Zhang Aiju wanted to go over and offer some comfort, but someone came into the yard, so she could only turn around and go to the kitchen to busy herself.

Taking advantage of the fact that there weren't many people around, Zhang Aiju served Yuan Doudou a bowl of rice porridge.

“Auntie, I’m not hungry.” Yuan Doudou remained kneeling.

Zhang Aiju's eyes stung with tears. The poor child must have been hurt by Zhuang Shuhui's request for cloth.

"Dou Dou, your second aunt is just being unreasonable, don't take it to heart," Zhang Aiju patiently comforted her.

Yuan Doudou looked at Zhang Aiju with clear eyes and shook her head. "Auntie, you're overthinking it. I no longer consider her my second aunt, so I won't be sad because of what she did."

At most, I just feel sorry for my mother-in-law. She took good care of the second wife when she was young, but in her old age, she ended up helping a bunch of ungrateful wretches.

"That's good. Listen to your mother, drink the porridge. You still have a busy day ahead." Zhang Aiju persisted, trying to persuade her.

Yuan Doudou thought of her mother-in-law, who would also urge her to eat in the same way, and wouldn't feel at ease until she saw her eat.

“Okay, I’ll eat.” Yuan Doudou took the bowl.

The porridge was warm, and after taking a big gulp, my empty stomach felt a bit better.

"Miss Yuan." An unfamiliar voice came from outside the door.

Yuan Doudou stood up and looked towards the door. It was Zhao Anling. Why was he here?

Zhao Anling, dressed in dark casual clothes and black boots, strode in, followed by Fang Deming.

"My God, isn't this the county magistrate?" A villager who had the good fortune to see Zhao Anling covered his mouth in disbelief.

When did the An family manage to get on the good side of the county magistrate? That's quite something.

"Lord Zhao." Yuan Doudou greeted him with her eyes lowered, neither humble nor arrogant.

Zhao Anling walked to the altar and knelt down on both knees.

"Oh dear, Lord Zhao, this is unacceptable!" Zhou Chuangen rushed up from behind, trying to stop Zhao Anling from kneeling.

Zhao Anling disregarded everything, knelt upright before the altar, bowed respectfully, and kowtowed three times firmly.

Yuan Doudou wondered why Zhao Anling had come, since they had no connection.

After Zhao Anling kowtowed and offered incense, he got up and walked towards Yuan Doudou.

“Miss Yuan, please tell me what troubles you are in, and I will help you if I can.”

Without hesitation, Yuan Doudou said, "Sir, could you please inform An Rong and have him come home?"

Since An Rong is alive, he should be allowed to return to see his mother off in her final days, no matter what.

Zhao Anling shook his head and sighed: "To be honest, if Anrong could come back, I wouldn't have come."

"What's the meaning?"

Zhao Anling's expression was cold. "Miss Yuan, I was rude before. Your husband, An Rong, has not returned from the battlefield."

Given the current situation, that's all he can say.

Yuan Doudou understood perfectly well that regardless of whether An Rong was alive or not, he could never come back.

"Lord Zhao, you can't joke about anything. If you do this, my mother-in-law won't rest in peace in heaven." She was filled with regret. She shouldn't have been able to resist telling her mother-in-law in the first place, so that she wouldn't have left with regrets.

Zhao Anling's face was even uglier than a rag. He had only wanted to use this to control Yuan Doudou and make her submit to him.

Who would have thought that An Rong was someone with a powerful background, someone I couldn't control at all.

“Lord Zhao, I have prepared a feast at home. Please come in.” Zhou Chuangen stepped forward and changed the subject.

Zhao Anling snapped out of his daze, nodding and shaking his head at the same time. "Village head, you see, taking care of things here is the most important thing. Let's postpone the banquet for another day."

Zhou Chuangen was stunned as he watched Zhao Anling stride out of the An family home.

The county magistrate was so polite to me; he was so approachable.

As soon as Zhao Anling left, the people in the courtyard began to gossip.

The most talked-about thing was the generous gifts Zhao Anling brought, which included ten bolts of cloth and a plate of silver ingots.

"Did you see that?" people whispered among themselves.

"Of course I saw it. With such a large amount of silver, it would be hard not to see it."

"You know, Yuan Doudou is really something, managing to get close to a high-ranking official like the county magistrate."

Everyone started talking at once, and in the end, they were all speculating about the relationship between them.

Even more people took the initiative to ask.

Yuan Doudou didn't want to talk to him, but she was afraid people would say she was being mysterious, so she simply said that she wasn't familiar with Zhao Anling and had only met him a few times in town.

Zhao Anling enjoys eating his homemade candied strawberries and fried oyster mushrooms.

That gave everyone a rough idea.

In the afternoon, An Bihuai arrived with his three sons.

"Second Uncle," Yuan Doudou greeted him, taking advantage of the fact that An Bihuai had come to pay his respects yesterday.

An Bihuai almost lost his balance upon hearing it; it had been so long since he had heard such a beautiful voice.

Yuan Doudou used to call him that often, but he always ignored her.

In his memory, Yuan Doudou calling him was never a good thing.

"DouDou, you're going to work in the fields tomorrow. I'm taking them to dig up graves."

She had heard Zhang Aiju mention this before. Her father-in-law, An Bisheng, was buried at the foot of Xishan Mountain. The couple was to be buried together, so they were going to dig up the father-in-law's grave so that her mother-in-law could be buried with him the next day.

"Thank you for your trouble, Uncle."

An Bihua nodded and stood there for a while.

“DouDou, look, digging a grave requires tools. The tools at my house are almost rusted and broken. Do you have any usable ones?” An Bihuai took the opportunity to look around the yard.

"It's in the warehouse over here." Yuan Doudou sighed inwardly. Her second uncle really knew how to calculate things. How could she use her own tools to help with the work?

An Bihuai led his sons into the warehouse, and came out alone carrying an iron shovel.

"DouDou, one shovel isn't enough. Look, why don't we give some money to your second uncle so he can buy a few new ones?"

Yuan Doudou lost most of her patience when she saw An Bihuai's calculating expression. It would indeed be more respectable for the villagers if her family came to help.

But An Bihuai didn't seem to be there to help in a legitimate way. He asked for money before even lifting a finger, clearly with ulterior motives.

Yuan Doudou said dejectedly, "Second Uncle, for Anping's sake, my mother made me lend you all the money in the house. Now we don't have any money left to buy an iron shovel."

Funeral arrangements involve many expenses from beginning to end, making money a very tight issue.

“I was just thinking of borrowing some money from my second uncle to tide me over,” Yuan Doudou said, returning the favor in kind.

An Bihuai turned pale with fright and quickly waved his hand, saying, "My second uncle's family doesn't have a single penny. If they did, I wouldn't lend money to a junior like you."

That brat! He'd heard that the county magistrate himself came with generous gifts, and yet she's here complaining about being poor.

"Dou Dou, what your second uncle means is that you can take out the money the county magistrate gave you and use it, after all, your mother's matter is a big deal." An Bihuai was still not giving up.

Yuan Doudou feigned surprise, "The county magistrate? What money?"

An Bihuai felt a lump in her throat. "Fine, you're really good at pretending."

"DouDou, stop teasing your second uncle. Everyone in the village saw it. You can't put your mother's affairs aside for money." An Bihuai pretended to be very concerned.