Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Following Tang Susu's instructions, Tang Liqiang tied Yang Houcai securely to the banyan tree.

Although he didn't know his older sister's intentions, seeing that Yang Houcai was still alive, he knew that nothing serious had happened.

Unable to contain his anger, he looked around to make sure no one was watching, then quietly raised his foot and kicked Yang Houcai's crotch several times with all his might, finally venting his anger.

Tang Susu turned to Tang Liqiang and said, "Go home and get a hoe and a shovel, and dig a ditch around the banyan tree."

Tang Liqiang was completely confused and didn't understand what digging a ditch was for, but he still obediently agreed and ran home to get his tools.

After returning, he got to work diligently and soon dug a trench around the banyan tree that wasn't too deep, but enough to hide the power lines.

Tang Susu told Tang Liqiang to go home and take care of Miao Yulan first. After he left, she immediately accessed the trading platform.

Without hesitation, she spent eighteen taels of silver to buy solar panels, wires, and a simple electric shock device.

It hurt to spend the money, but she felt it was worth it—both to vent her anger at Yang Houcai breaking into her house and committing violence, and to deter the villains in the village in order to secure a peaceful life in the future.

Tang Susu was fortunate that she had lived alone for more than 30 years in her previous life, which honed her hands-on repair skills, and she had also learned a lot of related knowledge from the electrician next door.

She skillfully stripped the outer sheath of the wire, connected one end of the wire to a hidden solar panel in the distance, and took three more solar panels, hiding them in the haystacks used for winter fires—no one would disturb the haystacks in the summer, so it was absolutely safe to hide them there.

She carefully buried the wires in the dug trench, arranged multiple layers of wires around the banyan tree, and then scooped water from the nearby ditch and sprinkled it evenly on the ground where the wires were buried.

She knew that the solar panels didn't generate much electricity, not enough to knock out a strong man, but enough to give anyone who got close a strong electric shock. As soon as the sun came out, the area around the banyan tree would become a "forbidden zone" that no one dared to approach.

After dealing with the trap, Tang Susu rushed home immediately to check on Miao Yulan's condition.

Seeing that the bleeding from her lower body had stopped and her complexion was better than before, I breathed a slight sigh of relief.

But she couldn't help worrying that Miao Yulan might feel guilty about losing her child and develop depression—in her previous life, a female employee in her company had attempted suicide multiple times due to miscarriage depression, and she knew how terrible this illness was.

That night, Tang Susu tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.

Worried that something might happen to his older sister again, Tang Liqiang also moved into the main house and lay down next to Yang Xiaobao. He also tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and would occasionally turn his head to look at the door, afraid that someone else would break in.

As dawn approached, Tang Susu got up and made a decision: she would kill the family's hen, Dahua, to nourish Miao Yulan's body.

Upon hearing that Da Hua was to be killed, Yang Xiaobao's eyes instantly reddened. He tugged at Tang Susu's sleeve and pleaded, "Mom, please don't kill Da Hua, okay? Da Hua is very well-behaved and lays many eggs. Let's kill Er Hua instead; Er Hua is the laziest and lays few eggs."

Seeing the child's serious expression, Tang Susu nodded in tacit approval.

She brought up the trading platform again, wanting to search for some pregnancy-preserving medication to keep on hand.

But having never given birth herself, she knew nothing about the properties of medicines and was afraid of buying the wrong medicine and harming Miao Yulan, so she wanted to buy a medical book to learn first.

Unfortunately, it was too dark to read, so I had to give up for now and plan to study it carefully after daybreak.

At dawn, a pale white light appeared on the horizon.

Tang Lifu got out of bed with dark circles under his eyes, clearly having not slept all night.

Tang Susu called him to her side and instructed him, "Today you and Liqiang go to town to deliver the cold noodles. I'll stay home and take care of Yulan. If you come across any fish for sale in town, buy it no matter how expensive it is—fish soup is even more nourishing for pregnant women than chicken soup."

She paused, then added, "I know it's a drought now, the rivers have dried up, and fish are definitely scarce in Dongtai Town. Keep an eye out for them."

Tang Lifu quickly agreed and turned to find Tang Liqiang to prepare for loading the truck.

The two men were busy moving buckets of cold noodles when Yang Defu, driving his oxcart past the Tang family's house, noticed the brothers' pale faces and asked curiously, "What happened to you two? By the way, I just passed the big banyan tree at the village entrance and saw Yang Houcai tied up to it. What happened?"

Tang Lifu and Tang Liqiang exchanged a glance and remained silent, simply burying their heads and speeding up their work.

The oxcart slowly drove away from Yangqu Village, heading towards the town.

The village slowly awoke in the morning light, and the villagers got up one after another, carrying their farm tools to work in the fields.

The news that Yang Houcai had been tied to the banyan tree spread like wildfire throughout the village.

The villagers put down their work and rushed to the banyan tree, crowding the area around it.

The once peaceful morning instantly became bustling with activity.

The villagers who were watching started talking all at once.

"What's going on? How did Houcai get tied up here?"

"It must have been Houcai's wife who did it! Most likely it's because of his affair with Widow Lan; she's taking revenge!"

"Sister Houcai is amazing! She usually seems so honest, I never expected her to be so capable!"

"With this incident escalating to such a degree, it's unlikely they'll be able to continue living together."

Just then, Yang Houcai, who had been tied up all night, was awakened by the noisy voices around him.

His body was numb and he couldn't move. He struggled a few times but couldn't break free. Enraged, he opened his mouth and cursed in the direction of the Tang family: "Tang Susu, you bitch! You dare to tie me up here! When I get out, I'll skin you alive!"

His outburst stunned the villagers who were watching.

Yang Houcai struggled to continue cursing, but felt a sharp pain all over his body, making him grimace.

The villagers instantly sensed an even bigger gossip brewing, and they all crowded closer, bombarding him with questions: "Houcai, why are you dragging Tang Susu into this? What does she have to do with it?"

"Yeah, weren't you having an affair with Blue Widow? Why are you criticizing Tang Susu now?"

Just as everyone was pressing for answers, Tang Susu pushed through the crowd and walked in.

She wore a clean, earth-yellow new dress, her hair was neatly combed, and her eyes were as cold and sharp as a deep winter pool, exuding an aura of authority.

She walked to the banyan tree and, in front of everyone, calmly admitted, "I had my brother tie him up here."

The moment the words were spoken, the villagers erupted in uproar.

Tang Susu raised her hand to smother the flames and continued, "Last night, this scumbag sneaked into my house to steal under the cover of darkness. My sister-in-law, Miao Yulan, who is pregnant, got up in the middle of the night and bumped into him. He pushed her violently to the ground. Yulan is still unconscious in bed and hasn't woken up yet."

She paused, her voice tinged with sorrow: "It's not easy for a widow like me to raise my family alone. I can't beat him. It's all thanks to Gou Sheng's father's protection from heaven that I was able to tie him up and bring him here. I'll let him go home only when Yu Lan's health improves."

"Is her deceased husband appearing in spirit?"

The villagers were instantly shocked when they heard those four words.

Although there are folk tales about the dead appearing in dreams, this is the first time anyone has heard of a deceased person appearing to protect their family.

The once noisy crowd fell silent instantly, and the atmosphere around them became exceptionally heavy.

Yang Houcai's mother pushed through the crowd and rushed out, pointing her finger at Tang Susu and yelling, "You're talking nonsense! If you're really in the right, why don't you report it to the authorities? If my son really did something wrong, the county magistrate will naturally arrest him. It's not your place to set up a court here!"

Tang Susu sneered, knowing perfectly well that in this feudal society, as long as no one was killed, the government would not care about trivial matters such as fights between villagers.

Yang Houcai could easily have attributed Miao Yulan's injury to an accident, leaving her with no recourse.

It is simply unrealistic to expect the government to seek justice.

Today, she wanted to make an example of Yang Houcai to deter the troublemakers in the village and let them know that she, Tang Susu, was not someone to be trifled with, and that they should never dare to come knocking on her door again.

Tang Susu reiterated firmly, "I'm not making this up. It's all thanks to Gou Sheng's father protecting us from heaven. With his spirit here, Yang Houcai won't be able to go home easily."

Yang Houcai's mother didn't believe in these superstitious tales at all, and angrily shouted, "I think you're just pretending to be a ghost! I'm taking my son away today!"

As she spoke, she strode towards Yang Houcai under the banyan tree.

But as soon as I stepped onto the wet ground where the electrical wires were buried, a tingling electric current surged from the soles of my feet throughout my entire body.

She froze, then fell to the ground with a thud, wincing in pain.

All of this was under Tang Susu's control—she held the electric switch in her hand, deliberately controlling the power to a level that "only causes pain, not knockout."

There are many elderly and young people in the village, and she was afraid that she might accidentally cause a death, which would only bring trouble upon herself.

"Help! Help!" Yang Houcai's mother's legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, and she couldn't get up at all. She could only grit her teeth and shout to her husband who was not far away.

Yang Houcai's father hesitated for a long time, then cautiously moved forward like a timid snail.

But as soon as he got close to the wetland, he was struck by electricity and fell to the ground instantly, his face filled with terror.

Seeing this, the villagers who were watching were completely convinced.

Everyone exclaimed, "Yang Fujun was truly a good young man! Even in death, he didn't forget to protect his family!"

"It's such a pity. If he were still alive, with Tang Susu's abilities, the family would definitely be living a prosperous life."

"Yes, he finally got a wife and children, and just when life was looking up, he passed away. His life was so unfortunate."