Yuan Doudou had just put the pottery jar in the inner room when she heard someone shouting outside. She frowned, wondering why someone was always picking on her.

She took a bamboo pole and walked to the door. Through the crack in the door, she saw Zhuang Shuhui and was furious.

Yuan Doudou knew why she had come, so she wasn't afraid and opened the courtyard gate to let her in.

Zhuang Shuhui, holding Anbao's hand, puffed out her chest and glared at Yuan Doudou. Her caterpillar-like black eyebrows were raised high, and her beady eyes were wide open, almost popping out of their sockets.

"Yuan Doudou, you vicious woman, look what you've done to my Anbao!" Zhuang Shuhui pointed at Anbao, her hoarse voice booming.

Yuan Doudou looked at An Bao, who had a bruised and swollen nose, and felt puzzled. She remembered clearly that she hadn't laid a finger on An Bao.

"Don't think you can slander people just because you're older than me. I've never hit Anbao." Even if Anbao deserved to be hit, it wasn't her place to do it herself.

Zhuang Shuhui sneered and angrily retorted, "Bullshit! I'm slandering you! Someone saw you pointing fingers at my Anbao, and Anbao himself said that you were the one who hit him."

"Watch your mouth, or you know what I'm capable of," Yuan Doudou said coldly.

Zhuang Shuhui instinctively stepped back, her wrist, which had been hurt by being twisted last time, was throbbing with pain.

"You, you don't think I'm afraid of you." The voice trembled.

Yuan Doudou didn't bother to look at her, squatted down, and coldly stared at An Bao.

The injuries on Anbao's face are real; he must have been bullied by someone outside and was too afraid to tell anyone, so he lied.

"Anbao, tell me the truth, who hit you?" Yuan Doudou tried her best to make her tone gentle.

Anbao no longer hated Yuan Doudou. She looked at her timidly and remained silent.

“Tell me, and I’ll stand up for you.” Yuan Doudou tried to break down his defenses.

Anbao looked down. This Yuan Doudou was nothing like the bad girl her grandmother had described.

Zhuang Shuhui stepped forward to stop her: "What are you doing? Are you trying to encourage Anbao to lie in front of me?"

"Zhuang Shuhui, as the grandmother, do you really care about Anbao?" Yuan Doudou asked calmly.

Zhuang Shuhui raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"

“I told you I didn’t hit Anbao, but you don’t believe me. You’re just arguing with me here, but you don’t ask Anbao who the real bully is. Do you even deserve to be a grandmother?”

Zhuang Shuhui stared in disbelief, looked down at An Bao, and saw that his eyes were red and tears were about to fall.

“Anbao, tell Grandma, who beat you up like this? Grandma will stand up for you.”

Anbao stammered for a long time but couldn't clearly say who it was.

“She didn’t hit me,” Anbao cried out, admitting that he had been lying.

Anji stood next to Yuan Doudou, looking angrily at Anbao. She was clearly beaten by someone else, but she was being framed by her mother and came to the house to cause trouble. It was too much.

"Mother, I don't like them, please let them go," Angie pleaded.

As expected of my own son, his thoughts are exactly the same as mine.

"Zhuang Shuhui, since your grandson wasn't beaten by me, please take him and leave my house." Yuan Doudou coldly issued the order to leave.

Zhuang Shuhui felt embarrassed and wanted to make amends, so before leaving she added, "Even if you didn't hit him, you're still involved."

Yuan Doudou laughed, "Think whatever you want, I don't have time for you, please leave."

Zhuang Shuhui stood outside the door and spat, "Fine, I'll leave. Who cares if I come?"

Anbao didn't dare to speak, afraid that his grandmother would ask again who hit him.

Fortunately, Zhuang Shuhui was so busy scolding Yuan Doudou that she forgot about this incident.

The next day, Yuan Doudou set off with a basket on her back.

She wasn't the only one on the bus; Wang Qiqiang was also waiting for it.

"My mother asked me to give this to you." Wang Qiqiang reached out and handed over a white cloth bag.

Yuan Doudou took it; it was still warm.

"Egg pancake?" Yuan Doudou was surprised to see the golden and tempting pancake.

Every family is struggling now, food is scarce, and eggs are a luxury.

"Yes, eat it while it's hot," Wang Qiqiang said shyly.

Yuan Doudou had eaten breakfast, rice porridge with pickled vegetables, but didn't eat any steamed buns.

"Thanks."

Yuan Doudou ate in small bites, finishing her meal just as she reached the town.

She was eating, and Wang Qiqiang watched her the whole time. He liked how she ate so gracefully and elegantly, a woman who was both beautiful and intelligent.

Wang Qiqiang learned that Yuan Doudou was also going to Haoqinglai, and they happened to be on the same route.

"I caught a wild rabbit yesterday, and Haoqinglai offered me a high price," Wang Qiqiang said proudly.

In the mountains nowadays, ordinary hunters can't catch much prey, but he can, which makes it hard not to be proud.

Zhang Aiju always disliked her son going hunting in the mountains, but every time she saw the prey, she could only let her son go.

When we arrived at Haoqinglai, it was lunchtime, and the restaurant lobby was packed with people.

"Hey sir, I'm here to buy some groceries from you." Yuan Doudou stopped the waiter who had just delivered the groceries and asked softly.

Seeing that it was a stranger, the waiter didn't want to talk to him and left in a hurry.

Yuan Doudou felt embarrassed and ashamed. Was it because she was plain-looking and unattractive?

Seeing this, Wang Qiqiang went up to the cashier and said, "Brother Li, I'm here to deliver the goods."

"Go ahead." Li Ergou nodded, recognizing the person as an acquaintance.

With just one look from Wang Qiqiang, Yuan Doudou understood instantly and followed him inside.

Upon arriving at the kitchen, Wang Qiqiang first went to weigh the chicken. The kitchen manager gave him a ticket and told him to collect his money at the front. The chicken cost exactly 500 coins.

"Who is she?" the steward asked, pointing at Yuan Doudou.

Yuan Doudou stepped forward and said, "Hello, manager. My surname is Yuan. Your purchasing department asked me to send over some oyster mushrooms so that your manager can inspect them before deciding whether to accept them."

The manager raised an eyebrow: "Oyster mushrooms? What are those?"

Unheard of.

Yuan Doudou took out fresh oyster mushrooms from the basket and presented them with both hands.

“Earthworm grass.” The middle-aged man in charge recognized the oyster mushroom as being poisonous earthworm grass at a glance. “You want to kill us? Sending us this stuff.”

The manager blushed and spoke faster.

"Brother in charge, you've probably mistaken it for something else. This is a non-poisonous mushroom, scientifically known as oyster mushroom. It tastes delicious and can be stir-fried or used in soups," Yuan Doudou said patiently, picking up the oyster mushroom and addressing the skeptical crowd.

"If you don't believe me, I can eat some right now and show you." Yuan Doudou opened the cloth bag containing fried oyster mushrooms, picked one up, and put it in her mouth.

The person in charge hesitated to stop him, wanting to see if it was truly non-toxic.

“Teasing the girl, let me do it.” Wang Qiqiang stepped forward, brave and fearless.

"Okay." Yuan Doudou smiled and handed it over.

Wang Qiqiang gazed intently at her face and resolutely accepted the fried oyster mushrooms.

A group of people surrounded him, watching him put the oyster mushroom in his mouth and swallow it whole.

"How are you? Are you feeling unwell?" The steward stared intently at him.

Seeing their nervous expressions, Yuan Doudou suppressed a laugh and said, "To tell you the truth, I sold dozens of portions of fried oyster mushrooms at the market the day before yesterday. Your purchasing staff saw it and asked me to bring some oyster mushrooms today."

"I see," the manager breathed a sigh of relief, patting Wang Qiqiang's shoulder forcefully. "So that's why you were so calm, you were so confident."

Wang Qiqiang chuckled sheepishly, taking it as tacit agreement.

"What's all this commotion about?" a man walked in from outside and asked in a deep voice.