Zhang Tiansheng, feeling guilty, shuddered on the spot.

He just thought that the things fell because the utensils were not placed properly. After calming down a little, he continued to touch the bed.

"Clang."

However, another vessel fell. He turned around cautiously and stared at the source of the sound. The room was still quiet.

As he stared at that place, the sound of falling utensils was heard again from another direction, and this time he could no longer remain calm.

The first time was an accident, the second time was coincidental, so what about the third time? Was it intentional? Inevitable?

Zhang Tiansheng looked around in the darkness. He was the only one breathing in the room. He suddenly realized that he didn't hear the breathing of the person on the bed.

He suppressed his fear and reached out his hand tremblingly to touch the person on the bed.

'Bang.'

"ah--"

Zhang Tiansheng screamed and ran out in panic, knocking over many things along the way and making a loud noise.

After leaving Xu Xingchen's yard, he looked back in panic. He made such a loud noise, but Widow Xu didn't wake up at all. It was impossible for her to go out somewhere else so late. Could she be... dead?

He was frightened by his own guess and broke into a cold sweat. He kept muttering: "It's none of my business, it's none of my business." He stumbled away.

After hearing that there was no sound outside, Jun Haoyue lit a candle, put the tables, chairs and benches in place, and returned to the bamboo house.

Xu Xingchen was still craning his neck to look over here. Seeing him coming, he hurriedly asked, "I just heard Zhang Tiansheng yell loudly and then run out. Did you beat him up?"

Jun Haoyue raised his eyebrows, "Why do you want to hit him?"

"He wants to steal our things again. I thought you were going to deal with him." She said anxiously.

"I'm going to clean up. He won't come to our house in the dark again."

"Huh?? What did you do?"

Jun Haoyue blinked, looking somewhat innocent. "I didn't do anything. I just watched him rummage around. He suddenly screamed and ran away."

Xu Xingchen curled his lips, an expression that said, "Do you think I believe you?"

However, it would be best if that bastard Zhang Tiansheng doesn't come here in the middle of the night again. He's simply perverted.

I can sleep peacefully from now on. With this thought in mind, Xu Xingchen slept particularly comfortably.

The next day, Xu Xingchen got up before dawn and ground the wheat into flour and made batter. In order to make it taste better, he added vegetables for seasoning, and it smelled very good.

After Jun Haoyue got up, she found a piece of wood and asked Jun Haoyue to write a sign: "Free batter", and hang it on the door. She also placed a table and benches at the door.

She cooked three large pots of batter, and the air was filled with the aroma of the batter.

It was almost time for the villagers to go to the fields. Xu Xingchen's home was located in the center of the village, and the villagers had to pass by her house to go to the fields.

At first, a few villagers passed by, took a look at the pot at her door, and then left without looking back.

Xu Xingchen couldn't help but doubt himself. Did the batter smell bad? Why didn't they come to taste it?

It was Jun Haoyue who reminded her that most of the villagers were illiterate and didn't know the sign said "free batter", and Xu Xingchen suddenly realized.

So when the villagers passed by, she called out, "Fellow villagers, free noodles, drink as much as you want."

The villagers get up early in the morning to work in the fields and almost all of them skip breakfast. The unexpected aroma of food slows them down a bit, especially since it’s free.

That's free food. If you don't eat something that doesn't cost money, it's a waste.

Villagers gradually brought bowls of noodle soup to drink. Some squatted against the wall because there was not enough space. Some even took the initiative to invite villagers who were leaving the fields to drink noodle soup.

Seeing that most people had arrived, Xu Xingchen took the opportunity to explain to the villagers.

"Everyone, I'm making free batter for everyone here. It's not out of charity, but I just want to make it clear to everyone that the locust plague was not my intention. It's a natural disaster, a man-made disaster, and there's really nothing we can do about it."

She glanced at them, who were listening intently despite eating the batter, and took the opportunity to call out, "I, Xu Xingchen, am not the type to eat alone. Whatever I have, I will definitely share with everyone. So, I hope everyone will trust me again. I will definitely make sure every household has enough to eat."

The surroundings suddenly became silent, even the sound of slurping batter suddenly stopped. The villagers did not cheer, but they did not turn away either.

Although no one responded to Xu Xingchen's words, she thought it was a good sign. After all, the villagers did not show any rejection, so she still had a chance.

The villagers finished their porridge in silence, put down their bowls and left one after another to go to the fields.

There was less than one pot left of the three large pots of batter. Xu Xingchen was worried. She and Jun Haoyue couldn't eat so much. This amount was enough for them to eat for two days.

When the adults are away, the children in the village start to have fun, running and jumping around the village in groups.

Xu Xingchen heard the children's voices and immediately had an idea. She went out to the intersection and saw Erdan, the kid from next door, among the children. She called the group of children who were playing.

"Erdan, have you had breakfast? I have some batter here."

Erdan heard someone calling his name and turned around. The other children who were playing with him also looked over and fell silent.

Seeing the children standing there motionless, Xu Xingchen thought they were shy, so he took the initiative to step forward and try to pull Erdan.

Erdan saw her coming, wiped his nose, pointed at her and shouted, "Shameless Widow Xu!"

Xu Xingchen paused. What was the kid yelling? She thought she had misheard, but the other kids chimed in, "Oh oh~ shameless! Widow Xu is shameless~"

Some even more naughty children picked up small stones at her feet and threw them at her, saying, "You shameless woman, don't come over here."

"Yeah, stay away from us."

"The widow of the Xu family is a shameless woman."

Xu Xingchen couldn't believe her ears. How could these children say such things? What did the adults say about her behind her back?

She was very angry. She was angry that the villagers said bad things behind her back. It would have been fine if they just said that, but they also said it in front of the children. What has become of the flowers of the motherland?

Xu Xingchen angrily tried to catch Erdan, but Erdan couldn't dodge and was caught. When the other children saw Erdan being caught, one of them shouted, "Run!"

The children scattered in a hurry. Erdan was so anxious that tears and snot were streaming. He called out to his friends and tugged at Xu Xingchen's hand, "You, you wait for me... You bad woman, let me go."

Xu Xingchen straightened his shoulders with both hands, half-knelt down to look him in the eye, and asked him seriously, "Erdan, tell Auntie, who taught you those words?"

“No, no one taught me…”

"Then who told you that?"

Erdan was frightened by her serious expression and burst into tears. "I don't know, I don't know, wahhh, mother—" he said, opening his mouth wide and sobbing.