Heavenly Blessed Baby: Fleeing Famine, Busy to Prosper!-Chapter 43: None of Your Business

Mrs. Qi walked out of the cave with her granddaughter, and the aroma of the meat was even stronger.

Even though the mountain wind blew constantly, it couldn’t dissipate the scent.

"Mother, it’s time to eat."

Wang Daya, the eldest daughter-in-law, upon seeing Mrs. Qi, immediately handed a bunch of chopsticks to Qi Dafu beside her. She wiped the water off her hands on her clothes and walked towards Mrs. Qi.

When she reached her, she stretched out her hand, "Mother, let me hold Manbao. You go wash your hands, we’re about to eat."

Another shameless person trying to snatch her granddaughter!

Mrs. Qi glared at Wang Daya, "Manbao and I need to wash our hands; we don’t need your help. We can do it ourselves."

After saying this, she turned around, avoided Wang Daya’s outstretched hand, and strode towards Yi Meng.

Next to Yi Meng was a basin of water, and beside the basin was a wooden bucket.

The bucket contained fresh water brought back. When one person finished washing, the next person would scoop a ladle of water from the bucket.

In less particular households, people didn’t wash their hands at all, or if they did, everyone used the same basin of water, which by the end was not much better than muddy soup.

But the Qi Family wasn’t like that.

Thanks to Yi Meng’s persistence over the years, the Qi Family had developed good hygiene habits.

As soon as Qi Manman saw her mother, she sweetly called out, "Mom! Mom!"

"Yes!"

Yi Meng smiled broadly upon seeing her daughter, reaching out to take her, but her mother-in-law was faster.

With a swift motion, she put the child down and held her little hand, bringing it to the basin.

"Manbao, come, Grandma will wash your hands. Once they’re clean, we can eat, okay?"

Mrs. Qi currently found no one pleasing to the eye, feeling as if everyone wanted to snatch her granddaughter, so she guarded against everyone, even Yi Meng.

Yi Meng felt a little disappointed for not receiving her daughter, but she quickly adjusted.

With the cold wind and smoky smell on her, what if she held her daughter and it irritated the little girl?

Mrs. Qi washed her granddaughter’s hands and carefully dried them, then led her to sit at the tent entrance, the area most sheltered from the wind and warmest.

Just as the grandmother and granddaughter sat down, a sly voice sounded beside them.

"Hey, are you all eating?"

The Qi Family turned towards the voice and saw Er Laizi, hands in sleeves, chewing on grass, smiling, but his eyes were fixed on the Qi Family’s large iron pot.

The daughters-in-law of the Qi Family all rolled their eyes upon seeing Er Laizi.

Even Yi Meng couldn’t help but purse her lips.

Er Laizi was known as the village rascal. Households he targeted rarely got away unscathed.

Finding a missing egg or a stolen vegetable was considered lucky.

Careless families might even lose a chicken.

Whenever anyone was eating, Er Laizi always found a way to scrounge a bite.

The Qi Family had suffered from this in the past, but ever since Yi Meng married in, it hadn’t happened again.

Because Yi Meng said mealtime was when a family should feel their closest, and it’s best if they weren’t disturbed.

So, whenever it was mealtime, no matter how lively things were outside, the Qi Family would close their doors and eat in peace, only going out after the meal.

Er Laizi came knocking a few times, but no one answered, and eventually, he stopped coming.

But not scrounging off the Qi Family left him unhappy, and he often bad-mouthed them behind their backs.

Unfortunately for Er Laizi, he had such a poor reputation in the village that no matter what he said, true or not, the villagers wouldn’t believe him.

Even the gossipiest women wouldn’t believe his words.

Over time, Er Laizi realized it was pointless and stopped discussing the Qi Family.

For a long time, there had been no interaction with the troublemaker, so the Qi Family felt nothing but irritation and puzzlement.

They lived far from the village leader’s house, so they didn’t know what had just happened there.

"Er Laizi, aren’t you going to eat with your mother? What are you doing here?"

Qi Quanli, least fond of Er Laizi, spoke harshly.

Er Laizi chuckled, squatted next to Qi Quanli, and the sour odor emanating from him made Qi Quanli scoot to the side in disgust.

In doing so, he inadvertently made room for Er Laizi.

Er Laizi moved in closer and sniffed, "Oh, this meat stew smells delicious! Better than any other family’s!"

"Whether it smells good or not isn’t your concern."

Qi Quanjin, with a dark expression, grabbed Er Laizi by the back of his neck and pulled him outside.

Er Laizi felt a sudden tightness around his collar, and his whole body was yanked backward, making him scream, "Qi the Fourth, what are you doing? Let go of me! Let go!"

He kicked his legs as he spoke.

Though he was still some distance from the iron pot, everyone was startled.

Yi Meng hurriedly placed the lid on the pot.

If sand or stones got kicked into it, the whole pot of meat would be ruined.

Qi Quanjin’s feelings towards Er Laizi had surpassed mere dislike.

In the first two years after Yi Meng married in, she was often harassed by Er Laizi, who was captivated by her beauty, like a daughter from a rich family.

Though Er Laizi never succeeded, he never stopped with the unpleasant words.

Several times, Qi Quanjin feared his wife might take drastic action over such filth.

Luckily, she was open-minded and didn’t let such talk affect her.

While Yi Meng was fine, Qi Quanjin couldn’t swallow his anger.

Afterward, he and his youngest brother ambushed Er Laizi with a sack and gave him a thorough beating, venting some of his anger.

Er Laizi’s mother couldn’t stand her son being beaten and went to the village chief to complain, but without witnesses, not even Er Laizi could say who did it, so the matter was unresolved.

After the beating, Qi Quanjin felt some relief, but his dislike for Er Laizi remained.

The two had another fight over minor issues afterward.

Er Laizi was no match for Qi Quanjin, who did labor regularly, and ended up with black eyes.

Upon coming to argue, Mrs. Lai Sr. left in defeat after a few words from Yi Meng.

Since then, the two families had become almost strangers.

Now, with Er Laizi shamelessly approaching, Qi Quanjin could easily guess there was no good to come.

The Qi Family and other villagers around witnessed this scene without any intention of getting up.

Er Laizi wasn’t a match for Qi Quanjin, so the Qi Family didn’t need anyone else to step in.

Other families, having suffered from Er Laizi’s antics, were content to see him take a hit; not helping him was considered kind enough.