"Speaking of Zhao, the educated youth, I just remembered something! You don't know this, do you? Qiao Qiao came back even earlier than her. She's really living the high life now. She says the head of the Public Security Bureau is her relative... and she even used that connection to get herself a job in the city..."

Aunt Cuihua sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), leaning forward so much that it seemed she was about to pounce on Xia Wan, wishing she could tell her everything she knew.

She spoke with great enthusiasm, her facial expressions changing as rapidly as the weather in June, making her incredibly vivid.

A moment later, his brows furrowed into a tight knot, his face filled with dissatisfaction, as if Qiao Qiao were standing right in front of him, pointing her finger at him and berating him, muttering, "This Qiao Qiao, she's getting more and more outrageous!"

A moment later, he curled his lip with a hint of disdain and let out a soft snort from his nose, as if to say that Qiao Qiao's methods were really not presentable and could only become a laughing stock for everyone to talk about over tea.

As she spoke, she gestured dramatically in the air with her hands, as if she wanted to recreate the entire scene.

One moment he put his hands on his hips, puffed out his chest and raised his head, imitating Qiao Qiao's arrogance, and shouted in a loud and gruff voice: "You all better hurry up, it's taking you so long to do this little bit of work!"

A moment later, she put on airs, raised her head, squinted her eyes, and imitated her imperious manner. Her vivid movements made it seem as if she could really pull Qiao Qiao's image out of thin air and put it vividly in front of Xia Wan.

Immediately afterwards, Aunt Cuihua launched into a long tirade, recounting in detail and without reservation all the ways Qiao Qiao had bullied and oppressed the Wu family.

"You didn't see it, did you? Qiao Qiao was all over the place, hands on her hips, like a local tyrant, walking around the Wu family's courtyard, ordering the Wu family members around, and constantly muttering complaints. One minute she was complaining that they were too slow and clumsy; the next minute she was complaining that they weren't doing a good job. She was dissatisfied with this and that."

Aunt Cuihua described the story vividly, her facial expressions changing constantly with the plot. When she got excited, she even slapped her thigh.

"And when it comes to meals, she's incredibly picky. She'll complain that the dishes are too salty, so salty they could kill you; or that the rice is too hard, making your teeth hurt. She'll throw her chopsticks and smash her bowl, causing a huge commotion for the Wu family. The whole family is constantly disturbed by her."

She described every detail vividly; the words and scenes seemed to have happened just yesterday, making Xia Wan feel as if she were there herself. Qiao Qiao's arrogant appearance kept appearing in her mind, as if she could see Qiao Qiao's domineering face.

Xia Wan sat to the side, listening intently with wide eyes, not blinking. The more she listened, the more interesting it became. She thought to herself, "Is Qiao Qiao up to her tricks again?"

Police Chief?

Did she take advantage of her sugar daddy's relationship?

Thinking of this, Xia Wan couldn't suppress her curiosity and doubts, so she couldn't help but check it in the system.

She lowered her head without making a sound, her fingers seemingly casually touching her cuff—a secret way she connected to the system, completely unnoticed by others.

In an instant, the system's interface rapidly unfolded in her mind, and all sorts of information surged in like a tidal wave, densely filling her thought space. The words were like swimming fish, the images like shimmering light and shadow, and the data like dancing musical notes, all intertwined and dazzling.

Her eyes darted around rapidly, like shooting stars streaking across the night sky, as she raced against time to sift through the massive amount of information, searching for anything related to Qiao Qiao. She wouldn't let go of any potentially useful clue, even the slightest connection, and she held onto it tightly, as if searching for precious treasures in a vast ocean.

Meanwhile, Xia Tao was also busy running around the village dealing with house matters.

The cold wind howled, like sharp blades cutting painfully into his face. Xia Tao weaved through the narrow alleys of the village, the wind whistling in his ears, making his clothes flutter and his hair disheveled. A few strands of hair were soaked with sweat and clung tightly to his cheeks, which were red from the cold wind, but he was completely unaware of it.

He and several village elders sat in a sheltered corner, with a dilapidated wooden table in the middle. On the table were some land deeds and documents related to the house, the papers rustling in the wind, as if telling the story of the vicissitudes of time.

"Uncles and elders, this house was built with great effort by our ancestors. Back then, our grandfathers and their generation worked hard to build it, brick by brick, beam by beam, and pillar by pillar."

Conditions were tough back then. Without machines, everything was done by hand. My grandfather and the able-bodied men of the village quarried stones from the distant mountains and carried clay from the riverbank, piling it up bit by bit—a testament to our family's many years of memories.

Xia Tao began to speak slowly, his voice loud yet gentle. He explained the history of the house in detail, from how his ancestors worked hard to build it to the changes it had undergone over the years. The stories came alive in his narration, and the elders listened, recalling the past years. They nodded and sighed, some even squinting their eyes, lost in their memories.

"Over the years, the house has weathered many storms. The roof leaks, and every time it rains, the house is filled with basins to catch the rainwater, making a constant clanging sound. The walls also have cracks, which is heartbreaking to see. In addition, the issue of the property rights can't be left unresolved for long, so we need to resolve it as soon as possible."

Xia Tao then elaborated on the current situation of the houses, such as the degree of damage to the houses and the points of contention regarding property rights. He analyzed each issue in a logical and well-reasoned manner.

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