"You're turning away the village head? Are you trying to rebel?" An Bihuai looked at her with disdain. This wretched woman has no sense of propriety at all.

Zhuang Shuhui said indignantly, "So what if you're the village head? It's all because of that vixen. She's dead, and you're all still clinging to her."

"Crash!" Anbihuai picked up the teacup and smashed it on the ground, shattering it into several pieces.

"Are you crazy!" Zhuang Shuhui was heartbroken and squatted down to pick up the broken pieces.

This madman goes into a fit whenever the Wang family is mentioned.

An Bihuai was furious: "I must be crazy to marry a poisonous woman like you."

Wang is already dead, yet she still says such things that damage a person's reputation.

An Bihuai grew angrier the more he thought about it, so he pulled open the door and went to open it for the village head.

Zhou Chuangen knocked on the door for a long time, but no one answered. Just as he was about to give up, he heard the door open.

The two looked at each other in silence.

Zhou Chuangen entered the courtyard first, his hands behind his back, his expression solemn.

"Brother An, did you know that Wang Shi has passed away?"

An Bihuai feigned surprise: "When did this happen?"

Zhou Chuangen sneered inwardly. Zhang Aiju had already told him, and had Wang Qiqiang inform him long ago. Now she was putting on an act with him. How shameless.

"You didn't know?" Zhou Chuangen sighed. "She passed away before noon. You should have gone to see her off."

Zhou Chuangen spoke earnestly, and An Bihuai's nose tingled and her eyes reddened.

"I'll go now." Anbi Huai walked straight out.

"Call your family members along," Zhou Chuangen reminded them.

An Bihuai came to his senses and realized that it was indeed improper for him to go alone with the whole family.

“Village head, I think you should go and help first, and I’ll go and call my family.” An Bihuai said seriously.

Zhou Chuangen nodded and turned to head towards the An family's home.

"Shuhui, go to the field and call the eldest and second eldest sons back." An Bihuai went into the house to get something.

Zhuang Shuhui rolled her eyes, slapped her bottom on the bed, and didn't move.

"Go quickly." An Bihuai took a roll of white cloth, seeing that his wife hadn't set off yet.

When Zhuang Shuhui saw her husband holding a white cloth, she jumped out of bed in a flash.

"Put it down!" Zhuang Shuhui grabbed the white cloth.

An Bihuai tried to pull her back with all his might, but couldn't, so he reached out and pushed her to the ground.

"Zhuang Shuhui, can't you be a little more considerate? My sister-in-law is dead. If you act like a stingy person, people will laugh at you. Do you know that?"

An Bihuai carried the white cloth to the An family home, completely ignoring Zhuang Shuhui's loud crying behind him.

Hearing her second uncle's crying, Yuan Doudou looked up in disbelief.

"Sister-in-law, how could you leave like this?" An Bihua knelt before the coffin, tears streaming down her face.

After saying that, he kowtowed three times.

Yuan Doudou returned the greetings one by one.

"DouDou, if you have any difficulties, just tell your second uncle. Your second uncle will definitely help if he can."

All the prominent figures in the village came, and An Bihuai still had some pride.

Yuan Doudou remained silent. She knew that her second uncle wouldn't suddenly be so kind; he was just putting on an act in front of others.

"Second son of the An family, why are you the only one here?" someone asked.

An Bihuai paused for a moment, then immediately found a reason: "They've all gone to work in the fields and haven't come back yet. I'll go and call them."

The third son's family went to his father-in-law's house for a wedding and won't be back until tomorrow.

"Then hurry up and go!" Zhou Chuangen urged.

Just as An Bihuai was about to leave, Zhang Aiju stopped him: "An Lao Er, you stay here, let my Qisheng go to the field to call him."

"Okay." An Bihuai reluctantly agreed and stayed.

Zhang Aiju and the villagers were busy in the kitchen, preparing food in advance for the banquet to be held on the third day.

When Wang Qiqiang returned from town, he also bought some necessary ingredients.

Wang Ningjing chopped vegetables, minced meat, and mixed filling.

"Mother, what kind of situation is this? Aunt An is gone, and Aunt An didn't even bring the children to help. Instead, they're making us work here."

Zhang Aiju was frying meatballs on the stove when she sighed, "Sigh, it's no good if there's no man in the house, otherwise we'll be bullied."

I wish An Rong could come back.

Wang Ningjing disagreed: "Mom, this has nothing to do with men, it's just that they are too bad, especially that fat aunt."

“Ning Jing, don’t talk nonsense.” Zhang Aiju glared at her daughter.

Wang Ningjing pouted; she wasn't lying.

Before long, many people arrived at An's courtyard.

Everyone who knew about it came from the front and back of the village, bringing food or other necessities.

This is a custom in the countryside: when someone has a wedding or funeral, people help each other as much as they can.

Wang Cuihua also came with her daughter, and she cried louder than anyone else.

"Sister-in-law An, why did you leave so early? You didn't even wait for your sister. How could you be so heartless?"

Hearing the commotion outside, Zhang Aiju handed her work to her daughter and left the kitchen.

"Cuihua, get up quickly, it's not time to cry yet." Zhang Aiju walked over and pulled Wang Cuihua's arm, helping her to stand up.

Wang Cuihua wouldn't get up even with her bottom pulled up, which made Zhang Aiju both angry and anxious.

"Xueqing, quickly help your mother up, don't let her cry. If you really care, help her with some chores."

Li Xueqing was unwilling, but she could not disobey her elders. Her affair with Anping had been exposed, and she had already lost face. She could not leave a bad impression on others.

On second thought, she realized that she and Wang Qiqiang still had a chance, and now was the perfect time to curry favor with Zhang Aiju.

"Auntie, my mother is just too heartbroken, she didn't mean it."

This is clearly a case of protesting too much.

Zhang Aiju ignored her and, together with Li Xueqing, dragged her mother out.

It was evening when the second branch of the An family finally arrived.

"Auntie, your nephews are late, please forgive us." Anping, with his wife Qian, and Anchang, with his wife Jin, knelt down together.

Yuan Doudou was pleased to see that Zhuang Shuhui hadn't come; her mother, even in heaven, wouldn't want to see her.

“Dou Dou, don’t be too sad. If you ever have any difficulties in the future, we sisters will help each other out,” Qian said, crying.

She was grateful to the old woman's family; if it weren't for their help, she probably would have been abandoned.

Anping made a mistake on impulse, but now he has severed ties with Li Xueqing and is even more devoted to himself than before.

She was content.

Seeing the couple always together, Yuan Doudou felt not happy for them, but rather sad.

If this happened in modern times, they would have already gotten a divorce.

It must be said that women in ancient times had a really tough life.

"Thank you, cousin-in-law," Yuan Doudou replied calmly.

In the evening, the courtyard was much quieter. Apart from Yuan Doudou keeping vigil, Zhang Aiju stayed behind to take care of Anji.

The second wife's family members all went back home, saying that Zhuang Shuhui had attempted suicide at home.

Anping planned to keep vigil, but there was no other way, so he had to go back.

Zhang Aiju put Anji to sleep, then got up and came over to relieve Yuan Doudou.

"You lie down and sleep for a while, I'll keep watch over you."

Yuan Doudou was so tired that she couldn't stay awake any longer. She had been kneeling all afternoon and had only drunk a sip of hot soup. This was the limit of what she could endure.