Tao Shuqing was so thoroughly scolded by Mr. Tao that he didn’t dare say a word, ducking his head to hide behind his grandmother and mother.

Hearing what Mr. Tao said, Zhao Youcai understood the whole story. "This is unacceptable," he said. "I need to go to the next village and find their brigade leader. This is clearly a setup."

"That’s right, Brigade Leader," someone chimed in. "We can’t let them bully people from our Lihua Village like this."

"That’s right, that’s right! We need to find the Yuan Shan Village brigade leader and get this straightened out."

"Right."

Tao Chunshan then said to Zhao Youcai, "Brigade Leader, I’ll go with you. My boy is the one who caused this mess, so I can’t let you go to all this trouble alone. And him, too."

Pointing at Tao Shuqing, who was cowering and didn’t dare make a peep, Tao Chunshan said, "He’s coming with us. We have to get to the bottom of this today, no matter what."

"Alright." Zhao Youcai didn’t object and nodded. He turned to the villagers still gathered around, placed his hands on his hips, and boomed, "Are you all still standing around gawking? Is the work in the fields going to do itself? Let me tell you, this is the busy season. If any of you fall behind on your fieldwork, you’ll have me to answer to."

Hearing Zhao Youcai’s words, the crowd of villagers quickly dispersed. A bit of drama was one thing, but the work in the fields was just as important—their rations for the entire year depended on it.

Su Qing, of course, followed Aunt Tao and Aunt Cuihua to hurry back to work. As she left, she glanced back at Tao Shuqing, but her eyes unexpectedly met Tao Chunshan’s.

Su Qing froze when she saw the look in his eyes. ’Did I see that right? Why did it feel like he was looking at me with a hint of guilt?’

’As far as I can remember, our families have never had much to do with each other.’

But when Su Qing looked over again, Tao Chunshan was already talking with Zhao Youcai. She frowned slightly, thinking back. ’No, it probably wasn’t my imagination.’

Before Su Qing could dwell on it, Aunt Cuihua patted her on the shoulder. "Come on, let’s hurry. Otherwise, the recorder might dock our work points."

"Oh." Su Qing nodded quickly, pushing the question to the back of her mind as she headed to work with Aunt Tao and Aunt Cuihua.

After several more days of hard work, all the wheat and corn had been harvested and stored in the granary. Zhao Youcai announced that everyone would get one day of rest. After that, they would continue digging up potatoes. Once the potatoes were harvested, they could deliver the state grain tax, and then they would distribute the remaining grain and money. After that, it would be time to hole up for the winter.

Everyone was overjoyed. This meant that once the potatoes were dug, the busy farming season would be over. After toiling for the better part of a year, they could finally get a proper rest.

Aunt Cuihua smiled and asked Su Qing, "I’m going to the county town tomorrow. Want to come along?"

Over the past few days, Su Qing had stockpiled quite a few things in her personal space and had been itching to make a trip to the black market. Hearing Aunt Cuihua’s invitation, she grinned. "Of course! I was just planning to go and see what supplies I need. It’ll also be a good chance to visit my Aunt Fu."

"Alright, then it’s settled," Aunt Tao said with a smile. "There’s an ox cart waiting at the village entrance tomorrow. Come early, and we’ll take it together."

"Sounds good! See you tomorrow, Aunt Tao, Aunt Cuihua," Su Qing replied with a grin. With a parting wave, she headed home.

After dinner that evening, Su Qing began to organize the items in her personal space.

The five wild boars—two large and three small—that she had caught deep in Baihua Mountain were still in a large wicker chest. She hadn’t touched them yet, planning to sell the two large ones whole. On top of that, over the past few days, she had caught more than thirty pheasants and over twenty wild rabbits. She had also stumbled upon a clueless roe deer, which she hadn’t hesitated to claim as well.

As for foraged goods, in addition to mushrooms, she had also gathered plenty of wild chestnuts, hazelnuts, and some mountain walnuts, filling nearly half of a wooden crate.

This was more than enough for her to sell at the black market tomorrow.

Early the next morning, Su Qing got ready, slung a carrying basket onto her back, and headed for the village entrance.

When Su Qing arrived, the ox cart was already there. Aunt Cuihua was sitting on the cart, chatting with another woman. There were only a few people on board so far.

Aunt Cuihua spotted Su Qing right away and waved enthusiastically. "Su Qing! Over here! I saved you a spot!"

Su Qing ran over with a grin. Aunt Cuihua helped her take off her carrying basket, placed it between them, and said, "Perfect. This spot is for your Aunt Tao. She’s a bit slow on her feet, so she’ll be along a little later."

"Alright." Su Qing nodded. She and Aunt Cuihua sat with the basket between them. Before long, the ox cart was almost full, with only the spot between them and Aunt Cuihua remaining.

Just then, Aunt Tao came hurrying over. Her face lit up when she saw they had saved her a seat. But just as she was about to call out a greeting, Tan Qingjuan darted out of nowhere and made a grab for the empty spot.

Aunt Cuihua was having none of it. She shoved Tan Qingjuan aside. "What do you think you’re doing? This spot is taken. Are you just going to snatch it?"

Caught by surprise, Tan Qingjuan stumbled from the push. "This spot is empty, isn’t it?" she snapped. "You’re just using a basket to save it and won’t let anyone sit? What’s that supposed to mean?"

"None of your business," Aunt Cuihua retorted. She couldn’t stand Tan Qingjuan, especially knowing how she used to bully Su Qing. "And the person it’s for is right here."

Aunt Tao walked up, gave Tan Qingjuan a look, and added, "Listen here, Tan Zhiqing. You can’t just take advantage of being quick on your feet to bully an old woman like me, can you? I clearly got here first, yet you tried to snatch the spot. That’s just not right."

"I rushed over first," Tan Qingjuan insisted, feeling justified.

Another woman on the cart chimed in with a laugh, "Did you think we didn’t see you? You saw there was only one spot left and came running. You nearly knocked Aunt Tao over! For a young lady, you sure don’t have a problem squabbling with an elder for a seat."

"I..." Tan Qingjuan was left speechless.

Su Qing and Aunt Cuihua helped Aunt Tao onto the cart, ignoring Tan Qingjuan completely. Annoyed, Tan Qingjuan instinctively shot Su Qing a dirty look. Aunt Cuihua caught it immediately and glared right back. "What are you glaring at Su Qing for? Did she do something to you? You dare glare at her again, and you’ll have to deal with me."

Tan Qingjuan knew that as an educated youth, the people of Lihua Village would naturally side with one of their own. Still, a knot of frustration tightened in her chest, and she pressed her lips together resentfully.

Seeing that the cart was full, Grandpa Sun, the driver, called out, "Alright, we’re heading out!"

Seeing that she had rushed over only to be left behind, Tan Qingjuan was furious. She stomped her foot and yelled, "You people from Lihua Village are a bunch of bullies!"

"Yeah, we are bullying you. So what?" Aunt Cuihua shot back, her words dripping with deliberate provocation. The retort nearly made Tan Qingjuan keel over in sheer rage.