A bullock cart was traveling on the road from Lower River Village to Liu Family Village, carrying five people: an old lady, an old man, and a young couple with their eight-year-old son.

Last night, the autumn wind rose, and there was a rain shower at midnight. The road was slippery and not easy to travel. Fortunately, the road has been widened a lot, making the trip somewhat manageable, though they dared not go too fast for fear the bull might slip.

It wasn’t the old lady’s first time on this road, yet for the first time in over a decade, she found the road to Liu Family Village easy to travel.

"Mom, look at this road. It wasn’t this good when we came last time. The Liu Family Village must have developed a lot by now!" the young woman holding the child exclaimed in surprise.

As she spoke, something came to her mind, making her a bit apprehensive, "I wonder if my brother-in-law is back. If he’s not..."

The woman didn’t finish her sentence. Her child, feeling restless after being in the cart for too long, started to fuss and cry. Just as she was about to threaten to spank him, the in-laws gave her a stern look.

"Here, have a candy. Don’t cry. We’re almost at your uncle’s house, and there will be plenty of good things for you then. If you keep crying, we won’t bring you next time!"

The old lady took half a malt candy out from her chest pocket, not knowing how long it had been hidden there. It was covered with bits of fluff from her sackcloth, making it look quite unappealing.

But to the child, it was a delectable treat.

He grabbed the candy and stuffed it into his mouth instantly, his crying face turning into a smile, "Oh oh, gotta ask uncle for some good stuff!"

The child happily repeated what the adults at home had been saying the past few days.

The four adults in the cart exchanged glances, unable to suppress their anticipation.

Last evening, Shunzi was busy in the factory until late. To avoid overworking himself to death, he specially asked for a half-day off from Steward Song, planning to sleep enough at home before heading out to work.

Riding a little donkey that his family had just bought this year, he thought he wouldn’t run into anyone near noon. But unexpectedly, he saw a bullock cart ahead that he hadn’t seen before.

He sped up on his donkey to catch up and glanced at the cart driver. His heart lurched with a sudden panic.

"Eldest Brother Mo?" Shunzi tentatively called out.

Turning his face, the other man seemed to not quite remember Shunzi’s appearance. After a long moment, he hesitantly asked, "Are you a friend of my brother-in-law’s family?"

"Yes, I’m Shunzi. Eldest Brother, you still remember me." Shunzi smiled and nodded politely at the elderly couple and Eldest Sister-in-law Mo in the cart.

In truth, his heart was sounding alarms: Finished, it’s over!

Shunzi suppressed his inexplicable panic and tentatively asked, "Where are the old lady and old man heading to?"

Eldest Brother Mo was happy to meet an acquaintance and promptly asked Shunzi if it was true that his brother-in-law had passed the village examination.

"We heard the news yesterday, and everyone at home was overjoyed. To think that my good-for-nothing brother-in-law could achieve so much! So, we left early this morning, planning to bring the family child over to meet his uncle and get to know him."

Shunzi’s doubts were confirmed. Suddenly, the fierce look of Qin Yao flashed before his eyes, giving him the chills. Awkwardly, he reminded:

"Liu Ji isn’t at home. Only the village head’s there. If the child wants to see the uncle, they’ll make the trip for nothing today."

The Mo Family members were indeed momentarily stunned, as they had all heard of Qin Yao’s intimidating reputation, who is now the village head of Liu Family Village, and who knows how formidable she has become?

So if they really had to face her, the Mo Family was quite apprehensive.

But when Liu Ji passed the scholar exam earlier, they had thought of visiting. Still, remembering Qin Yao, they hesitated, suppressing various thoughts in their hearts.

However, after yesterday’s news of Liu Ji passing the examination, the Mo Family could no longer sit still.

If they didn’t go see him, Liu Ji would certainly forget about these relatives, and what benefits would they have in the future?

In the face of great potential benefits, the Mo Family briefly overcame their fear of Qin Yao and set off with their child early in the morning.

But with Liu Ji away, facing Qin Yao was indeed daunting.

Just as Old Mrs. Mo and Old Master Mo began to panic, Eldest Sister-in-law Mo continued the conversation, waving her hand and smiling:

"It’s fine. We haven’t seen my sister’s four children in a long time. Since we’re already here, we might as well visit them; otherwise, the kids would think their uncle’s family doesn’t care about them."

Shunzi glanced at the empty bullock cart, trying not to smirk, as he’d never seen anyone visit relatives without bringing anything.

"Da Lang and the others are at school. If you want to see them, you can wait for them to finish at the Ding Clan School." Shunzi hinted again.

However, the Mo Family did not pick up on his hints. Old Mrs. Mo sensed his intention to dissuade them and shot him a glare.

Shunzi felt exasperated. Since he couldn’t dissuade the Mo Family, he decided to inform Qin Yao in advance.

After bidding farewell to the Mo Family, Shunzi pretended he had something urgent and left without delay.

Riding the little donkey, he hurried to Liu Family Village. Just as he reached the village entrance, he spotted Qin Yao slackening in the mill and quickly called out to her.

Qin Yao mainly handled the carrying work; Mrs. Li was responsible for overseeing the milling inside, and they had a clear division of labor. She waited leisurely at the door.

Seeing Shunzi heading straight for her without even stopping the donkey properly, Qin Yao took two steps forward and asked worriedly:

"What happened to make you so anxious?"

Shunzi waved his hand to indicate it wasn’t a factory matter and, once he caught his breath, hurriedly said, "Third Sister-in-law, the Mo Family is here. I just ran into them on the way, old man and woman, Eldest Brother Mo, Eldest Sister-in-law Mo, and they brought a boy."

"Seems like they came because of my third brother passing the exam. I told them he wasn’t home and couldn’t persuade them to leave."

Shunzi thought he had certainly stood on her side and advised.

Qin Yao was slightly stunned for a moment, almost not recalling which Mo Family it was.

Seeing Shunzi’s sincere expression, she smiled, "If they come, they come. Why so flustered? I got it. Go on with your work."

"Then, I’ll go?" Shunzi asked coyly. Strangely, her smiling face made him even more uneasy.

Qin Yao waved her hand, still smiling. Shunzi felt a little more at ease, grabbed his donkey, and entered the stationery factory, looking back repeatedly.

"Madam, the grain is ground." Mrs. Li called softly from inside.

Qin Yao walked into the mill carrying two heavy baskets, "The relatives of Da Lang’s uncle have arrived."

Mrs. Li looked confused for a moment, then realized the connection and hurriedly checked Qin Yao’s expression. Qin Yao was smiling lightly, seemingly in a good mood.

Mrs. Li was even less certain of her intentions, cautiously asking, "Shall we prepare for them?"

Qin Yao nodded and instructed calmly, "Serve them well with food and drinks, and then send them off with five taels of silver."

She was the village head now, and her reputation was important. If after being well-fed they still didn’t leave on their own, she’d just wait for Liu Ji to return and let him handle it himself.

"Right, have Little Lai Fu inform Yin Le at the canteen to return home immediately after work to guard the door."

Mrs. Li, with a twinkle in her eye, understood the meaning: keep them inside the courtyard without letting them out.

Once they couldn’t leave, no matter how much fuss they make inside, outsiders wouldn’t know.