Auntie Chen was a bit perplexed when she received Wen Qian's call. When Wen Qian mentioned someone passing by, Auntie Chen wondered if Wen Qian had discovered more footprints to investigate.
So she decided to go out and take a look. As she reached the slope, she heard a wail.
Someone ran past her faster than a flying swallow, letting out a terrified scream as they brushed past her.
Auntie Chen hadn't seen who it was yet, but then she saw Wen Qian ahead, holding a knife and slowly walking step by step.
Her expression had a smile on her face.
Auntie Chen stood frozen, wondering what was going on, when she heard that woman say she was going to kill someone.
"She's going to kill! She's going to kill! Oh my god! She's crazy, she's gone mad! She's going to kill me!"
Auntie Chen looked at the other woman, who seemed deranged, with mud stuck on her hands and body, and thought this person looked more like a madwoman.
It wasn't until she saw Wen Qian walk past her, continuing forward and raising the knife in her hand as if to throw it, that she finally got scared.
She hurried over and grabbed Wen Qian's hand: "Child! Child, you can't do this, you can't. You're so young, killing someone means going to jail. You'll have a criminal record, and your life will be ruined. I'm telling you, you can't do this, you can't. Listen to auntie, you can't do this, you can't."
Wen Qian tilted her head and whispered in Auntie Chen's ear: "I was just pretending."
Auntie Chen was stunned for a moment, then let go of Wen Qian's hand and turned to look at that frantic woman, who had already scrambled and rolled her way to the side of Auntie Chen's kitchen and run off quite quickly.
It wasn't until she couldn't see the woman anymore that Auntie Chen finally relaxed.
That woman had been scared, but Auntie Chen herself had been scared too.
She was really afraid that Wen Qian would impulsively do something irreversible in the heat of the moment. Wen Qian was still so young, she shouldn't ruin her future because of these messy situations.
Then Auntie Chen gave another lecture about abiding by the law, repeating what she had heard from her son - that those who break the law will ruin three generations. Not only themselves, but the second and third generations too, and they won't even be able to work for the government in the future.
What does it mean to have a clean family background? This is what it means to be clean.
Wen Qian didn't nod in agreement after hearing Auntie Chen's words. She only looked up and told Auntie Chen that if they dared to come a third time, she would dare to bury them.
Every time she talked about burying someone, Auntie Chen thought she was just making an empty threat to scare people.
But now that she said it so seriously, Auntie Chen felt a bit scared.
She thought she should keep a closer eye on things in the future, so those people wouldn't come over again.
Wang Xiaoping stumbled her way to the threshing ground.
Her son didn't want to send her there, so she found a village pedicab to take her.
The pedicab was waiting for her at the threshing ground. Seeing how dirty she looked like a mud figure, her face pale as if she had seen a ghost, the driver asked her what had happened, if she had fallen down.
Wang Xiaoping trembled and waved her hand: "No, no, just take me home, take me home."
After returning home, her family saw her in that state and asked what had happened. But she didn't say a word, appearing completely out of it.
It wasn't until nighttime when she woke up from a nightmare that her husband impatiently asked her what had happened that day.
That's when Wang Xiaoping finally told the truth.
After listening, her husband fell silent for a while, then told her not to look for Wen Qian again, and to just pretend it had never happened.
As for their son's situation, they would figure it out slowly later on.
Two of their daughters had already married, but not into good families, so they couldn't help much.
The third one was the one who wanted to stab someone with a knife, so they couldn't count on her either.
The fourth child was still studying and asking them for money, so they hadn't approached her.
For a remarried couple wanting to find a first wife, the conditions would have to be even higher, leaving the couple feeling depressed.
But if the person could scare Wang Xiaoping like that, she probably wasn't someone to mess with lightly. If they provoked her and she caused trouble for their son, that wouldn't be good either.
After hearing her husband's words, Wang Xiaoping lost her determination, thinking she would just pretend that person didn't exist from then on.
Wen Qian thought that after this, Wang Xiaoping's family probably wouldn't come over again, unless they were desperate.
Auntie Chen also told Uncle Chen about Wen Qian scaring people with a knife, and asked him to pay attention to anyone from Wang Xiaoping's family passing by and trying to find Wen Qian's family.
She told them not to go, in case something really happened and it ended badly.
Wen Qian was quite satisfied with Wang Xiaoping's panicked and terrified state, even eating an extra bowl of food happily at noon.
The white radishes pulled from the field tasted sweet, but because of the snow and cold, the radishes would gradually become hollow and lose their taste.
Luckily, Wen Qian had put them in her spatial realm, so when she took them out to eat, they would always be sweet.
The pickled vegetables that Wen Qian had made earlier, she put different aging stages into the spatial realm, so she didn't have to worry about them becoming too sour and could eat them at their best condition.
When Fang Ya heard about this incident, she came to find Wen Qian again and advised her once more not to act impulsively.
An impulsive moment could lead to a lifetime of regret.
Feeling the concern from Auntie Chen's family, Wen Qian told them not to worry.
As long as the world didn't descend into chaos, she would naturally abide by the law.
Fang Ya had never considered the possibility of the world becoming chaotic, but she was reassured by Wen Qian's clear understanding.
It was only when turmoil occurred that demons and monsters would naturally emerge as well.
Wen Qian looked at Fang Ya's belly and asked her what preparations she was making for the baby.
At the mention of the baby, Fang Ya had a lot to say, and she started talking about baby-related matters.
"Are you preparing clothes for her in advance? Diapers, formula, and things like that?"
"Not that early! But I have been looking at baby clothes online recently. As for diapers and formula, those have expiration dates, so it's still too early for me."
Wen Qian thought about it and agreed it was still quite early.
However, Fang Ya mentioned that Auntie Chen was looking for used children's clothes and old clothes from home to make into diapers.
She said that while disposable diapers were convenient for 24-hour use, it would be better to change the baby periodically during the day if possible.
Fang Ya didn't have any objections to this, as her mother-in-law would always consult and discuss these things with her. If she didn't want to, then it was fine.
Her mother-in-law was much easier to get along with compared to others.
After two snowy periods, the sun came out for a few days, and then it started snowing again.
Uncle Chen and Auntie Chen decided to take their rice to a nearby mill to process more rice.
Due to the snow, online shopping deliveries were also delayed for a long time.
Wen Qian told Fang Ya that when she went to the street, it would be better to withdraw some cash, in case there was a power outage, internet disruption, or system failure later on, making it impossible to use mobile payments.
Fang Ya agreed it made sense, so when she went to the street with her in-laws, she withdrew some cash from the bank.
