After transmigrating, he supported his family by working at a garbage dump.

Xu Wenjie's words silenced everyone present, especially Li Quanfu.

Although Hu Da still had concerns, he had to admit that Xu Wenjie's insight and vision far surpassed those of ordinary people.

He was secretly glad that he hadn't rashly dragged Xu Wenjie into this mess, otherwise it might have harmed him.

Seeing the atmosphere getting a bit tense, Sister-in-law Hu smiled and tried to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, everyone, stop talking so much, the food's getting cold. Mr. Xu is a man who has studied the classics, how could he not know these principles? He has his own plans. Let's eat first!"

When everyone was talking, she would always smile faintly and remain silent, but as soon as they stopped talking, Sister-in-law Hu would always get to the point.

Xu Wenjie admired him.

As she spoke, Sister-in-law Hu pushed the dishes on the table further towards the center.

Everyone then came to their senses and smiled.

Hu San Niang's brows had long since unfurrowed. As long as her elder brother didn't go to Huaiqing Prefecture anymore, she was fine with anything. Having figured things out, she warmly greeted everyone.

"Sister-in-law is right, let's eat!"

I was worried about her older brother before, and I didn't even notice what her sister-in-law cooked.

It was only then that she noticed the braised pork in the center of the table. There wasn't much meat, and a few pieces of taro were added to make up the difference, but that was already quite a treat.

Somewhat surprised, a half-open grin spread across his face as he asked with a grin, "It's not a holiday, why did you make this, sister-in-law? It's such a waste!"

Her eldest brother works in the government office and earns quite a bit, but because he often has to subsidize her and her second brother, their lives are not difficult, but they are still very tight. Fortunately, her sister-in-law knows how to manage money.

That's why this question came about.

However, thinking about this made her feel guilty. If it weren't for her, her older brother's family would be living a much better life.

Sister-in-law Hu noticed it, but she simply smiled and looked at Hu Da naturally, her eyes full of laughter.

"Your older brother said he wanted to eat this, and since you all came, we didn't have any good dishes to offer, so this was the only dish we could serve. Unfortunately, we're short on money and didn't have much meat, so we had to make do with this."

"This is already very good!"

Hu San Niang naturally showed her support.

As she spoke, Sister-in-law Hu gestured to Hu San Niang to put a piece on Li Quanfu's plate and Xu Wenjie's plate to try.

Hu Sanniang understood and immediately got to work excitedly, saying, "Quanfu, try it quickly. You always talk about it, but now that you've seen it, you're pretending to be polite..."

Hearing this, Li Quanfu felt embarrassed, his cheeks flushed slightly, and he muttered, "It's been so many years, why bring that up again?"

Hu San Niang rolled her eyes, finding Li Quanfu quite awkward. What was there to be embarrassed about?

Therefore, she ignored him and instead invited Xu Wenjie, "Mr. Xu, please try my sister-in-law's cooking. When she was young, she worked as a cook for a wealthy family in the county. She is different from someone like me who can't cook. This is her specialty."

"Oh?"

Xu Wenjie smiled and thanked him generously. He picked up a piece of meat, took a bite, and after savoring it, he was full of praise.

"It's delicious!"

The taste is comparable to that cooked in their own pot, which shows their superb culinary skills. So, having a Meimei pot isn't a cure-all.

Mrs. Hu was a little embarrassed by the praise and waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "Mr. Xu, you flatter me. It's just some home-cooked dishes."

The atmosphere at the dinner table gradually relaxed, and everyone chatted and laughed, as if the heavy topic from before had never been mentioned.

Hu Da was in a heavy mood. Although he still had concerns, he did not want to spoil everyone's fun, so he temporarily put aside his worries, smiled and entertained Li Quanfu and his group, and focused on eating.

After the meal, the group sat for a while, drinking tea and chatting.

After thinking it over, Hu Da hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Brother Xu, I'm truly sorry about what happened today. I didn't want to involve you, but I didn't expect that Constable Chen would bring up the matter of the corpse from before..."

Xu Wenjie waved his hand repeatedly, as if he already knew what Hu Da was going to say, and interrupted him directly.

"Brother Hu, this matter has nothing to do with you, why blame yourself?"

This matter originally had nothing to do with Hu Da, but because Constable Chen had always been at odds with him, he got involved, probably to take this opportunity to deal with him.

Hu Da felt very guilty about this.

Xu Wenjie saw right through Hu Da's thoughts.

He smiled and continued, "Brother Hu, don't take it to heart. This matter has nothing to do with you. I can guess what Constable Chen is thinking. He just wants to take this opportunity to suppress you. However, since he has this intention and even mentioned me, I'm afraid he won't give up easily."

Thinking of this, Hu Da also sighed, "That's right. It's strange, though this Constable Chen is usually cunning and likes to stir up trouble, but those are all minor squabbles and insignificant matters."

"It's been a while since we last met, and I'm starting to doubt him. This time, he deliberately mentioned you to the registrar, I wonder what kind of conspiracy he's plotting. To avoid being implicated by me, Brother Xu, you absolutely must not agree to this."

When it comes to cunning, Xu Wenjie pictured a handsome face.

He smiled and nodded his thanks, saying, "Thank you for the reminder, Officer Hu. I will be careful, but I'm afraid I have no choice."

Hu Da recalled the registrar's expression at the time and understood what it meant.

He smiled bitterly, "The registrar is grateful and doesn't seem like the kind of person who would listen to slander. Perhaps he has other intentions. Although he listened to Constable Chen, he may not completely trust him."

Hu Da paused for a moment, then continued.

"...But Constable Chen is a vengeful man and probably won't let you off easily. Right now, it's a sensitive time, so it's not a good time to talk. If Brother Xu is unwilling, I'll go and speak to the Registrar on your behalf in a couple of days. I think the Registrar will listen to your previous kindness."

Upon hearing this, Xu Wenjie knew that Hu Da had this intention, and bowed to Hu Da with great gratitude.

"I appreciate Officer Hu's kindness, but if I could really refuse, you wouldn't be so worried now, would you?"

He refused.

Hu Da was speechless, after all, what Xu Wenjie said was indeed true.

He could only sigh helplessly, "Then you should go home and prepare yourself. Who knows, someone from the government might come looking for you in the next couple of days."

Xu Wenjie pursed his lips, his deep eyes as still as a deep pool, without a ripple.

For a while, Li Quanfu couldn't keep up with the two men's thoughts and couldn't say anything, so he just listened quietly until they started chatting again, at which point he chimed in with a few words.

When the topic of Zhang Xiaolin came up again, Hu Da pointed out all the suspicious aspects he had mentioned. Unfortunately, he couldn't go to the yamen for the next few days to investigate further, so he could only say that he would be able to find out the truth in a few days. He also told them to be vigilant and careful.

Everyone nodded.

Seeing that it was getting late and the group needed to get back before dark, Xu Wenjie and the others got up to say goodbye.

Hu Da escorted them to the door and watched them leave before returning to the courtyard, where he stood motionless for a long time.

Seeing that Hu Da looked serious, Sister-in-law Hu came over and asked what was wrong.

"Are you still worried about Mr. Xu's matter?"

Hu Da frowned and nodded.

“Mr. Xu is a smart man, but that constable Chen is really cunning. I’m afraid he’s trying to get back at me, which is why he came up with this plan. I’m afraid he will do something to harm Mr. Xu.”

Sister-in-law Hu held Hu Da's hand, said nothing, and stood quietly with him for a while before comforting him, "Since Mr. Xu has his own plans, we don't need to worry too much. As for you, you should rest well at home these few days and not think too much. Don't forget what you promised me!"

Hu sighed and said with a wry smile, "That's all we can do... What promise have I made to you that I haven't kept?"

For the next few days, Hu Da followed his sister-in-law's instructions and focused on helping her repair the fence and plant vegetables at home, living a relatively leisurely life.

He could never let go of the affairs of the government office.

Sure enough, a few days later, news spread throughout the town that the registrar had found someone to audit the accounts, and that person was none other than Xu Wenjie, the northern scholar who had fled from the country.