The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and Zi Qing's heart is getting more and more anxious. There are many trivial things at home, and she is the only one in charge. She worries about Zi Fu being outside and doesn't know how he is doing, worries about Lin Kangping's business going smoothly, worries about Zi Lu passing the exam, and worries that this year's rent will not be collected. In short, she is anxious all day long, but cannot lose her temper with her mother-in-law He Shi.

  Fortunately, it didn't take long for Zhou Zhuang to come and collect the peaches. This year's drought resulted in a smaller peach harvest, but they were sweeter than previous years. Zhou Zhuang voluntarily increased the price by one cent per catty, but despite this, the income was still not as good as last year. However, it was much better than growing rice, and thinking about this made Zi Qing feel more at ease.

  On May 15th, the first batch of watermelons went on sale. The hot weather arrived five days earlier than last year. In recent years, more locals have been growing watermelons, and during the peak season in June and July, they are sold for only three or four cents per catty. By that time, Zixin's watermelon field has already been harvested. Now, due to Wen's family being old customers, Zeng's watermelons are indeed a month earlier than others, and their taste is sweeter, so they can be sold at a higher price. The first batch now sells for twelve cents per catty, eighteen cents is impossible. Therefore, the income from fifteen mu of watermelons is now maintained at around 1,000 to 2,000 taels of silver for Zeng's family. In the past, during the best times, they had an income of over 2,000 taels of silver. Fortunately, Zixin had predicted this earlier, and now the fruit garden on the back mountain has an annual income of around 1,000 to 2,000 taels of silver, with oranges being the main crop. Zixin takes great care of them and has also learned some knowledge about fruit trees from books. He also asked Zeng Rui Xiang to learn from people in the village who have experience growing fruit trees.

  It wasn't until early June that a big rain finally came, but the crops were still severely reduced in yield, and it was certain that the rent would not be collected. The tenant farmers would be lucky if they could just get enough to eat without going hungry. As soon as the heavy rain started, it seemed endless. The orange blossoms had just fallen off, and many of the young fruit were knocked off, which made Zi Qing's heart ache. Fortunately, most of the watermelons had been sold, and over 800 taels of silver had been received, so Zi Qing felt a little more at ease.

  In just two days, Zishou and Zixi returned home, letting them share some household chores. Ziqing's mood improved a lot. In late June, the Shens also returned home, with Shen bringing back big bags full of stuff, and Zilu's mood was still somewhat tense. He was nervous and not very willing to go out and meet people.

  For this, Zeng Ruixiang specially took a few children to go fishing and catch eels. Looking for eels all the time, without stopping, the food at home improved a lot. They were all Zi Qing's favorite dishes, especially eels, which she never got tired of eating, but it was a bit troublesome to clean up. Zi Qing didn't dare touch them, but taught Zi Lu to use nails to nail their heads, cut open their bellies, remove the internal organs, and debone them. Cut into eel segments. Shen Shi even teased Zi Qing about this, "It's all because of you, just for your sake of loving to eat, your second brother didn't spare any effort either. Who knows where those weird ideas of yours came from."

  "Mother, this is a great idea I just thought of. That spicy stir-fry with eel segments, everyone followed and borrowed the light, satisfied their hunger, didn't even thank me, how could they blame me instead?" Zi Qing first brought out the dish of red and green chili peppers and scallions stir-fried with eel segments, it was a feast for the eyes, nose, and taste buds. The flavor was better than frog legs, and you didn't have to spit out bones, the fish meat was especially tender and smooth.

  Shen followed Zeng Ruixiang and learned a lot of words, and also understood what Zi Qing said. Looking at Zi Qing shaking her head and smiling, she said: "It seems that you are a big foodie, and you still have to drag others down with you?"

  Zi Rong and the others burst out laughing after hearing this. From then on, Zi Qing was given the nickname "Big Eater".

  On this day, Zeng Rui Xiang had promised to go out fishing. Qiu Yu came over with the child and saw Zeng Rui Xiang and the others preparing their fishing gear. She hurriedly said: "Second brother, take Zi Lun and the others to help me plant the late rice seedlings. You're all idle anyway, my family's early rice has been suffering from drought, you also know I don't have the labor to carry water, it's a complete loss. Now that it's rained several times, I want to plant the late rice a few days in advance."

  Zeng Ruixiang saw Qiu Yu's tone, which seemed to be saying "it should be like this", and also learned that his brother-in-law was on vacation at home, so he refused her, saying: "There are only two mu of land, and the two of you can finish it in a few days. Don't always think about relying on others. Last year I wanted to say something to you, but considering it was your first year after separation, and your brother-in-law wasn't at home, so I helped out. Now you're not in a hurry, and your brother-in-law is idle at home, even if you're too lazy to go down to the fields, he can finish two mu of paddy fields by himself in a few days. In those years, your sister-in-law was a woman who brought 7 or 8 year old children to work in the fields, and 5 or 6 year old children took care of the house, didn't she make it? Who among you has ever reached out for help?"

  Qiu Yu listened and felt both ashamed and annoyed, her face turned bright red, wanting to argue back a couple of sentences, but actually couldn't find anything to say, so she could only leave with resentment and shame.

  Zi Qing listened and said, "Dad is really good today, I like it. But I'm afraid if Grandma finds out, she'll get angry again. Little sister has been lazy for a long time now, and even doesn't cook meals anymore, just following Grandpa and Grandma to eat."

  "What's the point of relying on her, we're going to go this year and next year will be the same. We end up spending our own money to hire people to work, but then run to her house to busy ourselves in her fields, and when we return, she doesn't even treat us to a meal, we have to rush back home to eat. She's been spoiled by her grandparents since childhood, never having to lift a finger." Zi Rong said with disdain.

  "Mind your own business, you can't even discuss your own grandparents." Zeng Rui Xiang said with a fake smile. Zi Qing and Zi Lu exchanged a sly glance, this matter was far from over.

  In mid-July, the official finally arrived at the door with a letter, and Zilu had passed the examination as a Xiucai, although his ranking was relatively low, but after all, he had also passed this level, which was still worth celebrating. Zeng Rui Xiang asked Zilu to send a message to Lao Fang, and when Old Master knew about it, he said that he would come over for a meal to celebrate.

  Qiu Yu didn't want to come at first, but Tian Shi didn't know why and asked for half a day before knowing the ins and outs of the matter. He rushed over to question Zeng Rui Xiang in anger. Zeng Rui Xiang listened and didn't distinguish what was being said, he just instructed Zi Lu to go and invite his younger sister-in-law over.

  "What do you want, anyway? You've offended two of the three sisters, and now you're cutting off ties with the only older brother left. Are you not planning on having a family anymore? Do you think they're all beneath you? You just want to live your own life, I get it. Maybe one day, you won't even want your parents either?" Tian's mother asked, still fuming as her son remained silent.

  Zeng Ruixiang was heartbroken after hearing this, and Shen's wife wanted to speak up. Zeng Ruixiang waved his hand and took a deep breath before saying: "Mother, when you say things like that, it really hurts my feelings. Now, let me tell you about the past few years. I've never wronged anyone. As for my older brother, before we divided the family property, he didn't contribute much, but after the division, I took on the responsibility of supporting everyone. He only contributed money for two years, and when he was struggling, I voluntarily offered to support our parents by myself. That's not a big deal; When my sister-in-law and Yumei gave birth at the same time, my sister-in-law had a difficult labor, and the midwife I hired was detained, but that's also not a big deal; Zi Yu was born prematurely and always put pressure on us, even delaying his birthday celebrations by a day, but that's also not a big deal; My sister-in-law gave birth to a son, but got angry and had a premature birth, which was also my fault for rushing to hire a midwife, but that's also not a big deal; When Zi Ping had an accident, he was driven out and didn't care about her, but his aunt took care of the children and bought things for them, which is also not a big deal; But when Zi He died, can we blame it on Zi Yu? When Zi Yu and Zi Xi both got acne at the same time, we were too busy to take care of ourselves, did anyone ask about us? Their child passed away, and the fortune teller said to break off relations, but it seems that the fortune teller's nonsense is more important than our brotherly love over the years.

  Zeng Ruixiang paused for a moment before continuing, "As for Chunyu, I don't want to mention it anymore. She's not only calculating towards me, but also towards Ziqing. When she couldn't calculate against Ziqing, she calculated against Kangping instead. My heart is made of flesh too, and it can feel pain and hurt. This time, Autumn Jade didn't help her with the harvest because she knew her brother-in-law was at home. In total, there are only two mu of paddy fields, and one person can finish the work in a couple of days. I'm not someone who does farm work all year round either; wasn't it Yumei who took care of our family's fields before? Nowadays, I myself am heartbroken for my children, and I spend money to hire people to do farm work. If I were to bring the kids to help Autumn Jade with her work, wouldn't others laugh at me for being crazy? If brother-in-law weren't at home, Autumn Jade couldn't have done it by herself, and if we were in a hurry, she would have helped me like last year. Mother, you feel sorry for Autumn Jade, but I also feel sorry for Zilong and the others."

  "Can it be the same? Zi Rong and his brothers are boys, they're used to being roughed up since childhood, your sister has been pampered since she was a child, how can she endure this hardship?" Tian Shi argued back, her tone somewhat weaker.

  Zeng Ruixiang said so much, but Tian Shi still didn't understand, and somewhat impatiently said: "Can you be more spoiled than Yuemei was when she was a child? What conditions can our family have? Whatever conditions Yuemei's family had when she was young, after marrying, that's her fate. She has to accept whatever fate she has. If she has the ability, she can go and struggle on her own. My daughter Qing'er is now busy every day, either at home or in the backyard. Isn't my daughter spoiled? Whose child doesn't their parents love?"

  Mrs. Tian glared at Mrs. Shen, just about to retort again, when Old Master and Autumn Jade walked in with the child. As soon as Old Master entered, he heard what Zeng Rui Xiang had said, thinking that Mrs. Tian must be causing more trouble again. This old woman is really getting more muddled with age, a complete waste of space, Old Master lamented to himself for a few moments before saying: "Old woman, I've told you so many times, why can't you listen? You won't stop until you've driven your son and daughter-in-law to despair?"

  Qiu Yu listened and hurriedly said, "Mother, don't blame Second Brother. That day I really didn't think it through. After I went back, I carefully thought about what Second Brother said, and it was indeed my own laziness. Mu Mu's father also scolded me for a while, saying that it wasn't that I couldn't do it, but rather that I wasn't in a hurry." After finishing speaking, she turned to Shen Shi and said, "Second Sister-in-law, is there anything I can help you with?"

  Shen's family listened and waved his hand, saying: "The child is still so young, take good care of him. My wife and I can handle it." After finishing speaking, he went out of the hall and into the kitchen.

  Zi Qing found that every time she saw her grandmother coming, after greeting her, her grandmother would actively avoid her. Every quarrel never involved her, at most comforting her daughter afterwards, so the grandmother could gain respect from the whole family.

  Thanks to Qiuyu's proactive apology, this meal of refined scholar's rice was still quite satisfying. As for what Qiuyu and Tian Shi truly thought after returning home, Ziqing had no way of knowing.