Old Uncle didn't make Old Liu reflect on his actions.
Instead, it made Old Liu feel annoyed.
Old Liu quickly finished his bun, then looked at Old Uncle unhappily and said, "I don't need you to lecture me. Floyd is heartless and ungrateful. No matter what, I'm his uncle, and look at how bad things are for our family, and he doesn't even want to help. He's heartless."
Old Uncle looked at him with disappointment in his eyes.
Being the kind-hearted person in the village, he naturally hoped for peace and harmony among the villagers.
He stood up, sighed, and said, "Forget it. If you think like that, there's nothing more for me to say. I'll leave now."
Old Uncle didn't care if Old Liu was angry; he just got up and left.
The weather was getting warmer, and Gianna started to learn how to plant seeds.
The seeds she took from the space had packaging bags, with information on when to plant them, which saved her a lot of trouble.
Floyd had gone to the county town last time to buy grain seeds. Once the water in the fields had stored up enough, he started planting.
Growing rice was more troublesome, needing to plant seeds first, wait for the seedlings to grow to a certain size, and then transplant them.
With over thirty acres of land, Floyd decided to use half of it to plant grains.
The land had not been cultivated for three years, and although it had been nourished by the snowmelt, it was starting to become compacted.
Gianna knew that to grow food, the soil had to be improved first.
Floyd sat on the field ridge, not even wanting to go home for a meal, his face filled with worry.
Gianna brought the meal to him, and seeing how troubled Floyd was, she tried to comfort him, "Let's take it one step at a time. If we can't finish planting all thirty acres this year, we don't have to do it all. Let's start with a few acres."
She had noticed that Floyd had been busy with the fields these past few days.
Floyd had told her that the farm work was too hard and didn't let her go to the fields. He only asked her to stay at home and take care of the children.
Gianna, who had spent a long time with Floyd, had slowly come to understand his character. He was a man of few words, never spoke sweetly, but always thought about her. He never let her do any heavy or tiring work.
"The land is too compacted to grow rice, I'm worried we can't even plant the seedlings. The key is that we can't afford an ox right now."
Without an ox to plow the fields, it would be hard to grow much with just human labor.
Gianna sat down next to Floyd.
An idea began to form in her mind.
"Do you remember the seeds I bought? One of them is pumpkin seeds."
Floyd vaguely remembered that Gianna had mentioned this name before.
He nodded slightly, looking at Gianna with a curious gaze, warmth hidden in his eyes.
Gianna felt a little uncomfortable with the way Floyd looked at her.
She wasn't sure what had been happening recently, but Floyd's gaze was becoming more intense and gentler, making her feel shy and often avoiding eye contact.
Gianna cleared her throat awkwardly and said, "The seed seller told me that pumpkins have a high yield, and one vine can stretch a long way. We have a lot of land, so I think we can plant them. I've heard pumpkins are not only filling but also taste good."
Now, there were very few people who had returned from fleeing the famine.
Only eight families had come back to Mud Nest Village.
Even if they wanted to hire help, there was no one to ask.
Gianna also knew that, aside from Old Uncle's family, it would be hard to hire anyone else in the village.
Floyd's mind started working again.
He didn't have many big dreams or ambitions in life.
He only wanted to provide a good life for Gianna and the children.
Especially for Gianna, who had always been through hardship with him. In the past, he often treated her coldly.
As a result, Gianna was now distant from him.
Gianna had already started growing several types of vegetable seeds.
Cucumbers, tomatoes, and eggplants, for example.
She also brought out some potatoes and taro. These were heavier, so she didn't dare carry too much at once.
She planned to grow and save more seeds this year and do large-scale planting next year.
Floyd worked hard every day, digging in the fields.
Old Liu came back after two days of silence and showed up again.
Aunt Liu came with him.
The couple had cleaned themselves up a bit and didn't look as messy as before.
Floyd was busy in the fields.
Gianna stood at the front gate and blocked them from entering the yard.
Old Liu frowned and said, annoyed, "Your man is out working in the fields. How can you sit at home doing nothing?"
He started scolding right away. Gianna almost laughed in anger.
She gave Old Liu a cold look, waiting to see what kind of nonsense he'd try this time.
Old Liu had completely forgotten how fierce Gianna was before.
He continued shouting, "A woman like you would've been beaten ten times over if you were in my house."
Aunt Liu tugged on Old Liu's sleeve.
She reminded him of their real purpose for coming.
Old Liu coughed and said, "We're out of food. Lend us some."
Gianna had seen many strange people, but Old Liu was the most shameless and clueless one yet.
She mocked, "Why should I give you food? You two are so shameless. If I were you, I'd rather die far away from my house."
Old Liu knew Floyd wasn't at home.
He became more arrogant.
"You little brat, I was being nice, wasn't I? I'm taking that food today, no matter what."
Dennis, hiding behind Gianna, was afraid she might get hurt.
He pulled Xeno over and whispered, "Third brother, go out the back door and call Dad from the field."
Xeno quickly nodded.
But when Dennis opened the back door, he saw Dahai squatting not far away. He slammed the door shut in fear.
Dahai was a step too late and kicked the door in anger.
Gianna heard the noise and turned to see Dennis's angry face.
Dennis and Nori shouted together, "Mom, the bad guy is hiding behind the door!"
Gianna finally understood. Old Liu and his family had come fully prepared.
Dahai was blocking the back door to stop the kids from warning Floyd.
Old Liu sneered, "If you don't want to get beaten, give us the food now. Floyd is busy in the fields and won't be back until tonight. Your house is far from the others, and everyone in the village still hates you. Even if you scream, no one will come to help. Think about your three kids and be smart."
Gianna said nothing. She quickly slammed the front gate shut and locked it.
It all happened in a flash. Old Liu reacted and kicked the door.
The gate didn't move at all.
Xeno got scared, shrank his neck, and hugged Gianna's leg tightly.