CHAPTER 142: CHAPTER 142: THE GUEST

She now felt that the vegetable garden was a blessing from the Zhao family’s ancestors!

But now it was occupied by that poor bunch from Second Brother’s family, and she couldn’t swallow this insult!

If her son hadn’t said that he had already discussed it with his brother-in-law and they couldn’t act rashly, she would have stormed over to snatch the house back. Even if she couldn’t get the house, she resolved to go every day and pull up their vegetables. Just one, and her family would get rich!

Then, she heard Mrs. Zheng say that Second Brother’s family had actually bought a large horse carriage—two of them, in fact! This made her even angrier.

Thinking of Second Brother’s family spending the money earned from the vegetables made her heart ache as if scratched by a cat’s claws. It felt like Zhao Dong was spending *her* money!

So, after a few perfunctory words with Mrs. Zheng, she turned and stormed home in a huff.

As soon as she closed the main door, she eagerly sought out her third son, Zhao Chun. Grabbing him, she asked, "Son, what’s happening with Second Brother’s family’s vegetable garden? Can we get it back? If not, then let your mother go! I’m telling you, that Second Brother is already buying horse carriages! The money from selling vegetables is about to be all spent by him, and that’s our Zhao Family’s money!"

Looking at his mother’s expression, Zhao Chun thought she was truly shortsighted.

But, she was his mother, and there was nothing he could do. He could only say with a cold, serious face, "Mother, you absolutely must not act rashly! My brother-in-law and I have already discussed this with the Qin Clan. The Qin Clan will step forward and use legitimate methods to take possession of the house. When that time comes, we’ll sell the vegetables in our family’s restaurant. Will we have to worry about not having heaps of silver then?"

Seeing Mrs. Wang’s expression, Zhao Chun knew his mother, with her love for petty advantages, probably hadn’t truly listened. So, he spoke even more seriously, "Mother, please listen to me this time. If we try to seize it by force, not only will we not be in the right, but I’m afraid if we push Second Brother’s family too far, he might destroy the vegetable garden. If that happens, all our efforts will be for nothing, like fetching water with a bamboo basket!"

Hearing that the vegetable garden might be destroyed, Mrs. Wang shrieked, "He dares! If he destroys my vegetable garden, I’ll fight him to the death!"

After her outburst, looking at her son’s expression, Mrs. Wang finally relented. Better safe than sorry, after all.

The thought of enduring just a few more days before the silver started pouring in made Mrs. Wang take a deep breath. She finally nodded, promising not to go bother Second Brother’s family.

Only then did Zhao Chun feel relieved. After giving a few more instructions to his wife, Xiao Wang, he hurried out the door.

Today, Landlord Qin seemed ready to make his next move. I need to go to the village entrance to meet him.

「Back to the Zhao Family.」

Zhao Dong and Sun Mei were still unaware that their precious daughter had gone to the county town.

At this moment, the two of them were at their new homesite, cleaning up the damage caused by the Qin Clan’s servants the day before.

Fortunately, Meng Fusheng had appeared in time. The servants had only managed to smash some bricks and damage one wall; there was no other significant damage.

They would just need to replace the broken bricks and tiles later.

Nearby, Zhang Jinbao still believed it would be best if Zhao Dong didn’t oppose Landlord Qin. However, since Zhao Dong wouldn’t listen to his advice, Zhang Jinbao had no choice but to diligently lead the workers in cleaning up, trying to alleviate his own guilt.

Today, when Zhao Dong and Zhang Jinbao arrived at the homesite with the workers, they encountered an unexpected person: Wu Da.

He had been pacing back and forth at the homesite and hurriedly left as soon as he saw Zhao Dong and Zhang Jinbao approaching with the workers.

The villagers were prejudiced against Wu Da. Seeing him acting ’sneakily’ around the homesite, they reminded Zhao Dong to check carefully for any missing bricks or tiles.

Zhao Dong, however, just smiled and said, "No, he wasn’t here to steal bricks or tiles."

Although their interactions with Wu Da hadn’t been extensive lately—limited to trading grain and pelts—Zhao Dong felt that Wu Da was actually a very straightforward person.

He probably came this time because he heard about what happened at our place the day before and wanted to help keep an eye on the homesite.

Seeing that Zhao Dong wasn’t concerned, the fellow villagers helping build the house said no more and threw themselves into their work.

Just as they were busy working, Zhao Cheng and Zhao Ya came running, out of breath. They called for Sun Mei and Zhao Dong to return home, saying there were guests.

Hearing suddenly that there were guests at home, Sun Mei and Zhao Dong were both stunned. What guests could they possibly have?

Then, Zhao Dong suddenly remembered he had gone to find Wang Fuhai the previous day. It must be Wang Fuhai who has come.

So, after a quick word with Zhang Jinbao, he and Sun Mei headed home together.

They quickened their pace towards home. However, as soon as they reached their gate, they were taken aback by the bustling scene outside.

Two horse carriages were parked beside their entrance, and many village children and adults were gathered around, looking on curiously.

Naturally, their main focus was the two large horse carriages parked at the Zhao Family’s gate, and they were discussing them animatedly.

"Oh, so they’re guests! I thought the Zhao Family had bought horse carriages."

"Yes, but the Zhao Family is truly remarkable now. Look, they even know important people! Such big horse carriages, and those guests—they carried in two boxes of gifts when they went inside. What a grand display!"

"I feel like these carriages look familiar. I think I saw them last month when they came to our village."

"You’re just showing off! How come I never saw them?"

...

As Zhao Dong and Sun Mei neared their gate, they heard the villagers’ discussions. Seeing the carriages, they had a good idea of what was happening.

Just then, Zhao Zhitong rushed out from the courtyard and into Zhao Dong’s arms, shouting, "Daddy, Mommy, I missed you so much!"

Zhao Dong picked up Zhao Zhitong. As he walked towards the house, he asked, "Didn’t you go to play at the Qiao Clan’s home? How are you back so soon?"

Then, in her childlike voice, Zhao Zhitong recounted the ’grand deeds’ they had accomplished. Sun Mei and Zhao Dong were stunned after hearing her story. They stared at Zhao Zhitong, This child has truly become audacious!

If not for the guests, Sun Mei would have definitely spanked her little bottom and given her a stern lecture.

Once inside the courtyard, Sun Mei closed the gate, blocking out the countless curious gazes from outside.

Zhao Dong put Zhao Zhitong down and went to greet Boss Feng and the others with a smile.

Sun Mei hurried to the kitchen to boil water and prepare some refreshments. Zhao Ya trotted in after her to help.

Since the Zhao Family had guests, Qiao Muchen, Wei Shulan, and Zhao Yue had politely taken their leave and returned home once the horse carriages stopped.

At that moment, only Zhao Zhitong and her two older brothers were at home. Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yu sat obediently in the courtyard. We took our little sister to such a dangerous place today, they thought. We must apologize to Uncle and Aunt later.

Zhao Zhitong, however, felt no remorse whatsoever. She was currently sitting before the kitchen stove, bragging to Zhao Ya about how amazing she had been that day.

Sun Mei, who was boiling water, glared at Zhao Zhitong and said sternly, "Still so smug, are we? You lied to Mother today. Just you wait, I’ll deal with you later!"