Seeing that Juhua wasn’t timid like she used to be, and that she didn’t talk like a little girl at all, Granny Hua was both frightened and furious. She sputtered, "Who stole anything? I picked these up from the mountain. I just came in to ask for a drink of water."

Juhua had originally planned to let her go if she just dropped the acorns and admitted her mistake—it wasn’t worth making a huge scene over two bags of acorns, and she was busy. But who would have thought this old hag would be so stubborn, still shamelessly trying to argue her way out of it with a torrent of lies.

She didn’t bother arguing with the old woman about whether she had stolen them or not. Instead, she asked with a deadpan expression, "If Meizi’s mother found out you stole acorns, would she still let Meizi marry Changming?"

Granny Hua froze in terror—Juhua had hit her right where it hurt.

If Li Laoda and her son found out that the marriage arrangement fell through because of her thievery, she wouldn’t be able to stay in the family any longer. She’d definitely be thrown out.

With the Li Family having secured the match with Meizi, in any other year, she would have been bragging all over the village. But this time, after a stern warning from Li Laoda and Li Changming, she didn’t dare breathe a single word, no matter how much she was itching to boast.

She decided to beg Juhua to keep this quiet. ’She’s just a little girl,’ she thought. ’No matter how tough she acts, she can’t possibly resist a heartfelt plea. What does someone so young really understand? It’s all just an intimidating act.’

But before she could even open her mouth, Qingmu and Zhang Huai walked into the courtyard, having returned with shoulder poles laden with acorns.

The two of them stopped short when they saw Granny Hua standing opposite Juhua, and shot Juhua a look, silently asking what was happening.

Juhua said, "This old hag took advantage of no one being home and stole two bags of our acorns."

Qingmu and Zhang Huai were dumbfounded.

Why? They just couldn’t believe it.

Who would do something so pathetic? The mountains were covered in acorns; why would anyone come here to steal them instead of just gathering their own? What kind of person does that?

However, after a moment of shock, their surprise turned to fury. They set down their loads in unison and glared menacingly at the old woman.

If Granny Hua had thought she could still fool Juhua—figuring she was young, easily bullied, and could be coaxed—the arrival of Qingmu and Zhang Huai shattered any such hopes. After all, Zhang Huai hated her to the bone.

She burst into a messy flood of snot and tears, wailing that she’d had a moment of weakness. She said she saw the courtyard piled high with acorns, and with no one home, her hands got itchy and she couldn’t resist taking two bags. She’d give them back, she pleaded, just as long as they didn’t tell Changming’s father or Gou Dan’s mother. If the marriage fell through because of this, Li Laoda would surely cast her out. And if she were cast out at her age, where would she go? 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Zhang Huai said angrily, "So you’re scared now? Then why be so greedy as to steal a couple of bags of acorns?"

He was furious with the old woman, but his anger was mixed with a touch of complicated feelings.

As it turned out, he was thinking that if Granny Hua hadn’t blabbed his words and caused all that trouble, he never would have thought so deeply about his relationship with Juhua. He wouldn’t have come to understand his own heart. ’What if, one day, he’d realized he loved Juhua only after he had already married someone else?’

Lost in this thought, his loathing for Granny Hua lessened considerably.

Qingmu added angrily, "And those acorns aren’t even ours! Ours are over there, spread out to dry. These belong to someone else who left them here for safekeeping. You took two bags—how are we supposed to explain that when they come for them? You’re trying to make us take the blame!"

Seeing the woman’s ugly crying, Juhua felt a wave of disgust. She had to start cooking dinner, so she said impatiently to Qingmu and Zhang Huai, "Don’t waste your breath on her. We’re busy. So we can’t tell Meizi’s mother, and we can’t tell Li Laoda. But can’t we tell Changming? With her personality, she needs someone to keep her in check, and her son is the perfect person for the job. He won’t spread this around, so it’s not like we’re being too cruel."

Qingmu nodded. That made sense.

Zhang Huai went to the gate to keep watch, ready to call Li Changming over when he came by.

Granny Hua never expected that Juhua, the one she thought was the youngest and easiest to fool, would turn out to be the most unforgiving and decisive. In just a few words, she had determined her punishment. For a moment, she felt that the village rumors about this "ugly girl" were true—she really was formidable!

But as soon as Juhua had said her piece, she went into the kitchen to start cooking, not bothering to give her another glance. There was no chance to beg for mercy.

She had no choice but to wait helplessly for Li Changming to come and collect her, constantly trying to console herself. ’It’s better for my son to know than an outsider. He wouldn’t beat his own mother, would he?’

Near noon, Li Changming finally came down from the mountain. He was immediately pulled into Juhua’s yard by Zhang Huai. A good while later, he emerged with his mother in tow, his face ashen as he led her home.

Juhua didn’t give the matter another thought and went about her business, cooking dinner and feeding the pigs.

Still, when she occasionally thought back on the incident, she couldn’t help but worry for Meizi’s future—that mother-in-law of hers was a real piece of work.

But then she thought of Gou Dan’s mother, and her worries subsided.

Gou Dan’s mother versus Granny Hua—was there even any doubt who would come out on top?

When it came to scheming, ten Granny Huas would be no match for a single Gou Dan’s mother. Picturing the short, stout Gou Dan’s mother facing off against the tall, lanky Granny Hua, Juhua couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter. She was almost looking forward to seeing it happen.

After a few days of frenziedly gathering acorns, people’s enthusiasm began to wane. They had collected most of what was available; even if more ripened and fell later, it would only be a trickle. One person from each family was enough to wander the mountains and gather the rest, so there was no longer a need for entire households to turn out.

The freed-up labor was put to use planting cabbage and weeding the wheat. Juhua’s family, Zhang Huai’s family, and Li Gengtian’s family also planted more carrots using seeds brought back by Li Changfeng.

In between her household chores, Juhua and her brother found time in the mornings and evenings to tidy up their courtyard and decorate the house.

For example, they dug up a few bamboo stalks and planted them in the corners of the front yard wall, with a few on either side.

They also got a small sweet osmanthus sapling from Old Cheng’s place and planted it on the east side of the yard, though it would probably take many years before it grew large.

They planted two peach trees on the west side of the yard, which would be beautiful when they blossomed and would provide good shade once they were grown.

Along the base of the courtyard walls, they planted a row of wild chrysanthemums. Not only there, but along the kitchen wall, the backyard walls—every patch of earth that wasn’t in the way, she filled with wild chrysanthemums. Instead of waiting for spring to dig up seedlings, she simply dug up the plants now, soil and all, and transplanted them.

Qingmu was also very fond of them. He and his sister spent their mornings and evenings digging up and planting the wild chrysanthemums, building their new home together. Watching the yard grow more lively day by day brought smiles to both their faces.

The vegetable patch in the backyard was also slowly taking shape.