Facing Old Zhang, he said, “The silver coins that Jianxiu has are all from me. She sold something to me…”

“You gave them to her? You old man, could it be that you have some shameful dealings with her? Otherwise…”

Shopkeeper Wu hadn’t even finished his sentence before Old Madam Liu interrupted him.

As she spoke, Old Madam Liu circled around Shopkeeper Wu several times, scrutinizing him endlessly.

“Looking at how you’re dressed, you don’t seem like a country bumpkin. Why would you fancy that wretched woman?”

Hearing this, Shopkeeper Wu was so furious that his face turned red. His index finger trembled as he pointed at Old Madam Liu, angrily scolding, “You… you…!”

Standing to the side, Zhang Zixuan was also shocked upon hearing Old Madam Liu’s words.

He never expected that she would say such things.

Looking at Shopkeeper Wu again, his face was now completely flushed with anger.

Zhang Zixuan knew that if Shopkeeper Wu didn’t leave soon, Old Madam Liu would definitely say even worse things.

So, he apologized to Shopkeeper Wu and said, “Shopkeeper Wu, please head back first! I appreciate your help today. This is a family matter, and I will handle it myself. As for that new dish, once Jianxiu returns, I’ll have her personally visit Yuexiang Restaurant to give you an answer. How about that?”

Hearing Zhang Zixuan’s words, Shopkeeper Wu nodded in understanding but did not leave immediately.

Instead, he looked at Old Madam Liu and said, “Jianxiu was able to obtain this silver because she sold me her recipe. I bought her recipe, and that’s how she got the money. It is not some stolen or hidden silver as you claim. You are truly wronging her.”

After saying this, Shopkeeper Wu didn’t wait for Old Madam Liu to reply and quickly walked toward the door.

He himself didn’t mind too much, but he feared that if this matter spread, it would damage Jianxiu’s reputation, which would be terrible.

“What do you mean she sold a recipe? I know her cooking skills all too well. We’ve been eating her food for years. There’s no way she could sell a recipe for silver—I’d never believe it even if you beat me to death.”

Old Madam Liu shouted toward Shopkeeper Wu, who was hurrying out of the courtyard.

She wasn’t lying—Jianxiu’s cooking skills were indeed quite average.

Not just Old Madam Liu—even Zhang Zixuan himself was puzzled. He didn’t understand how Jianxiu’s cooking had suddenly improved.

The food she had made in recent days—whether it was pork offal or other dishes—had all been delicious.

However, puzzled as he was, Zhang Zixuan had no intention of backing down in front of Old Madam Liu.

“I am the best judge of her cooking skills. Besides, the silver she has is indeed from Shopkeeper Wu buying her recipe. If you don’t believe it and think that our family secretly hid the silver, then go ahead and report it to the authorities. But if you dare to take even a single thing from here today, I will not be polite to you.”

As he spoke, Zhang Zixuan deliberately raised the wooden stick in his hand.

He had never been blindly filial, especially since Old Madam Liu and Old Zhang had only raised him, but over the years, he had repaid them enough.

On the other hand, they had never truly treated him as their own son.

From the time he became paralyzed, if they had even treated him a little better, he wouldn’t have ended up like this—unable to even muster the strength to lift himself.

If it weren’t for Jianxiu reminding him, he wouldn’t have even managed to do something as simple as sitting in a wheelchair.

“Not be polite? I’d like to see how a cripple like you plans to not be polite to me!” Old Madam Liu said hatefully.

At the old house, she had always been the one calling the shots. Other than Old Zhang, who in the family didn’t obey her every word?

Since when did this cripple dare to speak to her like this?

Thinking this, Old Madam Liu immediately turned to Zhang Zirong and Zhang Zihua and said, “What are you two waiting for? Hurry up and bring those things back!”

“Alright, alright, we’ll bring them back right now,” Zhang Zirong and Zhang Zihua said repeatedly.

However, just as the two of them were about to move, Zhang Zixuan, sitting in his wheelchair, swung the wooden stick in his hand toward them.

At the same time, Zhang Zhiyong and Zhang Haifei also rushed forward to stop them.

Since they had been prepared for this and because Zhang Zixuan had limited mobility, the stick didn’t actually hurt them.

Seeing this, Zhang Zixuan prepared to strike at Old Madam Liu next.

Jianxiu was right—being too merciful to one’s enemies was being cruel to oneself.

However, when Old Madam Liu saw that Zhang Zixuan really dared to attack her, she immediately threw a fit.

She plopped down onto the ground and wailed, “There’s no justice! No justice! Everyone, come see—what kind of logic is this? Someone come and judge this!”

By now, the small courtyard was already surrounded by a crowd.

When people from the old house had started coming over, many gossip-loving villagers had followed.

Now, hearing Old Madam Liu’s cries, they started pointing at Zhang Zixuan.

“Zixuan, no matter what, that is still your father and mother. You can’t raise a hand against them.”

“That’s right. No matter how bad she is, she still gave birth to you and raised you. You can’t lay hands on her.”

“Besides, if that silver wasn’t your family’s hidden money, why don’t you just explain it to her properly?”

“Exactly! What problem can’t be solved with words?”

Most of the villagers had arrived late, so they hadn’t heard Shopkeeper Wu’s explanation.

But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing—since they hadn’t heard his explanation, they also hadn’t heard Old Madam Liu’s slanderous words about Jianxiu.

For that, Zhang Zixuan was grateful.

Otherwise, who knew what kind of gossip they would spread about Jianxiu?

Seeing that the villagers were siding with her, Old Madam Liu became even more emboldened.

She turned to her two sons and said, “What are you two waiting for? Go grab those things!”

Hearing this, Zhang Zirong and Zhang Zihua immediately headed inside.

As Zhang Zirong passed the stove, he grabbed the iron pot sitting on it.

However, just as he lifted the pot, he was struck on the back.

“Ouch! Who hit me?” Zhang Zirong turned around, furious.

But when he saw Zhang Zixuan, he suddenly hesitated.

Others might not know Zhang Zixuan’s skills, but he did.

Back when Zhang Zixuan could still walk and run, they had once fought.

In less than three moves, Zhang Zixuan had thrown him to the ground.

To this day, he still didn’t know how he had ended up on the floor.