The front yard, Lao Yang's east wing.

Old Yang looked at the open earthenware bowl in front of him, filled with a fragrant medley. It had both meat and vegetables, spicy and flavorful.

Such a bowl of mixed rice would normally make Lao Yang's head gobble down three bowls of coarse grains and two big bowls of burning knife!

>

"The third daughter-in-law is truly a skilled cook. Ever since the third family moved out, I haven't had a good meal since the fourth daughter-in-law took over the cooking at home. Oh well!"

Old Yang let out a long sigh and sat at the table, smoking sullenly.

Tan washed her own feet with the water Old Yang had used to soak her feet in.

After pouring out the foot bath water in the yard and going back inside, I also saw the dish on the table.

Tan walked over and looked at them with disdain, muttering sourly, "These people in the Third House, they eat delicious food and drink fine wine every day. They have it so easy, living off everything the forest and river provide!"

Old Yang shook his head, holding his dry tobacco pipe, and scoffed: "To study so hard just for the sake of appetite, that's not called ability!"

"What's that called?" Tan asked.

"You have such a big appetite, you're pathetic!" Old Yang said.

"What should we do with this dish?" asked Mrs. Tan again.

"Just send the bowls back to them! The meal isn't filling, the chicken isn't fattened, and I didn't even go over there with Old Sun to drink. I can't just let them send over food for nothing!" Old Yang said.

"Don't?" Tan looked at the pile of pointed vegetables, hesitated.

>

"Well, are you drooling?" Lao Yang glanced at Tan, his voice laced with displeasure.

I thought this old woman was usually quite capable! How come she's lagging behind now just because there's a dish of meat?

Before Lao Yang could speak and scold Tan Shi, Tan Shi had already spoken first.

Let me know if you'd like to translate anything else!

"Father, maybe we shouldn't send her back. The second son sent a message from the town saying that Meimei is coming back to the village."

"What? Is Meili coming home tomorrow?" Old Yang also perked up and asked.

She gave birth to five sons all at once before her youngest daughter, Yang Huamei, was born.

Things are more precious when they are rare. Among a large family of brothers, this little girl, Me'er, was raised by Old Yang and Tan as the apple of their eye!

Tan nodded. "That's right, our Mei'er is coming home tomorrow. The second son is afraid of his wife, and his daughter-in-law is such a stingy person. Mei'er lived with them for a while recently, she probably didn't eat anything substantial."

"The three-room house sent this bowl of meat dishes, with loach segments and wild chicken. These are all rare things. Let's save them for Mei'er, she must be thrilled!" Tan pleaded with Lao Yangtou.

Lao Yang's face, usually so stubborn and proud, now wore a look of defeat.

He sighed softly and nodded.

That forced compromise, with a hint of a tragic hero succumbing to adversity, carries the bitter air of a valiant warrior bending his knee for mere sustenance!

"Then take it to the kitchen and put it away, be careful not to let the mice steal it!" Old Yang reminded.

Tan nodded repeatedly, then picked up the open sea bowl and went straight to the kitchen.

Next door lived Yang Huaming and his wife Liu, in their own house.

The room was pitch black, the two young girls slept soundly, having been moved inside the bed by Yang Huaming. Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate! ?

He had hogged most of the space outside the bed, lying there with his arms crossed on the pillow and his chin resting on his hand, humming softly to himself.

“You old hag, didn't you eat? Why are your hands so weak? Put some strength into it!”

"Okay, I'll use all my strength! I'll use all my strength!"

Liu, with a prominent belly, knelt awkwardly on one side. In the darkness, she could only rely on a sliver of moonlight filtering through the window to knead her husband's shoulders and massage his back.

Suddenly, the door of the next room creaked open.

A figure flashed past beneath their window.

This appears to be the start of a paragraph. Perhaps you meant something else? Let me know if you have any other text you'd like translated!

At a glance, Liu still had sharp eyes and recognized that it was her mother-in-law, Tan's figure. In Tan's hand, it seemed like she was still holding a bowl!

"Damn woman, why did you stop..."

Shh!

In the darkness, Liu raised her ears, catching the sound of Tan's footsteps.

"Old Fourth, it seems our mother went to the kitchen. I just saw her go past, holding a sea bowl in her hand!" Liu whispered to Yang Huaming.

“So what?” Yang Huaming asked lazily.

“You silly, the big shot is here today! At night, he invited Dr. Chang Geng and his colleagues over for dinner. We cooked a whole table full of delicious dishes!”

Liu excitedly said, in the darkness, Yang Huaming couldn't see her face, only a pair of eyes that shone brighter than a mouse's!

"Hey, even if the Third House were to eat dragon meat, it wouldn't be our share! Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law don't handle anything; it's Fat Ya who's in charge! That dead brat, she's shrewd and eccentric. Last time I ate a bowl of dumplings from her, I almost died!" Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate! ?

Yang Huaming still shuddered when he spoke of these things! Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate! ?

"Look at you, such a lack of upbringing! You're still my man, aren't you? Last time was last time, this time is this time!"

What do you say?

Before dinner last night, Dayan came over to ask our father to go drink with him, but our father didn't go.

Then, Fatty also came to join in, but she still didn't move. Said Liu shi.

"Our father is such a fool, he won't even eat what's right in front of him!" Yang Huaming said.

Then, the third sister-in-law arrived, probably bringing meat and vegetables. Liu continued, "Just now, our mother went to the kitchen. I figured out where she hides things from mice – under a large inverted bowl inside a big pot!"

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go steal it right now!" Yang Huaming urged.

At this moment, footsteps came from the kitchen again, and the couple covered their mouths and dared not make a sound.

>

Not until the footsteps entered the adjoining cubicle and the door closed did he release his grip.

Yang Huaming had already sat up and was feeling for his shoes on the floor in front of his bed.

“Lao Si, are you really going to steal that dish?” Liu shi grabbed Yang Huaming and asked.

"When good things are right in front of you and you don't take them, that's stupid. My father is a fool, but I am smart!" Yang Huaming said dismissively.

“When I heard that Mei'er is coming home, mother definitely saved those dishes for her. If we eat them, mother will scold us, and we can't take it!” Liu shi was a little afraid of this.

Having married into the Lao Yang family for several years, in this house, the younger sister-in-law Yang Huamei was the apple of her father-in-law and mother-in-law's eyes.

Besides the eldest grandson Yang Yongxian, who went to school in town at the expense of the old Yang family's every effort, his cousin Yang Huamei was another precious gem of this household!

All the good food, drinks, and entertainment go to her, while the sons are left out in the cold.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like translated!

At first, Liu shi didn't understand and thought it was just the custom of the Lao Yang family to favor daughters over sons.

But after giving birth to two daughters in one breath, she realized that the Yang family valued sons over daughters the most, and Yang Huamei was an exception among exceptions!

Different people have different fates. Liu's heart was filled with hatred for her younger sister-in-law, Yang Huamei!

Here, Yang Huaming had already put on his shoes and stepped down neatly.

"Mei'er has been staying at her second brother and sister-in-law's place in town these days. She's definitely not short of good food, and she doesn't lack a bowl!"

Yang Huaming said, twisting his body to walk to the door and quietly opening it.

With a flash of his figure, he vanished at the doorway and darted straight toward the kitchen upstairs...

(Editor in charge：novel effect)