When Ma Renshan left, he finally felt somewhat reassured. Before departing, he also asked several elderly villagers who frequently visited Aunt Zeng to spend more time keeping her company. 

For Aunt Zeng, Gao Zhuo’s death was absolute despair. But for most of the village, once the initial grief passed, it eventually became only another sorrowful episode amid countless others.

With so many villagers having returned, the village had become much livelier than usual.

Every day, Jing Lin and the others harvested corn, hauled corn home, dried corn in the sun, and shelled corn. 

Zhao Zhiwen’s family owned a corn sheller, but without electricity it was useless, so they had to shell every ear by hand. 

After breakfast each morning, Jing Lin would take Le Le to Zhao Zhiwen’s house. Each person sat on a small stool with a basket of corn cobs in front of them.

The Yan family also came over every day after meals to help. There wasn’t much else to do anyway, and having more people around made the work pass more pleasantly through conversation.

Ever since the husbands and sons of Liu Yinghua and her daughter-in-law had returned home, the gloomy expressions had vanished from their household.

Before, their front gate had remained shut all day long. Now, whenever someone was home, the door stood wide open.

Since their house sat right next to Zhao Zhiwen’s, separated only by a narrow gap between the buildings, Liu Yinghua and her family also sat outside shelling corn every day alongside Jing Lin’s group.

The spot where Ma Xiaoyuan had been bitten by the poisonous ants had completely healed.

After learning his lesson, the boy had become much more obedient. He knew nowhere was truly safe anymore and no longer dared run around recklessly. Every day, he played only in front of or behind his own house.

Le Le was only a few years younger than him, so he followed Le Le around constantly, begging to play together.

Duckie had grown quite a bit recently and had begun molting, leaving its feathers looking dull and patchy.

At first, Le Le worried it was sick. Jing Lin reassured him that it was perfectly normal.

Pointing at Ma Xiaoyuan’s missing front tooth, he said, “It’s just like Brother Xiaoyuan. After that tooth falls out, a stronger one will grow in.”

Only then did Le Le relax. 

Ma Xiaoyuan was currently most self-conscious about the gap in his teeth.

Being unintentionally called out by Jing Lin left him feeling embarrassed.

He didn’t dare take it out on Jing Lin or Le Le, so instead he mischievously reached over and tugged a clump of Duckie’s feathers.

The first time, Duckie merely squawked at him twice.

Keep your hands to yourself! Since you’re both just little squirts, I won’t stoop to your level.

Of course, Ma Xiaoyuan couldn’t understand duck language. Instead, he became fascinated by the satisfying feeling of plucking feathers. After pulling out one tuft, he wanted to pull another, so he seized a moment when Duckie wasn’t paying attention to pluck out yet another clumpful.

That was the last straw. Duckie exploded in fury.

It decided it was time to teach this naughty brat the true might of Lord Duckie.

It chased Ma Xiaoyuan relentlessly, pecking and twisting viciously at his thighs until the boy screamed in pain and cried for mercy. Only when the adults rushed over and drove Duckie away was Ma Xiaoyuan finally rescued. 

Having won its first battle in overwhelming fashion, Duckie strutted proudly back to Le Le.

It picked up the feathers Ma Xiaoyuan had pulled out and presented them to its owner, asking him to keep them safe.

After all, they had come from its own body. It simply couldn’t bear to throw them away.