Lin Guodong nodded. “Yi Bao, you tell us, starting from when your mother took you to dig bamboo shoots this morning.”

Three people had seen it: Yi Bao, Er Bao, and Hai Cai.

Among the three, Yi Bao was the most steady and could explain things clearly, so he asked Yi Bao to speak.

“Yes, Dad,” Yi Bao swallowed the egg fried rice in his mouth, then put down his chopsticks. “This morning, Mom took me, Er Bao, San Bao, and Hai Cai to dig bamboo shoots. When the little basket was full, Mom took San Bao back first. Er Bao, Hai Cai, and I wanted to pick some more firewood, so we went to the back of the bamboo forest. We saw Uncle hitting Aunt’s butt, and we were scared, so we came back.”

                                                                         
“You definitely didn’t see it clearly, it couldn’t have been me,” Zhuang Daming argued.

Yi Bao didn’t answer immediately but looked at his father.

Lin Guodong said, “It’s okay, just say what you saw.”

Yi Bao nodded. “We saw it clearly. Er Bao, Hai Cai, and I all saw it. It was you, Uncle.” If it had been another uncle, they might not have recognized him, but they often argued with Zhuang Xiaopang, so they were very familiar with Zhuang Xiaopang’s father.

Thinking about it, it was Zhuang Xiaopang who had tricked them into recognizing Zhuang Daming.

“Yeah, Xiaopang often argues with us, so we all recognize you, Uncle,” Er Bao added.

“Yeah, I recognize you too,” Hai Cai chimed in.

The three children spoke with conviction. Zhuang Daming wanted to say the children were lying, but he didn’t dare say it in front of Lin Guodong.

In the end, he could only glare at Zhuang Xiaopang.

If it hadn’t been for his son arguing with Lin Guodong’s son, how could such a thing have happened in the afternoon?

Li Pangniang urgently asked, “Yi Bao, did you see what the vixen looked like?”

Yi Bao, of course, knew who Little Pangniang meant by the vixen.

He shook his head. “We didn’t see what the aunt looked like. Her head was covered by clothes.” As a result, they could see the color of the clothes very clearly.

Zhuang Daming breathed a sigh of relief.

It was good that they hadn’t seen Xiao Yue; he could still explain this.

Zhuang XiaoPang’s grandparents also breathed a sigh of relief.

They hadn’t seen the woman, so there was still room for maneuver. Zhuang Xiaopang’s grandmother took the opportunity to say, “Daughter-in-law, now that things are clear, let’s go back. We’ll talk about anything else at home.”

Li Pangniang didn’t ask any more questions. “Guodong, Ning Zhiqing, sorry for the trouble.”

Lin Guodong said, “I’ll see you off.”

He escorted them to the courtyard gate and closed it after they left.

Inside the house, Er Bao curiously asked, “Mom, why didn’t Big Brother say we recognized the color of the clothes the aunt was wearing?”

Ning Shu said, “You should ask your brother.”

In fact, she didn’t know why Yi Bao didn’t say.

Er Bao looked at Yi Bao. “Brother?”

Yi Bao pursed his lips. “Because Auntie didn’t ask me. If she had asked me if I recognized the color of the clothes the aunt was wearing, I would have said I did.”

Ning Shu suddenly realized. Yi Bao wasn’t someone who talked a lot.

If the other party didn’t ask, he naturally wouldn’t say anything.

If it had been Er Bao, he would have explained everything clearly long ago.

“This is correct, Yi Bao,” Lin Guodong walked in, sat down, and resumed eating. “If they don’t ask, you don’t need to say. If they ask, then you can answer.”

“Okay,” Yi Bao nodded, remembering his father’s words.

With the interruption from Zhuang’s family, Lin Guodong became the slowest eater.

Ning Shu and the children finished their meal, and Hai Cai went home.

As soon as he got home, he was called by Qian Aifen. “Hai Cai, come here.”

“Mom…” Hai Cai walked over to Qian Aifen.

“Tell Mom about what happened this morning,” Qian Aifen had only heard some rumors and didn’t know the specifics.

After finishing work, she asked Lin’s mother, who only knew a little about the matter as she wasn’t directly involved.

After Qian Aifen asked, everyone in the old house looked at Hai Cai.

Hai Cai wasn’t good at speaking, but he had just heard Yi Bao explain the situation, so he repeated Yi Bao’s words.

“So Zhuang Daming really had an affair?” Zhang Qinfang was shocked.

Lin’s mother warned, “You’ve heard enough about this matter. If you dare to speak about it outside, it could cost someone their life. Don’t blame me for not reminiscing about the past then.”

Zhang Qinfang hurriedly said, “Mom, rest assured, I definitely won’t say anything.” Although she was talkative, she wouldn’t dare to get involved in matters that could cost someone’s life.

However, “Can you guess who the woman is?”

Qian Aifen said, “Whoever didn’t go to work that morning is the suspect.”

Both men and women are curious about such things.

Lin’s mother said, “Don’t make wild guesses. It may not be someone from our brigade.”

Hai Cai listened to them talking and thought, why didn’t they ask him what color clothes his aunt was wearing? Then he could have said.

But since they didn’t ask, he didn’t say anything.

Third Uncle had said, “If they don’t ask, you don’t tell.” Pangniang didn’t ask, so Yi Bao didn’t say anything, and he even got praised by Third Uncle.

So, he wouldn’t say anything.

The Next Day

Hai Cai got up very early, before his brothers were awake, and dressed himself.

“Why are you up so early again?” Lin Haiwen stopped his younger brother.

“I’m going to exercise with Yi Bao and Er Bao,” Hai Cai replied and ran out of the room.

Outside, Lin’s mother was already up. Seeing Hai Cai up too, she asked, “Hai Cai, why are you up so early?”

Hai Cai repeated his earlier answer, “Grandma, I’m going to exercise with Yi Bao and Er Bao.”

Lin’s mother said, “Be careful on the way and listen to your Third Uncle and Third Aunt over there.”

Although she favored her youngest son, she also cared for the other children.

If her grandchildren and the youngest son’s family could get along well, it would be good for the entire family.

“I know,” Hai Cai said.

When Hai Cai arrived, Lin Guodong and several children were already up.

Seeing them, Hai Cai excitedly said, “Yi Bao, Er Bao, when I got home yesterday, my mom asked me about Zhuang Xiaopang’s dad.”

“Wow,” Er Bao’s eyes lit up. “Did they ask you what clothes his aunt was wearing?”

Yi Bao looked expectant.

Lin Guodong raised an eyebrow, not understanding why the conversation shifted to clothes.

Unexpectedly, Hai Cai continued excitedly, “No, they didn’t ask me what clothes his aunt was wearing when she got spanked either. So, I didn’t say anything.”

Lin Guodong thought to himself, Why is it that even though he was once a child himself, he still can’t understand the way children think?

Yesterday, when she went to bed, Ning Shu told Lin Guodong that there was no need to make breakfast in the morning.

So, when she got up, there was only a pot of hot water for washing her face on the stove, but no breakfast.

In the morning, Ning Shu wanted to eat noodle soup, so she didn’t ask Lin Guodong to make breakfast.

It was a pity there were no tomatoes; noodle soup with tomatoes would have been even tastier.

However, even without tomatoes, noodle soup with cabbage was still delicious.

At least, after the children came back, they all clamored for more.

After breakfast, Lin Guodong went to work, and Ning Shu was somewhat restless. It wasn’t so much that she wanted to go to work herself, but rather she wanted to see if there were any rumors circulating about the Zhuang family today.

But in the end, she restrained herself.

After all, once there were rumors, things were bound to spread.

Finally, at noon, Lin Guodong came back from work, and Ning Shu couldn’t wait to ask, “Were there any rumors in the fields this morning?”

Lin Guodong knew immediately what she was asking about. “Nothing happened at all.”

Ning Shu felt a bit disappointed.

Lin Guodong reminded her with a smile, “It’s about an affair. Since the children didn’t see any women, Zhuang Xiaopang’s mother definitely won’t make a scene openly unless she wants to drive Zhuang Daming away.”

Ning Shu agreed upon a moment of thought.

After lunch, Ning Shu and Lin Guodong went to the brigade leader to get an introduction letter.

When they went to buy the house in the afternoon, they also took care of transferring Ning Shu’s household registration.

This way, next month, Ning Shu would be able to receive urban residents’ benefits.

“Transfer your household registration to the county town?” The brigade leader was surprised. “Does Lin Guodong’s wife have a job in the county town again?”

Lin Guodong explained, “No, we bought a house in the county town.”

This was something they couldn’t hide from the brigade leader, as the transfer of the household registration had to go through him.

They would get a certificate from the brigade, then go to the police station to transfer the household registration.

“However, just having a house is not enough to settle down. To settle down in the city and buy subsidized grain, you need a work certificate from the city, or approval from the urban household registration department to transfer your household registration.” The Brigade Leader was not surprised to hear that he had bought a house.

Guodong graduated from university and was also a military officer, so he must have made some money.

Who wouldn’t want to buy a house in the county with money?

“What?” Ning Shu and Lin Guodong looked at each other. They had never encountered this issue before and really didn’t know about it.

Thankfully, the brigade leader reminded them. However, “it’s not a big problem,” Ning Shu thought.

She would settle down once there was a job opening at the garment factory.

After getting the referral letter, Ning Shu and Lin Guodong didn’t stay long and went back.

After what happened yesterday, Ning Shu was really worried about leaving the three kids at home.

However, she had to personally handle the house purchase.

So after discussing with Lin Guodong, Ning Shu said, “Let’s go together. I’ll carry the three little ones, and you can run there.”

Lin Guodong: “…” looking at the three kids, “Okay.”

So, when Ning Shu put the three kids on the bicycle and rode ahead, leaving Lin Guodong behind, Erbao sat in the basket and showed off.

He looked triumphantly at his dad. If he had a tail, it would have been wagging in the air.

But that’s not all, he even excitedly shouted, “Dad, you can’t catch up with us. You can’t catch up…”

Lin Guodong, watching his proud son, warmed up and caught up after a while.

“Mom… mom… go faster, dad is coming.” Erbao widened his eyes.

He actually caught up, which didn’t fit his little mind’s idea!