Thinking it through, Jiang Huaiyu suddenly realized just how childish her earlier wish had been—to live carefree as a small, comfortable landlady.
Something as simple as a tofu business had already attracted wolves and jackals, greedy eyes circling, and she herself had become the target.
She took a deep breath and said apologetically,
"This situation is my fault. I was careless. I never expected Xu Chunhua to be such a petty, malicious person—let alone that a wealthy young master could be manipulated by her so completely."
"The fault lies with others. Why should you take it upon yourself, Yu-niang?"
Zheng Xiaoyue was worried, but she had never blamed Jiang Huaiyu. The silver they had earned in just these few days exceeded what Wang Dazhuang could make after three months of hard labor in the fields.
She was not the kind of person who repaid kindness with ingratitude.
Trying to comfort her, Zheng Xiaoyue added,
"I don't think there's need to panic too much. The Yan family has deep roots and a big estate—they wouldn't forcibly seize someone else's business so openly. You just need to be more careful when going out. For now, avoid the county town."
"What about the tofu…" Jiang Huaiyu hesitated, wanting to suggest taking a few days off.
But Wang Dazhuang spoke in his deep, muffled voice,
"There's no need to stop selling just because of them. For the next few days, I'll just sell in the nearby villages."
"That works."
Only then did the frown between Jiang Huaiyu's brows slowly ease.
Still, unease lingered in her heart. Yan Er's determined expression and lecherous gaze haunted her like a nightmare, replaying over and over. She had no idea what schemes he might resort to next.
A powerful family…
If she herself had power and wealth, why would she be so constrained now?
Jiang Huaiyu bit her lower lip lightly. Even after returning home and looking at her adorable son, she could not shake the anxiety in her heart.
Over the next few days, whenever she had a moment of leisure, she recalled various production techniques in her mind. Although nothing unusual happened while Wang Dazhuang went out to sell tofu, she could sense an undercurrent gathering—like a storm before it broke.
Originally, she had planned to rely on the tofu business for the rest of her life. But now, a new plan was quietly taking shape in Jiang Huaiyu's heart. Anyone else who heard it would think it absurd, sheer fantasy.
Yet as Jiang Huaiyu watched Tangbao crawling across the bed, using both hands and feet with curious determination, she continued to sketch and refine the plan—slowly filling in its remaining flaws.
The next morning, after waking up, Jiang Huaiyu noticed that the flowers arranged on the wooden table in the corner of the room had already withered. For reasons she couldn't explain, a sense of unease crept into her chest.
That sudden restlessness made her draw some well water and splash her face. The icy cold jolted her awake, and she finally let out a breath. She grabbed a handful of crushed soybeans and walked toward the chicken coop to feed the chicks.
But today, the coop was eerily quiet.
Jiang Huaiyu frowned and looked closer—then her eyes widened in shock.
The chicks lay limp on the ground, completely motionless. Upon closer inspection, there were clear marks on their bodies—crushed, trampled brutally.
In an instant, a chill ran through her entire body.
While she had slept the previous night, someone had climbed over the wall and deliberately stomped all the chicks to death.
Jiang Huaiyu could almost picture it—the icy, twisted smile on that person's face as they did it.
Who could commit something so deranged?
Almost immediately, two names surfaced in her mind: Yan Er and Xu Chunhua.
But just as quickly, she crossed Yan Er off the list, leaving only Xu Chunhua.
It wasn't that Jiang Huaiyu trusted Yan Er's character. She simply knew that, given his status, he wouldn't resort to killing chicks as a form of intimidation. That kind of petty act would only backfire—pushing her to sell the tofu recipe to someone else entirely.
The fact that he had been able to leave calmly under such circumstances proved he had at least some measure of restraint.
More importantly, nearly every household in Wang Family Village kept dogs. A stranger sneaking in at night would certainly have caused barking. Yet last night, not even the vicious dog from Xu Chunhua's neighboring house had made a sound.
What that implied was obvious.
Perhaps when she first arrived in this world, Jiang Huaiyu would have chosen avoidance as her way of dealing with conflict. But now, the other party had crossed her wall and entered her home.
Her gaze hardened.
What if Xu Chunhua had gone further last night—crept into the bedroom and stolen Tangbao, selling him to human traffickers?
The thought shattered her composure.
She rushed back into the bedroom and looked at Tangbao, still sleeping soundly. Only after confirming he was safe did she let out a breath. She changed into lighter clothes, walked next door, and knocked hard on Xu Chunhua's door.
Jiang Huaiyu's delicate face was set with fury.
Even if it came to blows with that shrew today, she would make Xu Chunhua understand one thing clearly—
She was not someone to be trifled with.
"Who is it? You're so noisy! If you break the door, you'll have to pay for it!"
Xu Chunhua's voice sounded soft and gentle, but her tone was full of irritation. She flung the door open. When she saw Jiang Huaiyu standing there with an accusatory expression, her face stiffened briefly—then she forced a smile.
"Oh? It's the young lady next door. What's the matter so early in the morning?"
Jiang Huaiyu had been only seventy percent sure before. Now, seeing that reaction, her certainty jumped to a hundred.
She sneered,
"I thought you were merely two-faced. I didn't expect you to stoop to chicken-thieving, dog-sneaking filth. Have you no shame at all?"
"What do you mean chicken-thieving? Who are you calling shameless?!"
The trace of guilt in Xu Chunhua's heart vanished instantly. She planted her hands on her hips and snapped back.
Jiang Huaiyu laughed coldly.
"Last night, you climbed over my wall and into my yard, stomped all my chicks to death. Even the vegetable patch—just sprouting green onions and garlic—you trampled all of it. Whoever did that, that's who I'm calling shameless!"
It was early morning, the time when villagers finished breakfast and prepared to head out to the fields. Seeing the usually quiet newcomer Jiang Huaiyu confronting the village's most notorious troublemaker, Xu Chunhua, people stopped to watch.
When they heard Jiang Huaiyu's accusation, the crowd sucked in a collective breath.
To villagers, killing someone's poultry or livestock and destroying crops was one of the most vicious acts imaginable—no different from stealing silver outright.
Not to mention that, in their eyes, Jiang Huaiyu was a widow raising a child alone. Life must already be hard. Raising chicks and growing vegetables to support herself was far more respectable than those widows who spent their days flirting with men.
"Climbing over your wall in the middle of the night to kill your chickens? What a joke!"
Xu Chunhua rolled her eyes.
"If you dare, go report it to the authorities! Let the constable investigate. If they find it was me, Xu Chunhua, then arrest me and throw me in jail!"
She finished with an attitude of utter shamelessness, like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water, making onlookers grind their teeth in anger.
Jiang Huaiyu was so furious she laughed instead. Now she truly understood where the term shrew came from.
Mocking her, she said,
"You're right—report it we shall. If the constables search your house and find shoes stained with blood or chicken feathers, or mud from my fertilized yard, don't tell me that's not evidence."
Xu Chunhua, who had been smug moments ago, froze like a rooster with its neck grabbed, instantly choking on her words.
She truly didn't dare let the constables search.
The night before, the spot where Yan Er had kicked her still ached faintly. Worse still, despite all her efforts, the tofu business next door continued as usual. She had taken a beating, gained nothing, and the silver she had extorted was already taken by her man to buy alcohol.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
Unable to swallow that anger, she grabbed a bamboo pole, climbed into Jiang Huaiyu's yard, and mercilessly stomped every innocent chick to death—then trampled the vegetable patch for good measure.
When she returned home, imagining Jiang Huaiyu discovering the scene at dawn—pale-faced, screaming in terror—Xu Chunhua felt delighted. She didn't even bother cleaning her shoes before falling into a deep sleep.
Now, noticing people's gazes drifting toward her feet, Xu Chunhua immediately started shouting,
"What are you all looking at?! I got up early and accidentally stepped in my own chicken coop—what's wrong with that?"
"Is that so?"
Jiang Huaiyu's eyes flickered, as if left speechless.
"So you're saying you definitely never went into my yard and did those heartless, heaven-punished deeds?"
Xu Chunhua was seething inside, but still forced herself to answer,
"That's right!"
Jiang Huaiyu's expression suddenly changed. Her slender hand, which had been clenched into a fist, slowly opened in front of everyone.
"Then the silver I found in my chicken coop has nothing to do with you?"
The moment Xu Chunhua saw the silver, her eyes turned red. She froze, suddenly wondering if she had carried silver on her last night.
The more she looked, the more convinced she became—that silver was hers.
How much were a few chicks worth anyway? Admitting it wouldn't hurt. But one whole tael of silver? That was not something she could let go.
She shoved the door open and stepped out.
"No—I remembered wrong. That silver is mine!"
"Didn't you just say you'd never been in my yard?"
Jiang Huaiyu closed her hand, and the silver that had been gleaming in the sunlight vanished instantly.
"Exactly!" someone jeered.
"Ironsheng's wife, didn't you deny it earlier? Now you see silver and suddenly admit it?"
Xu Chunhua snorted, ignoring the mockery. At this point, even if Jiang Huaiyu offered one tael of silver for a slap, she'd present her left cheek—and then her right.
"I went into your yard. I killed the chicks. The silver is what I dropped. I'll compensate you for the chicks—I'll buy new ones at the market. But you should return my silver, shouldn't you?"
She rubbed her hands together, grinning greedily.
Jiang Huaiyu laughed coldly.
"Since you've admitted killing the chicks, then you can start compensating me now. You'll also help restore my vegetable plot."
Xu Chunhua glared at her.
"Then what about my silver?!"
"Your silver?"
Jiang Huaiyu opened her palm again. The small ingot gleamed white, revealing the stamped mark underneath—a clear gold character.
"This is silver I exchanged at the money shop yesterday. I still have the receipt at home. I only said it was found in the chicken coop to see just how greedy you were. Turns out, you didn't disappoint—you confessed without being asked."
"Good!"
"Heh, this young lady looked easy to bully—who would've thought Xu Chunhua finally met her