March 15th is Zi Fus birthday, as Zeng Rui Xiang was at home. With only a small patch of paddy field in the house, wheat harvest was still more than half a month away. This time, Zeng Rui Xiang said he would celebrate his eldest sons birthday properly, after all, it was his tenth birthday.

  On his birthday morning, Zifeng put on the new clothes made by Shens family and was admiring himself. The whole family was chatting and laughing when Ziqing didnt expect Xiaoyu and Qiuyu to arrive. Xiaoyu gave Zifeng a pair of new shoes, and Qiuyu made him a wallet. It seems that the two aunts have seen potential in Zifeng and invested early, otherwise why would no one pay attention to Zirong on his birthday?

  The Shen family saw that the two young aunts had both come to pay their respects with gifts, so they might as well keep them for dinner before leaving. After thinking about it, they decided not to make an exception of the other two either, and also instructed Zi Fu to invite Grandfather and Grandmother over together. As a result, Madame Zhou brought Zi Ping along too.

  Zeng Ruixiang was delighted to see Shens family being so reasonable, and happily moved the table outside, inviting Old Master and Tians family to sit down. Zifux helped serve the dishes, and Tians wife saw that her eldest grandson was wearing new clothes, which made her unhappy again. She said: "Old Seconds family, last time I came, you cried with me for half a day, saying that the childrens clothes were broken. Its only been a few days, and Zifux is already wearing a new padded jacket."

  "Mother, its not the childs birthday yet. Besides, his clothes are too small and torn. The child still needs to go to school. Yuemei just bought a few meters of cloth." Zeng Rui Xiang explained.

  Zhous wife listened, her eyes scanning the courtyard and said: "Yes, brother and sister, if theres a way to make money, you should let your sister-in-law know. Your sister-in-law is a foolish person who only knows how to do things blindly. Unlike you, who can even buy such a large courtyard, Im really envious of you. Look, raising these chickens, if they all lay eggs in one day, you can collect dozens of them, and in a month, you can sell several hundred copper coins. Several hundred a month, thats several taels of silver a year! Youre really capable, brother and sister."

  Zi Qing listened and secretly laughed, this gaze is really shallow enough, its rare that she herself knows shes a foolish person, only knowing how to act recklessly. Zi Qing lowered her head and stifled a laugh.

  Shens wife hastily said, "Look at what youre saying, sister. What can I do? If I had a way, would my whole family still be squeezed in this small wooden house? Its all thanks to the help of our relatives from my hometown."

  "It cant be, this land, this courtyard, this well, its not worth more than twenty or thirty silver coins. Your family cant help you that much, unless... your parents secretly gave you the silver. Alas, I have to say something about this matter, Im so disappointed in you, I thought of you as one of my own people." Zhou Shis face turned upside down.

  "Sister-in-law, this meal can be eaten blindly, but words cannot be spoken blindly. The silver for buying land is my dowry silver, and you also know the situation of my mothers family at that time. The silver for building the house was borrowed by my third brother, and the silver for digging the well was borrowed by my two elder brothers. Do you have any other questions?" Shen asked Zhou directly.

  "Its all, old everyones, what are you blindly talking about? We dont have the money to help with Eldest Brothers family. You know our family situation, how much is left over each year? Your Second Sister was saying something about marriage last time, wasnt it because they couldnt come up with the dowry that it didnt work out? Youre not unaware of this. Now youre still coming to poke at our hearts." Tian Shi hurriedly explained. But these words hurt Xia Yu, Xia Yus eyes immediately turned red.

  "Old lady, what are you blurting out? Dont you see the occasion? Er Ya is still here." He then said to Zhou Shi: "Whether you believe it or not, we didnt take out money to support Lao Ers family. Besides, we dont have that much silver. You should be clear about the little silver we have at home. Lets eat, this is the first time were gathering together for a meal after the division of the family."

  Zhou listened, stretched her chopsticks into the dish bowl, carefully picking out the meat dishes and putting them in Zi Pings bowl. While eating, she said: "Eat more, Zi Ping, our family hasnt had meat for a long time, and we cant afford to celebrate birthdays like other families do. Besides, who told you not to be promising? If you were a boy, you would be the eldest grandson, and your grandparents would dote on you."

  "Sister-in-law, we didnt plan to celebrate the childs birthday at all. But then his aunt made a pair of shoes for him and sent them over. We couldnt let her leave without eating, and coincidentally the childs father was home, so I thought about inviting my parents over for a simple meal." Shen explained.

  "Zi Ping, did you hear that? Its not just your grandparents who are biased, but also your aunts. Remember when you had a birthday and your aunt gave you shoes? Its not anyone elses fault, if theres anyone to blame, its your mother for not being capable of giving birth to a son." Zhou Shis sarcastic remarks made the two young aunts faces look somewhat unnatural.

  "Eldest sister, isnt this the first year of separation? And Zi Fu is already ten years old. Hes only come to visit now. Besides, hasnt Zi Pings birthday not arrived yet? In previous years, didnt I always give her a purse?"

  "Can a handbag be compared to shoes? Handbags are not the same, dont think I dont know, what kind of fabric is the handbag you gave to Zi Ping? A few small pieces of cloth stitched together, thats just leftover from practicing craftsmanship." Zhou Shi was relentless.

  At this time, the old man spoke up and said angrily: "All of you shut up! If you have nothing better to do, go fertilize the fields. You cant even fill your own mouths with food." He then asked Zeng Rui Xiang which day he planned to start transplanting seedlings.

  "Dad, Ill go and plow the field tomorrow, and then start transplanting the day after tomorrow."

  The old man said: "Can you finish planting in two days? After finishing, help your sister-in-laws family plant, and your brother doesnt know when he will come back, its better to hurry up."

  Zi Qing listened to the secret passage, not only was Tian Shi biased, but also Lao Ye Zis heart was biased in this way. There were many things at home that they didnt help with, and instead, they asked Zeng Rui Xiang to go and help Zhou Shi with her work, without any sense of reason or justice.

  Its okay, before Zeng Ruixiang could speak, Zhou Shi said it wasnt necessary. Seeing everyones puzzled gaze, she hesitantly said that she had rented out the paddy field to her maternal uncles younger brother for farming. Old Master was furious upon hearing this: "Youre a lazy and incompetent housewife! I divided all my family property among your brothers just a few days ago, and youve already given it away. Tomorrow, get it back for me, and dont farm anymore, Ill keep it to farm myself."

  "Whats the big deal? What you gave me is mine, I can do whatever I want with it, and you have no right to interfere. Besides, as a woman, how can I plow and cultivate the land? Spring Jades house is so far away, but you all know that I went there to help in the past. As a woman, who among you has ever helped me? I couldnt rely on any of you, so I had no choice but to turn to my natal family. And besides, Im not just giving it to my brother for free, he also gives me grain. Even if I were giving it away for nothing, what business is it of yours?" Zhou Shis temper flared up, and she shouted loudly.

  The old man was so angry that he almost overturned the table, Tian Shi grabbed his hand, and the old man shook it off and went home by himself. Tian Shi and her two daughters followed him. Zhou Shi took her daughter and also left afterwards. The remaining Zhu family members looked at each other in dismay.

  Ziying smiled and said: "Fortunately, Grandma grabbed Grandpas hand quickly. If we had to wait for Grandpa to flip the table, Im not sure how many of these bowls would be left." Everyone laughed at this, and no one was in the mood to eat anymore.

  The child changed into old clothes and said he wanted to go fertilize the watermelon, so the whole family was busy with this all afternoon. Until it got dark and couldnt be seen, they stopped.

  A night without words.