That, of course, was a matter for another day.
Li Miaomiao pouted, looking pitiful. “I didn’t want things to escalate, either. But the Lin family insisted I was the one who hit Lin Dalang. Since we couldn’t agree, and he was the one who kept clamoring to go to the magistrate’s office, I had no choice but to follow along.”
Hearing her shift the blame so skillfully, Lin Dalang felt as though he might vomit blood.
His eyes bulging like copper bells, he gritted his teeth and roared, “You poisonous woman! You dare to hit someone but don’t have the guts to admit it? Aren’t you afraid of retribution?”
Li Xiaorou immediately chimed in, her voice weak and trembling: “Grandpa Chief, it wasn’t us who wanted to go to the magistrate’s office. It was my Brother-in-law who suggested it first.”
That “brother-in-law” made Li Miaomiao’s skin crawl.
The village chief looked toward Xiao Xian, his expression softening considerably.
Xiao Xian, however, carried the basin of fried meatballs toward the chief with measured, unhurried steps. From start to finish, he didn’t even spare a glance for Li Xiaorou.
“You can eat anything, but you can’t just say anything.”
His voice was as calm and flat as a stagnant pool, yet the sheer pressure behind his words caused everyone present to feel an inexplicable chill. Even the village chief felt his heart skip a beat.
Li Xiaorou’s legs turned to jelly. The retort she had carefully prepared died in her throat; she didn’t dare utter a single syllable.
Why, she wondered, am I so terrified by a single sentence from this cripple that I can’t even move?
Seeing Li Xiaorou’s comical terror, Li Miaomiao offered the basin of meatballs to the village chief. Her voice, still raspy from her earlier performance, was filled with a hint of sorrow. “Grandpa Chief, please, have a taste.”
The village chief saw Xiao Xian standing by Li Miaomiao’s side and understood perfectly that the man was backing her.
Even a fallen phoenix is still a phoenix.
Despite his crippled leg, the way he stood there carried a dignity and stature that no ordinary villager could hope to emulate.
“I’ll eat later. Let’s handle the business at hand first.”
He stared sternly at Lin Dalang, his tone dripping with disappointment. “Lin Dalang, oh, Lin Dalang. I used to think highly of you. Even though you never managed to pass the imperial exams, Old Man Li never looked down on you while he was alive; he was the one who insisted on marrying his daughter to you.”
“Look at how you’ve repaid him. Why don’t you ask your parents how much kindness they’ve received from Old Man Li over the last dozen years?”
As he spoke, he shot a sharp glance at Lin Youcai.
Others might not know the history, but the village chief had been close friends with the late Old Man Li; he knew the truth better than anyone.
Lin Youcai and Bai Lian didn’t dare meet the chief’s gaze; they hung their heads in shame.
Lin Dalang knew the truth, too. Since he was a child, his parents had whispered to him that everything in the Li household would eventually belong to them.
Seeing their silence, the village chief turned to Li Miaomiao and asked, “Did you hit him?”
Li Miaomiao immediately shook her head and waved her hands, showing the chief her red and swollen palms. “Grandpa Chief, I didn’t hit him. I don’t even know where the marks on his face came from.”
As long as she didn’t admit to it, and with no witnesses to the contrary, Lin Dalang couldn’t turn the tables on her.
The village chief looked at the wood stacked in the courtyard and instantly realized how her hands had become so battered. He tapped his cane against the ground and lectured Lin Dalang once more.
“The news that you abandoned Li Miaomiao on your wedding day has already spread to the neighboring villages. Now, you come here to make a scene? If your family wants that piece of land behind the mountain, just say it outright. What is the point of all these petty tricks?”
This dressing-down left the Lin family with absolutely no face.
Lin Dalang, having been struck with nowhere to turn for justice, felt the village chief’s heavy reprimand and didn’t know where to vent his rage.
“Grandpa Chief, it’s really…”
The village chief didn’t care if the marks on his face were from Li Miaomiao or not. If they were real, he could only say she had done a good job; if they were fake, then Lin Dalang had simply fallen down too lightly.
Either way, he had no affection left for the young man.
“Pick up your shoes and go back to your house. Don’t come here and cause trouble for Li Miaomiao again.”
“Just because her father is gone doesn’t mean we, her elders, aren’t still alive.”
Hearing the village chief’s words, a sliver of doubt crept into Li Miaomiao’s mind.
In the original owner’s memories, the village chief had never been this protective of her before.
What has changed to make him act this way?
With the village chief having spoken so decisively, Lin Youcai realized there was no way to continue his scheme. He tugged on Lin Dalang’s sleeve and whispered guiltily, “My son, let’s go back for now. We’ll find another opportunity to seek justice later.”
Lin Dalang clutched Li Xiaorou close, glaring daggers at Li Miaomiao. Between the bruises on his face and his current expression of impotent rage, he looked nothing short of ridiculous.
“Just you wait!” he spat.
If Li Miaomiao were the type to fear a piece of garbage like him, she’d write her name backward. She blinked rapidly, pressed her lips together, and squeezed out a few more tears, looking up at the village chief with a pitiful expression.
“Grandpa Chief, the unfaithful man is threatening me.”
Everyone present had heard Lin Dalang’s parting shot. When Li Xiaorou saw the village chief’s face darken instantly, she feared the situation would spiral further, so she grabbed Lin Dalang’s arm and shook it urgently.
“Brother Lin, the village chief has already given his word. Let’s go home first.”
“Son, let’s leave,” Bai Lian added, shooting a venomous glare at Li Miaomiao before hurrying to usher Lin Dalang away.
Lin Dalang huffed angrily. With the village chief here today, you got lucky, Li Miaomiao. Just you wait!
“Just you wait,” Li Miaomiao echoed in her heart, huffing right back.
Seeing the village chief’s expression growing increasingly severe, Lin Youcai dragged and pulled a reluctant Lin Dalang out of the Xiao family’s courtyard. Before leaving, Li Xiaorou cast one last sharp, secret glance at Li Miaomiao.
With the troublemakers gone, some of the villagers drifted away as well, though a few remained, eager to ask Li Miaomiao how she had made the fried meatballs.
Seeing their curiosity, Li Miaomiao handed the basin toward the village chief and smiled. “Grandpa Chief, please, have a taste.”
Her mood had shifted so quickly that the chief likely understood exactly what she was playing at. He glanced at Xiao Xian, then picked up a meatball and took a bite. As he ate, he nodded in approval.
“These meatballs are fried perfectly. Did you add tofu to the mix?”
Li Miaomiao passed the basin to Xiao Xian, nodded slightly, and her smile deepened.
“As expected of you, Grandpa Chief. You could taste it the moment you took a bite.”
As she walked forward, she explained to the others: “Besides the tofu, I added scallion and ginger water. If you have water chestnuts at home, finely chopping those into the mix makes them even better.”
The villagers watched as she moved to uncover a makeshift shelter built of palm leaves, revealing a pile of cypress leaves. As she pulled the leaves away, a rich, savory aroma of smoked meat—tinged with the distinct scent of cypress—drifted out. The air was thick with the mouth-watering fragrance, and everyone couldn’t help but inhale deeply.
“What is that smell? It’s so fragrant!”
“I definitely smell meat!”
The villagers stepped forward, peering over her shoulder into the shelter. They didn’t typically eat pig offal, but they recognized it well enough. Seeing the pig liver hanging inside, they cried out in shock:
“Li Miaomiao, why are you eating pig offal? That stuff is incredibly gamey and foul!”
Li Miaomiao covered the small fire with the leaves again before replying softly, “Auntie, I’ve cleaned the offal thoroughly. I seasoned it and have been smoking it over the fire. After a proper cook, it won’t be gamey at all.”
Li Sanniang shook her head repeatedly. “Listen to your auntie and don’t bother with it. Back when my family was too poor to even put food on the table, we tried eating that stuff. It’s as foul as dung!”
Even Fat Auntie came over to advise her. “Exactly, Li Miaomiao, stop playing around with that. If you truly 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 frequently went into the mountains; her house always had more meat than vegetables.
Li Miaomiao turned to look at Fat Auntie, remembering her earlier words, and lowered her eyes. She had spent a few years in a village during her childhood; her grandfather used to say that the people in a village were never purely good or purely evil. There were malicious hearts, certainly, but moments of genuine conscience as well. Since you had to see these people every day, it was best to simply stay cautious and keep your wits about you.
In the quiet moment that followed, Xiao Xian’s gaze drifted past Fat Auntie, his eyes narrowing in thought. He noticed the trace of genuine worry on the village chief’s face. The leader of the Shangnan Village wasn’t exactly the embodiment of perfect justice, but he was always soft-hearted toward the vulnerable, which kept his reputation among the villagers relatively decent.