That, however, was a matter for later.
Li Miaomiao pursed her lips and said pitifully, “I didn’t want this either. The Lin family insists I was the one who hit Lin Dalang. We can argue all day and get nowhere. If he wants to go to the yamen, then I’ll accompany him.”
Hearing her twist the story around, Lin Dalang was so furious he felt like coughing up blood.
His eyes bulged like copper bells as he ground his teeth and roared, “You vicious woman! You dare hit someone but don’t dare admit it? Aren’t you afraid of retribution?”
Li Xiaorou immediately picked up in a soft, delicate voice, “Village Chief Grandpa, it wasn’t us who said we were going to the yamen. It was Brother-in-law who said it first.”
That “brother-in-law” made Li Miaomiao break out in goosebumps.
The village chief looked toward Xiao Xian, his expression noticeably gentler.
Xiao Xian carried the basin of fried meatballs and walked toward the village chief unhurriedly. From beginning to end, he didn’t even spare Li Xiaorou a glance.
“You can eat recklessly, but don’t speak recklessly.”
His tone was calm as still water, yet the pressure beneath his words made everyone present feel an inexplicable chill. Even the village chief’s heart trembled slightly.
Li Xiaorou’s legs went weak. The rebuttal she had prepared got stuck in her throat, and she didn’t dare say a word.
Why was she so frightened by a single sentence from this cripple?
Seeing her awkward state, Li Miaomiao took the basin of meatballs and held it out toward the village chief.
Her voice, hoarse from crying, carried a trace of grievance. “Village Chief Grandpa, have a taste.”
The village chief saw Xiao Xian standing beside Li Miaomiao and understood perfectly well that he was backing her up.
A fallen phoenix was still a phoenix.
Even with a lame leg, just standing there made him look different from ordinary villagers.
“Later. Let’s deal with the main matter first.”
He turned sternly toward Lin Dalang, his tone one of disappointment.
“Lin Dalang, Lin Dalang… I once thought you were decent. Even though you never passed the county exam to become a xiucai, Old Man Li never once looked down on you. He insisted on marrying his daughter to you.”
“And how did you repay him? Ask your parents how much kindness they received from Old Man Li over the years.”
As he spoke, he shot Lin Youcai a glance.
Others might not know, but the village chief had been close with Old Man Li. He knew everything clearly.
Lin Youcai and Bai Lian didn’t dare meet his eyes and lowered their heads guiltily.
Of course Lin Dalang knew. Ever since he was young, his parents had told him that everything in Old Man Li’s household would one day belong to them.
Seeing them silent, the village chief turned to Li Miaomiao. “Did you hit him?”
Li Miaomiao immediately shook her head and waved her hands. Her red and swollen palms were clearly visible.
“Village Chief Grandpa, I didn’t hit him. I don’t even know where the injury on his face came from.”
As long as she didn’t admit it, and with no witnesses, Lin Dalang couldn’t do anything about it.
The village chief glanced at the wood stacked in the courtyard and instantly understood why her hands looked that way.
He tapped his cane and lectured Lin Dalang again, “Last time, you abandoned Li Miaomiao on your wedding day—that’s already spread to other villages. Now you come here to make trouble again. If your family wants that piece of land on the back hill, just say so. Why put on this performance?”
Those words left the Lin family no face at all.
Beaten and unable to seek justice, Lin Dalang didn’t know where to vent his anger when the village chief was so severe.
“Village Chief Grandpa, I really—”
The village chief didn’t care whether the injury on his face was truly from Li Miaomiao or not. If it was true, then he could only say she hit him well. If it was fake, then Lin Dalang hadn’t fallen hard enough.
In any case, he now had not the slightest good impression of him.
“Take your hoe and go back home. Don’t come looking for trouble with Li Miaomiao again.”
“Her father may be gone, but we uncles are still alive.”
Hearing this, Li Miaomiao felt a flicker of confusion.
In the original owner’s memories, the village chief had never defended her like this before.
What had changed these past few times?
With the village chief speaking so firmly, Lin Youcai had no choice but to back down.
He tugged at Lin Dalang’s sleeve and said guiltily, “Son, let’s go home first. We’ll find another chance to seek justice later.”
Lin Dalang wrapped an arm around Li Xiaorou and glared at Li Miaomiao. With the bruise at the corner of his mouth and that furious expression, he looked almost comical.
“Just you wait.”
If she were afraid of this scumbag, she’d write her name backward.
She blinked, pressed her lips together, tears welling up again as she looked pitifully at the village chief.
“Village Chief Grandpa, that heartless man is threatening me.”
Everyone had heard Lin Dalang’s words. Seeing the village chief’s face darken again, Li Xiaorou quickly grabbed Lin Dalang’s arm and tugged.
“Brother Lin, the village chief has spoken. Let’s go home first.”
“Son, let’s go,” Bai Lian added, shooting Li Miaomiao a vicious look as she urged him away.
Lin Dalang snorted angrily.
If it weren’t for the village chief being here today, Li Miaomiao, just you wait.
He snorted aloud; she snorted inwardly.
Seeing the village chief’s expression grow increasingly unpleasant, Lin Youcai half-dragged, half-pulled Lin Dalang out of the Xiao family courtyard.
Before leaving, Li Xiaorou secretly shot Li Miaomiao a glare.
With the troublemakers gone, some villagers also left, while a few remained, asking how she made the fried meatballs.
Seeing their curiosity, Li Miaomiao held the basin out to the village chief again with a smile. “Village Chief Grandpa, have a taste.”
Her expression had changed quickly; the village chief had a rough idea now.
He glanced at Xiao Xian, then took a meatball and bit into it, praising as he chewed.
“These meatballs are well fried. Did you add tofu?”
Li Miaomiao handed the basin back to Xiao Xian and nodded slightly, her smile deepening.
“As expected of Village Chief Grandpa—you could taste it right away.”
As she stepped forward, she explained to the others, “I added tofu and scallion-ginger water to the meat. If you have water chestnuts at home, mince some in too—it tastes even better.”
The villagers watched as Li Miaomiao picked up cypress leaves from the ground and lifted the palm leaves covering a simple shed. As she did, a smoky aroma of meat tinged with cypress fragrance drifted out.
The air filled with the scent. Everyone couldn’t help but sniff.
“What’s that smell? So fragrant.”
“I smell meat.”
They stepped closer and peeked inside. Though they didn’t eat pork offal, they recognized it. Seeing pork liver hanging inside, they cried out in surprise.
“Li Miaomiao, why are you eating offal? That stuff is so fishy!”
After covering the small fire again with the leaves, Li Miaomiao replied gently, “Auntie, I cleaned the offal thoroughly. I rubbed it with seasoning, then smoked it for a while before cooking it. It won’t taste fishy.”
Third Aunt Li shook her head repeatedly. “Listen to your aunt. Don’t bother with that. When my family was so poor we could barely survive, we ate that stuff. It stank worse than manure.”
Even Fat Auntie came over to persuade her.
“That’s right, Li Miaomiao. Don’t trouble yourself. If you really have nothing to eat, I’ll go to my cellar and bring you a few pieces of meat.”
Fat Auntie’s third son was a hunter who often went into the mountains. Their household had more meat than vegetables.
Li Miaomiao looked at Fat Auntie and recalled her earlier remarks, her lashes lowering slightly.
She had spent a few years in the countryside as a child and remembered her grandfather once saying that people in a village were rarely purely good or purely evil.
They could harbor ill intentions.
But they could also have moments of conscience.
When you saw each other every day, it was best to stay cautious.
While she fell into brief silence, Xiao Xian’s gaze swept over Fat Auntie before he lowered his eyes in thought.
He then noticed that even the village chief’s expression held a trace of worry. Though the head of Shangnan Village was not entirely fair, he had always been soft-hearted toward the weak, which was why the villagers’ opinion of him remained fairly decent.