Under Sun Yulan’s urging, Chen Haigui reluctantly put on his shoes and followed her out the door.  

Sun Yulan glanced at the pitch-black night and muttered, “Why would Zhang Xiuhua go to the back mountain in the middle of the night? Isn’t she afraid of being bitten by wolves? Just thinking about it gives me the creeps.”  

Chen Haigui grumbled, “How should I know?”  

“What’s with that tone?” Sun Yulan glared at him. “If you don’t want to go, then don’t!”  

Chen Haigui didn’t dare say another word—nor did he dare refuse to go. He silently trailed behind Sun Yulan.  

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiuhua had no idea that two groups of people were already following her. She was scared herself, venturing out so late at night, but who knew why Wang Mutou had called her out? Maybe something important had happened, so she had to check.  

And so, under the dim moonlight, she arrived at the foot of the mountain.  

At the base of the back mountain stood an abandoned thatched hut, left behind by a hunter who used to live there. After the hunter died, the hut fell into disrepair.  

Though the shack was rundown, it at least provided some shelter from the wind.  

Zhang Xiuhua didn’t enter immediately—the inside was pitch black, and she was terrified. Standing outside, she called into the hut, “Wang Mutou, are you in there?”  

A faint glimmer of light soon flickered inside, and Wang Mutou’s muffled voice responded, “Come in.”  

Relieved that someone was inside, Zhang Xiuhua stepped in, completely unaware that Wang Shitou, hiding nearby, was clenching his fists in rage.  

Wang Shitou was itching to jump out and tear the adulterous couple apart, but he forced himself to hold back. He wanted to see exactly what the two of them were up to!  

Not far away, Sun Yulan watched in shock. “Why is Wang Shitou here too? Keep quiet—don’t let them notice us.”  

Inside the hut, Zhang Xiuhua had been in a foul mood for days with no outlet for her frustration. Who could she vent to? This time, the whole family had to work extra hours because of her—she couldn’t blame anyone else.  

She had no way to vent her anger, especially since even her kids had been sulking, including Wang Dazhu, who complained, “Ma, why’d you have to stir up trouble? I was planning to hurry up and have a kid with my wife. Now there’s no time for that.”  

Zhang Xiuhua wanted to snap back—what, working an extra hour a day meant no time for kids? What a useless coward!  

But since she was at fault this time, she had to swallow her anger. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.  

So she went straight to the point with Wang Mutou: “Give me five yuan. I want to buy some meat.”  

Wang Mutou had been about to ask why she’d called him out, but upon hearing this, he assumed she’d dragged him here in the middle of the night just to demand money.  

There was no way Wang Mutou would agree. Five Yuan was no small sum—his own family hadn’t eaten meat in ages. If he had five yuan, it could feed his household for a long time. Why would he give it to Zhang Xiuhua?

He wasn’t stupid.  

Wang Mutou lowered his head and muttered, “Where would I get that kind of money? I don’t have any.”  

“Oh, so now you’re playing dumb, huh, Wang Mutou?” Zhang Xiuhua hadn’t had a chance to yell at anyone in days, and now she finally had her opportunity. She immediately planted her hands on her hips and started cursing, “Wang Mutou, you damn bastard! I worked myself to the bone bearing seven children for you, and now you won’t even spare five Yuan? What, just because Dazhu and the others don’t call you ‘Dad,’ you think you can just wash your hands of them? Wang Mutou, let me tell you something—don’t push me too far, or I’ll go raise hell at your house!”  

Wang Mutou wasn’t worried in the slightest. Since when did Zhang Xiuhua have the guts to cause a scene at his place? If she really did, she’d only bring trouble upon herself. “I already told you, we agreed never to bring this up again. Are you really not afraid—”  

Before he could finish, the door of the thatched hut was violently flung open. The two of them turned in panic, only to see Wang Shitou standing there, his eyes bloodshot.  

Wang Mutou immediately cowered in fear. “Brother, brother—let me explain! Just listen—”  

But instead of calming down, Wang Shitou only grew more enraged at the word “brother.” “You damn adulterers! I’ll kill you both!”  

Seeing Wang Shitou charging at them like a vengeful demon, brandishing a stick he’d grabbed from who-knows-where, Zhang Xiuhua shrieked in terror, “Aah! Wang Shitou, you’re insane! You’ve lost your mind! Waaah—I was wrong! Don’t hit me, don’t hit me! Hit Wang Mutou instead—it’s all his fault—”  

Wang Mutou cursed furiously, “You damn whore!”  

Outside, Sun Yulan could no longer enjoy the spectacle, afraid things might turn deadly. She nudged Chen Haigui urgently. “Hurry, go get the village chief! We can’t let this turn into a murder!”  

Chen Haigui nodded and ran off.  

The night was deep and still—a time when the village should have been quiet, with everyone fast asleep. Yet Kanzi Village had suddenly come alive with noise.  

The commotion outside roused Granny Jiang, a light sleeper. Worried something might be wrong, she squinted and decided to take a look.  

Just as she stepped out, Zhao Meilian and Jiang De emerged too, murmuring, “What’s going on?”  

Before long, nearly the entire household had been woken up by the noise. Jiang Le, who hadn’t been asleep in the first place, sat up in bed. He had just heard the system notify him that his mission was complete and hadn’t even had time to celebrate before the ruckus outside started. Confused, he asked, [What’s happening out there?]  

He got up and went outside, where most of the family had already gathered. A quick look told him exactly what was going on.  

Jiang Le poked Gua Gua guiltily. [How did this blow up into a whole-village scandal?]

The system’s mission had been to make Wang Shitou learn the truth, so he’d carried out the task accordingly. He never expected things to escalate like this.  

Gua Gua: [This system doesn’t know either~]  

Jiang Le: Fine.

With all the noise outside, the Jiang family couldn’t sleep anyway, so they decided to go take a look. Curious, Jiang Le didn’t go back to bed and followed along.

With such a scandal unfolding in the village, few could go back to sleep—nearly everyone came to watch the commotion.  

Zhao Mancang looked like he had been dragged over in a hurry, his hair sticking up in disarray. Dressed like this, he could easily be mistaken for a homeless man on the streets.  

His expression was grim. As the village chief, he found this whole affair deeply embarrassing!  

By now, the furious Wang Shitou had been restrained by several villagers, though he kept struggling violently. “Let me go! Today, I’m gonna kill these two shameless adulterers! Let me go!”  

Zhao Mancang sighed. “Calm down. If you really kill them, you’ll be sent to labor reform too!”  

Hearing this, Wang Shitou—a grown man—burst into loud, heart-wrenching sobs. “Village Chief, you’re a man too—tell me, who could bear something like this?! That damn whore even admitted that none of those kids are mine! I, Wang Shitou, slaved away for over a decade, raising another man’s children! What’s the point of living anymore? I might as well just die!”  

Even Zhao Mancang couldn’t help but sympathize. This was something no man could endure. But sympathy aside, he couldn’t let Wang Shitou commit murder. Right now, Wang Shitou wasn’t thinking straight, so it was up to him to control the situation.  

He turned to Wang Mutou and Zhang Xiuhua, his face dark. “Wang Mutou, Zhang Xiuhua—do you admit to this? Adultery means labor reform!”  

Wang Mutou’s face was ashen. He couldn’t bring himself to look at his devastated brother and just crouched there silently, tugging at his own hair in despair.  

Wang Mutou’s wife rushed forward, crying and slapping at both Wang Mutou and Zhang Xiuhua. “You shameless, disgusting people! Zhang Xiuhua, how dare you sleep with your own brother-in-law?! You should be drowned in a pig cage!”  

“Enough! That’s enough nonsense,” Zhao Mancang quickly cut her off. “This isn’t the old days—lynching is illegal!”  

He glanced at Wang Shitou and Wang Mutou’s wife, knowing that no matter what, these two had to be appeased. “Alright, if you’re still angry, we’ll hand them over to the police tomorrow. Let them be sent to labor reform!”  

In this era, “adultery” was still a punishable crime if pursued legally. Of course, if no one reported it, nothing would happen.  

Before Wang Shitou could react, Wang Mutou’s wife collapsed to the ground in terror, wailing, “Village Chief, no! My children are still so young! If they lose their father, how will we survive? You can’t send him away, you can’t!”  

Zhang Xiuhua and Wang Mutou were too scared to speak.  

Wang Mutou’s wife continued, “Village Chief, it must be that vixen Zhang Xiuhua who seduced my man! She’s the one who should be sent to labor reform!”  

Zhang Xiuhua, hearing this, flared up in anger. “You’re the vixen! Your man was willing—if he hadn’t wanted to, how could I have forced him?!”  

“Enough! Stop arguing!” Zhao Mancang frowned. “Mutou’s wife, that’s not fair. How can you send Zhang Xiuhua alone to labor reform? Adultery takes two—she can’t do it by herself!”  

Wang Mutou’s wife knew he was right, but she still couldn’t accept it.  

Finally, the silent Wang Shitou spoke up. “Send Zhang Xiuhua to labor reform.”