After finishing her meal and washing the lunchbox, Lin Xiaoxiao pulled Zhou Xiaoling along to weed the vegetable patch. Truth be told, Dong Hongmei had already kept it quite tidy, but Lin Xiaoxiao felt she should still learn how it was done.

Zhou Xiaoling obediently followed, and as they weeded, they also picked insects off the leafy greens.

Zhou Xiaoling chattered nonstop about her amusing experiences as a soldier in Tibet, which made for quite interesting listening.

They squatted in a shady spot, working at a leisurely pace, when Dong Hongmei spotted them from a distance and walked over. "Aren't you two hot out here?" she said with a smile. "I came to ask if you're interested in pickling vegetables. The eggplants and cucumbers are ready—we can dry them now so we'll have dried vegetables for winter."

This was new to Lin Xiaoxiao, so she stood up and earnestly began learning from Dong Hongmei.

With efficient movements, Dong Hongmei picked some eggplants and cucumbers, then told Lin Xiaoxiao to wash them and let them dry. After that, she cut the cucumbers into strips and the eggplants into slices, spreading them on a flat bamboo tray to sun-dry.

Watching Lin Xiaoxiao's chopping skills, Dong Hongmei mentioned, "My Lao Li's gone into the city for another meeting tonight, so it's just me and the kids. If Xiao Zhou isn't back, why don't you both come over for dinner? I'll make rolled pancakes for you."

Zhou Xiaoling waved her hand. "That's alright, we can eat at home. No need to trouble you in this heat."

Dong Hongmei didn't mind. "It's no trouble—just a bit more flour. Besides, it's more fun with more people."

Lin Xiaoxiao also declined. It pained her to see Dong Hongmei so unaware when she couldn't say anything. "Zhou Huai'an said he'd be back tonight. We'll just eat here."

Dong Hongmei didn't press further. "Alright, another time then. Xiaoling hasn't been to our place yet." She was still cheerful. Li Guohao had told her that Zhou Huai'an and Zhou Xiaoling came from good families, and that it would be useful to stay on good terms with them. Being naturally warm-hearted, she found it easy to befriend Lin Xiaoxiao.

Li Guohao had also mentioned that he was often needed in the city for meetings lately. He said higher-ups were taking notice of him, and there was even talk of a transfer to the provincial capital—or maybe even Beijing.

Dong Hongmei wasn't worldly; she'd only learned to read in literacy classes. But she was cheerful and talkative, and she trusted Li Guohao completely. She never doubted his loyalty, and whenever she spoke of him, there was a touch of unconscious pride.

After Dong Hongmei left to prepare lunch, Zhou Xiaoling asked uncertainly, "I don't know if I'm overthinking it, but I feel like something's up with Li Guohao. I've heard others at the institute say he's started paying a lot of attention to his appearance lately. Doesn't that seem odd for a man in his forties?"

Lin Xiaoxiao agreed, but it wasn't good to gossip, even with Zhou Xiaoling. "What should we make for lunch?" she said, changing the subject. "I'll start cooking."

While helping with the fire, Zhou Xiaoling brought up her worries again. "There's still no trace of my second brother. I wrote to my dad, but he and my grandfather haven't made any progress investigating the people behind Zhou Xiaoming either. I don't even know if he's still alive...

When will he come back? If he returns, our family will finally be together again."

Lin Xiaoxiao was curious too, but with no leads, there was little even Zhou Huai'an or Lin Zihao could do. All they could do was speculate. "If the culprits aren't done, they'll slip up eventually.

We can't rush it. The calmer things seem, the bigger the fish might be hiding."

Zhou Xiaoling sighed. For now, that was all they could do—wait, no matter how anxious she felt.

Since both Lin Xiaoxiao and Zhou Xiaoling liked spicy food, they decided to make rice for lunch, with a side of blistered chili peppers fried in lard and soybean oil—a perfect pairing.

The peppers were at their spiciest this time of year. As soon as they hit the hot wok, an intense, pungent aroma filled the air, making Lin Xiaoxiao cough as she stirred.

Zhou Xiaoling was also affected, stepping back with teary eyes and sneezing.

The result was delicious, but the process was pure agony.

Amid the smoky haze, neither noticed Zhang Yimei's mother-in-law emerging next door. Without warning, the old woman flung a basin of water toward them, coughing and cursing, "Have you no shame? Stir-frying chilies right under our window! Are you doing this on purpose to keep us from resting?"

The water—who knows what kind—splashed at Lin Xiaoxiao's feet, and some even landed in the wok, ruining the nearly finished dish.

Lin Xiaoxiao's temper flared. She had even moved the stove to the middle of the yard to minimize the smoke, but the wind had carried it toward the neighbor's yard. Now, with dirty water splashed into her wok, she wasn't about to let it slide. She grabbed a cloth, lifted the hot wok, and hurled it toward the old woman.

Zhou Xiaoling jumped in fright.

The old woman, not expecting Lin Xiaoxiao to fight back, scrambled backward. The wok landed at her feet, splattering hot oil and peppers onto her bare ankles.

"Aiyo! Murder! Aiyo, it hurts!"

The old woman hopped around the yard twice before collapsing to the ground, clutching her leg and wailing.

Lin Xiaoxiao just stared coldly. Ironic, she thought—the original Lin Xiaoxiao had once thrown water at a neighbor for stir-frying peppers too. What goes around comes around.

Zhang Yimei could no longer stay inside. Even though her mother-in-law often mistreated her, she was still her husband's mother. Seeing her bullied, Zhang Yimei pointed at Lin Xiaoxiao and yelled, "What do you think you're doing? How dare you go this far!"

Lin Xiaoxiao sneered. "She splashed water into my wok, and she's the one with the nerve to complain? I'm not using that wok again—you owe me a new one."

Zhang Yimei found it absurd. "Lin Xiaoxiao, don't think you can do whatever you want just because your man is Zhou Huai'an! You hurt my mother-in-law, and now you have the gall to demand a new wok? Just you wait—I'm going to report this!"

Soon, a crowd had gathered, all pointing and murmuring disapprovingly at Lin Xiaoxiao. Clearly, they disapproved of her behavior—especially since she'd once made a scene herself over a neighbor cooking peppers. Now that someone else was stopping her from doing the same, she was still acting entitled. Wasn't that hypocritical?

As the old woman continued wailing and Zhang Yimei ran off with her child to fetch help, Zhou Xiaoling patted Lin Xiaoxiao's shoulder. "Don't worry. Worst case, we'll take them on together.

That old woman had it coming."

Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but laugh. "It might not come to that, but she really is infuriating. She needed to be taught a lesson."

It wasn't long before Zhang Yimei returned with someone from the residential committee's security office. They first sent the old woman to the medical station, then insisted Lin Xiaoxiao come along.

Lin Xiaoxiao didn't mind. She'd go—gladly.

This nasty habit of Zhang Yimei's mother-in-law had to be nipped in the bud. She just wondered... would Zhou Huai'an blame her for this?

She sighed inwardly. If that man dared to criticize her, she'd definitely give him the cold shoulder from now on.