After lunch today, the village chief's house was a flurry of activity.
And they'd been busy all the way until now.
Over the course of the afternoon, everyone got a real taste of what a "young miss from the city" was like.
Good heavens, that daughter-in-law of Lao San's was really something else when it came to ordering people around.
She was treating everyone like they were her personal maids.
It was always "go do this" or "go do that."
She was so full of herself!
The thing was, nobody had the guts to say, "Screw it, I'm not doing this anymore, and I'm not eating either."
After all...
There was so much meat today...
Plus...
As the saying goes, "you don't bite the hand that feeds you," so they could only put up with her.
Besides, her husband was going to be the new Steward of this area. They'd inevitably need to ask her family for favors in the future.
For some reason, however, Lao San's daughter-in-law just couldn't stand the sight of Su Liyan.
She was constantly ordering Su Liyan around.
As for why she couldn't stand Su Liyan...
Sigh, it was the same old story.
The others used to be the same way, but after what Aunt Li said last time, they didn't dislike Su Liyan anymore.
So this whole afternoon, they just watched as Lao San's daughter-in-law bossed Su Liyan around.
Ordering her to do this, then ordering her to do that.
It was a good thing Su Liyan was so good-tempered and simply did as she was told.
But the others were finding it a bit hard to watch.
Still, it wasn't worth getting into an argument with Lao San's daughter-in-law just for Su Liyan's sake.
After she finished sweeping, Su Liyan immediately went to the water basin to start washing the dishes.
The weather was already getting cold, and now it was dark out.
Her delicate hands, soaking in the water, were soon beet-red from the cold.
Su Liyan wasn't like ordinary women. Her hands and skin wouldn't grow rough with age or hard work.
But that didn't mean she wasn't afraid of the cold.
The reason Su Liyan let Lao San's daughter-in-law order her around wasn't because she was after a bite of meat.
'It's not like our family is short on meat.'
'Every time we eat, my husband is always putting meat on my plate. He even gets anxious with me if I can't finish it all.'
No, this time was different.
Because tonight's feast didn't just have meat; it had crabs too—sea crabs!
Who knows what connections Lao San's son had, but he had managed to get his hands on several boxes of sea crabs.
He'd said everyone would get one tonight.
Su Liyan had gone to take a look. The sea crabs were alive and kicking, kept fresh with Spirit Stones and delivered straight from the coast.
Every single one was as big as her palm!
Just last night at dinner, her husband had mentioned he wanted to eat sea crabs.
Su Liyan had never eaten them before, but she'd heard from her husband that they were incredibly fresh and delicious.
So, she figured she would just endure being ordered around, and in return, she could bring a crab home for her husband.
And also...
'His family is going to be in charge now; he's a big leader here.'
'It's only natural to want to be on good terms with them.'
'What's a little hardship for me? The important thing is not to cause any trouble for my husband.'
The only thing making Su Liyan a little anxious now was that her husband still wasn't back.
'He should have been back around noon.'
'It's already dark... '
'Don't tell me... he came back this afternoon and is just sleeping at home?'
Su Liyan had come over to help right after lunch and hadn't been home since, so she wasn't sure.
But she thought it was possible. After all, while this feast was a real treat to others, she knew her husband wouldn't care for any of it, aside from the crabs.
'He probably couldn't be bothered to come, right?'
Soon, someone shouted:
"Come on, everyone, take a seat! The feast is about to begin."
Hearing this, everyone finished up what they were doing, washed their hands, and got ready to sit down.
Su Liyan, however, took out a handkerchief she had prepared earlier.
As soon as she got the crab, she planned to head straight home. She still had to make dinner for her husband.
...
"Well, you can keep looking. I'm hungry. I'm heading home to get something to eat."
After wandering around for a while, he still hadn't found a single Xingzi.
Lu Yuan didn't feel like searching anymore and decided to go back.
Nearby, a grim look crossed Lin Fusheng's face.
'I'm hungry too!!'
He'd only had a few peanuts since he came out this morning. After being busy for most of the day, he hadn't eaten a single thing.
But before Lin Fusheng could say anything, Lu Yuan added:
"Look around one more time. If you really can't find one, just forget it. My house is the brick one to the east. Come over and I'll treat you to a drink."
With that, Lu Yuan waved his hand and left.
'A drink, you say?'
That wasn't so bad. For a moment, Lin Fusheng felt a little better.
After strolling back to the village, Lu Yuan found his house empty, and the surroundings were eerily quiet.
That's when Lu Yuan remembered. 'Oh, right. The village chief is holding a feast today.'
Lao San's family had become the stewards of this area.
'If that's the case...'
'Then we're all one big family, huh?'
After all, this place was managed by the Five Doctors Guild, and the Five Great Physicians were one of the two major guilds under Aunt Zhao.
'I'll go take a look.'
...
"Uncle, now that I'm back, our family's status in the village is rock-solid."
Li Wenxiang said this while crossing his legs in the ancestral hall, sipping tea as he looked at the village chief, Li Guanghan.
Li Guanghan was naturally beaming from ear to ear, nodding repeatedly.
"Yes, yes! People in the village always used to say our family took what belonged to the Lu Family. Now, let's see who dares to say that."
Hearing his uncle mention the Lu Family, Li Wenxiang raised an eyebrow.
"I heard that bookworm even dared to slam the table at you a few days ago, Uncle?
And he threatened you with his great-grandfather?
I'll teach him a proper lesson now that I'm back. Shige Village doesn't need his great-grandfather's protection anymore!"
Hearing Li Wenxiang's words, Li Guanghan waved his hand dismissively.
"Forget it, forget it. He's just a kid.
Besides, his great-grandfather protected our village for so many years. If we stir up trouble now, people will talk behind our backs."
Then, Li Guanghan changed the subject.
"What about your father? Why didn't he come back this time? Is he still recuperating in the city?"
Li Wenxiang nodded. Just as he was about to say something, a commotion broke out outside.
The two of them put down their teacups and walked to the entrance of the ancestral hall.
In the distance, they saw a crowd of people gathered.
It was Li Wenxiang's wife. With a harsh expression, she was pointing a finger right at Su Liyan's nose and cursing her out.
Every word she spoke accused Su Liyan of being a thief.
Su Liyan, surrounded by the crowd, her face flushed red, tried to explain with a look of grievance, "I didn't steal it! I just wanted to take one home early..."
But Li Wenxiang's wife immediately put her hands on her hips, tilted her head back, and stared at Su Liyan, shouting harshly:
"What right do you have to take one home? Did anyone say you could have a crab?!"
Seeing her being so unreasonable, the surrounding women couldn't bear to watch any longer.
Su Liyan had worked hard all afternoon, and now she wasn't asking for anything.
She wasn't even staying for the feast; she just wanted to take one crab home for her husband.
She didn't want anything else.
What was the big deal with giving her one?
Besides, it had already been agreed: everyone who helped would get a crab.
How could she bully someone like this?
At once, the women in the crowd all started to speak up for Su Liyan.
Seeing that she was losing the argument, Li Wenxiang's wife became flustered and swung a slap straight at Su Liyan's face.
How could a Celestial Master possibly be hit by an ordinary person?
Su Liyan was also taller than Li Wenxiang's wife, and she easily dodged the blow with a slight lean backward.
But Li Wenxiang's wife was truly capable of throwing a tantrum.
When her slap missed, she grabbed a nearby basin of dirty water and, with a SPLASH, threw it all over Su Liyan.
Su Liyan could have dodged this, too. 'But,' she thought, 'if this keeps up and I don't let her vent, it's really going to cause trouble for my family.'
Though she felt incredibly wronged, Su Liyan stood there and took it.
The large basin of dirty water drenched her, and in an instant, Su Liyan was a pitiful, dripping mess.
A few scraps of vegetable leaves were even stuck to her face.
"Let me tell you, and the rest of you, my family calls the shots here—"
SLAP!
A crisp sound echoed.
Li Wenxiang's wife was sent flying by the blow.
This scene instantly silenced the noisy grounds of the ancestral hall.
"You're fucking dead today!"