Wang Family Village, Wang Meng!

After all that commotion, the sun was already directly overhead. It was time to make lunch.

The little snow left in the courtyard reflected the sunlight, revealing an unusual hint of peace.

Fang Yuan dusted off his clothes and walked into the house.

Little Bean Sprout followed close behind, her tiny hand still clutching tightly at his hem.

Liu Wanwan looked at him, her eyes filled with a sense of reassurance.

"Wanwan," Fang Yuan said, his voice much gentler than before, "stew the ribs."

Liu Wanwan froze for a moment.

Those ribs were the good meat Fang Yuan had deliberately cut off and saved when he hunted that wild boar. He had not been willing to sell all of it at the market; so it had been saved for a time like this.

Her heart turned sour, then warm. She hurriedly nodded. "All right, I'll get to it."

She turned and busied herself at the stove, her steps lighter than usual.

The moment Little Bean Sprout heard there would be meat again, her eyes lit up. She licked her lips and stared eagerly in the stove's direction.

Having meat every day these past few days made her feel as though she were living in a jar of honey.

Before long, thin curls of smoke rose from the chimney, carrying the long-missed scent of meat as it spread through the cold, snowy day.

Now, their family no longer seemed to need to hide away every bit of good food they had, afraid of drawing gossip or jealous eyes.

With a man in the house who could hold things up and dared to risk his life, even the cooking smoke seemed to carry a little more backbone.

The meal was served.

A small basin of steaming stewed ribs sat in the middle. There was not much meat, but the broth was rich and the aroma mouthwatering.

Beside it was a plate of pickled vegetables and three bowls of white rice.

The three of them sat around the table.

Liu Wanwan and Little Bean Sprout both looked at Fang Yuan without lifting their chopsticks.

Even Little Bean Sprout, who craved meat most of all, only sniffed hard, her little hands resting properly on her knees.

Fang Yuan picked up his chopsticks, looked at them, and understood.

This family needed him, the head of the household, to truly preside over a meal.

He cleared his throat. His voice was not loud, but it was steady. "Eat."

The two still did not move, merely watching him.

Fang Yuan knew he needed to say something. The future of this family depended entirely on him making the decisions.

Fang Yuan paused, his gaze sweeping over his wife and younger sister before he continued.

"What happened today is over. But they definitely won't let it rest. There'll probably be more trouble later."

Liu Wanwan's gaze tightened, while Little Bean Sprout blinked as if she half understood.

"Don't be afraid," Fang Yuan said firmly.

"I already have plans for what comes next. You don't need to worry too much.

"Remember this: only if we ourselves want to move will this family move. No one else—no one has the right to drive us away!"

He picked up his chopsticks, placed a rib with meat on it into Little Bean Sprout's bowl, then gave one to Liu Wanwan as well.

"Now, eat."

After saying that, he repeated, "Dig in."

"Yay! Meat!" Little Bean Sprout finally cheered. She eagerly grabbed the rib, blew on it, and began nibbling at it carefully and contentedly.

Liu Wanwan looked at the meat in her bowl, then at Fang Yuan's refined side profile. The tips of her ears reddened. She softly murmured, "Mm," and picked up her chopsticks too.

The rich fragrance of meat, mingled with chili and spices, slipped out in wisps through the broken windows and door cracks of the Fang Family home, drifting into the cold air.

The scent was more overbearing than usual, stirring the greedy worms in people's bellies.

Next door, Old Madam Chen was sitting on her doorstep with a bowl of thin porridge. It could be called porridge, but there were barely any grains of rice in it. When she caught that scent, she froze.

She craned her neck and sniffed hard twice, smacked her lips, and muttered under her breath.

"They're stewing meat again... That boy from the Fang Family really is different now..."

She recalled the disturbance from earlier that day. Some lingering fear remained in her heart, but an even more complicated feeling filled it.

She ought to be grateful that her outward relationship with Fang Yuan's family had been passable, and that she had not done anything too out of line.

Shaking her head, she carried her bowl back into the house and gently shut the door.

People living a little farther away also came out, sniffing the air.

"Tsk, the Fang Family again?" A man leaned against his own earthen wall, his eyes fixed on the direction of the rising cooking smoke.

"Eating meat every day—has that family's foundation really grown so solid?"

"What's the use of smelling good?" Another thin, shriveled old man coughed twice.

"He offended the Headman and the Clan Elder. Let's see how many days he can keep swaggering around! With that meat, every meal may be one less than the last!"

Though he said that, he could not help taking two more deep breaths of that enticing scent.

He secretly calculated whether he might find a chance to take some advantage while Fang Yuan was away one day. But the scene from earlier made his heart quail.

In the end, he merely swallowed hard and slunk away in disgrace.

Night fell, and the cold grew heavier.

As usual, Fang Yuan came beneath the Old Scholar Tree in the courtyard. He drew the Chopping knife, honed razor-sharp, and began slashing through one move after another.

His movements were simple, yet they carried a fierce wind that tore through the icy air.

Before long, he felt his strength beginning to fail him, and his chest grew tight.

He stopped, took a few shallow breaths, then pulled a small cloth pouch from his clothes. Inside was the Snow Ginseng he had luckily obtained last time.

He pinched off a tiny piece and put it in his mouth. A faint bitterness and a strange Warm Current quickly dissolved on his tongue, seeping into his Limbs and Bones.

His strength gradually returned, and he continued swinging his blade. The sound of its edge splitting the air was especially clear in the silent courtyard.

As he practiced, a thought suddenly stirred in his heart.

Perhaps... the next time Wanwan stews meat, I can secretly add a tiny bit of this ginseng? Not much, just a little.

Little Bean Sprout and Wanwan were both far too weak. Their foundations had been badly depleted. Though they had eaten some meat these past few days,

that little bit of nourishment was nowhere near enough. The sickly pallor on their faces could not be made up for overnight.

This thing nourished and warmed the body. It should be useful.

The night deepened, and the cold cut to the bone.

Fang Yuan stood with his blade lowered. Fine sweat beaded on his brow, while white steam rose from his entire body.

His gaze turned toward Village Chief Li's home at the eastern end of the village, and his eyes chilled in the darkness.

That family, especially Village Chief Li, had already been sentenced to death in his heart.

It simply was not the right time yet.

They had only just caused such a scene. If Village Chief Li suddenly lost his life now, Fang Yuan would be the first person everyone suspected.

It would only bring him a whole bodyful of trouble he could never untangle. It was not worth it.

In this remote countryside, the authorities had always cared only about murder cases. Only when someone died would officials cross mountains and ridges to investigate.

As for ordinary petty theft, disputes in the fields, or neighbors bickering and fighting, they could not stir the authorities in the slightest.

Everything depended on the Clan Elders of each village stepping forward to mediate.

As a result, Clan Elders held enormous power in the village, practically miniature county magistrates with the power to pass judgment in their hands.

People feared Clan Elders precisely because they could open the ancestral hall and invoke Family Law. So long as they did not beat someone to death,

even the harshest punishment did not count as a "major matter," and others had little room to argue.

As for seeking fairness before a Clan Elder? Your strength had better be hard enough!

Fang Yuan drew in a breath of icy air and forcibly suppressed the surging killing intent within him.

Let them live a few more days.

Wang Family Village.

A dim oil lamp lit an earthen house slightly more spacious than those of ordinary farmers.

A broad-shouldered, thick-waisted man with a face full of flesh was gnawing on a cornbread bun with a plate of pickled vegetables. He was Li Wangshi's elder brother, Wang Meng.

Hurried footsteps sounded outside. A half-grown boy rushed in, panting as he shouted.

"Uncle Meng! Uncle Meng! Something terrible happened! Word came from Fang Family Village—something huge happened at Auntie's home!"

Wang Meng paused mid-bite and asked in a rough voice, "What happened? Why are you panicking like that?"

"It's... it's that poor bastard called Fang Yuan from Fang Family Village! He beat up Headman Uncle! He even beat Doggie's face so badly it swelled up!

"And... and Auntie was forced to beat up their Clan Elder too!"

The boy delivering the news spoke in a muddled mess, but all the crucial information spilled out.

"What?!" Wang Meng slammed his palm on the table and shot to his feet.

The rough wooden table shook violently from the blow, and the bowls and dishes clattered wildly.

Veins bulged at his temples, and his Bronze Bell eyes widened round.

"Damn it! Has the world turned upside down? A poor bastard dares lay hands on my sister and nephew?!"

His chest heaved violently like an enraged black bear. The drowsiness weighing on him vanished completely, burned away by fury.