Chapter 7

Breakfast was ready, and a group of children ran out, each taking their place.

Zhou Dalang sat next to Old Zhou, and according to custom, Little Qian should have sat opposite him. However, because Manbao was favored, she always occupied the seat next to Qian.

Little Qian placed her young sister-in-law on the stool and then stood up to serve everyone the porridge.

Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang glanced at the thin porridge and pouted. In the past, they usually had a proper meal for breakfast because they had to work during the day, and they only had thick porridge in the evening.

However, with their parents present, they dared not voice their dissatisfaction.

The three older brothers all handed their bowls to Little Qian with stern faces, while Zhou Silang wished he could bury his head in his chest.

Little Qian glanced at Uncle Si, took his bowl, and ladled the porridge, but the spoon floated up quite a bit before she served him.

If everyone else's porridge could still be called porridge, then what was in Zhou Silang's bowl could only be called rice water.

Zhou Silang almost cried. He looked up at his sister-in-law, met her cold gaze, and lowered his head, not daring to speak.

Manbao looked around and, thinking she would still have rice crackers at school at noon, poured half of her porridge into her father and mother's bowls.

Old Zhou and Qian were deeply moved and didn't scold Little Qian. They kept praising Manbao, "It's still my daughter who is considerate and knows how to respect us."

Everyone ate the porridge in silence. They also wanted to be filial, but they were afraid of going hungry.

Qian pushed the porridge back to Manbao, smiling, "Manbao, eat. I don't need to work, so I'm not hungry."

Manbao protected her bowl and said, "I don't want to eat anymore. My stomach is small, and I'm almost full."

Seeing that she couldn't persuade her, Qian gave some porridge to the three sons and instructed them, "You have to go out to work, so eat more. If you get hungry on the way, find something to eat. Once we pay back the village head, our life will get better."

The three sons responded.

Old Zhou glanced at his wife and said, "That's enough. This is Manbao's filial piety to you. Don't give it all to them."

He then said to the second son, "Tomorrow, you go to the market, take a bag of grain, and exchange it for some money. The village head's money isn't urgent. By the New Year, you and your brothers can earn some money, but your mother needs medicine, so we can't leave the house without any money."

Zhou Erlang responded softly.

Qian seized the opportunity and said, "Tomorrow, take Manbao and the others with you. The second son's wife, you go with them to watch the children."

Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang immediately said, "Mother, Mother, we're here too. We can also watch over Manbao and Dada and Daya."

Qian didn't really want Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang to go. She frowned and asked, "How is your fourth brother's land reclamation going?"

Zhou Wulang sensed something was wrong. He wished he could kick Manbao, but he was too far away. He could only look at her from a distance.

Fortunately, Manbao seemed to understand him. She looked at her brother and then at her mother and said, "Mother, let Wulang and Liulang go too. Otherwise, I can't watch over Dada and the others."

Dada immediately looked up, "Little aunt, I'm older than you. I don't need you to watch over me."

Sitting nearby, Zhou Wulang kicked Dada hard. "You little brat, you're causing trouble."

Dada yelped and jumped up, shouting, "Mother, Uncle Wulang kicked me!"

Qian glared at Zhou Wulang, slapped her foolish son, and scolded him, "Hurry up and eat your porridge. You talk too much. Can't you see your little aunt hasn't said anything?"

Dada lowered his head pitifully.

Old Zhou saw everything. He finished his porridge, put down his bowl, and said, "Let them go. They are still children. Dada and Daya are mischievous, and the second son's wife might not be able to watch them. Let Wulang and Liulang go to make sure the children don't get lost. Si, continue with the land reclamation."

Old Zhou glared at Zhou Silang, who was eating silently, and set a deadline, "I'll give you a month. If you can't reclaim an acre of land, you won't even get porridge to eat."

Zhou Silang felt extremely bitter.

Manbao, however, seemed to be rubbing salt in his wounds. After the meal, she sat next to him and asked, "Fourth brother, do you know why you're in this situation?"

She answered her own question, "It's because you gamble!"

Zhou Silang: ...

Manbao sighed like an adult and patted his shoulder, "Gamblers are bad people. I know this simple truth, so why don't you?"

"Manbao, we're going to school." Little Qian put the vegetables in a basket and was about to carry Manbao in a basket, but Manbao shook her head and proudly lifted her chin, "Sister-in-law, I've grown up. I don't need to be carried."

Little Qian couldn't help but laugh, "Our Manbao has grown up?"

"Yes, I'm six years old."

Zhou Silang, who was feeling very aggrieved, reached out and messed up her short hair, mocking her, "You're still six? You're not even five yet. Do you know what a year is?"

Manbao, shaken by his actions, shouted. Before she could look up, Zhou Silang let go and ran away. Manbao, with her hair in disarray, burst into tears.

Little Qian was shocked. Her young sister-in-law rarely cried, especially not since her first birthday. Seeing her cry so hard, Little Qian was momentarily stunned before she rushed to hug her.

Inside, Qian threw down her sewing basket and jumped out of bed, half-dressed, "What happened? What happened? What's wrong with my baby?"

Manbao, feeling temporarily wronged, had almost stopped crying after the first sob. But seeing Qian, she felt even more wronged and cried, running into her mother's arms, "Mother, Fourth brother bullied me. Look what he did to my hair."

Qian immediately smoothed out her messy hair, furious, and ordered, "This brat, he really needs a beating. Don't cook for him tonight, let him go hungry."

Little Qian immediately responded loudly.

Qian, feeling sorry for her daughter, wiped away her tears and said, "That's enough, Manbao. Don't cry. Mother will cook you an egg. How about that?"

Little Qian asked, "Then we're not going to school?"

"No, I'll cook an egg and a meal for Manbao."

Little Qian felt a bit reluctant but, thinking about how Manbao had been provoked to tears, nodded and was about to agree. However, Manbao refused, breaking free from her mother's embrace, "No, I want to go to school."

Her reason was solid, "Tomorrow I have to go to the market, so I can't attend class. I need to tell Mr. Zhuang."

Little Qian said, "Don't worry, I'll tell Mr. Zhuang for you."

"No, I want to tell him myself. Besides, I need to check if Mr. Zhuang has finished his manuscript. If it's done, I need to bring it back."

"Then..." Little Qian looked at Qian hesitantly.

Seeing her daughter wasn't sad anymore, Qian patted her little face and smiled, "Alright, go if you want to."

Manbao turned and happily went to school with Little Qian.

After the two left, Qian stood up, her face darkening. She turned to her two daughters-in-law and two younger sons, "Go and bring Si back. He's really gone too far. He has the nerve to gamble and lose money outside, and now he's bullying people at home."

The four obeyed and went to catch Zhou Silang.

As soon as Manbao arrived at school, she leaned on the window to listen to Mr. Zhuang's class. Today, they were studying the "Analects of Confucius." Manbao had heard a few lines before, but she hadn't systematically memorized them. This time, Mr. Zhuang was teaching a large class, and all the children were studying the "Analects," starting from the first lesson.

Manbao listened to the entire class, but Mr. Zhuang only repeatedly taught them to memorize, without explaining the meanings.

Manbao didn't have a book and just followed along, memorizing after a few repetitions. She had a good memory, but she didn't know the specific characters or their meanings.

Seeing Mr. Zhuang still teaching the same content, Manbao, who was usually enthusiastic, felt a bit down today, affected by the earlier incident, and couldn't concentrate.

After memorizing, she slipped off the window and sneaked into Mr. Zhuang's courtyard.

Mr. Zhuang's study was always open, either out of habit or to make it easier for a certain child who always came to clean for him.

Manbao wandered around the courtyard and the study, eventually sitting on the steps, propping her chin in her hand, and talking to the system.

"Koko, do you think Fourth brother dislikes me?"

The system replied, "Host, no one is liked by everyone in this world. Even money can be disliked."

"But I'm not money. I'm Fourth brother's sister. How can he not like me?"

The system paused and then said, "In this world, fathers can dislike their children, mothers can hate their children, and siblings can dislike each other. It's quite normal."

"You're lying. How can parents not like their children? Siblings should be friendly and help each other."

"That's your wishful thinking," the system thought it might be too lonely, so it was talking to the little host, but it also believed this was for the host's safety and future development. If the host was too naive, it would worry a lot in the future.

So, it searched in the library and found a book called "Top Ten Evil Fathers in History" for Manbao, saying, "Host, this is a loan. Borrowing books costs points. Remember to pay me back when you earn points."

A book suddenly appeared in Manbao's hands. Her eyes sparkled, and she forgot about the hurt from Fourth brother, excitedly asking, "Is this a gift for me?"

The system emphasized, "This is a loan. You have to return it after reading."

Manbao was deeply moved, "Koko, you're so nice. This is my first book."

The system emphasized again, "Host, you have to return it, or you'll lose a lot of points."

Manbao waved her hand generously, "Fine, deduct the points. Books are expensive anyway."

The system: "Host, you don't have any points."

Manbao had already started reading the book.

The text in the book was converted to the script of this era. Manbao knew many characters, and the content was in simple language, so she read it with great interest, like a storybook.

In fact, it was a storybook, telling the stories of the top ten worst fathers in history.