Tian Manlan deliberately finished work early, as she was tasked with cooking lunch. Lunch was straightforward: reheat last night's leftover meat dishes, cook the tofu obtained in exchange that morning, and prepare some vegetables. That was enough to get by. In the countryside, having several bowls of such dishes was considered quite a feast.
Right when Tian Manlan was rinsing the rice to cook, a wave of scolding came from outside. It turns out that Old Mrs. Shou spent the morning dwelling on her resentment at home, feeling more and more suffocated by the thought of the perceived injustice from last night, which she refused to let slide. She was determined not to let that little wretch Tian Manlan off the hook, leading to the increasingly bitter Old Mrs. Shou storming to Tian Manlan's doorstep and launching into a tirade.
