The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

When Aunt Li saw that the village chief actually had a way to prove that her grandson's current condition was caused by eating chili peppers, she didn't have time to think and blurted out, "What method?"

“If you take a bite and end up like that, wouldn’t that prove your grandson got like that from eating this chili pepper?” Shi Yong wasn’t going to let Aunt Li off easily.

It's fair to say that few people listen to what he says in the village, mainly because of Aunt Li.

She usually relies on her daughter and doesn't listen to what she says. Not only does she not listen, but she also makes those around her not listen.

The others nodded in agreement after hearing the village chief's words.

Indeed, if she ate it and still ended up like that, wouldn't that mean her grandson's condition was due to eating that chili pepper?

That's right.

Aunt Li hesitated for a moment. She had seen what her eldest grandson looked like, though others hadn't.

The moment the chili pepper entered his mouth and he chewed it, his tongue felt as if it had been bitten, and the pain made him cry.

But she had no other choice. She glanced at her husband, who glared at her, meaning he wanted her to eat quickly.

If she doesn't eat, we won't get this compensation today.

In a corner where no one was paying attention, Li's eldest grandson had stopped drooling, and he even felt that his tongue didn't hurt as much as it had at the beginning.

However, everyone's attention was focused on Aunt Li and the village chief, and no one noticed him.

Aunt Li stepped forward, as if she had made a big decision, grabbed a small chili pepper and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing it vigorously for a couple of bites.

She immediately felt as if her tongue had been bitten, and her throat felt like it was on fire.

"Ah! My tongue is killing me." Aunt Li, like her grandson, was sticking out her tongue and drooling.

The villagers who were watching were shocked.

What kind of things is this village chief growing in his field? They can actually hurt people.

Many curious villagers who had originally planned to ask the village chief questions or ask him for some to try gave up on the idea.

Aunt Li's tongue was numb from the spiciness, and her speech was somewhat slurred, "Now... it can... prove that my grandson became like that because he ate this chili pepper."

She finally remembered her eldest grandson, and after searching around for a while, she finally found him at the back of the crowd, watching ants moving house.

She looked at her grandson in shock; he had stopped drooling and wasn't even sticking out his tongue anymore.

Everyone was puzzled; in such a short time, the Li family's grandson had improved so much.

The village chief walked up to Elder Shi and explained, “Elder Shi, this is chili pepper, which is a kind of vegetable. This vegetable is very spicy. People who can’t eat spicy food will end up like Aunt Li, with a sore tongue, sore throat, and drooling.”

"But drink more water, and you'll be fine in a little while."

Aunt Li was unwilling to give up. She stepped forward and began to argue with a thick tongue, "I don't care. The village chief must compensate us today. I am in this state because of the village chief."

Shi Yong waved his hand, "You ate it voluntarily, so you can't blame it on me."

"These big guys are watching, so stop making baseless accusations."

After saying that, Shi Yong narrowed his eyes, his expression showing some anger. "I haven't even settled accounts with you yet, and you still have the nerve to ask for compensation?"

"What do you have to say about you stealing my vegetables?"

Aunt Li got angry, jumped up and glared at the village chief, "You're talking nonsense! I already told you I haven't left the house all day, where would I have gone to steal your vegetables?"

She was somewhat embarrassed and angry, and pointed at the village chief, wanting to continue her tantrum, but unexpectedly the village chief grabbed her hand first.

She exposed her hands to everyone, saying, "Look at her hands." They could see green marks on the pads of Aunt Li's right thumb and forefinger, as well as under her nails.

"Look at my hands, everyone." Shi Yong also showed his right hand. The green marks on the pads of his right thumb and index finger and under his nails were more numerous than those on Aunt Li's.

However, judging from the color, it should be the same thing.

"I pinched the chili peppers with my thumb and forefinger this morning, which is why I have these marks."

"Logically speaking, Aunt Li didn't go out, so how come she has such marks on her hands?"

Aunt Li's eyes darted around; she hadn't had time to wash her hands when she got home today, so there were still traces of picking chili peppers on her hands.

When Shi Yong saw that the villagers were all looking at Aunt Li after hearing what he said, he knew that most of them had already believed him.

So he pressed his advantage, saying, "Aunt Li just said it several times: she hasn't left the house all day."

"It hasn't rained here for a long time, the ground is as dry as it can get."

"When I left today, I opened the irrigation ditch in the field and told my eldest son to remember to close it."

“After I left, the ground was wet. You can see from Aunt Li’s shoes whether she was lying or not.”

Aunt Li, feeling guilty, tried to back away, but the village chief's wife grabbed her and took off her shoes.

Sure enough, there was a thick layer of wet mud on the soles of Aunt Li's shoes, which had been flattened by being trampled, and there was even a chili leaf mixed in.

Faced with the facts, Aunt Li was speechless.

Elder Shi walked up to the head of the Li family and asked, "Are you aware of this matter?"

"I had no idea. I went for a walk after dinner, and she said she'd been home the whole time, so I believed her," the head of the Li family said, feigning ignorance.

"Elder Shi, I am the head of the village. Some people have set their sights on me. This matter must be severely punished."

Elder Shi sighed helplessly. This nephew is having a tough time as village chief. If it were him back then, who would dare to do this?

"Alright, then punish him by making him go to the ancestral hall to reflect on his mistakes every day for a month. If this happens again, the punishment will be doubled."

Elder Shi's words sealed Aunt Li's fate.

After this incident, no one dared to act recklessly in front of the village chief anymore.

No one even dared to touch the chili peppers grown by the village chief. Aunt Li demonstrated to everyone exactly what would happen if they ate them.

Shi Yong walked up to Elder Shi to thank him, and Elder Shi patted him on the shoulder, saying, "You should work hard from now on. I can't help you for much longer."

After watching Elder Shi leave, Shi Yong took his wife and children into the house.

This was the first time he had ever lost his temper in front of others. In the past, he always preferred to avoid trouble and tolerate things as much as possible; he was a very kind person.

However, despite being a kind-hearted person for so many years, not only is he not respected, but people are increasingly disregarding him as the village chief.

It seems he needs to be tougher in the future. If this had happened before, he would have let it go. But now he needs to slowly establish his authority, and Aunt Li is the chicken he needs to kill.

The south wind blows, the grass and trees grow deep, and summer begins to unfold.

As the heat intensifies and the cicadas' chirping grows louder, early summer quietly fades away, and midsummer arrives with a gentle breeze.

Shen Cao's older brother also participated in the autumn examination in early August.

The results of the autumn examination will be released in a few days, and Shen Chen still goes to school on time every day to study.

Recently, Shen Chen has been going home for meals. Today, when it was time for dinner, Shen Cao saw that her older brother had not returned yet, so she ran to the school to look for him.

As soon as she arrived at the school gate, she saw a group of people gathered around her, and she walked over.

He watched as his elder brother stood calmly in the middle, while the people around him seemed to be making things difficult for him.