"This..." Wu Dalei was so choked up he couldn't say a word.
But that was his mother. He quickly kowtowed three times. "Sister-in-law, please don't..."
"Who's your sister-in-law?" Cai Lihua didn't accept his apology at all.
"Mother, Mother, quickly apologize to them!" Wu Dalei was at his wit's end. He hurriedly pulled his mother to kowtow and admit fault.
Meng Shaode didn't dare to say a word. His wife was angry, and even his farts might be a capital offense.
"I... how am I eating alone? Isn't there quite a bit left in the pot?"
The old woman's voice was clearly guilty. She turned her head away, not daring to look at Cai Lihua.
Enraged, Cai Lihua put her hands on her hips and huffed.
A Jiu lowered her eyelids and said nothing. She understood now. Some people were truly selfish.
From now on, she had to be more discerning.
"If I don't eat it, I will. Really. Idling around like this..."
Wang Shi, who didn't know when she had come down from the rafter, propped herself up with her hands, lifted the large iron pot, and drank down all the remaining broth and juices.
"All of you are heartless," Cai Lihua said, looking at Wang Shi, who was tilting her head back with the pot covering her own head. Her voice instantly softened:
"Mother, I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about her..."
She pointed at Wu Shi as she spoke.
Wu Shi's eyelids drooped, her body trembled, and she guiltily lowered her head, not daring to make a sound.
Wang Shi, having finished eating and drinking, put down the iron pot and pointed at Wu Shi:
"Old woman, I don't know how much virtue you accumulated in your past life to meet my granddaughter. If you dare to act like this again, I, as your elder, will see to it that you're thrown into the mountains to be fed to the wolves."
Wu Shi's pupils contracted, and her eyes were full of fear as she looked at this old woman who lived under the same roof but whom she had never heard speak in days.
"Lihua, don't be angry. As long as you're here, we won't lack these couple of meals."
Wang Shi calmly instructed, her leisurely and meaningful gaze falling on A Jiu.
Seeing her composure, she knew that this girl definitely had some ability to grow spiritual fruits and vegetables. Following her was the right choice.
Cai Lihua immediately lost her temper. After all, the current Wang Shi was no longer the nagging, petty, and insufferable old woman she used to be. She had given all her possessions to her, and Cai Lihua was grateful.
A Jiu felt a surge of anger at her grandmother's gaze.
She was the most gluttonous, and now she was putting on a virtuous facade. In comparison, Grandma Wu was a blatant thief, but Grandma Wang was... she could do anything, like stealing from chickens and snatching dogs, and still have the nerve to criticize others.
After speaking, Wang Shi stretched her arms and legs.
"I'm going out for a walk."
With that, Wang Shi walked out the door, stretched, and walked towards the empty valley with her hands behind her back.
Wu Dalei cautiously glanced at Cai Lihua.
"What are you looking at? My mother-in-law has spoken. There won't be a next time. If there is, I won't let you off."
Cai Lihua huffed and turned to go to the kitchen to pack. The remaining watermelon had to be stored. Fortunately, she had been reluctant to eat the peaches immediately, so they could last a few more days.
The sun beat down fiercely, and the watermelon rinds drying behind the house quickly curled up.
"Brother Meng, I've made a fool of myself in front of you. My sister-in-law is virtuous and magnanimous. Others might have held a grudge to the end. Brother, I truly have no face to face you."
"Mm." Meng Shaode finally came to his senses. He had just narrowly escaped death himself.
"Brother, did you study?" He spoke in four-character phrases.
Wu Dalei gave a bitter smile. "My elder brother studied, and he taught me. He's a coroner in the yamen. Later, he helped me pull strings to get a minor position in the yamen, but..."
"Coroner?" A Jiu and Meng Shaode, father and daughter, exclaimed in unison.
"Yes, why... Brother Meng and A Jiu girl have questions?" Wu Dalei looked confused.
"Then you must have some understanding from exposure?" This was A Jiu's question.
But the father and daughter seemed to have thought of the same thing.
"Tell us how those two dead people actually died?" Meng Shaode added.
Wu Dalei was suddenly dumbfounded by the question. He looked at Meng Shaode, then at A Jiu.