“Compensation?” Zhao Daqing, Zhao Qingshui, and Zhao Xiaojun all looked up in shock upon hearing the word.

“Our own land, and we still have to compensate?” Zhao Daqing asked.

Qian Chunhua let out a sarcastic laugh. “Your own land? Have you forgotten, old man? Our second branch has already severed ties with your family.”

Zhao Qingshui shouted indignantly, “So what if we’ve cut ties? The cabbage on that plot was planted by our main branch. We can go dig them up!”

Qian Chunhua was so enraged by his shameless words that she laughed. “So, in your eyes, the written document severing family ties is just a piece of crap?

The cabbage was planted by your family, so you have the right to take it? Then this house — which was built with money earned by our second branch — can we also take it back?”

Zhao Qingshui was startled.

Compared to a house, cabbage was nothing.

Zhao Daqing smacked the back of Zhao Qingshui’s head and scolded, “What do you know, you little brat?”

Then he turned and smiled obsequiously at Village Chief Wang. “It counts, the severance document is valid.”

He then grinned at Qian Chunhua and said, “Second daughter-in-law, even though we’ve severed ties, blood is thicker than water. Let’s settle this behind closed doors. No need to trouble the village chief.”

This was the first time Zhao Daqing had ever spoken to Qian Chunhua in such a pleasant tone.

If the original Qian Chunhua were still in that body, she might have agreed.

Unfortunately, the soul inside had already changed.

Qian Chunhua shook her head. “Since we’ve cut ties, we’re two separate households. And disputes between households should be resolved by the village chief.”

Just as she finished speaking, Zhao Xiaojun suddenly knelt down with a loud thump, kowtowing to Qian Chunhua over and over. “Second Aunt, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have pulled up your cabbage. I won’t dare do it again.”

After several loud kowtows, Zhao Xiaojun raised her head — her forehead was red and swollen.

If it weren’t for that fleeting flash of hatred in her eyes, Qian Chunhua might have believed her.

It was clear now — despite her young age, Zhao Xiaojun had a devious mind, even more cunning than Zhao Qingshui.

Hardening her heart, Qian Chunhua rejected her plea.

The onlookers immediately split into two camps — some were moved by Zhao Xiaojun’s kneeling and began urging Qian Chunhua to forgive her.

“Chunhua, the child is still young and doesn’t understand. Give her another chance.”

“Chunhua, even if you’ve severed ties, she still calls you Second Aunt. Just forgive her this once.”

“No way! If you let kids get away with stealing needles today, they’ll steal gold tomorrow. Mistakes must be punished.”

…

The crowd buzzed with mixed opinions.

Even Village Chief Wang turned his eyes toward Qian Chunhua.

Qian Chunhua understood — the village chief wanted to smooth things over.

After all, everyone lived in the same village, and he didn’t want things to escalate.

She hesitated. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to punish Zhao Xiaojun, but she didn’t want the whole village of Huanghualing to think she was heartless.

After all, in this era, social circles were small, and reputation mattered. She couldn’t afford to ignore how others saw her.

She looked again at Zhao Xiaojun and Zhao Qingshui.

The smug look on Zhao Xiaojun’s face made her snap — this girl couldn’t be let off.

Meanwhile, Zhao Qingshui looked nervously around, his gaze lingering on the storage shed where the Zhao family kept pig feed.

Qian Chunhua’s mind turned. “Zhao Xiaojun, let me ask you something. Answer truthfully.”

Zhao Xiaojun feigned humility and nodded eagerly. “Okay, Second Aunt. Ask me.”

“Other than pulling my cabbage today, have you stolen anything else?”

“No! Definitely not!” Zhao Xiaojun shook her head like a rattle drum.

Beside her, Zhao Qingshui once again stole a nervous glance at the shed.

“Really? You’re not lying?”

“Really! I’m not lying! Second Aunt, if you don’t believe me, I can swear an oath!”

Qian Chunhua laughed.

This girl had nerves of steel. With proper training, she’d be a real talent — unfortunately, she had gone down the wrong path.

When Zhao Xiaojun saw Qian Chunhua smiling, she let out a sigh of relief and felt secretly triumphant — she thought she’d successfully fooled her.

Then Qian Chunhua looked at the village chief. “Village Chief Wang, I’d like to take a look over there, to confirm if Zhao Xiaojun is telling the truth.”

As soon as she pointed toward the shed, Zhao Qingshui’s face turned pale.

Zhao Xiaojun’s eyes widened in disbelief, and tears welled up instantly.

Her acting was so good, it stunned Qian Chunhua.

She really was quite the little actress.

Village Chief Wang nodded.

He needed to clear up his own doubts, and he agreed it was necessary to check.

Qian Chunhua, holding Qingfeng’s hand, walked at the front of the group and led them to the shed.

To avoid suspicion, she stopped at the door and didn’t go in.

She turned to the crowd and asked cheerfully, “Can someone help take a look inside?”

“I will! I will!” Zhang Qiurong raised her hand.

She was dying of curiosity and didn’t care anymore about her past connection with Li Cuihong.

“I’ll go too.” Zhou Guifang stepped out from the crowd.

“You two go,” the village chief said.

Zhao Daqing resisted the urge to cough and looked worriedly toward the shed, fearing something valuable might be found and the kids would bring shame on the family.

“Ah! There’s a lot in here!” Zhang Qiurong’s voice rang out from inside.

Zhao Daqing felt a bitter taste rise in his mouth but swallowed it back.

“So many cabbages — and way more than what came from Chunhua’s land,” Zhou Guifang added.

Zhao Daqing relaxed a little. Thankfully, it was only cabbage.

The onlookers were stunned.

Extra cabbages?

Could they be from their plots?

Had these two kids stolen from them too?

Everyone scattered, rushing to their own fields to check if anything had been stolen.

Watching the crowd disperse like frightened birds, Village Chief Wang’s face turned dark.

Something like this had never happened before in Huanghualing — people stealing crops in broad daylight.

Zhao Qingshui glared at Qian Chunhua with hatred.

If looks could kill, she’d have died a hundred times over.

Zhao Xiaojun’s face turned ghostly pale.

As good an actress as she was, she was still just a ten-year-old child.

Zhao Daqing stared coldly at Zhao Xiaojun and Zhao Qingshui. “Speak. Whose cabbage did you steal?”

Zhao Qingshui mumbled, unable to answer.

Zhao Xiaojun whispered, “It… it was from Little Uncle’s field.”

“Zhao Yongwen’s?” Village Chief Wang was confused.

Before he could ask more, Zhao Daqing clapped his thigh and exclaimed, “Oh! It was from my son, My Yongwen’s field. Not stolen, not stolen — he asked us to help harvest since he didn’t have time.”

Feigning sudden realization, he emphasized “my Yongwen” in his explanation. In a rush, Zhao Daqing had come up with the perfect excuse.

He calmed down and explained to Village Chief Wang, Qian Chunhua, and the remaining villagers: “I sent them to pick it. The kids must’ve gotten confused — after picking from their Little Uncle’s field, they mistakenly went to their Second Uncle’s field.”

And just like that, in Zhao Daqing’s mouth, the cabbage theft became a simple mix-up — a minor mistake made by two naive children following orders.