Dahe Village had a total of three wells.

One at the village entrance, one at the village’s end, and one in the village chief’s house.

But now, only the well at the entrance still had water, and no one knew when it would dry up.

Most villagers queued during the day to fetch water, but some households came at night. There was no fixed limit on how much water a family could take in a day, nor any rule that prohibited fetching water at night and coming back again the next day.

Everyone could see clearly that Zhang Wulai was deliberately making trouble for the Zhao family’s two boys.

Zhao Ergou gritted his teeth. “Even the village chief hasn’t said anything! What gives you the right to stop us from fetching water?”

Zhang Wulai sneered and kicked over the water bucket beside Zhao Ergou. “What right? Just that your family uses too much water and is delaying everyone else!”

The bucket tumbled down with a loud clatter.

Zhao Sanniu, like a little calf, charged at Zhang Wulai.

Zhang Wulai grabbed him by the collar and raised his fist, ready to strike.

“Stop!”

A crisp, cold voice rang out.

The crowd instinctively parted to make way as Cheng Wanwan stepped forward.

She pulled Zhao Sanniu back and shielded him behind her. “Are you openly bullying a widow and her children?”

“Who can even bully you?” Zhang Wulai sneered. “You snatched a big, fat rabbit—at least three or four pounds—from my son! If you dared to take something from my son, don’t blame me for stopping your family from using water!”

Cheng Wanwan let out a cold laugh. “So your son is allowed to steal from others, but others aren’t allowed to take back what’s theirs? That rabbit was found and caught by my son, Sidaan. Your son, Zhang Dagang, scratched Sidaan’s wrist trying to steal it and even tore his clothes. I haven’t even settled that account with you, and now you dare to kick over my bucket?”

Zhang Wulai was lazy and greedy, and his reputation in the village was terrible.

With Cheng Wanwan’s words, others began to chime in.

“That’s true! Just a few days ago, Zhang Dagang snatched a handful of wild vegetables from my grandson.”

“Last year, Zhang Dagang and his gang stole radishes from my field. I caught them several times! The kid’s just like his father—no good.”

“Zhao’s widow used to just scream and curse in the past, but today she actually spoke so logically!”

“No matter how rough Zhao’s widow is, she’s still a mother. What mother doesn’t protect her children?”

The villagers pointed and whispered, making Zhang Wulai furious. “Zhao Chengshi, don’t think I won’t hit you just because you’re a woman!”

Cheng Wanwan stepped closer, tilting her head. “Go ahead, hit me! The other day, my big brother cracked my head open, and I made him compensate me with a chicken and several pounds of meat. I know your Zhang family is poor, so just give me a few pounds of white rice. Come on, don’t hesitate! The harder you hit, the more rice you’ll owe me.”

She took another step forward. Zhang Wulai instinctively stepped back.

His reputation was bad in the village, but Zhao’s widow wasn’t well-liked either, which was why he had dared to pick a fight.

As long as the villagers didn’t take her side, he could find a way to take advantage of her.

But who would have thought this woman wouldn’t play by the usual rules?

First, she spoke logically, and then she suddenly dared him to hit her.

If he really cracked her head open, being scolded by the villagers was one thing, but having to compensate her with food was another—his family had no extra grain!

And this woman was known for being shameless. If she hanged herself at his doorstep over this, then he’d really be done for.

“Zhang Wulai, you’re going too far! First, you bully children, and now you’re bullying a woman. Are you even a man?”

From the crowd, Zhao Fugui shouted.

His wife, Aunt Zhao, immediately twisted his ear. “What does their fight have to do with you? Why are you shouting?”

Zhao Fugui declared righteously, “She’s a widow! What’s wrong with standing up for a widow?”

Aunt Zhao felt a stab of pain in her heart.

So her husband was thinking about Zhao’s widow! If he dared to openly take her side like this in broad daylight, who knew what kind of shady things he’d done in private?

She dragged her husband away by the ear.

With Zhao Fugui speaking up, others joined in.

“Zhang Wulai, why don’t we get the village chief to settle this fairly?”

“The chief is always just. If Zhao’s widow really stole your rabbit, he’d side with you for sure.”

Zhang Wulai spat on the ground, picked up his buckets, and left.

Cheng Wanwan let out a breath of relief.

Truth be told, she had been genuinely afraid Zhang Wulai might actually smash a rock onto her head just now.

She realized just how weak she was. Apart from talking tough, she had no other skills.

It seemed she needed to buy something from the marketplace to protect herself.

She looked around at the villagers and said, “Thank you, aunts and sisters, for speaking up for me.”

As she spoke, her back was straight, her gaze was clear, and under the sunlight, her face looked surprisingly fair—not like a typical village woman at all.

The villagers were taken aback. Zhao’s widow seemed… different?

They had seen her in situations like this before. Usually, she would slap her thigh, sit on the ground, and cry hysterically.

But today, she didn’t even throw a fit and still managed to drive Zhang Wulai away?

That wasn’t her usual style.

Cheng Wanwan led her two sons home.

Along the way, Zhao Ergou and Zhao Sanniu were too scared to even breathe, afraid of being scolded.

But as they reached the house, a delicious aroma of meat and vegetables filled the air. The two little ones couldn’t help but drool.

Cheng Wanwan brought over a basin of water. “Wash your hands and get ready to eat.”

Zhao Ergou was stunned. “Mother, you’re not punishing us?”

Cheng Wanwan replied calmly, “You didn’t do anything wrong, so why would I punish you?”

Zhang Wulai was the one causing trouble.

What did that have to do with the children?

The real issue was poverty—arguing over a single rabbit and a bucket of water showed just how poor they were.

She went into the kitchen, filled a bowl with braised pork, and handed it to her youngest son, Zhao Sidaan. “Take this to your grandmother. Tell her we took it back from the Cheng family.”

The original owner of her body had been cruel to her children, and it was only thanks to the old lady secretly providing food that they hadn’t starved even more.

Cheng Wanwan had worked her way up from being an orphan to a successful businesswoman.

She understood the importance of relationships.

Now that she had decided to live properly, it was necessary to mend ties with the Zhao family.

In ancient times, clans were powerful.

Half of Dahe Village had the surname Zhao.

If she got along with the Zhao family, things would be much easier for her.

Zhao Sidaan clutched the bowl and dashed off toward the Zhao family’s house.

It was noon, and the Zhao family was all home.

The men were resting, the women were sewing and washing, and the children were sorting the wild vegetables they had gathered.

“Grandma!” Zhao Sidaan ran into the courtyard. “Mother sent this over!”

A bowl of braised pork—so fragrant and enticing.

The children in the courtyard lifted their heads in unison, inhaling deeply.