The kang (heated brick bed) for left-behind women

The old village chief and others were summoned.

The old village chief looked serious; he had already heard about the incident from the villagers.

"What's all the fuss about!"

The old village chief walked closer, first glancing at Lin Dachun, whose face was so gloomy it could drip water. He then turned to Wu Xin, his voice carrying its usual authority, "Wu Xin, what are you shouting about here again? Don't you think your family's affairs are chaotic enough?"

When Wu Xin saw the old village chief arrive, her arrogance subsided slightly, but her resentment remained. Pointing at the slope, she exclaimed, "Village chief, you've come at the right time! Look at those lousy seedlings Lin Dachun planted! They were blocking my sheep's path, and after a few were eaten, he stopped me like he wanted to eat me alive, demanding an explanation!"

"Your sheep ate someone else's seedlings, and you still think you're right?" The old village chief interrupted her, his brow furrowed. "This mountain belongs to the public, but Lin Dachun has contracted this slope to grow things, and all the paperwork is in order. Your sheep ran around everywhere, nibbling on other people's crops, and you think that's okay?!"

"I..." Wu Xin still wanted to argue.

The old village chief wouldn't allow her to speak further, raising his voice several decibels with an undeniable determination: "Wu Xin, listen to me clearly! The matter of your daughter Taohua was the work of that beast Lin Liang! Lin Dachun stopped us at the time, but that was according to the rules, afraid that our village would get a bad reputation for vigilante justice, and it was for the sake of the whole village! Don't take out your daughter's grievances on unrelated people! That's being unreasonable, that's sophistry!"

These were rather harsh words, especially coming from the old village chief, who always valued rules and regulations.

Wu Xin's face flushed red and then turned pale. She opened her mouth, but dared not bite as recklessly as before.

The old village chief's attitude made it clear to her that, in this matter, the village's "rules" and "justices" were not on her side.

"But the village chief, he..." Wu Xin was still unwilling to give up, pointing to the sea buckthorn seedlings.

"The sheep ate the seedlings because you didn't watch them properly!" the old village chief declared definitively. "In this matter, you, Wu Xin, are in the wrong! Whether Lin Dachun sides with Lin Liang or not is a separate issue! They shouldn't be confused, and you certainly shouldn't use this as an opportunity for revenge!"

He paused, looked at Lin Dachun who had stopped moving and was silently listening to the commotion, and softened his tone: "Dachun, the seedlings have been eaten, it's a loss. You see..."

Lin Dachun straightened up, patted the dirt off his hands, and said in a calm but firm voice, "According to the rules, he should pay compensation."

Upon hearing the word "compensation," Wu Xin reacted as if her tail had been stepped on: "Compensation? Why should I compensate? What's a few broken sour thorn trees worth? Who knows if they died because they didn't grow them well and are now blaming me? I won't compensate! I have no money!"

Seeing Wu Xin's tantrum and unreasonable behavior, the old village chief knew that getting her to pay compensation was an impossible task. If pushed too far, who knew what kind of trouble this woman might cause.

He hesitated for a moment, then compromised, saying, "Let's put the compensation issue aside for now. Wu Xin, since you admit it was your sheep that ate them, then you have to admit your mistake! From now on, keep a close eye on your sheep. If they dare to run into Da Chun's contracted land and cause trouble again, don't blame me for treating it as sabotage of collective production. At that point, it won't just be a matter of losing a few seedlings!"

He gave both sides a way out, acknowledging Wu Xin's mistake, temporarily exempting her from financial compensation, and imposing more severe consequences to restrain her future behavior.

"Alright, alright, I got it! From now on, I'll make sure my sheep stay away from his precious territory, okay?"

This can be seen as a disguised admission of wrongdoing and a promise not to eat it again, but the financial compensation is never mentioned.

After saying that, Wu Xin drove the sheep away.

The old village chief glanced at Lin Dachun and said, "Focus on planting sea buckthorn. I'm getting old, and my thinking is indeed lagging behind the times, but Wu Xin's daughter, Sun Taohua, is indeed a victim. Try to understand Wu Xin's feelings."

"Mm." Lin Dachun nodded.

The old village chief and the other villagers also dispersed.

Lin Yali walked out from the crowd.

"Brother Dachun, I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this again. I didn't expect Wu Xin to take her anger out on you too," Lin Yali said apologetically.

"It's nothing," Lin Dachun said calmly.

"Why don't you come to my house tonight?" Lin Yali suggested.

"Why would I go to your house?" Lin Dachun asked.

"Thank you," Lin Yali said.

"Are you treating me to dinner? Then I'll bring Li Ruoxue along," Lin Dachun said with a smile.

Lin Yali looked up at Li Ruoxue, who was herding sheep on the other side of the hill, and said softly, "I wanted you to come alone."

This seems to imply something.

"Let's talk about it tonight," Lin Dachun replied.

Lin Dachun then went back up the mountain to take care of the sea buckthorn seedlings, feeling a pang of heartache.

"Honestly, they ate our sea buckthorn seedlings. It's obviously intentional, as revenge against us," Li Ruoxue said indignantly.

"Never mind, Sister-in-law Wu Xin isn't a bad person. She's doing this for her daughter. I'll visit her another day." Lin Dachun's way of dealing with people is different.

"What did Lin Yali say to you?" Li Ruoxue asked again.

"She asked me to come to her house tonight, probably because of Lin Liang, but Lin Liang is out," Lin Dachun replied.

Li Ruoxue's eyes darted around, and she took Lin Dachun's hand, saying, "Lin Yali is a widow, and her son isn't home anymore. She's all alone. If you go to her place at night, and the door is locked, who knows what you two might be doing in there?"

"What are you saying?" Lin Dachun laughed.

"You know perfectly well what I'm saying," Li Ruoxue said jealously.