Li Gengtian slapped his thigh again and laughed. "In the future, when something comes up, I should really ask you young folks—your minds are so quick! Ah, Changhe, you’re set for a comfortable life with such a promising son. You too, Dashuan."

Zheng Changhe laughed. "Village Chief, you sure have a way with words. It’s a pleasure to listen to you. But when it comes to sons, who could possibly compare to you? Changfeng and Changyu are destined to see the great wide world. We’re all waiting for them to become officials and look after our little village—after all, it’s their hometown, isn’t it?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Zhang Dashuan chimed in with agreement.

Li Gengtian beamed, his eyes crinkling into slits—he was truly proudest of his two sons. That was why he always tried to act fairly in his daily affairs. He thought that with his sons destined to become officials, he, as their father, couldn’t act like some crude, ignorant villager who didn’t listen to reason. There had to be rules for everything. Only then would he be worthy of being the father of such capable sons.

Voicing a few modest words, he bid them farewell, hoisted his carrying pole, and left. As he walked, he said with a laugh, "I’d better get going. Look how much you’ve all gathered. I’m losing out by dawdling here."

His words made them all laugh.

Juhua’s mouth felt dry, so she said to Yang Family, "Mother, I’m thirsty. I’m going home to get some water. Should I bring some back for you?"

Yang Family quickly replied, "Your brother will be taking a load of acorns home later, just have him bring some water then. Don’t bother coming back. Stay home and keep an eye on things, and it’s about time to start cooking lunch. Huai Zi’s mother, why don’t you all eat at our place?"

He hastily refused, "On any other day, even if you didn’t ask, I’d take you up on that offer. But the whole mountain is full of our villagers today. Are you going to invite every single one of them home for a meal? If you only invite our family, wouldn’t that offend people?"

Zhang Dashuan chimed in that she was right, telling Yang Family not to worry about anyone else.

Reminded of this, Yang Family laughed as well. "You’re right, that wouldn’t be proper. I won’t insist then. Juhua, you go on home and rest a bit. No need to rush with lunch, we’ll be back late."

Juhua agreed and headed down the mountain.

In this mountain village, while it wasn’t so safe that "no one would pick up anything lost on the road, and doors weren’t bolted at night," courtyard gates were generally left unlocked. For one, there was usually someone at home. For another, there was nothing of value in the courtyard—what valuables could a farming family possibly have?

So, with Juhua’s family all up on the mountain gathering acorns today, their courtyard gate was just pulled shut, which also made it convenient for Zhao San and the others to deliver the acorns they’d collected.

She reached the gate and was just about to push it open when the wooden door was pulled open from the inside. Granny Hua poked her head out, a carrying pole with burlap sacks on her shoulders. She was about to look left and right to see if anyone was around when she came face-to-face with Juhua standing right in front of her. For a moment, she just froze, one foot over the threshold and one foot still inside, unable to advance or retreat!

Did anyone even need to ask what was going on? You could figure it out with your toes.

Juhua was furious—while her family was toiling away on the mountain, this old crone had the audacity to just steal from them directly.

She pushed the gate open wider while grabbing Granny Hua’s arm and dragging her into the courtyard.

Although Juhua was small, she grabbed ahold of Granny Hua and didn’t let go. The old woman was burdened with the carrying pole and its load of acorns and couldn’t put up a struggle, so Juhua managed to pull her back with a series of stumbles.

Juhua dragged the old crone into the courtyard and stared at her coldly without saying a word.

Granny Hua felt a prickle of unease all over under her gaze.

Now, Juhua didn’t go out much on a normal day, and on the few occasions she did, she had never run into Granny Hua. This meant the old woman had never seen the "reborn" Juhua. And because she had heard from Li Laoda and other villagers that Juhua had been incredibly fierce during that argument with Liu’er’s mother, she hadn’t quite believed it. But now, being stared down so menacingly by this little girl, she felt a chill run down her spine and was extremely uncomfortable. Only then did she believe what people said was true.

She averted her eyes, wanting to explain, but how could she? Was there any good reason for stealing someone’s acorns?

Thinking fast, she forced a smile and said to Juhua, "I just wanted to come in and ask for a drink of water, but no one was home, so I was just leaving. Juhua, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading home now." As she spoke, she tried to step past her and leave.

Seeing this wretched crone still trying to argue her way out of it, Juhua was so angry she laughed.

First, she stepped forward and yanked the carrying pole. Granny Hua lost her balance, and the two burlap sacks tumbled to the ground. Then, she spoke to the old crone coldly, "You’ve got some nerve, daring to come steal things in broad daylight. This stuff isn’t even worth much, and the whole mountain is covered in it. You’re really lazy to the bone, aren’t you? Unwilling to even bend over and pick it up, you just want to take what’s ready-made. No wonder people say you’re a lazy crone. They weren’t wrong at all."