Zhao Jinfeng finds it very annoying when his children make mistakes and the elders in the family cry and whine instead of admitting their mistakes and apologizing.

Why do we have so little faith in him as the clan leader?

As the head of a clan, Zhao Jinfeng would never ruin the future of a younger generation in his clan.

He waved to a man beside him.

“Go out and tell those families that if they cause any more trouble, we will immediately send their sons to the authorities.”

The man answered crisply and went out.

One of the women wanted to cry out, but her mother-in-law stopped her.

"Alright, stop wailing. You never discipline your child properly, and now that something's happened, all you do is throw a tantrum."

My perfectly good grandson has been led astray by you, you stupid woman.

Didn't you hear what Shanwazi said? "If you cause any more trouble, you'll really be sent to the authorities." The clan chief never actually intended to send our boy to the authorities.

If you keep making a scene, you'll ruin your son.

They never seem to use their brains.

"I truly regret ever thinking about getting something cheap and marrying such an idiot like you to my son."

When her mother-in-law got angry, the woman shut up and stopped talking. She stood up and dusted herself off.

Twisting the hem of her clothes in her hands revealed her inner anxiety.

The boys inside were biting and tugging at each other.

Dog Egg: "It's because Old Nian said he didn't have enough food at home. I'm sure Master Qianci's family has food. Since no one is home, I can just go and get some."

Anyway, Qianci's family is rich, they don't need that little bit of money. So I was tempted.

Old Nian: "You Zhao Gou Dan, you always try to push the blame onto others."

Who is it that looks so worried all day and asks me for ideas? What ideas could I possibly have?

My family isn't doing well either; if things were better, I would have gotten married long ago.

Why would I need to hang out with you little brats?

Zhu Zi: "Old Nian, who are you calling a little brat?"

Just because you're a few years older than us doesn't mean you're so special. Honestly, it's like we want to hang out with you.

They even asked if your idea was feasible, and you said it was definitely no problem, then modestly declined, saying there was no one in your family who could help.

Is nobody here? They must have been arrested! My mother will be devastated.

Ma Gen: "What's all the arguing about? You guys still have time to argue?"

Have you forgotten what happened last night? Grandpa Qianci's house must be haunted.

I'm so scared! What if that ghost grandma comes looking for us today?

"No way! I'm not married yet, I don't want to waste my time playing with that ghost grandma."

The clan elders said, "We've only ever heard of dogs fighting each other, but now that we've actually seen it, it's really... hard to describe."

So all we old folks are doing is sitting here for nothing?

What kind of talk is that?

This isn't an attitude of admitting mistakes; it's clearly regretting that the plan wasn't well thought out.

"What kind of ghost grandma is this? We old folks don't have as much authority as some ghost grandma whose legitimacy is questionable!"

The elders were indignant, but they remained unmoved as they watched the four thieves tug at each other.

It's about seeing what they're really thinking.

Haha, that's really good, it's stupid enough.

The elders suddenly felt that the Zhao family was doomed. Why were they all coming out with such stupid ideas?

After a while of arguing and pulling at each other, the group suddenly realized something was wrong.

Looking up at the people in their seats again, I realized the stupid thing I had just done.

He kowtowed and begged for mercy.

Dog Egg: "Grandpas, I was blinded by greed and shouldn't have had any wicked thoughts."

I will definitely turn over a new leaf and be a better person from now on.

I'll never do such a despicable thing again. I'll go to Master Qianci's house and kowtow to apologize.

Lao Nian: "It's all my fault. I'm the eldest, but I didn't act as a good older brother."

He led his younger brothers astray, going astray. I beg you elders to give me a chance to correct my ways…

Zhu Zi: "I was wrong, I'll accept the punishment. Please don't send me to the authorities."

If I end up in the government office, my grandma and mom will cry their eyes out. It's my fault for being an unfilial grandson; I'm so sorry.

Ma Gen: "I was wrong, I will never dare to do it again. I, Zhao Ma Gen, hereby swear that I will never steal again in this life. If I break this oath, may I be struck by lightning..."

Whether it was a coincidence or the oath was fulfilled, before Magen could finish reciting his oath, a thunderclap suddenly sounded in the sky outside.

As luck would have it, it just happened to pierce through the bluestone pavement in the courtyard of the ancestral hall.

The crowd watching the commotion outside the ancestral hall were nearly struck by lightning, scared half to death. It was too close; they were just a few steps away.

Hearing the thunder outside, the people inside the ancestral hall came out to see what was happening, and then returned to the ancestral hall with strange expressions, looking at Ma Gen.

Ma Gen was still wondering when his second uncle spoke up.

“Ma Gen, tell your great-grandfather, have you really changed your ways? Does the vow you just made still stand?”

Ma Gen immediately nodded, "Of course it counts. I, Ma Gen, am a man of my word."

The second uncle nodded tremblingly.

"Alright, I'll trust you for now. Go and take a look outside the ancestral hall."

Ma Gen was very puzzled. He got up from the ground, walked outside the ancestral hall, and pushed through the crowd.

I saw that the bluestone slabs in the center of the ancestral hall had been split open, and the soil inside had been turned up.

I was so scared that I sat down on the ground with a thud.

The pain from the fractured coccyx was nothing compared to the shock I felt at that moment.

After recovering, he scrambled into the ancestral hall.

He knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly to the ancestral tablets.

"May my ancestors bless me, and may I, Zhao Magen, always be a good person and never make the same mistake again..."

The clan elders were also very shocked.

Looking at Zhao Magen, no one could see anything special about this kid; he actually attracted heavenly lightning by making a vow.

This is truly unheard of.

My heart is in turmoil.

Finally, the punishment for these four petty thieves was...

They went to Zhao Qianci's house to apologize, and then the four of them were responsible for sweeping the streets of the entire village for a year.

They must not make any more mistakes after this, or they will be expelled from Zhao Family Village.

Being expelled from the village was a very severe punishment in ancient times, much more serious than being beaten.

People in ancient times always valued their origins. Without the protection of one's clan, one would be bullied wherever one went.

Moreover, those expelled from the village are essentially left without a proper place to stay and are very likely to be treated as vagrants.

They were arbitrarily conscripted into the army or forced into hard labor, and no one spoke up for them.

After being warned, the four petty thieves embarked on a cleaning job.

Initially, when they were working, villagers or children would follow behind to watch the fun.

Over time, no one had the time to waste anymore, and the village looked much cleaner than before thanks to the cleaning efforts of these four people.

Upon entering the village, everyone felt very comfortable.

As for the aggrieved party Zhao Qianci, since he had suffered no loss and didn't care about the paltry sums of compensation from the four petty thieves, he generously gave up the compensation.

The four petty thieves were very grateful for this.

After that, the four never stole again.

The reason was simple: they were terrified. In the minds of the four, Zhao Qianci's family was definitely hiding something.

And then there was Ma Gen, who kept his vow firmly in mind and dared not transgress it. He didn't want to be struck by lightning.