After his bath, Xiao Heran looked even more beautiful. He Zifeng led him all the way back.
The little guy knew he wouldn't have to go back to the He family anymore, and he walked with a bouncy gait. He was overjoyed, holding his father's hand, and would occasionally look up at his father.
He Zifeng stroked the child's hair. He could never get enough of his own child, and just looking at the child made him happy.
He Zifeng looked at people from several villages along the way.
Regardless of their past relationship with He Zifeng, they all offered words of comfort: "You can now live a peaceful life."
"I never expected your father to be like that."
There are always some cases of favoritism in the village, but it's rare to see one like his family.
But there were also honest people who looked at him, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
He Zifeng asked, "What's wrong?"
This honest man is Huanzi, who grew up with He Zifeng. He said, "Wan Hai has declared that anyone who gets close to you is someone you're going to mess with."
Although He Zifeng received ten taels of silver after the family division, it was clear to everyone that he only got a small share. Tian Diwanhai held onto the real money-making business, the soy sauce shop, tightly.
Huanzi felt a little indignant for He Zifeng. The village was a society based on personal connections. If He Zifeng's connection with the village were severed, he would definitely have a hard time.
He Zifeng took the matter lightly. He said, "Who can rely on whom?" If they can get together, they can; if they can't, they can separate. Anyway, they live in a remote area, so what if they don't get along?
Huanzi said, "Our friendship is based on our childhood bond of playing in the mud together. I don't care what others do. If you have any troubles, just come to me."
He Zifeng nodded and said, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness!"
After exchanging a few simple words, I headed home.
They hadn't gone far when they were stopped again: "Hey, when did you go to the county town? It's quite a distance from our village." Usually, if they wanted to go to the county town, they had to set off before dawn. And without a carriage, it would take them two or three hours to walk there.
The villagers all thought He Zifeng was very bold, saying he would report it to the authorities without hesitation.
Just imagine it in their shoes. The thought alone makes them tremble. They don't even know where the government office is. What if they get arrested and thrown into jail? People like them, who have no connections, will be left helpless and desperate.
"Did you see the county magistrate?"
"What does the county magistrate look like?"
"Aren't you afraid to talk to him?"
Although Wan Hai had explicitly forbidden the villagers from associating with He Zifeng, everyone was genuinely curious, wondering if the county magistrate was like the upright and just official depicted in the plays.
He Zifeng said, "I was too anxious at the time and didn't pay attention."
As Village Chief Xu and Wan Hai walked home, they saw He Zifeng surrounded by villagers, looking displeased. They wanted to cause trouble, but when they heard people mentioning the county magistrate, the two of them hesitated to approach.
Now that Village Chief Xu has been dismissed, his arch-rival Liu Zi has become the village chief. Enraged, Village Chief Xu gave Wan Hai a severe dressing-down, also dragging the He family into the mess. It wasn't originally his business, but he was forced to take charge, and now look what happened – his secure job is gone.
Every autumn harvest, he presided over the grain collection and taxation, earning a small profit. Plus, as village head, he was required to attend weddings, funerals, family divisions, and land sales, which also brought him considerable benefits. His family could have lived comfortably without farming. Now, all of that is gone, and he was dismissed in front of the entire village, young and old—a truly humiliating loss.
They caused a scene at the He family's house, and finally managed to squeeze another ten taels of silver out of Xiao Wan's hands before they stopped.
Ten taels of silver sounds like a lot, but Village Chief Xu didn't care about it at all. The common people say, "A clean magistrate for three years can amass ten thousand taels of silver." Even though he was just a minor village chief, he could still make a considerable fortune. The thought of losing his lucrative position made his heart ache again. He said to Wan Hai, "I know you're capable; you must be better than He Zifeng!" Unfortunately, he wasn't the village chief anymore and had no power; he didn't even know how to deal with He Zifeng.
“Father-in-law, you and I are thinking the same thing. I’m thinking the same thing too. I won’t rest until he’s completely crushed.” Wan Hai said.
Village Chief Xu said, "Good, that's ambitious. I wonder how he'll survive once he's spent all that money he has."
The two walked away as they talked, both harboring resentment towards He Zifeng. They didn't consider that it was because they had driven him to a dead end that he was being retaliated against.
He Zifeng didn't hear these words. He was carrying his child when he came out of the crowd and went home. As soon as he got home, he saw that Qiuyu had already finished kneading the dough and mixing the filling. She was making dumplings, and each dumpling was round and plump.
Xiao Heran went home and went to Qiuyu's place to act cute.
Qiu Yu said, "Stop fooling around, go play somewhere else."
Little He Ran then ran to the side to play with the straw rabbit. The little guy usually had no one to entertain him, and he was quite happy playing by himself. He Zifeng washed his hands and prepared to help Qiu Yu make dumplings.
Qiu Yu refused, saying, "Go check if the water's boiled. There are only a few dumplings left, so you don't need to get your hands dirty." This time, the dumplings were almost entirely meat. He also added a lot of oil; the filling smelled delicious. And it was made with the finest white flour—this truly felt like New Year's!
It is indeed worth celebrating that they separated from the He family.
He Zifeng came out and said, "The water has boiled."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Yu quickly handed a covered tray to He Zifeng, which was filled with raw dumplings.
He Zifeng went down to cook, and the water boiled in no time. He added some water with a ladle; these meat dumplings need to be boiled three times to be cooked through.
The round dumplings floated up like little gold ingots; once cooked, they were immediately scooped out and drained. Then they were cooked in another pot.
After washing her hands, Qiu Yu set the table down and put her son on a stool: "Dinner's ready."
Little He Ran is already craving it.
He Zifeng served the dumplings and a bowl of dumpling soup to everyone. The dumplings were delicious on their own, even without any dipping sauce. The meat filling was firm like a meatball, and the outer white dough was smooth and easy to eat, so you could easily eat a lot without realizing it. A sip of the dumpling soup afterwards made you feel completely comfortable.
"Dad, I wish we could eat this every day from now on," Xiao Heran said.
Qiu Yu laughed and said, "You little glutton, you're always dreaming. Even the village chief's family doesn't eat dumplings every day."
He Zifeng said, "If Ranran wants to eat this in the future, she can just tell her father and he will buy it for her."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Heran obediently replied, "Thank you, Father."
Qiu Yu glared at He Zifeng and said, "All you know is how to spoil the child."
"As long as Ranran is happy."
"..."
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