A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

Wang's Meat Stall on East Street, Qingshi Town.

It was just past noon, the sun was blazing, and this should have been the busiest time for business. After buying groceries, the women would also pick up a couple of pieces of meat to take home and cook dinner.

But today, Wang Dali's meat stall was unusually deserted.

Half a pig was laid out on the cutting board, the finest pork belly neatly sliced ​​and glistening with oil. Next to it were several racks of ribs, the meat on the bones thick and plump, clearly high-quality meat that had been carefully prepared.

Nobody came.

Passersby would glance at it from afar, then turn a corner and head to Old Zhou's butcher stall across the street. Old Zhou's pigs were as thin as sticks, the meat on the ribs scraped cleaner than a face, but that didn't stop his business from booming.

Wang Dali sat on the bench, idly fanning away flies with a palm-leaf fan in his hand, without making a sound.

Wang Jinbao brought over a bucket of water from the back and splashed it on the ground to wash away the blood under the cutting board. He straightened up, glanced at the deserted stall, then at the bustling Old Zhou's house across the street, and his face darkened.

"Dad, something's wrong."

Wang Dali did not respond.

"Something was off yesterday," Wang Jinbao said, draping a rag over his shoulder. "Sister-in-law Zhang walked past our stall yesterday and didn't even glance at it. She used to come by every few days to buy meat, and every time she'd ask me for an extra bone."

"Say less," Wang Dali said in a muffled voice.

Wang Jinbao couldn't hold back any longer; he was the most impatient of them all. Just as he was about to say something more, a woman carrying a vegetable basket passed by the stall, paused, and glanced in their direction.

Wang Jinbao immediately put on a smiling face: "Sister-in-law, how about a piece of pork belly? The meat is fresh today, just killed..."

The woman quickened her pace and walked away without looking back.

After walking a few steps, she whispered to the woman beside her, her voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for a few words to drift over—

"...It was that family...their daughter married into it...and beat her brother-in-law half to death..."

"...How good can a butcher's family be...?"

Wang Jinbao's smile froze on his face, and then with a "smack," he slammed his hand on the cutting board, making the knife bounce.

"Bullshit!"

His voice boomed, and half the street could hear it. The two women were startled, glanced back at him, and quickened their pace.

"Who's gossiping? Step forward! What's wrong with my sister? How did my sister bother you?" Wang Jinbao grabbed his knife and was about to chase after her when Wang Dali grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"return!"

Wang Dali's grip was incredibly strong; Wang Jinbao was pulled so hard he stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

"father!"

"Put the knife down." Wang Dali's voice wasn't loud, but it was firm. "You chased after someone with a knife in your hand, as if the rumors weren't bad enough?"

Wang Jinbao's chest heaved violently as he slammed the knife into the cutting board with a thud, clenching his back teeth tightly.

"Father, you heard that? They're saying bad things about Jinzhu! What, that she beat her brother-in-law half to death? What kind of people are those second wives of the Chen family? Selling their own niece, and Jinzhu is made a villain just because she tried to stop them?"

"I heard it."

"You heard me and you expect me to tolerate it?"

Wang Dali didn't answer. He stood up, walked to the front of the stall, picked up the boning knife that he had used for more than ten years, and sharpened it a few times on the whetstone.

The blade gleamed, reflecting his somber expression.

"Go and call your second brother to watch the stall. You come with me and find out where this rumor came from."

Wang Jinbao's eyes lit up, and he turned and ran.

Not long after, Wang Yinbao arrived, and Wang Xiaobao followed him.

Wang Yinbao took over the stall. Wang Xiaobao, who was originally shaving pig bristles in the backyard, heard about this and stuck his knife into the cutting board, ready to follow.

"You stay." Wang Dali pointed to the stall.

"Dad, I want to go too."

"Listen to me, stay and watch the stall. With your older brother's temper, I'll keep an eye on him. If you go too, your mother will start nagging again when she comes back and sees no one at the stall."

Wang Xiaobao thought for a moment and then sat back down on the bench.

Wang Dali led Wang Jinbao around, asking questions from east street to west street. The town was so small that finding the source of the information wasn't difficult. They asked around the teahouses, cloth shops, and rice shops, and the directions were all the same—the information came from the Zhiyuan Academy.

"The academy?" Wang Jinbao narrowed his eyes. "Chen Shuyan?"

Wang Dali didn't speak, but his brows were furrowed into a tight knot.

On their way back, the father and son passed by the door of Matchmaker Li's house. Matchmaker Li was sitting on the threshold eating melon seeds. When she saw Wang Dali, the smile on her face faded, and her gaze became somewhat evasive.

Wang Dali paused in his steps.

He remembered. A few days ago, Matchmaker Li had come to Xiaobao's door to arrange a marriage. The girl was from the neighboring Qingshui Village; she was pretty and from a respectable family. Guilan was overjoyed and told him to go and meet her when he had time.

"Aunt Li," Wang Dali called out.

Matchmaker Li chuckled twice: "Oh, Dali, busy, huh?"

"What did the other side say about that marriage proposal I mentioned earlier?"

Matchmaker Li's smile froze for a moment, she spat out the sunflower seed shells on the ground, clapped her hands, and stood up.

"Dali, about this matter... that girl... her father said... he wants to see her again."

In this context, the phrase "let's take another look" means the deal is off.

Wang Jinbao clenched his fists.

Wang Dali glanced at Matchmaker Li, nodded, asked no further questions, and turned to leave.

Back at the stall, Wang Dali briefly explained what had happened. Wang Yinbao remained silent, but his knife chopped a piece of pork rib into tiny pieces.

Wang Xiaobao spoke first.

"So what if it fails?"

Several people looked at him.

Wang Xiaobao sat on a bench with his legs crossed, playing with a pig bone in his hand, speaking in a nonchalant tone.

"It was my mother who rushed into making the arrangements, and I myself wasn't paying attention. A girl I've never even met, and she's already giving up after just a few rumors—marrying into a family like that would be a real problem."

"You—" Wang Jinbao wanted to curse him.

"Brother, why are you in such a hurry? Even if what they're saying outside is true—and I mean even if—wouldn't our family side with our sister? It's only natural to side with family, not with what's right."

Wang Xiaobao threw the pig bones into the bucket, stood up, and patted the dust off his buttocks.

"Besides, I don't think the girl did anything wrong. If the second branch of the Chen family wanted to sell Tianwei, wouldn't anyone stop them? She deserved to be beaten. Those people outside don't know the inside story, why are they making a fuss?"

Wang Dali looked at his youngest son, and after a long while, he snorted through his nose.

This kid usually seems carefree and irresponsible, but he's surprisingly sharp when it matters.

"Father, should we tell Jinzhu?" Wang Yinbao asked.

Wang Dali remained silent for a long time.

When we closed up shop in the evening, there was still more than half a pig left. Usually at this time, there would only be some broken bones left on the cutting board.

Wang Guilan came out from behind the shop, saw the remaining meat, and her smile vanished. She opened her mouth, but Wang Dali stopped her with a look.

"Don't tell Jinzhu yet."

Wang Dali piled the leftover meat onto the cart, his voice deep and muffled like thunder.

"She's only been married into the Chen family for a short time, and things haven't been easy for her to begin with. If this gets back to her, with her temper, who knows what kind of trouble she'll cause."

"But--"

"I told you, I'll keep it a secret for now."

Wang Dali pushed the cart and walked into the alley.

He took a few steps, then stopped without looking back.

"I've got that on my mind."