On the way back to the village, Qin Junyao and the others encountered many fellow villagers. Some returned disappointed from the county, while others returned laden with goods from their maternal homes.
"Grandma Qin, did you buy grain in Yan County?" a woman who had hitched a ride asked, looking at the grain sacks and baskets on the cart.
"Alas," Grandma Qin sighed before speaking.
"We managed to buy some. The five of us waited at five different grain stores to get this much. We had no choice but to buy some offal too. This offal is cheaper than grain."
The woman craned her neck to peek into the basket under the dry grass cover. Seeing it was indeed pig intestines, she chuckled and changed the subject.
When the donkey cart reached their residence, Grandma Qin asked Hou Gan to take the grain back to their house. From now on, the two families would have to rely on each other again.
Qin Da Niu drove the cart to his doorstep and saw many unfamiliar children milling around the closed courtyard gate.
Qin San Niu and the yellow dog were either squatting or sitting, watching the children come and go.
"Whose brats are these? What are you all hanging around here for?" Grandma Qin's sharp voice sent the children scattering, though they didn't run far.
As the donkey cart entered the courtyard, San Niu quickly got up and closed the gate again.
The group found it strange, but San Niu offered no explanation.
Qin Junyao and San Niu carried a basket of meat into the kitchen, where they saw Qin Mu sitting with her shoulders slumped.
"Mother," Qin Junyao's call startled Qin Mu, making her jump.
She looked up and, seeing her daughter, first relaxed. Then, her gaze fell on her mother-in-law, who had followed in wearing a red headscarf, and she tensed and stood up.
"Mother," Qin Mu's address was different from Qin Junyao's, tinged with apprehension and unease.
Seeing Qin Mu's state, Grandma Qin knew her elder daughter-in-law had done something again, something she knew would lead to an outburst.
Grandma Qin pulled over a stool and sat by the stove to warm herself, looking up at Qin Mu, who kept her head down.
"Speak."
Qin Junyao wanted to take San Niu outside, but Grandma Qin stopped her, also keeping Qin Da Niu, who had just entered, inside.
"What have you done now?" Grandma Qin rubbed her hands.
"I..." Qin Mu looked up at her children in the kitchen and swallowed the rest of her words.
Qin Junyao stood to the side, feeling uneasy. She pulled her elder brother and third brother out of the kitchen.
"Big Brother, you stay here. If Grandma makes a move, stop her. San Niu, where did your uncles go?"
"Gathering firewood."
Qin Junyao patted Qin San Niu's head and praised him. "San Niu, you're so good. Big Brother, you must stop her!" With that, she ran out to find Qin Fu.
By the time she had gathered Qin Fu and the others, the Qin family's courtyard gate was wide open, and a crowd had gathered. Grandma Qin's voice was exceptionally prominent.
Qin Xiao Yu ran to the front and cleared a path for Qin Junyao and the others.
Grandma Qin stood with her hands on her hips in front of the house, looking at Village Chief Hao, whom Hou Gan had invited.
"Village Chief Hao, I, an old woman, am not afraid of reason. My daughter-in-law has a kind heart and gave food from her own mouth to these little brats."
"Instead of being grateful, these little brats barged into the house and ransacked everything?"
"Not only did they take all the food from the kitchen, but they also smashed one of my crocks. Do they really think we outsiders are easy to bully?"
"What of it? What more do you want? These little ones can't eat much. The smashed crock can still be used if it's mended. What's all the fuss about?" Village Chief Hao was displeased that he had been called over for such a minor issue.
After Village Chief Hao spoke, villagers chimed in.
"Exactly, how much grain can children eat?"
"You outsiders use our water, and we haven't said anything. That well was dug with our own money."
"That's right. If you outsiders hadn't bought our potatoes, we'd be full now. Which child would want your food."
"It's not just the water; the firewood in the back mountain isn't abundant as it is, and they go to gather firewood every day. We don't even have enough firewood to burn..."
These villagers' words were not only directed at the Qin family but also at the families of the soldiers, revealing clear xenophobia among the original villagers of Yangshu Village.
Qin Xiao Yu went into the kitchen and discovered that the steamed pumpkin she had specifically saved for dinner was gone. She joined Grandma Qin in the argument.
As the situation was about to escalate from verbal to physical, a voice suddenly silenced everyone.
"Report it to the authorities."
Everyone looked around. Some didn't know who had spoken. The voice, though not loud, seemed to resonate in their ears.
Qin Junyao walked from the front to Grandma Qin's side and continued, "The weather is quite cold. Since the village chief cannot uphold justice, we will go to the district chief, to the county magistrate."
"We will surely find someone in charge."
"You, a woman, reporting such a small matter? You have no right to speak here, stand aside." Village Chief Hao, seeing that the speaker was a junior from this family and a woman, was dismissive.
"A small matter?"
Qin Junyao looked at the children with their chins held high. "To you, it may seem like a small matter, but to me, this is an intrusion and robbery, no different from bandits."
The children's parents couldn't stand hearing this. "How are they bandits? Can't our children just come into your house to play?"
Qin Xiao Yu, mimicking Grandma Qin, put her hands on her hips and retorted, "I am also a child. Tomorrow, I'll come to your house to play, and I'll eat some grain too."
"Yes, yes, we are also children, we'll go too," Hou Liang and Hou Shan, the two brothers, shouted along with Qin Xiao Yu.
It seemed as if they would follow Qin Xiao Yu's command and feast to their hearts' content.
Village Chief Hao put his hands behind his back. "No manners. You little brats, what are you interrupting when the adults are talking?"
"Pah! Don't talk to me about manners. Your manners are that these little brats can just barge into people's homes and rummage through things? My granddaughter is right, report it to the authorities."
"The Emperor's law is the same as commoners'. Are your children more precious than the Emperor?"
When Qin Junyao suggested reporting to the authorities, Grandma Qin had noticed Village Chief Hao's unusual expression. Her words had made the children's families panic, and they all looked at Village Chief Hao.
Village Chief Hao snorted coldly.
"Report it to the authorities? I'd like to see which of you can walk out of Yangshu Village upright to report it."
As soon as he said this, the crowd fell silent again. The Hou family members quietly moved behind Grandma Qin, and many onlookers from the military families' area also entered the Qin family's courtyard.
These words were not only for the Qin family but also for the people from the military families' area.
Bang!
A long-handled sledgehammer descended from the sky, smashing into the ground directly in front of Village Chief Hao. The hammer stood upright on the ground.
"Village Chief Hao has quite the authority. With a backer, you no longer have this general in your eyes?" Zhao Liangcai's voice came from behind the crowd, and people automatically made way for him.
"General Zhao," Village Chief Hao seemed very surprised to see Zhao Liangcai there.
Zhao Liangcai walked up to Village Chief Hao and picked up the sledgehammer. "It's been a while since I last saw you, Village Chief Hao. The last time was when you gave me the land deeds for these houses, and I gave you the money to buy them."
"At that time, I didn't shortchange you a single copper for the money for the well and household registration."
"Did you distribute that money to the villagers?"