Why didn't you just manage to brag yourself to death?

Ma Zhiming wailed incessantly, "Someone just hit my hand with something, that's why I got smashed."

He looked around, certain that someone was messing with him.

Glancing toward the cornfield, his gaze locked onto a pair of intensely aggressive eyes that seemed to have a tangible physical weight.

It sent an involuntary shiver through him, and his mind unbidden recalled the warning Xie Beishen had given him last time.

This guy probably had his eyes on Su Wanwan's looks as well, why else would he target him?

Hurriedly averting his gaze, he spotted Zhang Feng standing nearby. "Zhang Feng, can you carry me to Old Man Li's place? I'm afraid my foot is broken, it hurts terribly."

Hearing this, Zhang Feng squatted down. "Hop on."

At that moment, Su Heng's eyes brimmed with an expression of pure adoration.

"Wow, Brother Xie, you're amazing! I want to learn this too, teach me."

Once he learned it, his family would definitely be able to have meat on the table often.

"Alright, you first find some small stones and throw them at a single spot to get the feel of it, then I'll teach you," Xie Beishen said.

Su Heng nodded repeatedly. "Okay."

Zhang Feng carried Ma Zhiming to the barefoot doctor Old Man Li to have his foot examined.

After inspecting it, Old Man Li declared, "No damage to the tendons or bones, just apply some ointment and rub it in."

Zhang Feng watched Ma Zhiming making such a fuss, endlessly whining about the pain. He had genuinely thought the bone was broken when he carried him here, wearing himself out completely.

It turned out to be much ado about nothing.

Without waiting for him, Zhang Feng turned around and started walking back.

Did he look like he was going to stupidly carry him all the way back?

Ma Zhiming looked at the bruise and broken skin on the back of his hand—whoever threw that had incredible strength.

The back of his hand hurt fiercely, too.

He knew this was Xie Beishen giving him another warning.

It was just noon, the time for the work shift to end, when Su Jianguo and Zhao Hefen were brought home by a police car. The villagers immediately swarmed around.

They rushed over to ask them what on earth had happened.

Su Wanwan came out and saw that both her parents were back, with her mother chatting away among a group of aunts.

Her father was recounting the things Li Jianwei's family had done.

A villager exclaimed, "That old hag is truly vicious, conspiring for wealth and even daring to murder."

Another villager chimed in, "She is utterly devoid of conscience. Just how much grain did she hoard?"

A villager remarked, "No wonder every single one of them was plump and round—they were eating meat every single day while the rest of us couldn't even catch a hint of oil or lard. She deserves a firing squad."

Another villager said, "No wonder that old witch played favorites. It turns out Jianguo wasn't even her biological son."

The villagers erupted into a frenzy. Seeing this, Su Wanwan hurried back inside to cook.

Just look at how haggard her parents had become in these past few days; they had lost a significant amount of weight.

She took a large piece of cured pork and put it to boil.

For lunch, she planned to stir-fry a plate of cured pork, make a cucumber salad, braised eggplant, and tomato-egg soup, adding a few drops of spiritual spring water into the soup.

After finishing the meal, Su Wanwan didn't bother urging her parents to come back and eat.

It wasn't until just before the afternoon shift that her parents stepped inside.

"Wash your hands and eat," Su Wanwan said. "Tell me all about it while you eat."

Su Jianguo smiled and said, "Alright. This time we truly owe it to Educated Youth Xie, otherwise we really wouldn't know how much longer we'd be locked up. We must properly thank him. Invite him over for dinner tonight." He then looked at his son. "Kill a chicken for tonight's dinner."

Su Heng nodded with a smile. "Okay."

"And we also need to find a chance to treat Li Yuandong from the police station to a meal," Su Jianguo said. "When your mother and I were inside, he gave us a tremendous amount of help."

Su Heng said, "Alright, we can treat him at the state-run restaurant when the time comes."

While eating, Su Jianguo mentioned, "Tomorrow the police are bringing the old witch to point out the scene, and tomorrow we can rebury your grandmother. The police will also post a public notice."

Su Heng asked, "Did that old witch say where Grandma is originally from?"

Su Jianguo nodded, pausing his chopsticks. "Your grandma's original name was Su Ying. She was Su Mao's cousin, married to a soldier at the time. She also came home to await childbirth after getting pregnant. Back then, her and Li Guixiang's pregnancies were only a few days apart. Li Guixiang's second child didn't survive the confinement month, and seeing that Su Ying had money on her, that's when she was blinded by greed and plotted to murder her."

Su Heng asked further, "What about Grandpa?"

"The police asked about that too, but Li Guixiang doesn't know. She doesn't even know his name. There are no surviving family members left on Su Ying's side; we only know that your grandfather was a military officer who led troops into battle," Su Jianguo said. "After all these years, he's probably long gone."

"Also, Su Jianwei had the nerve of the gods, abusing his position to misappropriate commune grain and oil. The commune even rewarded me for helping them recover the losses—a reward of 200 yuan. I didn't take the money; instead, I converted the reward into a job certificate. Doesn't the village lack a scorekeeper? Next time, the accountant won't have to shoulder two jobs; we'll let your sister take this position. It's light work and she'll get full work points."

"That's wonderful! This way my sister won't have to do farm work," Su Heng said with a smile. "Dad, you're always so thoughtful. This way my sister won't have to suffer so much."

Su Jianguo said, "This way, even if your sister doesn't get her junior high school graduation certificate, nobody will dare gossip since there's an official certificate. We'll handle family matters first, and then have your sister start."

Su Wanwan: "!!!"

Her father really was underestimating her. How could she possibly fail to get her graduation certificate? Besides, doing two work points' worth of labor every day wasn't hard at all.

Su Jianguo looked at his daughter. "In a few days, I'll have Accountant Zuo show you the ropes. Also, write a letter to let your eldest brother know about all this."

Su Wanwan nodded. "I'll write it. I've never written a letter to my eldest brother before."

From the original owner's memories, her eldest brother had always deeply cherished her as his younger sister.

He still sent money and ration coupons home every single month.

Su Jianguo nodded. "Go ahead and write it."

Su Heng said indignantly, "That whole family deserves severe sentencing. It feels so satisfying! It's just a pity we couldn't find Grandpa; we still don't know if he's alive or not."

In the afternoon, a little past three o'clock, Su Heng returned from the fields and called his sister to go up the mountain to catch fish.

Su Heng said, "Brother Xie and Lin Yu are coming along too. We'll cook and eat right at home when we get back."

Su Wanwan nodded. Since there would be many people today, a single bamboo basket definitely wouldn't be enough. With two free laborers, bringing back a few more baskets of fish would be great.

So she and her second brother each strapped a basket onto their backs and headed up the mountain.

Su Heng chatted as they walked. "Sis, do you think our luck today will be as good as last time?"

"Who knows? Probably," Su Wanwan said.

With her spiritual spring water around, today's catch was guaranteed to be bountiful, which was precisely why she brought an extra basket.

As soon as the two of them reached the mountain, they ran into Xie Beishen and Lin Yu sitting on a rock.

Seeing them arrive, Xie Beishen and Lin Yu both stood up.

Lin Yu smiled and said, "We just got here not long ago, waiting to head up the mountain with you guys."

Just as Xie Beishen started to walk over to Su Wanwan to take the basket off her back, Lin Yu intercepted him.

Lin Yu beamed with flattery. "I'll carry it. How can we let a female comrade do the carrying?"

Su Wanwan curved her lips into a smile. "Alright. I didn't expect Educated Youth Lin to be so considerate."

She promptly took off the basket she was wearing and handed it to Lin Yu. "You'll have to carry the fish back later, so you'd better eat a lot tonight."

Grinning broadly, Lin Yu patted his chest. "No problem, leave it to me. I've got strength to spare."

He wanted to stay on good terms with Su Wanwan and her brother; that way, he'd surely never miss out on food in the future. Just thinking about the fish he'd eaten last time made his mouth water.

Su Wanwan hadn't expected Lin Yu to be such a talkative person. She smiled and walked onward toward the mountain.

Passing by Xie Beishen, she merely glanced at him briefly before looking away.

This guy's gaze was so cold; he really was an ice block.

Lin Yu hurriedly followed right behind Su Wanwan, calling out as he passed Brother Shen, "Let's go, Brother Shen."

Xie Beishen cast a cold glance at Lin Yu, his tone chilly. "So you've got strength to spare, huh? Why haven't you managed to work yourself to death yet?"

With that, he fell in step directly behind Su Wanwan.

Lin Yu: "!!!"