When the four elders entered Zhou Shizhou's house, they were surprised to see Zhou Quan. Their mouths were immediately scalded, and they dared not utter another word to plead for Zhou Chun.

Zhou Quan glanced at them indifferently. Two of these four people were from the same lineage as Zhou Chun's family, some even sharing the same grandfather five or six generations back.

Zhou Quan sneered inwardly. These people are really stupid. Why didn't they stand up and stop Zhou Chun when he was stealing from and harming the villagers? Wouldn't they have watched him grow up back then?

Zhou Shizhou knew the purpose of these clan leaders' visit and said coldly, "Your duty is to guard the ancestral hall and protect the incense money of our ancestors. Don't forget where the large sum of that incense money came from."

"When Zhou Chun went to steal from Zhou Quan's house, why didn't you stop him? When his wife and sister-in-law sent people to harm Zhou Quan's daughter, why didn't you step in? Now you know to step in? They didn't contribute a single penny or a single bit of effort to build the new village. They want to come back and get a new house to live in? No way."

“Clan chief, this is not fair. Those two teachers from other villages were given a courtyard to live in. Zhou Chun grew up in our village. He only went astray because he had no father to discipline him. Now the child knows he was wrong and wants a chance to make amends. We should give him a chance to start anew!”

"Besides, his old mother is still sitting on a big rock outside the village with her two children, waiting. The old woman is also seriously ill. She has managed to support her two children by begging all year. She couldn't bear to sell the children and waited for Zhou Chun to come out."

“Zhou Chun also said that his mother is seriously ill and is on her deathbed. He said he would be willing to kneel in the ancestral hall for a year if it meant getting them back. He promised that he would never do anything to harm the villagers again.”

Several clan elders pleaded with the clan leader one after another, and two of them even knelt down before Zhou Quan to beg him to keep an eye on him and prevent him from making any more mistakes.

Zhou Quan looked coldly at the two elders and snorted, "You should think this through. If you let him come back to live here, I, Zhou Quan, will no longer care about the village."

If they act like that, he'll be heartbroken!

"Koizumi, this can't be serious, it can't be serious. Your child is fine, isn't he?"

"Yes, Koizumi, how about this? Let's not let him live in the new house. Let him go back to his old house. If the house collapses, let him rebuild it himself. Is that alright?"

"Xiaoquan, isn't your wife pregnant too? For the sake of the children, it's time for you to do something good. Zhou Quan's mother has been causing trouble for almost a year, and those two children are starving."

"Your lives are better now, isn't this God's compensation to you? Think about it, maybe if you're magnanimous and don't hold it against them this time, your wife might have a natural birth and give birth to twin big, healthy boys!"

When the two elders got to this point, Zhou Quan was both amused and furious. He bowed slightly and said, "My wife's childbirth will naturally go smoothly. What does that have to do with a murderer who wanted to kill my daughter?"

"Fine, since you've gone to such lengths to plead for me, it would seem petty of me, Zhou Quan, to continue to hold a grudge. So, do as you please. However, I will not contribute a single penny to this village from now on." Zhou Quan said coldly, then turned and left.

"Hey, Koizumi, that's not right. This is the village where you grew up. The money you're giving out is to honor your ancestors. What does it have to do with us...?"

Zhou Quan was too lazy to listen to their barking, so he went out, closed the door, and strode away.

Zhou Shizhou was stunned. How dare these four old men act so arrogantly because of their age?

He stomped his foot in anger and quickly turned around to chase after Zhou Quan.

But after he left, Zhou Quan was nowhere to be found.

Zhou Shizhou knew that Zhou Quan had angered them. He went back into the house in a huff and said to the four clan elders, "Go back immediately and make Zhou Chun get out of the village. If he dares to mention bringing him back to the new village again, then this clan elder should be replaced. There are more than just the four of you who are capable of this job."

“Shizhou, in the end, you are the clan head of the Zhou family. Don’t you have the final say in everything? Your father has already agreed to this. What are you yelling about? Clan elders can be replaced, and clan heads can be replaced too. If they’re not allowed to enter the village, they’re not allowed to enter the village. But they’re going back to their old house to live. Can’t you control that?”

"I don't believe Zhou Quan can get back the incense money he donated before tomorrow. Humph, these rich people are the least likely to forget their ancestors. You should know that they got better because of their ancestors' blessings."

After saying this, the four elders turned and left. They had survived their entire lives; were they really going to be threatened by Zhou Shizhou?

Zhou Shizhou was so angry that he went to find his father. After talking to him, he learned that his father had never agreed to let Zhou Chun's family come back.

"Alright, tomorrow's important matter is what we need to do. As long as we don't give them a new house or let them into the village, we can handle the rest as we go. Zhou Quan and Li Mai are not pushovers; let's see how they handle this."

Zhou Shizhou's eyes were gloomy. He called his two sons and headed towards the Zhou family ancestral hall. He had to keep an eye on getting Zhou Chun driven out of the new village.

After Zhou Quan left the clan chief's house, he kept listening to what the elders were saying. He was speechless at the shameless words they uttered.

When he got home, Li Mai and Zhu Zhu the magpie were also about to go home, so he accompanied them back to his own courtyard.

After chatting with Zhuzhu for a while, and with the magpie accompanying Zhuzhu back to sleep, the couple finished washing up, locked the door, and entered their space.

Li Mai changed her shoes and strolled towards the fields. Zhou Quan also took off his outer robe, changed his shoes, picked up his hoe, and followed behind Li Mai. This had become their daily routine at night: farming in the space.

Now he has cultivated more and more fields, and the flower fields are getting bigger and bigger. When you step out of the gate of his own small courtyard and look at both sides of the stream, there is a large green area planted with flowers.

Some have already bloomed with small purple flowers.

She also expanded the medicinal herb fields, and added several more plots of land planted with the herbs from the quinoa plant. She harvested a batch these past few days and plans to return to town in a few days to deliver it to her master.

After walking a few steps, Li Mai turned back to look at him. "What's wrong? You haven't looked well since you came back from the chieftain's house."

There were children around earlier, so she didn't ask him. Now that it was just the two of them, she asked with concern, thinking there was a problem with the flower planting.

Zhou Chun, his voice somber, recounted what had just happened to her.

Li Mai was astonished after hearing this. "How could those clan elders change their attitude so quickly? Just a few days ago, they were all fawning over us, but now that Zhou Chun has returned, they're acting like this? Do you think Zhou Chun promised them something, or is someone helping him behind the scenes?"