Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

The next day, before dawn, Zhao Da'e woke up. She saw what appeared to be a fire near the woodpile outside her window. There seemed to be a figure moving about near the woodpile outside Zhou Yuren's house.

In northern China, it's customary to stack firewood for winter use in large piles to save space. To avoid taking up space in the yard, the firewood is usually stacked outside, making the yard appear cleaner and giving the impression that the family is more tidy. These firewood piles are typically made of corn stalks, sorghum stalks, branches, and wood, which are very easy to ignite.

Zhao Da'e shook Zhou Chunwen and Zhou Chunhong: "Big sister, second sister, look, is it that scoundrel of a grandfather who came to our house and set it on fire?"

Zhou Chunwen, still half asleep, got up and peered out the window: "No way, are you seeing things? You should start a fire in the backyard, there's plenty of firewood there..."

Zhou Chunhong nodded.

Zhao Da'e said with a look of exasperation, "Can't you climb over the wall in the backyard? The old man is in his sixties and his legs aren't very strong. Of course he'd set fire to the front. He was upset that I sent the old lady in again, so he wanted to set fire to get back at me."

Zhou Chunwen: "..."

"Hey goose, what? Your grandpa wants revenge on you? Is he out of his mind? Revenge on you for burning down my woodpile? He should burn down your own woodpile... no, wait... never mind, you can't burn your own woodpile."

Besides, your grandma going to jail has nothing to do with you. She got what she deserved. Who told her to do such a bad thing? She didn't know the law and acted all high and mighty. If it weren't for everyone pleading for her, she would have been stuck in jail until the New Year.

Now look what's happened! Your grandma has offended all three of your brothers in one fell swoop. Let's see what she does next. She lent all the money to your aunt, but your aunt denies it, saying she never lent it. Your eldest aunt says she did lend it and that she paid it back. Anyway, the final result is that your grandparents lost 45,000 yuan.

I have to say, your dad and mom are really capable; they saved up so much money. But the ending is a bit tragic—it's all gone. Sigh…

Zhao Da'e sighed, "I knew this would happen. It doesn't matter. Can I expect them to have a change of heart and return the money? But this isn't over yet. I can take it or leave it. But I'll make sure they can't make a living."

Zhao Da'e squinted and said, "Who's the toughest in the family? My third aunt, Zhang Cuilan. That woman's fighting power is off the charts. Last time a cow kicked her in the head, and she was completely unharmed. Zhang Cuilan is not only cunning, lazy, and greedy, but also incredibly vengeful. I'll talk to my third uncle another day. I can't count on my dad, that good-for-nothing. He's useless except for eating. And he's a bit too filial, making things even more difficult. I need to sow discord with my third uncle. I'll say, 'Third Uncle, look, this money is what you and Dad used to build the house. You've worked hard all these years. You should have at least 30,000 yuan. You should get yours back.'"

Once my third uncle gets this promise, he and Zhang Cuilan will definitely have to ask the old folks for it.

Zhao Da'e climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), picked up the teapot, and took a sip of tea. Then he continued, "This isn't over. No one can escape it. I'll talk to my aunt again later. Three sons, forty-five thousand yuan. When you divided the family property, you only received about three thousand yuan. How can that be? We have to get it back."

Zhou Chunwen laughed: "Big Goose, you know. Even if these three brothers and the old man and woman wanted them, they wouldn't have any."

Zhao Da'e curled her lip: "Whether they did it or not is none of our business, right? They didn't, but that doesn't mean they did. And it's confirmed that the money is in my aunt's hands; she used it to buy an apartment. Let them make a fuss, let their whole family make a scene, that's my goal."

As long as the Zhao family is unhappy, Zhao Da'e is at ease.