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

Seeing that the other party not only hit him, but also ignored him when questioned, how could Master Zhang swallow this insult?

Especially now, he could clearly sense that everyone's amused gazes were focused on him.

My heart felt like a firecracker stuffed with gunpowder, ready to explode before it was even lit.

"You son of a bitch, I'm talking to you! Didn't you hear me?!"

As he spoke, he angrily rushed forward and tried to shove Xu Wenjie away.

Xu Wenjie's eyes were like a cold pool. The moment he turned around, Zhang Sanye's hand paused. For some reason, meeting those eyes made him feel a chill.

Xu Wenjie met Zhang Sanye's gaze calmly, casually tapped the cane in his hand, curled the corners of his mouth, and chuckled, "I have sharp ears and eyes, and I can hear clearly what people say, but as for beasts, that's another story."

"you…!"

Just as Zhang Sanye was about to start cursing, Li Quanfu, who was right behind Xu Wenjie, came running up, panting, and asked, "What happened?"

Li Quanfu couldn't help but marvel at how quickly Xu Wenjie had moved. Just moments ago, Xu Wenjie was right in front of him, but in the blink of an eye, he had disappeared into the crowd.

When everyone saw Li Quanfu arrive, they quickly made way for him, since he was, after all, a registered village head in the government office.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Sanye, as usual, immediately shouted, "Li Lao Er, did you see that? A family of outsiders are bullying the honest people who have lived here for generations! There has never been anything like this in our Laoya Village! If you don't beat them all out of the village today, you can forget about being the village head!"

Whether or not you should be chosen is not for you to decide.

Li Quanfu thought to himself, but naturally he couldn't refuse Zhang Sanye's request on the surface.

"I will handle this impartially, Mr. Zhang, please be patient."

His expression was serious, and as he spoke, he helped Xu Wenjie lift up Zhang He and her daughters, his expression clearly changing.

Seeing Xu Zhuzhu's wet cotton-padded clothes, Li Quanfu said worriedly, "These clothes are all wet. Let's take Zhuzhu to my place first, so she won't catch a cold later."

"I don't want to go."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhuzhu instinctively withdrew her hand.

She couldn't leave before she finished her business, but more importantly, the show wasn't over yet. How could listening to a story compare to the excitement of a live broadcast?

Xu Wenjie also hesitated.

The moment Zhang He met Xu Wenjie's eyes, she knew what her husband was thinking, and quickly shook her head in denial.

"My lord, there's no need to worry, it's nothing."

The implication is that since we've already done it, we can't just give up.

Indeed, she was fine. Although Xu Zhuzhu's clothes were soaked, the inside of Xu Zhuzhu's sleeves was still dry when she touched them earlier.

As a couple who share hardships, how could Xu Wenjie not know what his wife was thinking?

His brow twitched slightly, but fearing Zhang He would worry, he could only force a nod and take off his long coat to wrap around Xu Zhuzhu, whose clothes were soaked.

It was revealed that Zhang He had used the leftover cotton from making quilts a few days ago to make him a vest. Fortunately, with this vest, he could bear the weight even without his long coat.

Actually, Xu Zhuzhu was alright. Her cotton-padded coat was very thick, and although the surface of the coat was wet, the side that was against her skin was still dry. "Daddy, wear it. I'm not cold."

"obedient."

Xu Wenjie gently patted Xu Zhuzhu's back, his tone tender, but there was no doubt that Xu Zhuzhu had no choice but to give up.

As more and more people gathered in front of the door, Zhang Xiaolin had a bad feeling. He noticed that everyone was surrounding Zhang Sanye and Xu Wenjie's family, and they were all ignoring him lying on the ground.

Zhang Xiaolin quickly gave his mother a wink, and Zhang Chenshi understood. She then tried to secretly help Zhang Xiaolin up and slip him into the house without anyone noticing.

I didn't want to be interrupted by Master Zhang...

"Second sister-in-law, let me help you!"

Zhang Siye, who had been watching the mother and son closely, raised his narrow eyes, curled his lips into a smile, and feigned concern, asking loudly and urgently, "Is Xiaolin's leg alright? Did he hurt any bones or tendons?"

Damn it!

Zhang Xiaolin's face was contorted with anger. He endured the pain in his leg, stood up and turned around. If it weren't for his father's connections, he would have already started cursing!

As if seeking justice for Zhang Xiaolin, Master Zhang said, "Mr. Xu, even if my nephew was wrong to hit someone, he didn't actually hit him yet, did he? Why did you have to use such force?"

"Fourth brother, why bother talking to him so much? We should just get rid of him as soon as possible!" Zhang Sanye chimed in.

Master Zhang smiled but did not answer.

However, after his repeated "tips," Xu Zhuzhu became even more convinced of her own thoughts: the three old men in the Zhang family seemed to be on the surface but not on the inside.

His father frowned slightly, looking somewhat puzzled, but his tightly pursed lips soon curved into a smile.

That makes sense; it's not a bad thing for their family.

At that moment, her mother and father exchanged a glance, their meanings needing no further explanation.

Zhang He covered her face with her sleeve, tears falling like beads. "Uncle Zhang, please return my father's secret recipe to me. It's the culmination of my father's years of hard work. He promised to leave it to his grandson. Considering that we are both descendants of the Zhang family, and perhaps even from the same clan, I won't hold it against him."

Secret recipe?

His guess turned out to be correct!

Master Zhang listened intently from the side, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes, further confirming his suspicions.

Li Quanfu, unaware of Xu Wenjie's plan, became anxious upon hearing Zhang He's words: "But what about the dumpling delivery recipe?"

"Exactly."

Her mother wiped her eyes with her sleeve again, nodded timidly with tears in her eyes, her swollen cheeks made her look even more delicate and pitiful.

Thank goodness this is her mother; she can shed tears so easily, even if Xu Zhuzhu studied for eight hundred years, she still wouldn't be able to learn that.

After listening for so long, the people around finally understood what Zhang He was crying about and realized why she had been making a scene for so long and refused to leave.

A few days ago, some people who went to the market in the village came back and spread the word everywhere that the newly arrived Xu family had started a food business and their business was booming. In less than a month, the whole family had new cotton-padded clothes.

He must have earned at least a string of cash!

"Is it Tiezhu's wife?" Old Mrs. Wang, a member of the crowd, spoke first.

The old woman, called Iron Pillar's Mother, nodded frantically, "That's right!"

In the village, the Zhang family members have always been unable to bear seeing others do better than them, especially outsiders who have settled there.

"No wonder! Zhang Xiaolin himself has a steamed bun stall in town that isn't doing very well. Now that he sees other people's buns selling well, it's no wonder he's envious! No wonder he stole things," Old Lady Wang, the head of the old duck intelligence network, continued.

"That means, I went to the market the other day and happened to run into Zhang Xiaolin selling those dumplings! Even though nobody was buying them, it just goes to show that he'd probably been eyeing other people's stuff for a while now!"

Under Zhang He's deliberate guidance, everyone chimed in with their own comments.

Then the conversation turned to how Zhang Xiaolin stole the items.

Li Quanfu asked at just the right moment, "He Niang, are you sure it was Zhang Xiaolin who stole it?"

Zhang He wiped away her tears and choked out, "Looking at the figure, I can't think of anyone else in the village who could resemble him except for the piece of cloth hanging in the backyard when I woke up this morning."

After saying that, Zhang He took out the scrap of cloth from her sleeve and deliberately looked at Zhang Xiaolin's injured foot. Everyone exclaimed in surprise and saw that there was indeed a small piece missing from the trouser leg!

"I knew it! My house is right at the entrance of the village. Last night when I got up to go to the outhouse, someone even ran past my yard at top speed! It looked like Zhang Xiaolin."

Another person said, "If you ask me, there are no wolves at all. Not only did we not see any, but it's probably just something someone made up to keep people away from that area so they can do some petty theft."

.........

As expected, rumors spread like wildfire. Zhang He had only said a few words, but through friendly exchanges among the onlookers, the story of how Zhang Xiaolin got to steal the items and how he returned had already spread.

The more she talked, the deeper Xu Zhuzhu's smile became. Xu An nudged her, signaling her not to reveal anything.

Xu Zhuzhu then nestled in her brother's arms, hiding her smile.

Xu Wenjie remained unfazed, while Zhang He continued to cry. Feeling pity, the crowd came forward to comfort Zhang He and urged Zhang Xiaolin to return the items.

Master Zhang San was completely bewildered, while Master Zhang Si quietly stroked his beard, watching the show as if it were none of his business.

At this moment, Xu Wenjie said quietly, "According to the laws of this dynasty, thieves shall have one finger cut off."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen felt a chill run down her spine, and cold sweat poured down her back.

My son did go to steal something last night, but she said he didn't steal anything, and she wasn't sure if he actually took anything.

She couldn't help but look at Zhang Xiaolin with nervousness, "Son...you..."

Zhang Xiaolin was shocked. A severed finger? How come he had never heard of such a thing before?

But he got nothing, he couldn't steal anything at all, so he wasn't afraid. He confidently retorted, "What did I steal from you! You old hag, did you eat shit last night? Your mouth stinks! You're just spouting nonsense, are you trying to frame me by tearing up the rags from your bed?"

Zhang Xiaolin was fearless and didn't care about theft; what was the point of stealing if there was no stolen goods?