Wu Guihua impatiently picked at her ear, treating his words like a dog's fart!
"I'm putting this out there today—the money Li Hongyuan gave me is compensation for years of selling my blood to support the family. From now on, no matter who it is, if anyone dares to scheme after my blood money, don't blame me for making them bleed and then sending them off to rot in the clink!
"And when that happens, don't say I don't value neighborly ties or that I'm cold-blooded and ruthless!"
Wu Dayong immediately spoke up to back her.
"That's right! When that day comes, forget the clink—it'll affect the village's chances of winning the 'advanced' title. But then again, we've never won it anyway, so our village isn't afraid of losing face! Whoever cooks up bad ideas better not be afraid to die!"
Wu Guihua used the carrot and the stick, and Wu Dayong struck the mountain to shake the tiger—everyone shut their mouths, at least openly daring not to entertain any more ideas.
Uncle Zhong quickly urged the villagers to leave.
"It's freezing cold—don't just stand around here. Get back to your warm kangs. In a few days we'll be hauling manure to the fields, and you won't get any rest then."
Wu Changyong lagged a few steps behind and whispered a few words of advice.
"Sister Guihua, keep your doors bolted tonight. If anything happens, bang on the copper basin."
"Got it, Brother Dayong."
Wu Guihua, using the bundle as cover, pulled two bottles of Fenjiu from her Spatial Dimension and stuffed them into his arms.
"One for you, one for Uncle Zhong!"
With that, she shoved Wu Dayong out the door, giving him no chance to refuse.
Old Mrs. Li, stripped of outside backing, was trembling with fear, but she still reached out to grab the ginseng box.
Wu Guihua wasn't having any of it. She snatched the ginseng box away and tossed the old woman back into the east room. This time, even her little grandson wasn't there to keep her company!
"You little slut, let me out! You godforsaken beast, you're trying to kill me! When my son gets back…"
"Your son's too busy crawling into his sister-in-law's bed to bother with you. I suggest you behave yourself—we're not short on food for you. But if you keep making a fuss, I'll just save the grain!"
Wu Guihua was true to her word—she cut half a catty of the pork she'd bought.
They'd bought late, so the best pork belly was already gone, leaving only lean meat—perfect for shredded pork noodles.
She sliced up a plate of the cabbage they'd stored, stir-fried the meat and vegetables in the pot, added broth and noodles, all in one smooth motion.
Mother and daughter ignored the old woman, sitting by the stove, warming themselves by the fire and eating noodles together, so content their toes curled into the ground.
After eating their fill, the two of them pulled the big quilt over themselves and slept like the dead.
Old Mrs. Li cursed on and off all night, scaring off any would-be thieves.
Of course, it was also possible the news hadn't spread yet, or that those with thieving hearts but no nerve hadn't found accomplices!
Over the next two days, Li Lan's new bedding for school was sewn, and Old Mrs. Li finally learned to keep quiet, earning herself a bowl of cornmeal porridge with ginseng root—which she slurped down noisily.
But in the middle of the night, the yard outside was anything but quiet.
Three local thugs, climbing over each other's shoulders, had just scaled the Li family's courtyard wall when they were knocked flat with a single blow to the head.
The other two tried to run, but Wu Guihua caught up and gave them the same treatment, sending them to join their buddies, all seeing stars.
Li Lan, pale-faced and gritting her teeth, tied them up with rope.
Wu Guihua quickly gagged them, then lashed them to a tree.
Early the next morning, when the Zhao family's wife came out to dump her chamber pot, she suddenly spotted three half-dead "frost-covered men" and let out a shriek, dumping the chamber pot all over herself!
Uncle Zhong rushed over in his padded jacket and recognized the thugs as troublemakers from the neighboring Wang Family Village.
The two villages were adjacent and usually helped each other out from time to time, so it wouldn't be right to refuse them some courtesy.
So he discussed it with Wu Guihua and went to find the village head of Wang Family Village. In the end, he secured thirty yuan in compensation for Wu Guihua, plus three old hens.
Wu Guihua stewed one on the spot, wasting no time in building up her and her daughter's strength. After sleeping through half the afternoon, she got ready to wait for more people to come deliver money at night.
Perhaps because she hadn't sent anyone to the clink, this time two old bachelors from the village climbed over the wall and peeked through the window—even carrying packets of powder.
This clearly wasn't just about money… they wanted her too!
Wu Guihua's face darkened as she broke both their legs. At dawn, she found a horse cart in the village and sent them straight to the county public security bureau.
Some villagers made snide remarks.
"Wu Guihua is too ruthless. They're from the same village, after all—she doesn't show any mercy."
Uncle Zhong scooped up a clump of snow and hurled it at the speaker, covering his head in white.
"Bullshit! Don't you see what kind of filth those two bastards were carrying? Have you all forgotten what happened at the educated youth compound two years ago?"
Those with sharper minds rolled their eyes and immediately shrank back.
Two years ago during the New Year, because the policy had loosened, many educated youths had returned to the city to visit family, leaving only one female educated youth behind. Somehow, she was violated in the night. Since the culprit was never found, the case was quietly dropped.
But the female educated youth went mad and drowned in the river.
Now it seemed those two old bachelors were probably…
If Wu Guihua hadn't been on guard and hadn't struck hard, last night she, her daughter, and maybe even Old Mrs. Li would have been in for it…
Uncle Zhong quickly took two men and chased after them to the police station. By the afternoon, they indeed brought back definitive news.
The two old bachelors, frightened by the police, confessed everything and were rewarded with an unlimited stay in the slammer, plus a free peanut of autumn lead as a bonus!
The entire Nandawu fell silent because of this outcome.
Not only did no one dare to scheme against Wu Guihua anymore, but even private discussions about her were conducted in hushed, cautious tones.
Wu Guihua paid no attention to any of this. She went straight to the supply and marketing cooperative, bought several packs of Caozigao, and gave one to everyone who had accompanied her to the police station, Uncle Zhong included.
Caozigao are small cakes made from eggs, flour, and honey, each about the size of a bowl's mouth, five to a pack, selling for eighty cents plus one food coupon.
In these times, when even getting enough to eat was a struggle for every household, suddenly receiving such a gift of thanks was an absolute unexpected delight.
Consequently, the families in the village who had neither the guts nor the nerve to cause trouble were all hoping someone would have both the guts and the nerve, so they could help escort that person to the police station!
Unfortunately, the power of the peanut was too great.
Even though news of Wu Guihua holding a fortune of three thousand yuan had spread for a hundred li in every direction, no one came knocking anymore.
But the tale of Nandawu's fierce woman—wealthy and tough, quick to throw punches, and even sending people to rot in jail—spread far and wide.
Wu Guihua had no time to bother with such gossip. Once the house quieted down at night, she would dive into the Jade Pendant Space and work herself dizzy.
Wang Yun had been a wasteful one, having collected a great many things from the family compound into the space.
Wu Guihua wiped the furniture clean, planning to place it in the east room of the thatched cottage. The two sets of new bedding could also stay—if she ever came in for a quick nap, she wouldn't have to sleep on a bare board.
As for the clothes and items tainted with that stench, she would wait until she took Li Lan to school and find an opportunity to sell them off for cash.
But Wu Guihua hadn't expected that when she carried the tables and chairs inside, she would discover another great surprise.
The room, which appeared to be only twenty square meters, seemed to have been blessed by immortal magic—its interior was five times larger than imagined, making it feel especially spacious.
Wu Guihua dropped her things and hurried to the west room.
Here, it was even more miraculous. Upon entering, it was as if the space had shifted, transporting her to a warehouse the size of ten football fields, with rows upon rows of wooden shelves neatly arranged.
By the entrance sat more than a dozen baskets of red apples, looking fresh and dewy.
There were also seven or eight burlap sacks of corn kernels and five sacks of rice still in their husks!
Could this place preserve things indefinitely?!