"Fifth, it’s not good, I... my gold bracelet is gone..."

Mrs. Jin was in a panic, stuttering as she spoke.

Mu Danian’s lips curled into a smug smile as he lifted Xiao Han from the ground and threw him back down heavily.

"Xiao Han, did you hear? Your eldest aunt has discovered your theft of the gold bracelet. Don’t waste time, hand it over!"

As Mu Danian spoke, he spat on Xiao Han.

Xiao Han, who previously resisted, now remained silent.

He stared at Mu Danian with a look of hatred, a fixed gaze.

"You little brat, what are you looking at!" Mu Danian noticed Xiao Han’s gaze and felt displeased.

"You thief, today I’m going to expose you in front of the whole village, let everyone know that the Third Branch of the Mu Family has produced a thief, a shameless thief..."

Mu Danian threw hurtful words at Xiao Han one after another.

Nearby, Gou Dan picked up a stone from the ground, a small stone, and smashed it onto Xiao Han’s head, instantly breaking his forehead open!

Blood gushed from the wound on his forehead...

He didn’t scream, didn’t shout, and didn’t even use his hands to cover his head.

Mu Danian saw the bright red blood and felt a moment of panic.

But then he remembered how he had suffered losses from Mu Shuangshuang, that pesky girl.

This time, teaching Xiao Han a lesson was like getting some revenge.

"You little brat, speak up! Are you mute? If you don’t confess, I’ll parade you through the streets and let the village people beat you to death!" Mu Danian continued to threaten Xiao Han.

"Fifth, don’t get physical, what if Xiao Han didn’t steal the bracelet?" Mrs. Jin said in a fake remorse.

She knew all along that Xiao Han didn’t steal the gold bracelet, but she didn’t want Mu Danian to take things too far.

What if something happened to Xiao Han because of him, and that pesky girl loses control, involving their main branch, it wouldn’t be good!

Mrs. Jin’s words made Mu Danian feel guilty.

He yelled at Xiao Han even louder to hide his own feelings of guilt.

"You little brat, stop pretending! Come on, let’s go see your grandparents!"

Mu Danian grabbed Xiao Han’s clothes, dragging and pulling him into the courtyard of Old Mu Family.

Mrs. Jin and Mu Dade followed him.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Lin secretly spread the news around the village that Xiao Han had stolen Mrs. Jin’s golden bracelet, vividly described as if she had witnessed it herself.

However, most people in the village were still working in the fields, so not many knew about it.

On the ridge, members of the third branch, along with Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen, cut down three acres of rice in half a day.

At this speed, by tomorrow’s sunset, the rice would be harvested.

After working for so long, Mu Shuangshuang felt it was time to rest.

She called Mu Dashan, who was carrying a load, and Lu Yuanfeng, then asked her mother and Xing Beichen to join them in sitting on the ridge, drinking tea and chatting.

Villagers nearby, seeing the excitement, gathered around too.

The few people from the third branch working in the field were exceptionally fast in their work.

Someone enviously said, "Dashan, with helpers at your place, your work speed is different. What takes others two days, you finish in half!"

"Yes, Dashan, you sure are lucky! I noticed earlier that Feng didn’t take a single breath while carrying loads!"

Mu Dashan laughed heartily, rarely showing humility to the compliments from everyone.

He said with a smile, "Don’t laugh at me. I’m lucky to have Feng and my daughter. If I worked alone, it wouldn’t be this fast!"

Mu Shuangshuang poured a cup of fishy-smelling herbal tea she prepared for everyone.

"Don’t think less of it, it’s chilled tea brewed by Shuangshuang herself. It’s great for relieving heat and thirst, though the taste is a bit unpleasant!"

Just like Mu Shuangshuang said, at first everyone found the tea’s taste unpleasant, but after drinking it, they felt extremely refreshed and couldn’t resist asking for another cup.

With tea down their throats, the group quickly lost any sense of distance.

The conversation grew increasingly gossip-like!

"By the way, Shuang, Feng, when are you two getting married? It’s been nearly a year since your betrothal!"

This was not exactly a new question for Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng.

In the past, Mu Shuangshuang would explain, but each time, others still didn’t get it.

Now she has a special way of addressing it—any time someone asks, she simply lowers her head shyly.

Usually, at that moment, everyone stops asking!

And so it was this time, as Mu Shuangshuang lowered her head, they laughed and said, "The little girl is shy, hahaha, let’s not talk about it, let’s drop it!"

After a while of chatting, Mu Dajiang’s anxious figure appeared on the ridge.

"Hey, isn’t that Mu the Fourth? What’s he doing up the ridge? I heard the eldest lady of Old Mu Family paid money for village men without land or little land to help with the rush!"

One of the village’s well-informed women muttered to herself.

Her husband chimed in, "You got that right! But judging by his look, he’s not here to work, more like he’s here to find someone!"

Mu Dajiang was wearing a pair of old straw sandals and a white vest, his dark arms exposed outside, his head completely bare without even a headscarf.

He definitely didn’t look like he was here to farm.

Even though it was already afternoon, the sun was still scorching.

Mu Dajiang was soaked in sweat as he searched around, eventually locating Mu Dashan within the group on the ridge.

"Third Brother... Third Brother... you have to go back quickly, something happened to Xiao Han!"

Mu Dajiang was standing quite far away, initially it didn’t reach Mu Dashan’s ears.

But Mu Dashan heard his name and stood up.

Mu Shuangshuang also stepped forward.

They ran toward Mu Dajiang, getting closer as they heard him shouting, "Third Brother, it’s bad news! Xiao Han... Xiao Han is in trouble!"

Mu Dashan’s face turned pale as he heard the news.

He rushed over, grabbing Mu Dajiang by the collar, and anxiously asked, "What’s wrong with Xiao Han?"

"The Fifth said Xiao Han stole the eldest sister-in-law’s bracelet, now Father and Mother are punishing Xiao Han, saying they will sell him to pay for that bracelet..."

Before Mu Dajiang could finish explaining, Mu Shuangshuang was already rushing toward Old Mu Family’s place.

She silently prayed in her heart that Xiao Han wouldn’t get hurt...

Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen sensed something was wrong and stood up too.

They closely followed Mu Dashan and Mu Shuangshuang, and when Lu Yuanfeng realized Mu Shuangshuang was heading toward Old Mu Family, he said to Xing Beichen, "Beichen, help me look after Shuangshuang’s mother, I’ll go assist Shuangshuang..."