Chapter 150 - 142: The Price of Rice Has Increased

Chapter 150: Chapter 142: The Price of Rice Has Increased

Old Mrs. Bai peered inside. Sure enough, just as Ms. Zhang had said, the crock was cleaner than her face—not a single grain of rice was left.

Her expression turned sour. She had been rebuffed by Zhao Lan earlier and had been fuming all day. Now that the family had run out of food, it just made matters worse.

Her eyes narrowed fiercely as she shot a cold glare at Ms. Zhang. "If there’s no rice, then eat wild vegetables. Do you really need to ask me about something like that?"

Ms. Zhang’s expression remained unchanged. "Wild vegetables? And where are they?"

In the past, all the wild vegetables the Bai family ate were gathered by Bai Zhi. Ever since Bai Zhi and Zhao Lan left, the family hadn’t seen a single wild vegetable. The borrowed rice in the crock dwindled day by day, yet no one seemed to care in the slightest. Everyone just looked like they were sitting around, eating and waiting for death.

’Just how deep did the Bai Family’s pockets run that they could afford to keep freeloading like this?’

Liu frowned. "What is wrong with you? If there are no wild vegetables, why didn’t you send Zhenzhu to gather some? Look at the time! You’re only telling us now that there’s no rice or vegetables. You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?"

Ms. Zhang was simmering with anger and had nowhere to vent it. Liu had just walked right into the line of fire. Ms. Zhang wasn’t holding back any longer, and she screeched, "You have some nerve! Send Zhenzhu to gather wild vegetables? Why don’t you send your two precious sons instead?"

Liu shot up from her chair, planting her hands on her hips to trade insults with Ms. Zhang. "So what if I told Zhenzhu to go? She’s a girl; this is the kind of work she should be doing! Wasn’t it always Bai Zhi who gathered the vegetables before? And didn’t Zhenzhu herself say that she could do anything Bai Zhi could? What, has she forgotten after only two days?"

Ms. Zhang sneered. "Oh, wonderfully put. By your logic, since all the farm work used to be done by Zhao Lan—and she’s a woman too—does that mean you’re planning to take over all those chores from now on?"

Liu retorted stubbornly, "How is that the same thing? Besides, I may be a woman, but so are you! If I had to take over, do you think you’d be exempt?"

Ms. Zhang replied, "I’ll tell you what. If you dare to go work the fields, then I, Zhang Shumei, will be right there with you. But if you won’t, then don’t expect me to lift a finger. I am not Zhao Lan, and my Zhenzhu is not Bai Zhi. Don’t even think about treating us the way you treated them. I won’t fall for it."

Just then, Bai Dazhu walked in from outside, his arm still in a sling. Although it didn’t hurt much anymore, he was careful not to use it, afraid of causing a permanent injury that would affect his future.

"What’s all this shouting about? I could hear the two of you from a mile away."

The moment Liu saw her husband, her expression softened. She pointed at Ms. Zhang. "It’s her! She didn’t bother to mention we were out of rice and vegetables until just now, at this hour! She’s clearly doing it on purpose. I said a couple of things, and she talked back ten times over. Tell me, isn’t that infuriating?"

’Of course it was infuriating!’

But Bai Dazhu was a man, after all, and he wasn’t about to get involved in a women’s squabble. He craned his neck to peer at the spotless bottom of the crock, then frowned. "Of all the times to run out, it had to be now."

Old Mrs. Bai was confused. "Dazhu, what are you talking about? What do you mean, ’of all the times’? What’s wrong with running out today?"

Bai Dazhu said, "Mom, you don’t understand. I was just outside talking to some people and found out the price of rice in town has doubled. It just happened today! If we had run out two days ago, we could have bought more rice then and avoided this whole mess, couldn’t we?"