Chapter 33

“Fine, then let’s settle both old and new grudges tonight.”

But just as Ding De was about to start cursing, something was suddenly thrown out of the window.

Madam Sun screamed in fright, “Watch out!”

Ding De quickly backed away.

Crash!

The sound of something shattering rang out, and porcelain shards flew everywhere. Fortunately, Ding De had dodged in time, or he would’ve been hit and soaked.

Then came Wang Dafeng’s loud voice from the window, “Second brother, how do you like the taste of the chamber pot?”

It turned out that in her fury and humiliation, Wang Dafeng had rushed to the bedroom, grabbed the chamber pot from under the bed, and hurled the whole thing out the window.

This action startled the entire Ding family.

That old woman’s fierce! Wasn’t she afraid of smashing Ding De to death?

And just then, Ding De caught the smell of urine and backed away, spitting in disgust. Thinking about what would’ve happened if he hadn’t dodged in time left him deeply shaken.

Forget it, he thought. Can’t mess with her.

Madam Sun had no choice but to pull him back toward the house. “We have all the time in the world.”

Meanwhile, the villagers inside their homes, eavesdropping and enjoying the show, couldn’t help but laugh. What a Wang Dafeng—she was even that ruthless to her own son!

After throwing the chamber pot and yelling her line, Wang Dafeng turned to the Ding family and sneered, “There. Peace and quiet. It’s late—time to sleep!”

With that, she went back into her house.

She wasn’t dozing off earlier—she was dodging the confrontation.

The Ding family, of course, didn’t dare say a word.

Later that night, Xiaodie and her mother continued sewing gloves late into the night. No one knew exactly what time it was, but the streets were empty.

Wang Dafeng had already begun snoring.

At this time, Zhang Xiu and her husband told Xiaodie to get some rest. Quietly, they took out the rabbit they had hidden, processed it in the kitchen, rubbed it with salt, and stored it in a jar before heading upstairs to sleep.

—-

The Next Morning

Some people woke up at dawn, waiting for Master Lu’s household to deliver food.

But they waited until the sun was almost up before seeing two horse-drawn carts rolling in.

Each cart had a driver and a young maid.

The first cart carried a huge wooden barrel, clearly filled with porridge—they could hear it sloshing.

The second cart had large wooden basins full of white steamed buns. The sight of all that fluffy whiteness made everyone drool uncontrollably.

Then, the same guard who had taken the village chief Laifu away the previous day came riding up on horseback again.

Today, he had a big sword strapped to his waist.

What did that mean? Pretty self-explanatory.

He cupped his fists and said, “Just call me Guard Geng. I’m here on behalf of Master Lu to distribute the food. What we need to do next can only happen after sunrise, so we arrived a little late. I hope everyone understands.

Also, when you line up to receive the food, please do so in an orderly manner. Anyone caught trying to get a second serving will face my blade, which knows no mercy.”

Village Chief Laifu immediately stepped forward and asked, “Did you all hear that? Did you hear what Guard Geng just said?”

“We heard!” the villagers shouted in unison.

“Good! Line up then!” Laifu waved his hand, and the villagers, already holding their bowls, surged forward in chaos. At that moment, manners didn’t matter at all!

Ding Gui quickly hoisted his precious daughter onto his shoulders.

Zhang Xiu turned to help the elderly lady—wait, where was she?

A quick glance showed she’d already squeezed her way to the front of the line.

After a brief moment of disorder, the crowd finally formed a proper line. The young maids on the carts began distributing the food—one ladle of porridge and one steamed bun per person. No more, no less. Everything was fair.

The villagers of Aozi Gou Valley finally had a taste of hot porridge. Many were moved to tears, like it was New Year’s Day. Some even hid their buns in their clothes, scared they wouldn’t know when they’d get another meal.

Once the food was all handed out, Guard Geng nodded at Village Chief Laifu. “Thank you for your efforts.”

With that, he turned his horse and rode off.

The two carts soon followed, one after the other. The drivers and maids hadn’t spoken a word the entire time.

Ding Xiaodie had hoped she might catch a glimpse of the mysterious Master Lu this morning. But even after giving away so much food, only a guard had been sent to handle things.

At that moment, Ding Gui tried to share his bun with his wife and daughter.

Zhang Xiu quickly refused, “No, you’re the one doing the hard labor. We’re already full.”

But Ding Gui was worried for them. “I’m really not hungry.”

Just as he said that, the bun in his hand was snatched away by Xiaodie. She tucked it into a cloth pouch.

Zhang Xiu scolded her, “Xiaodie, how could you be so inconsiderate?”

What’s wrong with this child? She wasn’t young anymore, and normally she was very sensible—often thinking of things others overlooked. But today, she’d taken food from her own father, who was going out to work.

Even Wang Dafeng was a little surprised.

Xiaodie just chuckled, “Dad, I’m saving it for you. You’ll be starving when you get back—eat it then.”

“What do you mean?” Zhang Xiu was confused.

But Ding Gui instantly understood his daughter’s concern. He gently tapped her forehead and smiled, “Alright, Dad will listen to you.” Then he told Zhang Xiu, “Don’t ask. Just eat your share.”

Later events proved that Xiaodie wasn’t overthinking things. When Ding Gui went out to work with the others, he finally saw what “gut-wrenching” meant.

The corpses that had been lying for days had to be lifted onto wooden planks, carried in shifts to the foot of the mountain, and buried in designated places. Each grave even needed a name tag in case the families came looking in the future.

The process was nauseating.

Especially in the summer heat—the stench alone made everyone gag.

Ding Xiaodie had been a criminal police officer in her past life, so she knew exactly what was coming.

After her father left, she didn’t sit idle either. She had seen how the Lu family distributed their food: one ladle of porridge and one bun per person. Clearly, even the Lu family was rationing. Who knew if there’d be more later?

So, while they still had some energy from the hot porridge, she decided to take her mother up the mountain to forage for mushrooms.

If they were lucky, maybe that sneaky dimension would toss her two more rabbits?

But what she didn’t expect was that some village kids had already started following her.

Why?

Because Ding Rong had realized that the smell of meat last night had come from the third brother’s and the village chief’s homes. He was sure that Ding Xiaodie and her father had found food.

So this morning, as they headed out to work, he told his children, “Keep a close eye on that girl. Wherever she goes, you go.”

The trio of siblings, led by Ding Shan, nodded eagerly. “Don’t worry, Dad.”

They wanted meat too—and they’d make sure this mission was a success.

So, just moments after Xiaodie and her mother stepped onto the street, they noticed a tail following behind them…