After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

county seat.

The bustling street was crowded with people, and one small stall was surrounded by a large crowd.

"Oh, Brother Lin, you've finally arrived! You weren't here all day yesterday, and my little grandson didn't get any cold dishes, so he cried all day." After the previous customer left, an old lady stepped forward and said, "Since you weren't here, I had to go to another store to buy cold dishes to appease my little grandson. But he took a bite and immediately spat it out, saying it didn't taste like cold dishes. I didn't believe her and tried it myself. It tasted sour and bitter. Now I understand why your cold dishes sell so well; other stores' stuff can't compare to yours at all."

The old woman shook her head as she spoke, looking as if she didn't want to recall the memory.

Ignoring certain remarks, upon hearing that the other person liked his family's cold dishes, Gu Lin smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Auntie."

Seeing that the old lady in front of him looked familiar, Gu Lin thought carefully and remembered that she did come to buy cold dishes every day. He asked, "I remember your grandson can eat spicy food, right?"

"He can eat a lot. The little guy takes after his father and grandfather; he's not afraid of spicy food at all." The old lady's hearty voice drowned out the noise of the crowd.

"Okay." Gu Lin replied, then turned to the busy woman behind him and said, "Sister-in-law, a cold dish, extra spicy."

Upon hearing this, the woman looked up. In the sunlight, her slightly aged face appeared somewhat swollen: "You've arrived."

From a distance, the old woman at the stall could only make out the figure of a woman, but couldn't see her face clearly. With a look of curiosity, she asked the young man in front of her, "Brother Lin, where did your Zheng boy go? Who is that woman mixing cold dishes?"

Gu Lin looked up at the old woman and said, "That's my neighbor's wife. Xiao Hao went to school, and we were short-handed, so I specially asked her to come and help."

At this moment, Zhao's cold dishes were ready. She came over and handed the cold dishes to Gu Lin. Now, the old lady could see Zhao's face clearly. The woman's skin was dark, her face was lifeless, her already small eyes were bulging as if filled with water, and her eye sockets were dark and deeply sunken.

The old woman gasped, and only after the woman left did she whisper to Gu Lin, "What exactly happened to your sister-in-law? She looks like all her anger has been drained away, and she's about to collapse."

Gu Lin glanced at the woman behind him, then turned back, his previously smiling face now showing a hint of worry. He whispered to the woman, "My sister-in-law has had a hard life. Her husband was in poor health at a young age, and she managed everything at home. Later, she finally managed to raise her eldest son and sent him to learn carpentry. But then the carpenter's daughter and son-in-law had a falling out. He was wrongly accused of having an affair with his wife and beaten up. On the way, his arm hit a wood saw, and blood flowed everywhere. The wound was so deep that you could see the bone."

Upon hearing Gu Lin's words, the old woman's face showed shock. This must have been half her life lost, but she still suppressed her fear and asked, "What happened next? How did they handle it?"

The young man shook his head slightly and sighed, "What else can we do? My sister-in-law went to the carpenter's house to ask for compensation, but the carpenter's house just closed the door, denied that he had hurt anyone, and even told my sister-in-law to get lost, saying that my nephew had only himself to blame for hurting his hand, and that his family would not pay a single penny."

Gu Lin wasn't lying; these were the exact words spoken by the Wang family.

Since learning about Wang the carpenter's son-in-law's identity, Zhao's sister-in-law never thought she could get justice. However, Zhao Dagen was injured and needed to buy medicine, and the family was short of funds. Last night, she gritted her teeth and went to Wang the carpenter's house to ask for compensation. Unexpectedly, Wang the carpenter's family was fearless and refused to admit their debts. They even tried to smear Zhao Dagen.

Upon hearing this, the old woman's eyes widened, and she said angrily, "Where did these bastards come from? After killing someone half a life, they dare to turn around and blame others. Aren't they afraid that God will strike them down with lightning?"

As soon as the old woman finished speaking, a young scholar in a long robe stepped forward and said, "If they refuse to compensate, Mr. Gu, you can take your sister-in-law to the government office to sue them."

Even before they started talking about it, the crowd queuing in front of the stall had already perked up their ears to listen. When they heard how despicable and shameless the perpetrators were, and how the victims were swallowing their anger, many people couldn't stand it anymore.

Upon hearing the scholar's words, Gu Lin smiled wryly and said, "If only it could be like that."

Those with a keen sense of reason immediately understood that there was more to the story and eagerly pressed for details: "What do you mean by that?"

Gu Lin looked at the crowd in front of the stall and said helplessly, "That carpenter's son-in-law is no ordinary person. He is an official in the county government. How dare we common people fight against him? Even if we are half-dead, we can only swallow our anger."

After he finished speaking, everyone fell silent. They lived in the county town and had more opportunities to come into contact with the yamen runners and officials than those who lived outside the county town. Therefore, they knew very well that in the eyes of the officials and yamen runners, all of them combined were not as important as a flower in the county yamen.

Gu Lin observed everyone's behavior without showing any emotion. His gaze fell on the pale-faced, black-bearded man who had suddenly left the group. Then he looked away and, seeing the gloomy atmosphere, he quickly changed the subject to liven things up again. Only then did everyone regain their spirits and stop looking dejected.

After all the cold dishes were sold out and the last customer left, Aunt Zhao approached Gu Lin, her eyes filled with unease: "Will this really work?"

Gu Lin's expression turned slightly serious: "Whether it works or not, this is the only way."

He staged this whole thing today specifically so that certain people would see it.

When facing Zheng Hao last night, after asking him if it was really impossible to bring the Wang family's son-in-law to justice, Zheng Hao saw his determination to help the Zhao family and gave him a solution: "Dealing with the Wang family's son-in-law is not difficult. He is not the only official in the county government. Every day, a minor official comes to the stall to buy cold dishes, and this official happens to have a grudge against the Wang family's son-in-law. Tomorrow, you just need to put on a show with Zhao's wife so that he can see it. He will become suspicious and investigate, and then everything will be resolved."

So, early in the morning, Gu Lin brought Zhao's wife to the county town. It was the first time Gu Lin had acted in front of others, and he had no experience. In order to avoid appearing to have ulterior motives, he took a different approach and had Zhao's wife walk in front of the customers and show her a haggard face. This way, when the old ladies buying cold dishes saw Zhao's wife's appearance, they would become curious and ask her questions.

Sure enough, upon seeing Zhao's tired and weathered face, the old woman in front of her couldn't contain her curiosity and asked a question.

Gu Lin naturally couldn't answer immediately. He had to put on a troubled look and quietly tell the old lady the whole story. This way, the matter would be heard by those who were interested.

Zheng Hao's face came to mind. If the other party hadn't pointed it out in time, he would never have known that his cold dish stall had such a hidden talent among its customers.

Looking at Zhao's wife, who was still anxious beside him, Gu Lin gently comforted her, "There's no use in thinking too much. Let's pack up and go buy some meat for Da Gen to eat."

Zhao's wife, who had been lost in thought, immediately snapped out of it after hearing Gu Lin's words and said, "Yes, yes, we need to buy some meat for Da Gen to nourish himself."

She quickly packed up the stall and pulled Gu Lin to buy meat.

The woman, who usually tried to stretch every penny to four, bought a string of meat without batting an eye after her son was seriously injured. She then borrowed the clinic's stove to cook meat porridge and fed it to Zhao Dagen.

Seeing that Zhao Dagen had finished his porridge and closed his eyes to sleep, with Brother Zhao and Sister-in-law Zhao watching over him and not knowing he could do anything to help, Gu Lin said to them, "Xiao Hao will be finishing school soon, I'll go check on him at the school."

Sister-in-law Zhao then remembered what had happened and quickly said, "Go on, everything's fine here. Your brother Zhao and I are here."

Gu Lin turned and left the clinic, heading towards the Wuliu Academy.

As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the school, he saw a group of children carrying books out of the school. Gu Lin looked up at the crowd and after a while, he saw a small figure wearing a blue robe walk out of the school.

The young man raised his hand and waved in the direction of the boy: "Xiao Hao, I'm here."

Zheng Hao looked over here, then quickened his pace and walked over.

Gu Lin reached out to take the other person's book box, but Zheng Hao slightly turned aside and said, "I'll carry it myself."

"Okay." Gu Lin was originally worried that the heavy book box would damage the other person, but seeing that Zheng Hao was not struggling, he did not argue and said, "It's almost lunchtime, let's go eat first."

Gu Lin led Zheng Hao to Fu Man Lou, which was bustling with activity. Manager Chen was behind the counter, rapidly working on his abacus. When he saw Gu Lin, he could only nod at him briefly. Gu Lin didn't mind, nodded slightly, and then led Zheng Hao to an empty table by the window in the main hall.

"Today is your first day of school, let's celebrate properly," Gu Lin said to Zheng Hao with a beaming smile.

Gu Lin felt a little guilty and regretful for not taking Zheng Hao to school in the morning. This was the child's first time starting school. In modern times, all the relatives in the family would have to go with him, but he had let him walk to school alone.

After hearing Gu Lin's words, Zheng Hao fell silent. Did the other party know what he was saying? Ordinary people have to rely on the whole family's resources to send their children to school. The whole family tightens their belts to support one person. Why would they spend money to celebrate the start of school for their child?

Just then, the waiter trotted over and asked, "Greetings, gentlemen. What would you like to eat?"

Gu Lin gestured to Zheng Hao and asked, "What would you like to eat?"

Zheng Hao lowered his eyes slightly and said, "I don't care what you choose, you can order."

Gu Lin then turned to the waiter and asked, "What are your restaurant's signature dishes?"

The waiter's voice boomed: "Four Happiness Meatballs, Squirrel Fish, Braised Pork..."

After reciting more than a dozen dishes, the waiter finally stopped and said, "Sir, these are our restaurant's signature dishes. What would you like to eat?"

Gu Lin pondered for a moment and said, "Bring me a serving of braised pork, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, and vegetables drizzled with garlic oil."

The portions at Fu Man Lou were quite generous; three dishes were just enough for two people. He turned to Zheng Hao and asked, "Is this alright?"

“Okay.” Zheng Hao nodded.

The waiter tossed the rag over his shoulder and said, "Alright, please wait a moment."

After everyone left, the table fell silent again. Gu Lin asked Zheng Hao, "How was the academy?"

Zheng Hao looked up and said, "The teacher and classmates are all good." He continued, "Today, the students have just entered the school. They should first familiarize themselves with the rules of the school. Classes will officially begin tomorrow."

Gu Lin nodded in understanding. Generally, students are given time to adjust to school life on the first day of school.

Seeing that he was lost in thought, Zheng Hao paused for a moment and then asked, "Was the morning smooth?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Lin perked up and said, "Successfully, the other party left as soon as I finished speaking."

Zheng Hao thought for a moment and said, "That person will come looking for you no later than the day after tomorrow. You and Sister-in-law Zhao should be careful."

Seeing the serious expression on his youthful face, Gu Lin couldn't help but chuckle, but knowing that the other person was doing it for his own good, he comforted him, "Don't worry, we know what to do."

As soon as they finished speaking, the dishes arrived, and Gu Lin stopped talking and started eating with Zheng Hao.

After finishing his meal, Gu Lin asked the waiter to pack up a portion of braised pork and a bowl of red date and old hen soup to take back to Aunt Zhao and the others.

Zheng Hao had to go to the academy in the afternoon, so Gu Lin dropped him off on the way and then returned to the clinic.