Just as Zhao San was about to leave, Liu Shi, who was lying on the ground, grabbed his leg.
Liu cried with snot and tears streaming down her face, "You must stand up for your son today! Zhao San, you cowardly man, your own son was bullied and you didn't even dare to show your face!"
Zhao Ergou also came up and hugged his father's leg, crying and throwing a tantrum, just like his mother.
"Father, if you don't stand up for me, you're no longer my father!"
Zhao San was exasperated. These words must have been instigated by Liu Shi at home. However, he didn't want to dwell on it now, because more and more people were gathering, and Zhao San couldn't bear the humiliation.
He roared, "Get up, all of you, and take me there!"
Zhao Ergou quickly wiped his snot and got up from the ground, reverting to his previous bullying manner.
He Tiantian was cleaning their home with her two daughters. The weather was getting colder and they needed more straw to keep warm.
She traded a fish for some straw at a house at the edge of the village, and then traded it for two quilts. The ground was covered with a thick layer of straw, and at night the mother and her two daughters huddled together, and the quilts kept them much warmer.
Zhao Wanzi padded the nest for the four little rabbits with thick bedding. She looked up at her busy older sister and mother and said with a smile, "The little rabbits are so cute. I'll cuddle with them tonight and it'll be so warm."
"Father, they live here!" Zhao Ergou's voice rang out from outside, and the two little girls, Zhao Denglong and Zhao Wanzi, immediately changed their expressions upon hearing it.
They all looked at He Tiantian.
He Tiantian stopped what she was doing and reassured her, "Don't worry, Mother will go out and take a look."
Zhao San, a grown man, didn't want to cause trouble for a woman in front of so many people. Especially not a beautiful woman like He Tiantian.
He glanced at Zhao Ergou with displeasure, then reached out and slapped him on the back of the head. "Do you need to remind me? I'm not blind!"
When He Tiantian came out, she saw the Liu family of three standing outside, and some villagers who were watching the excitement from a distance.
This dilapidated temple used to be deserted, but ever since He Tiantian and her two daughters moved in, people have been coming and going in droves.
Zhao San was stunned when he glanced at He Tiantian. He had long known that Zhao Xiangyang's wife was as beautiful as an angel, and he had been fortunate enough to see her a few times before.
Later, Madam He rarely went out, and it was harder than climbing to heaven for him to catch another glimpse of her.
Now that he saw it, even the amazed Zhao San didn't know what to say.
Looking at Zhao San's greedy and delusional expression, He Tiantian's contempt deepened.
"Liu, you really are a persistent ghost. You should spend this time at home properly teaching Zhao Ergou a lesson; he's so young and already stealing!"
Some people in the village have bad character and often steal, so they don't have a good reputation in the village.
But Zhao Ergou, a mere child, is just like those scoundrels, a disgrace to his parents.
Zhao San looked at Liu Shi with a stern face, "He Shi said that Er Gou stole, is that true?"
Liu's eyes darted away as she retorted, "It's just children playing around, how could it be considered stealing? Besides, even if we're in dire straits, we wouldn't stoop so low as to steal from your run-down temple!"
"What a sharp tongue," He Tiantian thought to herself with a cold laugh.
"In that case, then you and Er Gou come with me to the county government office, and we'll ask the magistrate to uphold justice!" He Tiantian said without any politeness, flicking her sleeve.
It was just some squabbles and disputes within the village, nothing that warranted the county magistrate's intervention. He Tiantian's statement only confirmed the truth of the matter.
Zhao, the village head, couldn't stand it any longer. He was shocked to hear that Madam He was going to file a complaint with the county magistrate. If even such a trivial matter required the magistrate's attention, what was the point of having a village head like him?
Before Zhao San could speak, Zhao Tingzhang stepped out from the crowd and said, "Liu Shi, Er Gou usually bullies the weak in the village and does petty theft. You know this in your heart, so don't pretend you don't."
“In my opinion, you and Zhao San should take Er Gou back and teach him a lesson. There are more than one child in the village who has been bullied by Er Gou. A few days ago, Er Hua from the end of the village was also bullied by Er Gou and came to me to complain. I warned you then.”
Zhao Tingzhang said a lot in one breath. Zhao San glared at Liu Shi and cursed, "You stinking woman, I work hard every day, and you can't even teach your two children properly at home."
"If Er Gou is like this, then wouldn't Da Gou be just as bad? If you keep hiding these things from me from now on, don't blame me for kicking you out!"
Zhao San felt he couldn't bear the shame, so he grabbed Liu Shi and Er Gou and left.
He Tiantian looked at Zhao Tingzhang and smiled modestly, "Thank you, Zhao Tingzhang, for upholding justice. It is a great blessing for us villagers that you care about every single one of us in Changfeng Village."
When it comes to flattery, He Tiantian is a master. After all, she is a person educated in the 21st century, and she can easily come up with these hypocritical pleasantries.
Zhao, the pavilion chief, blushed with embarrassment at the praise. To be honest, in his more than 30 years as the pavilion chief, no one had ever praised him so directly in front of everyone.
Everyone loves to hear nice words, and when Zhao Tingzhang looked at He Tiantian again, his eyes were different.
He suddenly realized that this He woman was no ordinary person; even though she had been kicked out of her husband's family, she could still live a good life.
"No, no, this was Zhao Ergou's fault. I was just telling the truth."
The gossipy women dispersed one by one, but the men who had finished work lingered, reluctant to leave. They strolled around chatting, their eyes occasionally glancing at He Tiantian standing at the entrance of the dilapidated temple.
He Tiantian's sharp eyes swept over the men. She was determined to find out who had been spying on them that night!
"You damn bastard, there's so much chores left to do at home, what are you standing there for?" Mrs. Wang from next door only realized her husband hadn't followed when she was halfway there.
She angrily returned to look for him, only to find her husband still standing not far from the dilapidated temple. Enraged, she grabbed his ear and dragged him home.
The family's food supply was enough to last for a while, and the two little girls, Zhao Denglong and Zhao Wanzi, couldn't possibly eat much. Meanwhile, He Tiantian, now a cook, could also solve her food problem at the mine.
After the festivities ended, He Tiantian took her two daughters to the back mountain to collect firewood.
The mother and her two daughters walked hand in hand toward the back of the mountain. As they passed behind Widow Zhang's house, they suddenly saw Zhao San sneaking inside.
He Tiantian seemed to understand something instantly. She told Lantern and Wanzi to stand there and wait. She then crouched down and cautiously approached.
She wanted to see just how reckless Zhao San really was.
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