Ye Wenxue ignored the bald man who was blinking so hard he was about to cramp up, walked up and squatted down in front of Boss He, with a half-smile.

"...You heartless wretch, you deserve to die, husband." Old He's three legs were broken, and he was in pain, angry, and aggrieved.

No matter how hard He Laoda tried, he couldn't understand why Widow Cheng, who had previously let them do whatever they wanted without paying any attention, had changed so drastically overnight.

It's like he's become a completely different person.

Could it be that she went mad belatedly after her husband died?

"You killed Cheng Xiucai, didn't you?" Ye Wenxue's eyes were fixed on He Laoda, whose eyes were darting around, and she knew that her guess was true.

The reasons are quite sufficient.

Old Master He had long coveted the beauty of his predecessor, but the predecessor disdained him and would avoid him whenever he saw him.

Old Man He is the village head of Shanqing Village. If nothing unexpected happens, Old Man He will inherit the position. He is used to bullying others in the village, and he can't stand this kind of treatment.

Cheng Xiucai was the most outstanding scholar in the surrounding area. In a few years, he might pass the imperial examination and take his whole family away from Shanqing Village to the capital.

It just so happened that a year of natural disasters and famine struck, and Old Man He had some ulterior motives. He instigated the village head to call Cheng Xiucai to steal water, secretly plotting against them.

Otherwise, the two villages had fought over water so many times and only ended up with bloodshed and injuries, but when it came to Cheng Xiucai's turn, someone accidentally killed someone with a hoe.

In particular, the person who killed Cheng Xiucai was a distant relative of the village head in the next village.

As soon as Cheng Xiucai died, He Laoda came to the door saying he wanted to divorce his wife and marry someone else. Many people in Shanqing Village could tell at a glance that something was wrong.

But now that Cheng Xiucai was dead, no one was willing to stand up for his predecessor and cause trouble for the village head's family.

The original owner of this body had no one to rely on except for her child. Even though she knew something was wrong with her husband's death, she could only pretend not to know.

Another reason Ye Wenxue had doubts was that the original book contained a few lines in which He Laoda insulted Xiao Yuanyuan, who was working, roughly meaning that Cheng Xiucai deserved to be killed because he was trying to steal her from him.

When they were in Shanqing Village, Ye Wenxue was in a hurry to take her child to escape the famine and into the mountains, so she did not delve deeper into the suspicious points.

Now we finally have time to settle scores with certain people for their crimes.

Old He's wound was bleeding profusely, and his face was deathly pale: "I...I don't understand what you're talking about."

He then thought that since Scholar Cheng was dead, the person who had been ordered by him to kill Scholar Cheng had also been secretly killed by him. With no one to testify, no matter how much Widow Cheng suspected, she wouldn't be able to find any evidence.

Boss He continued his tirade: "Do you have any evidence? If you don't have evidence, don't talk nonsense, you..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was gone.

Ye Wenxue stopped and stood up, slowly wiping the blood off her hands. She glanced at the bald man and said, "Just as you said, throw him into the mountain stronghold's latrine as fertilizer."

The bald man scratched his head foolishly, a hint of pity in his eyes. "Boss Ye's life is really miserable." he asked. "Boss Ye, do you have evidence that he killed someone?"

"What evidence do you need?" Ye Wenxue asked expressionlessly. "A life for a life is a matter of course."

"Yes, yes, Boss Ye is right." The bald man instructed his men to clean up the corpses and transport them back to the mountain stronghold for disposal.

Ye Wenxue ignored what the bald man planned to do with the other thugs and pushed her cart home. The bald man hesitated for a while before asking in a low, humble voice:

"You and Brother Gou Dan..."

Ye Wenxue didn't even turn her head: "It's fake, it's for fools."

The foolish bald man who was tricked: "......"

He thought for a moment and then ordered his men to split up: some would deal with the bodies, while others would go to town to buy some supplies.

The bald man followed Ye Wenxue quite attentively, intending to escort her back to the lakeside.

Ye Wenxue simply let go of the cart and gestured for the bald man to help push it.

The bald man didn't dare to resist. He pushed the cart with all his might while racking his brains to talk to Ye Wenxue:

"You even bought a quilt? It's late October or early November, and the weather is still very hot. I don't think it will snow this winter."

Considering that the bald man was helping with the work, Ye Wenxue reminded him, "Who can predict the weather? What if it suddenly snows? Your mother is old and frail; she might not be able to withstand a sudden drop in temperature."

She wasn't talking nonsense.

The original book states that the severe drought and scorching heat lasted until early December, when one night the temperature suddenly plummeted, snowflakes fell, and many people froze to death.

The bald man seemed to be deep in thought. He had come down the mountain to buy some seasonings such as oil, salt, and sugar—but he wondered which scoundrel had taken most of the oil, salt, and seasonings from the kitchen when he ran away.

As a result, the food they've been eating these past few days has been rather bland, and Baldy has lost his appetite. Today, he couldn't stand it anymore, so he led his men down the mountain to buy some.

After hearing what Ye Wenxue said, he decided to stock up on some thick cotton quilts and clothes as well.

His mother hadn't had many good days with him, and now that he was the eldest brother, he had to make her several new outfits.

“Oh, right,” the bald man slapped his forehead, “I took some men to the eastern hill and tidied up the bamboo house, the herb garden, and the vegetable patch. We also planted some vegetables and will send people over to tend to them from time to time. If you need vegetables, Boss Ye, just go and pick some.”

Ye Wenxue gave a barely audible "hmm," and began to suspect the bald man's motives: "What wrong have you done?"

The bald man wanted to shout that he was innocent; he was just carrying out the plan left by his elder brother.

Besides, his only flaw was that he was a bit lecherous, but after his elder brother's "guidance," he reflected deeply on it several times and realized that beauty was a hindrance (in reality, he had been criticized and reprimanded countless times by his elder brother, both openly and secretly), and he had long since corrected his flaw.

"No, no, no, that's not true. I was just thinking that we're all neighbors, so we should help each other out."

Ye Wenxue nodded, but she didn't believe it.

She didn't investigate further.

As long as it doesn't harm the valley or affect her and her five children, Ye Wenxue is too lazy to bother with the bandit stronghold.

*

After Dazhuang said he would stay in the valley to take care of his younger sister and brother, he regretted it the next day after watching his mother leave.

It's not that I don't want to take care of these little devils, but I'm afraid that Ye Wenxue will never come back.

Don't think he can't see it; that bastard Sui Ye is trying to steal his mother!

People who are attracted to beauty are extremely frivolous and promiscuous, and are not trustworthy at all. It's a waste of time to talk to them!

Dazhuang was afraid that his cold-hearted mother would believe Gou Dan's words and leave with Gou Dan, abandoning her five burdensome children, and would end up heartbroken.

Since they had no choice but to go down the mountain to buy supplies, Dazhuang had to stay in the valley to take care of his younger siblings.

"Sigh." Da Zhuang pinched the sweet potato vines with a worried expression, feeling increasingly depressed.