During the slack season, the village used to be packed with people, but today, there was hardly a single person to be seen. The lack of people was a good sign, as they had all gone to the ancestral hall. Lao Wu no longer needed to hide his face, which looked like a pig's head from being beaten, so he decided to go to the old house first to check it out.

After all, he was familiar with the old house, but he heard that the old house not only housed the monster that looked like a cat but not a cat that knocked him down last time, but also a big snake with two heads. He had to go and see first to see if Ding Youtian and Jian Ning had taken them all to the ancestral hall.

As a result, before he even got close to the old house, he saw Lu Huaian cooking in the pit outside the clinic. He didn't recognize Lu Huaian, but it was really bad luck to have someone there.

He went to the home of the village head and the clan leader instead.

The headman's wife had poor legs and feet, and Chunying was still at home. Lao Wu heard the voices of the mother and daughter talking outside, so he went to the clan leader's house.

The patriarch's house was quiet and empty.

It was the first time that Lao Wu was a thief in his life. His heart was pounding. He searched everywhere but couldn't find the cash box. The cabinet door was locked, so he didn't dare to pry it open or break it. He fled in a hurry.

Being a thief is so hard!

Lao Wu was very worried. Thinking about the 150 taels of silver, which would double in two days, he plucked up his courage and went to several households, but he didn't find even a copper coin.

Damn it, having so many poor guys is not a good thing!

How could they be so poor that they didn't have a single copper coin at home? He cursed those families in his heart. If he could find a few copper coins, he could go to the gambling house and gamble. If he was lucky, he might even win one or two hundred taels of silver.

Lao Wu's gambling addiction comes back, but the casino won't give him any more money. Where can he get the capital?

He thought about it for a long time and suddenly thought of Blind Liu.

Like a veil clearing away, Lao Wu excitedly slapped his leg, instantly gasping in pain. But now he couldn't care less about the pain; his mouth was twisted with joy.

Damn it, how could he forget about that old guy Liu Xiazi?

The old man has no children. Not only does he make wine in partnership with Ding Youtian, he also tells stories and tells fortunes. He has plenty of money. How much can he spend by himself?

The more Lao Wu thought about it, the more excited he became, and he turned around and went to Blind Liu's house.

But he didn't expect that Blind Liu didn't go to the ancestral hall and the door was open. He pretended to pass by his door and took a glance. Blind Liu was eating at home. Seeing this, he suddenly felt hungry.

It was so unlucky that that bastard Ding Youtian didn't even invite Blind Liu to the ancestral hall for dinner. He walked back cursing Ding Youtian in his heart all the way.

As he was cursing, a thought suddenly came to his mind, and this thought scared him.

Lao Wu has murderous intentions!

It is certain that Blind Liu is rich, and he lives alone in the most remote place in the back mountain. He can knock down the skinny old man with one punch. In order to pay off his gambling debts, he decided to kill Blind Liu late at night when everyone is asleep.

As long as he does things cleanly, who can trace him back?

Lao Wu kept mentally preparing himself, and after making up his mind, he gradually felt at ease. He was not afraid of being laughed at for his confusion, so he went straight to the ancestral hall to get a delicious meal to replenish his body.

But Lao Wu didn't expect that his father, Lao Dingtou, had also quietly come to the ancestral hall, walking back and forth outside with his hands behind his back. He looked and saw that his father was hoping that someone would see him and shout out to invite him in.

Old Dingtou did just as Old Five thought, but the key point was that no one called him. He regretted it so much. If he had known, he would have come here by himself earlier. He had been dawdling until now, not knowing whether to go up or down. Everyone was already halfway through eating, and it would be embarrassing for him to barge in by himself.

But the clan was slaughtering pigs and sheep, and he was in big trouble, especially since none of his family members came. Meng hadn't recovered yet, so she couldn't come, and neither Liu nor Gao were allowed to come. A bunch of little kids came to his house, and he pointed at his own children and called out to him, but since it was rare for them to have a good meal, they all squatted in the corner, bowls in hand, wolfing down their food, not even bothering to look outside.

Finally, Mr. Ding San came out after finishing his meal and saw him wandering outside the building. He bumped into him and had no choice but to greet him and ask him why he didn't come in since the meal had already started for a while.

He grunted, stopped picking up the wood, and walked in.

Uncle Ding Sanye's fields were also handed over as experimental fields in the morning. He originally wanted to rent them to Old Dingtou's family for farming after the New Year, but now they are no longer needed. However, Old Dingtou was still secretly grateful to him, but he soon regretted it and hated Uncle Ding Sanye.

Thanks to Jian Ning, the villagers now have no shortage of meat to eat, and the children are not greedy when they see the meat. Only the children from the first, second and fifth rooms of Old Dingtou's family, including Ding Zhu who is almost a grown-up girl, eat more greedily than the other, which naturally makes people talk about them.

As soon as Old Dingtou picked up a piece of braised pork, several women started talking about the children of his several branches in front of him. They said very nasty things, saying that they looked like they hadn't eaten meat for eight hundred years. Their eyes were shining green. Old Dingtou was so embarrassed that he would not have endured such humiliation if Master Ding San hadn't called him in.

He cursed Mr. Ding San in his heart and wanted to leave, but he was reluctant to let go of the braised pork. He hadn't tasted braised pork for several months.

Never mind, it would be a waste not to eat the fragrant and greasy braised pork. People will talk about it anyway, so it would be a shame not to eat it.

He made up his mind, opened his mouth and started eating, letting anyone talk.

Lao Wu also came in. Someone saw his appearance and deliberately asked him loudly what happened. He was too lazy to answer and just took the bowl and chopsticks and started eating.

Old Ding was initially angry when he saw Old Five eating, but then he calmed down. If anyone in his family was the best at building up their mental strength, it would have to be Old Ding, the head of the family. After finishing his meal, he wiped his mouth and even hummed a little tune on the way home.

What did a few words from others matter? Eating the good food was what mattered. He waited for the day when his master came to demand payment for his crops. Then he would smile as he watched them cry. Especially when he thought about his boss coming back with the silver in a few days, he felt even happier.

The Dingjia Village ancestral hall, though simple, covered a large area. A buffet was being held in the courtyard, and it was packed with people. The village head, clan leaders, and elders, along with the invited guests, such as Taifu Weidong, as well as Jian Ning and Ding Youtian's family, were all dining inside the hall.

After a good meal and a few drinks, the village head called out to the people who had helped Jian Ning dig the cellar that afternoon, but few responded. Everyone wanted to help in the fields, but there was money to be shared, and there was no money to be earned from digging the cellar. Driven by profit, who would be willing to help for free?

The village head was upset and, without thinking twice, called out the names. He also said that anyone who didn't want to go was welcome, but from now on, the family shouldn't rely on everyone for help when they need work. The clan leader also reminded them not to forget that such good things in the village were brought about by Ding Youtian and Jian Ning.

In the end, it was Ding Youtian who suggested that there should not be a fixed group of people, but a new group of people should take turns every day. This way, no one would suffer any loss. When the villagers heard this, they all said it was a good idea.

The Grand Tutor stroked his beard and nodded, wanting to adopt him as his adopted son even more.