking stopped and the drinking ceased.

Uncle An set his cup down with a CLANG.

"Second Brother, pack up and go."

"Big Brother!"

An Ercheng knew Anjing was in the wrong, but he hadn’t had his fill of being here yet.

The few minutes of conversation had made him feel comfortable and at ease, like he was finally home.

Uncle An’s wrinkled eyelids lifted. His cloudy eyes stared at An Ercheng, but he said nothing.

An Ercheng understood.

His big brother was serious.

"I’ll leave now, Big Brother."

For the first time, An Ercheng felt a flash of anger. He glared at Anjing, whose mouth was now gagged with a rag by An Ning on the kang.

But a glare was all it was.

"You little troublemaker!"

Du Guijuan was the one who was truly heartbroken—heartbroken over the connection that had been within her grasp. She smacked Anjing on the butt.

Du Guijuan’s pained expression was so genuine and heartfelt that An Ercheng’s heart immediately went out to her.

"Juan’er, it’s okay, it’s okay. We can still eat the shrimp if we peel them, it’s fine."

An Ercheng thought Du Guijuan was upset about the shrimp. He bent down, picked them up one by one, blew on them, and peeled one right there, holding it to Du Guijuan’s lips.

"Juan’er, eat."

Du Guijuan forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes and opened her mouth. As she ate the shrimp, she felt like the meat was going to choke her.

But she didn’t dare reveal the truth. She still had an excuse for wanting land back home—An Ercheng wanted to move back, and if he did, it would be perfectly reasonable to be allocated land.

But if An Ercheng found out she was plotting against An Ning, he would never agree to it.

Even a love-addled brain has its limits, however low they might be.

Du Guijuan unleashed all her pent-up frustration and anger on Anjing, smacking her a few more times, which only made Anjing even angrier.

SLAP!

"Enough!"

The aunt slapped her hand on the table.

"Du Guijuan, if you want to discipline your child, do it at home."

Du Guijuan finally stopped. Her plan to gain sympathy and have others mediate for her was forcibly cut short.

The scene fell silent for a moment.

"Juan’er, let’s go."

An Ercheng spoke, but unfortunately, it wasn’t what Du Guijuan wanted to hear.

"Ercheng, you’ve been looking forward to coming home for the New Year all this time."

That was indeed what An Ercheng had been thinking. But he stole a glance at Uncle An and finally turned to say, "Let’s go. I’ll take you to see the village chief, and then we’ll go home."

He was still thinking about moving his household registration back.

Du Guijuan could only nod. She got off the kang and put on her shoes.

As for luggage, they hadn’t brought anything at all, having never planned to stay the night.

An Ning also called out to Lin Cuihua.

"Mom, let go."

Lin Cuihua said, a little reluctantly, "No wonder you’re always so eager to get physical. It’s so efficient!"

An Ning was amused by Lin Cuihua’s comment. She felt as though she had unlocked Lin Cuihua’s belligerent side.

After Lin Cuihua let go, An Ning pulled Anjing to her feet.

Anjing felt like a cricket, completely at their mercy and unable to resist.

"Anjing, your tantrums aren’t willfulness. They’re stupidity."

Having said her piece, An Ning released Anjing’s arm.

Anjing pouted, stubbornly climbing off the kang to stand next to Du Guijuan.

Uncle An didn’t get up. He just said, "Go on, then. You came to see me empty-handed, so it’s only right I send you off with the same."

The words were a massive slap in the face.

An Ercheng felt his face burn with shame. He wanted to take out some money, but he couldn’t produce a single dime from his pockets—he had given it all to Du Guijuan.

"Big Brother, I’m sorry."

An Ercheng finally said something decent, then walked ahead without looking back.

Even at a time like this, Du Guijuan didn’t forget to smile at An Ning on the kang.

"An Ning, when you have time, come visit your auntie in the county town!"

An Ning simply smiled without a word.

Although Du Guijuan was embarrassed, she hadn’t given up hope. With An Ercheng as a connection, she was confident she could smooth things over sooner or later.

Du Guijuan gave Anjing a hard tug. Fuming, Anjing followed her out. The family of three left with six empty hands.

After they left, everyone in the room looked at Uncle An.

Uncle An picked up his chopsticks.

"Unless it’s a matter of life and death, no one is to help them. Let’s eat."

Uncle An saw things clearly. His second brother didn’t have much of a brain, and Du Guijuan was full of petty schemes. Helping them would be a thankless task, simply not worth the effort.

"Understood, Uncle."

"Understood, Dad."

The children all replied in agreement and started eating again.

Meanwhile, An Ercheng’s family of three really did go to Sun Dazhuang’s house, but they were in and out in just a few minutes.

The answer, naturally, was no.

Coming out of Sun Dazhuang’s house, Du Guijuan couldn’t say whether she was disappointed or not.

’This piece of pork belly had seemed very tempting, but now that I’ve spotted a huge, readily available pork knuckle right in front of me, the pork belly has lost its appeal.’

"Ercheng... we should come back and visit more often in the future."

An Ercheng looked at Du Guijuan, his face filled with emotion, and said, "Juan’er, you’re so good to me."