The old man's words didn't make Old Man Liu reflect at all.
Instead, they made him even more annoyed.
He finished eating the flatbread in just a few bites, looked at Lao with dissatisfaction, and said, "I don't need you to lecture me. Floyd is heartless. No matter what, I'm still his uncle. Look at the state my family is in, and he still refuses to help. He's got no conscience at all."
There was disappointment in Lao's eyes.
Being the friendly elder of the village, he naturally wanted everyone to get along peacefully.
He stood up and sighed, "Forget it. Since you think this way, I have nothing more to say. I'll go now."
Lao didn't care whether Old Man Liu was angry or not. He just got up and left.
The weather was getting warmer, and Gianna began learning how to plant crops.
The seeds she took out from the space were still in their original packages, clearly labeled with the planting months, which saved her a lot of trouble.
Last time, Floyd went to the county town and bought rice seeds. Once the water in the fields had gathered enough, he started planting.
Planting rice was complicated. First, the seeds had to be sown. Then, after the seedlings grew to a certain size, they had to be transplanted.
They had over thirty acres of land. Floyd decided to use half of it to plant grains.
The land hadn't been farmed for three years. Even though it had been moistened by melting snow, it had become hardened.
Gianna knew that if they wanted to grow food, they had to improve the soil quality first.
Floyd sat on the ridge of the field, not even wanting to go home to eat. His face was full of worry.
Gianna brought the food and saw Floyd like that. She tried to comfort him, "Take it one step at a time. If we can't plant all thirty acres this year, let's not force it. A few acres will be enough for now."
She had seen how hard Floyd had been working in the fields these days.
Floyd said the farm work was too tough and didn't allow her to come to the fields. He only wanted her to stay home and look after the kids.
Gianna had spent enough time with Floyd to understand his personality. He didn't talk much or know how to say sweet things, but he always thought of her. He never let her do hard or tiring work.
"The ground is too hard. We can't grow rice like this. I'm worried we can't even get the seedlings in the ground. And the key is, we can't afford a cow right now."
Without a cow to plow the land, they really couldn't do much with just manpower.
Gianna sat down beside Floyd.
She had already thought of a solution.
"Do you remember the seeds I bought? One of them was called pumpkin!"
Floyd vaguely remembered Gianna mentioning that name before.
He nodded slightly, looking at Gianna with curious eyes, his gaze full of tenderness.
Gianna felt a bit overwhelmed by the way Floyd looked at her.
She didn't know why, but lately, Floyd's eyes had become more and more gentle, and they lingered longer on her.
It made her feel so awkward that she often didn't dare meet his gaze.
Gianna cleared her throat and said, "The person who sold the seeds told me pumpkins have a high yield. One vine can spread out really far. Since we have a lot of land, I think we can grow them. I heard pumpkins are not only filling but also taste good."
Right now, there weren't many people returning from fleeing the famine.
Only eight families had come back to the entire Niwo Village.
Even if they wanted to hire help, there wasn't anyone to hire.
Besides, Gianna knew very well that apart from Lao's family, the rest of the villagers probably wouldn't help even if asked.
Floyd's mind became active again.
He had never had big dreams or ambitions.
He just wanted Gianna and the kids to have a good life.
Especially Gianna, who had suffered so much with him. He used to treat her coldly.
Because of that, even now, Gianna still kept her distance from him.
"Let me dig as much land as I can first. However much I manage to dig, I'll plant that much rice. As for the seeds you bought, plant them if you want. We've got plenty of land anyway."
Gianna had already started growing several kinds of vegetable seeds.
Like cucumber, tomato, eggplant, and so on.
Potatoes and taro, she brought out a bit of those too. They were heavy, so she didn't dare take too much at once.
She planned to save more seeds this year and plant more next year.
Floyd went out early and came back late every day, working nonstop in the fields.
After staying quiet for two days, Old Man Liu came to the door again.
This time, Aunt Liu came with him.
The couple had cleaned up a little. At least they didn't look as messy as last time.
Floyd was busy working in the field.
Gianna blocked the front gate and wouldn't let them into the yard.
Old Man Liu frowned and said in an unhappy tone, "Your man is out working hard in the field. How can you be shameless enough to just stay at home?"
Gianna almost laughed out of anger.
She sneered and looked at Old Man Liu, waiting to see what nonsense he'd come up with this time.
Old Man Liu had completely forgotten how fierce Gianna was before.
He kept on accusing, "A woman like you, in my house, would've been beaten more than a dozen times already."
Aunt Liu tugged at Old Man Liu's sleeve, trying to remind him of the real reason they came this time.
Old Man Liu coughed and said, "We've run out of food at home. Lend us some."
Gianna had met plenty of weird people before, but this was the first time she'd met someone as shameless and blind to their own position as Old Man Liu.
She mocked, "Why should I lend you food? You two have no shame. We've already cut ties. If I were you, I'd rather die somewhere else than crawl to my house."
Old Man Liu knew Floyd wasn't home. That gave him confidence.
"You little tramp, I'm giving you a chance, aren't I? Today, I will take some food."
Dennis, hiding behind Gianna, was afraid she might suffer.
He pulled Xeno to his side and whispered in his ear, "Third brother, sneak out the back door and call Dad from the field."
Xeno nodded.
But when Dennis opened the back door, he saw Dahu squatting not far away. He immediately shut the door.
Dahu was a step late and angrily kicked the door.
Gianna heard the noise and turned to see Dennis's angry face.
Dennis and Nori shouted in unison, "Mom! The bad guy is guarding the back door!"
Gianna understood—Old Man Liu's family came prepared.
Dahu blocked the back door to stop the kids from alerting Floyd.
Old Man Liu sneered, "Little tramp, if you don't want a beating, hand over the food. Floyd's been working in the fields all day and won't be back till evening. Your house is far from the others, and everyone in the village hates you. Even if you scream, no one will come help. For the sake of your three kids, I suggest you be obedient."
Gianna didn't say a word. She slammed the door shut and locked it.
Old Man Liu kicked the door, but it didn't budge.
Xeno was scared. He shrank his neck and hugged Gianna's leg tightly.