Chapter 94: Dispute

Madam Zhang yawned as she walked lazily into the kitchen.

Her eldest daughter-in-law was scooping cornmeal for porridge. Seeing Madam Zhang enter, she quickly poured the last half-bowl back into the container.

Madam Zhang sneered, picked up the bowl, and returned the half-bowl of cornmeal from the wooden basin to the jar, displeased. “My son is out there building the dam and doesn’t even get a full meal, while you lazy lot stay home every day and eat so much. Don’t you feel guilty?”

“It’s not like I sent him to build the dam,” the eldest daughter-in-law muttered.

“What did you say?” Madam Zhang said angrily, hand on her hip, her brows furrowed in a fierce glare.

“Mother, when I went to fetch water just now, I passed by Tang Dafu’s house. It was lively over there. Do you want to go see?”

“What could be so lively this early in the morning? Don’t try to fool me.”

“It’s true, Mother. I even heard Sister-in-law Tang Jiang and Mingxiu’s voices. I was curious and stopped to listen for a bit. Guess what?”

Madam Zhang’s heart skipped when she heard Wang was at Tang Dafu’s house. She hurriedly asked, “What happened?”

“They sneaked into Tang Dafu’s house last night and got caught. Today, they have to apologize in front of the whole village!”

“She really dared to go…” Madam Zhang clicked her tongue. “No, I have to go see for myself. You finish making breakfast and don’t try to slack off.”

Madam Zhang jogged toward Tang Dafu’s house, meeting others along the way. They arrived together at the gate, pressing close to listen to the commotion inside.

The fence gate opened, and Li Taohua stood before them.

“We were just passing by…”

“Aunties, sisters, you’ve come at just the right time. We need witnesses,” Li Taohua said. “Could you please call a few more people over?”

“What’s happened? Is there a misunderstanding?” Madam Zhang didn’t want Wang to implicate her, so she quickly spoke up for her.

Although she hadn’t done anything, she and Wang had an understanding about gathering information. She just hadn’t acted yet, and Wang had already made her move.

“There’s no misunderstanding. If you don’t want to help call people, I’ll ask someone else.”

“I’m willing, I’ll call them right away.”

Li Taohua turned and went back inside.

Madam Zhang and the others exchanged glances.

“Looks like Wang has run into trouble again.”

“Mingkui’s mother never learns from her mistakes.”

A few women soon brought more people over.

When it came to watching drama, everyone was earnest. Farm work could wait, but the play was fleeting; missing it would mean losing much fun.

It had been ages since the villagers stepped into Tang Dafu’s home. Entering again, they found the place transformed—clean and tidy, with many new things.

“Oh my, that startled me,” a woman exclaimed, seeing the large black dog leap out. She patted her chest. “When did they get a dog?”

Li Taohua called, “Blackie…”

Blackie ran over, wagging his tail around her.

“Since everyone’s here, let me say this: our family has a dog. He won’t bite unprovoked. If you get bitten, look to yourself for the reason.”

“Huiyin, I don’t like that. What if we’re passing by and get bitten?”

“He doesn’t leave the yard. If you get bitten, wouldn’t that be odd? If he gets out and bites you without provocation, I’ll take responsibility.”

“Enough. I’ve been here for hours, and the dog hasn’t barked at me once,” the village chief said. “Just don’t provoke it, and it won’t bite.”

The village chief had received a packet of sweets and enjoyed Qin Huiyin’s carefully prepared breakfast, so he was already inclined toward their family.

“Now let’s discuss Wang and Tang Mingxiu sneaking over the wall at night,” the chief said sternly. “You two must apologize in front of everyone and promise it won’t happen again.”

Wang was unwilling, but since she’d agreed to apologize, backing out would mean a long argument, and Mingxiu’s injury could be used to extort their family indefinitely.

“It was our fault to sneak over the wall at night. We won’t step foot in their home again,” Wang said. “We’ll compensate with twenty eggs this time.”

“Fine. Who’ll go with her to get the eggs?” asked the chief.

“I will…” Madam Zhang volunteered.

Madam Zhang and Wang went next door.

Tang Dafu turned to Li Taohua. “Wife, is that all?”

This wasn’t like her. With her way of handling things, she wouldn’t let Wang off without causing her some distress.

Wang’s apology was insincere; Li Taohua could easily make an issue of it.

Li Taohua knew the drama wasn’t over. The second act belonged to the mother and daughter. Since they were eager for a scene, she had no need to add to it.

“I’m generous,” Li Taohua said, folding her arms. “Do you take me for a petty person?”

Madam Zhang and Wang went next door, dragging Wang aside to mutter for a while, mostly about what happened last night and whether she saw anything.

Wang, impatient, replied, “My daughter had just arrived and was frightened by their wild dog; their family heard the commotion and came out. What could we see?”

“You got caught without seeing anything?” Madam Zhang’s eyes widened.

“If you don’t believe me, try it yourself. You saw that dog—it didn’t bark now, but last night it bit my daughter.”

Madam Zhang shuddered.

Lucky she hadn’t taken the risk last night. Otherwise, her reputation would have been ruined, and she might have been chased by the dog.

“But you were smart this time—didn’t argue, just apologized and settled it.”

“Who says I won’t argue?” Wang said angrily. “I apologized first, but I’ll bring up my daughter’s bite later. Just wait—if their family doesn’t compensate a few taels of silver, I won’t let it go.”

Madam Zhang: “…”

They climbed over someone’s wall to snoop around, and now, after being exposed, they wanted to extort money from the family. It seemed Wang was in for a disaster.

“Your business has nothing to do with me. I didn’t get involved,” Madam Zhang quickly distanced herself.

Wang sneered, “Coward.”

When Madam Zhang and Wang returned, Wang handed the basket of eggs to Li Taohua.

Li Taohua was blunt, counting the eggs in front of everyone and picking out a few bad ones. “These won’t do—replace them.”

Wang endured it, not wanting to stir up more trouble before the next step, and exchanged a few eggs.

“Your daughter hasn’t apologized yet!” Li Taohua handed the eggs to Tang Dafu, who brought them to the kitchen and returned with the empty basket.

Tang Mingxiu, at the age where pride mattered most, was deeply embarrassed at having to admit in front of so many people that she’d climbed over Tang Dafu’s wall. Her eyes brimmed with shame and anger.

“S-sorry…” she forced herself to apologize. “Is that enough?”

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