Feng Liren (the village head) pulled Gu Rong along and hurried over to where the Old Gu family was resting.
Gu Zhi Shu and Gu Da Li, the two brothers, were hiding behind the back of a tent, eating roasted pigeon secretly.
When the Gu family’s old matriarch saw them arrive, her eyes flickered. She clearly knew why they were here, but still pretended to be ignorant.
“Village head, why are you here? Isn’t your wife still cooking?” she asked.
“Gu Zhao Shi, where are your eldest son’s two kids? Those two boys stole Gu Rong’s grain—tell them to hand it over right now!” Feng Liren said furiously.
Gu Rong immediately ran behind the tent to look. The old matriarch tried to stop her, but she couldn’t. Gu Rong saw Gu Zhi Shu and Gu Da Li already finishing a roasted pigeon—only the bones were left.
They were licking the grease off their fingers, their mouths and faces covered in oil.
“You actually ate my family’s pigeon! You two bastards!” Gu Rong cried out angrily, her eyes red like a little rabbit, pointing at them in grievance.
The people nearby heard the commotion and gathered around to watch the drama.
“The Old Gu family’s grandsons are really something else. They have no conscience—stealing food from their own little sister. Look at Gu Rong’s siblings, they’re already so thin they look like they’re starving skin and bones. They finally got some pigeon meat, and it got snatched away by the eldest branch’s two kids!”
“What a sin!”
The villagers sighed in pity for Gu Rong and her siblings.
“Nonsense! What pigeon meat? I didn’t even see any!” the old matriarch snapped immediately. “You little wretch with a black heart, daring to slander us! If you don’t get lost, I’ll chase you away with a broom!”
Since the roasted pigeon had already been eaten by her two grandsons, she simply refused to admit it. It’s not like they could pull the meat back out of their stomachs.
The eldest daughter-in-law of the family, Mrs. Wu, was cooking behind the tent, a smug look on her face.
Behind her, in a basket, was half a sack of white rice that her two sons had just brought back.
Now that the old matriarch had no trouble, she just took her anger out on the daughters-in-law. But today her two sons had actually brought back good grain—this was finally her chance to stand tall against the second branch’s wife!
“My sister hunted three pigeons! Everyone saw it! The bones are still there! And a sack of white rice was also stolen by those two bastards!” Gu Rong stood weakly in the crowd, looking helpless.
But Mrs. Wu quickly grabbed the bones her sons had left and threw them into the fire.
“What bones? What nonsense are you talking about, you little brat?” Gu Zhi Shu and Gu Da Li walked out arrogantly, hands on their hips, as if nothing had happened.
The old matriarch grabbed a broom, ready to hit someone. Feng Liren quickly pulled Gu Rong behind him. He knew the old matriarch was unreasonable and arguing would be useless, so he directly called out to the head of the Old Gu family.
“Gu You Fu! What are you hiding in the tent for? Your two grandsons stole food—aren’t you going to deal with it?”
Old Master Gu had already heard the crowd outside. Now being called out, he had no choice but to come out of the tent.
“Village head, my grandsons are all well-behaved and virtuous. They would never do anything like stealing!”
The eldest and second sons of the Gu family also chimed in.
“My father is right. Our children are all good kids.”
“Little girl, you say they stole your things—did anyone actually see it?”
“They stole my roasted pigeons and white rice! I, Little Man, Chang Le, and Granny Zhou all saw it!” Gu Rong cried angrily, tears streaming down her face—but she was only one voice against the seven or eight voices from the Old Gu family.