Who understands? He traveled through time with a high-spec spatial ability.

Zhu Dayou's face showed an expression of disbelief.

He couldn't imagine that a young girl who had just come of age could so coldly utter such vicious words, and yet remain completely unfazed, as if she were dealing with an insignificant ant with ease.

This made him extremely angry, because he saw contempt and disdain in the other person's eyes, a look that regarded him as trash, which made him incredibly furious.

Encouraged by evil, he said fiercely, "We'll see then. You little wench, I want to see who dies first—you kill me, or I kill you first!"

Qiao Jingjing was not angered by his threat. Instead, she smiled slightly, seemingly unconcerned about his words.

I was thinking to myself, "I actually hope you can move. That way, I'll have a perfectly legitimate reason to kill you."

Zhu Dayou felt a chill run down his spine from her laughter and instinctively took two steps back. While they were having this "friendly" conversation, Qiao Furong had already quietly brought Yu'er back.

Then, the four of them walked towards the door together. As they passed Zhu's mother, Qiao Jingjing let out a cold snort:

"You gave birth to such a good-for-nothing, and you still have the nerve to be proud? Old woman, if I were you, I would have already killed myself to atone for my sins, rather than going to hell and having no face to face the ancestors of the Zhu family."

"Don't walk alone at night, or those old ghosts from the Zhu family might come looking for trouble."

After saying that, he winked at her, as if to say, "Was my reminder effective? I thought of things you didn't."

Zhu's mother was truly fooled by this nonsense.

She was a superstitious and ignorant person; how could she not know that her son's actions were wrong? She just refused to admit it. She believed her son was the best and incapable of making mistakes.

Furthermore, they've always been biased and can't bear to be harsh. Now that the old man is gone, they'll have to rely on their son for support in their old age.

Even though she knew her son's behavior was wrong, she still chose to stand by him. She believed that her son was the pillar of the family and that she couldn't let him suffer any injustice.

As for her daughter-in-law, she was just an outsider who could be replaced at any time. This idea was deeply ingrained in her mind and could not be changed.

But that didn't stop her from being afraid. Mother Zhu muttered to herself, "Don't come looking for me. What kind of people are you Zhu family members? How can you blame me? Don't come looking for me, don't come!"

Once outside the courtyard gate, Qiao Wanjun threw the carrying pole back and followed behind Qiao Jingjing with a proud stride. At this moment, he truly understood what his wife, Lin, meant by having a great eldest son.

Qiao Jingjing: ...

How can I explain that this title isn't a compliment?

Yu'er was held in Qiao Furong's arms, her little arms tightly wrapped around her mother's neck, and she called out in a soft, sweet voice, "Mom. Who are they?"

Zhu Changyu is only 3 years old this year. Qiao Furong hasn't been back to her parents' home for a year, so little Changyu doesn't remember them at all.

Qiao Furong gently patted the back of her head and said softly, "They are my family. This is your eldest uncle, and she is your eldest cousin. Yu'er, I've taught you how to behave in this situation."

"Be polite and greet people."

"Then go ahead and call out, your uncles and the others are listening."

Xiao Changyu was embarrassed and hesitated for a while before saying, "Hello, Uncle! Hello, Cousin! I am Changyu, the youngest daughter of the Zhu family." After saying that, she hugged Qiao's neck.

Ever since Qiao Furong left the courtyard, she felt that even the air outside smelled sweet.

Although the matter was not yet resolved, she suddenly felt less afraid. Perhaps it was the confidence given by her niece, or perhaps it was because she had left the dangerous area and felt somewhat relaxed and less stressed. At this moment, she was in a rare good mood.

Qiao Jingjing looked at the mother and daughter and thought to herself that this aunt was quite good at educating children. In such an environment, the child was not affected much. Her eyes did not dart away or show any sadness. She was also very polite.

If this were modern times, she would definitely be considered a parenting expert.

The four of them soon reached a fork in the road. Qiao Jingjing pulled her aunt to the side, saying, "This isn't the way home. Hey, what's that carriage?"

Qiao Wanjun spoke up: "I originally came to deliver New Year's gifts to you today. Who knew this would happen? Luckily we ran into this, otherwise all these good things would have been wasted. Little sister, get in the car quickly, your sister-in-law is here too."

Lin had been waiting anxiously. Hearing the sound behind her, she quickly jumped off the carriage and came over.

The two women, sister-in-law and aunt, were once again moved to tears. Although Qiao Furong had a deep affection for her elder brother, she was, after all, married and there was a difference between men and women. Seeing her sister-in-law, who had always treated her kindly, her grievances and helplessness welled up again.

Xiao Ming peeked out from behind the adults and sweetly called out, "Auntie. Is this my little sister?"

Qiao Furong wiped away her tears and forced a smile, saying gently, "Yes, this is my little sister. Shiming, you've grown so tall! Your aunt almost didn't recognize you."

After a year apart, her brother and sister-in-law's family had undergone considerable changes. Only now did Qiao Furong have the mind to take a closer look at this large family.

She noticed that everyone was no longer as pale and emaciated as before, dressed in new clothes and looking radiant. Even the children were much stronger than before, their faces beaming with happy smiles.

Qiao Wanjun was also wearing new clothes, but since he had to drive the carriage, he didn't want his clothes to get worn out, so he put on a tattered coat over them.

I originally planned to take it off when I got to my doorstep, so as not to be impolite. But when I heard that my younger sister was being bullied, I forgot about it.

It was fortunate that he was dressed in rags, so Zhu Dayou didn't notice the changes in his family's circumstances; otherwise, he would have been thinking of extorting money from him.

Once inside the carriage, Qiao Jingjing took out some snacks from a hidden compartment for Yu'er, then entrusted her to Shi Ming's care, while the three of them chatted.

Lin was the one doing most of the talking, recounting the changes in the family, discussing the division of property, and reassuring Qiao Furong not to worry. Looking at the bruises on her sister-in-law's arm, Lin felt genuine heartache.

When she entered the family, the second and third wives were still single, and she only had a good relationship with her sister-in-law.

Hearing that Zhu Dayou was a scoundrel, she actually started to find Qiao Wanjun more agreeable. This man never beat his wife, and although he was blindly filial, he was also good to his parents. In the past, when the family was poor, he couldn't afford to support them, but he still did his job diligently.

Thinking about it this way, it doesn't seem so bad after all.

Upon arriving at Daba Village, Qiao Furong became nervous, unsure how to face her parents.

Lin patted her hand, "Don't worry, your older brother and I are here."

Qiao Furong nodded, took a deep breath, and got out of the car.

Qiao Wanjun carried Yu'er and walked behind, while Shi Ming pulled Qiao Jingjing and followed at the very back.

Qiao Zhengguo and Xu Shi now live on a small hillside, enjoying a very leisurely life. In winter, there are no pests or weeds in the fields, and they only need to take care of feeding and watering their poultry.

Qiao Jingjing was unwilling to treat people unfairly in small matters, so she treated them as if they were working for her. Therefore, she asked Master Yuan to build a kang (heated brick bed) for them, since the mountainside was colder and more damp than the foot of the mountain.

With the kang (heated brick bed), Xu's winter was extremely comfortable.