Under her mother-in-law's insistence, Nan Sheng had no choice but to accept the money.
Fan Shuting spoke earnestly, "When you become a mother someday, you’ll understand—both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh. We don’t mean to favor anyone, but sometimes saying less keeps the family harmonious. From now on, we’ll try to be fair. Child, don’t hold it against your parents."
In the eyes of the elderly couple, a few sharp words weren’t a big deal. With three sons, they rarely stepped in to mediate unless fists started flying.
If their second daughter-in-law hadn’t brought up death or cutting ties the day before, the old man wouldn’t have gotten so angry.
Nan Sheng brushed her hair back, feeling awkward at her mother-in-law’s emotional appeal.
Her tone softened. "Lin Xue kept provoking me yesterday, and I lost my temper. Please don’t hold it against me either."
She was an orphan, but thankfully, she had grown up healthy and strong. Nan Sheng wasn’t afraid of being bullied—she was used to it and knew how to fight back.
But when faced with her in-laws’ kindness, she felt uneasy, especially after yesterday’s argument when they didn’t hold a grudge.
Fan Shuting was pleased. Despite her temper, her second daughter-in-law didn’t bear resentment, so their relationship could still be mended.
"Don’t worry, your father and I aren’t angry. Hurry and get ready—you’ll need to head to work soon."
After Fan Shuting left, Sizhe came out of his room, glancing at his stepmother questioningly. Nan Sheng motioned for him to follow her to the east room.
"They gave us betrothal money. Let’s count it together and see how much there is!" The stack was surprisingly thick.
Two hundred yuan!
Adding it up, she now had over a thousand yuan in savings. What a sense of security!
Sizhe was speechless. He had worried his stepmother would squander the money, but she had an uncanny knack for getting her hands on cash. In less than half a month, she’d already pocketed five hundred yuan. Who could argue with that?
He murmured, "My mother’s death anniversary is coming up."
Nan Sheng paused, then nodded. "We can’t burn paper offerings now, right? What should we prepare? Maybe we can sneak to the grave at night—no one would stop us."
Sizhe felt a warmth in his chest. "We don’t have to burn anything. Just bring some pastries to the grave. But the Bai family will be there—my grandparents and uncles."
Like the Nan Family, the Bai family had one son and one daughter, but their character was far worse.
"In the past, they stayed with my grandparents, demanding money and goods. This year, they might come to our place. Should we ask my uncle to stay with us for a couple of days?"
"No need!" Nan Sheng waved it off.
"If your uncle comes, even if we drive them away this time, they’ll just find another chance to bully us later. I’ll handle it myself—just follow my lead when the time comes."
Sizhe felt reassured. His stepmother’s combat skills were truly unmatched.
At work, Nan Sheng stared at the withered crops with worry. Who could’ve predicted this year’s harvest would fail completely?
If they used all their water reserves to save half the fields, there might still be hope.
Zhou Ren found Nan Sheng’s troubled expression amusing. This young woman was usually quick to retaliate—what had her so distressed?
"Lin Han’s wife, what’s wrong?"
"I’m worried. It’s getting hotter, and the crops are drying up. What if they die?"
Zhou Ren chuckled. "Don’t overthink it. Starting tomorrow, we’ll carry water to the fields. They won’t dry out."
"But what if the drought lasts another month? Will we have enough water for all the fields? What if we run out, and the crops still die?"
Zhou Ren’s brow twitched. "Don’t say such things. That won’t happen."
Nan Sheng thought, Oh, but it will. The book said so.
As temperatures soared, the entire county began irrigating the fields. But the relentless heat evaporated the water faster than they could pour it.
Eventually, river levels dropped, and they had to reserve water for drinking. The fields were abandoned—just seven more days, and the drought would have passed.
But no one could foresee the future. The crops perished.
Though the government distributed relief grain, the crisis was too vast. Many still starved or succumbed to the heat—especially the elderly and children.
The book briefly mentioned that Lin Han’s younger sister, Siyu, didn’t survive. Sun Qian, driven mad by grief, lost her child.
Just reading about it was horrifying. Living through it would be unimaginable.
"Captain Zhou, that’s not the right attitude. We should plan ahead, shouldn’t we? Leaders always say to prepare for danger in times of peace. We need that awareness too."
"As team leader, you should consider: What if the drought lasts a week? Two weeks? Three? We need contingency plans."
"To be honest, the well at my parents’ place has already dropped. That’s never happened before."
Her words unsettled Zhou Ren. She was right—he needed to consult the brigade leader and village head about water rationing.
"Keep an eye on everyone here. Dock points if anyone slacks off. I’m going to the brigade office."
Nan Sheng nodded, hoping the village would take this seriously and escalate the issue. Even if they couldn’t prevent disaster, they might lessen its impact.
And the heat—mung bean soup alone wouldn’t help. If only they had ice…
Ice!
She could suggest it to the village head—maybe they could get their hands on some saltpeter.
Zhou Ren reported the drought concerns to Feng Wuquan, but the village chief dismissed it as paranoia.
"What if it’s true? What if the crops die?" Zhou Ren pressed.
The chief frowned and summoned Lin Guozheng. When Lin Guozheng also brushed it off, Feng Wuquan echoed Zhou Ren’s words:
"Better to be safe than sorry!"
Now all three men sat brooding.
Soon, they called in the other team leaders. Cigarette butts littered the ground as the five men agonized over solutions.
The village chief finally snapped at Zhou Ren, "Why did you have to bring this up? Now we’re all worried! What do we do? Water half the fields? If the harvest fails, what will we eat? And if the drought isn’t that bad, how do we explain wasting water?"
Zhou Ren sighed. "Uncle, I’m just as upset. But Lin Han’s wife was fretting in the fields, and her words got to me!"
Feng Wuquan glared. "That Lin Han married quite the woman!"
After a moment, he made up his mind. "The crops can hold out for two more days. Hold off on watering. I’ll go to town."
He’d seek guidance from the commune leaders. Maybe if the neighboring villages raised the alarm too, the higher-ups would take action.
Nan Sheng planned to visit her parents the next day, but that evening, Mingli arrived on his bicycle, bringing fresh eggs and two fat fish.
"Sis, you’re amazing. I almost fell into a trap."
