The weather had gotten cold, so people weren't visiting neighbors or chatting outside much anymore. Most stayed indoors to wait out the winter.
Two husbands were chatting at their doorstep, neighbors catching up.
One of them, Liu, rubbed his hands and breathed into them, complaining, "Why does it feel colder than usual this year? It's freezing! Have you gathered enough firewood?"
The other, Li, also shivered as he replied, "Not yet. This weather changes every day. I'll wait a couple more days when it's warmer. It hasn't snowed yet, but it rained a bit a few days ago. It's slippery out there."
Liu leaned in a bit, looking amused. "Have you heard? Xu Hui's husband has been making a scene at home. The other day, I overheard him while doing laundry — one moment complaining, the next crying about how hard his life is. But if you ask me, he brought it on himself. Back when Xu Hui only had him, he didn't even try to have a child. Now there's a second husband, and suddenly he's worried. What was he doing all this time?"
He clearly enjoyed seeing Xu Hui's first husband get a dose of karma.
Li, curious, asked, "Really? Was it that bad?"
Liu scoffed, "You think he'd dare make a huge fuss? Xu Hui isn't someone to mess with. He might be a scholar, usually calm, but he's not spineless. He even slapped him. I heard that ever since he took in the younger husband, Wang has been left alone."
His voice got quieter, but his smile widened. The village was small, and the walls thin. If someone didn't want others to hear, they had to keep their voice down. But if they were loud, everyone would know.
Wang hadn't gotten along well with the other husbands in the village anyway. He used to be too arrogant, always boasting about how capable his wife was, how she promised never to take another husband and how much she loved him. But for husbands whose homes weren't so kind or fair, listening to all that only made them more frustrated.
Now it was like a slap to the face. No wonder some folks were enjoying the drama.
After a bit more gossip, the two went back to their homes.
Julie didn't run into them and didn't hear their conversation.
The path she took happened to go near Liu Hongjuan's home. She remembered her — Liu had been her first "target" for money.
Julie had heard bits and pieces about what happened to Liu's household after that day, mostly from Gu Lin — now called Lorrie — who always had the latest gossip.
While doing laundry, Lorrie liked to chat with the village boys and younger husbands, so news traveled fast.
After Julie's visit, chaos broke out in Liu Hongjuan's home.
Liu already had an injured leg, and when she found out money and food were missing, she got so upset she fainted. She fell sick after that. Though not seriously ill, she still had to spend money on doctors and medicine.
But the money was gone. Their food and supplies were cleaned out too, except for one old rooster and some unripe vegetables in the garden.
With Liu sick and the house in trouble, the husbands were panicked. They even called the village head at the time, Pan Li, for help.
But Pan Li couldn't really do anything. She wasn't going to pay for them out of her own pocket. All she could do was give some kind words and tell them to focus on healing Liu's leg.
Doctors didn't treat for free, after all.
In the end, when Liu woke up, she sold a piece of good farmland to cover the medical costs and buy coarse grains so they could get by.
Their meals dropped in quality. Meat and eggs were out of the question. Just having porridge and pickled vegetables was already good enough.
After some rest, Liu's leg did heal, with no sign of limping.
She didn't go after Julie, not because she didn't want to, but because just thinking about it made her feel nervous for some reason she couldn't explain. It was eerie. Worse, she had no memory of part of that day — it was a blank. She started acting a little strange after that.
When she heard Pan Li had died and Julie had become the new village head, her reaction wasn't to cozy up to her, but to stay away.
Nothing about it felt normal.
Liu knew she wasn't the smartest, but even she could sense that something was off.
Her biggest fear now was death.
No matter how bad life got, it was better than dying.
More and more things made her feel that Julie had been pretending to be weak all along. She didn't understand how Julie suddenly changed, but now she was scared.
Still, they had no money, and they couldn't sell any more land. Without it, how would they eat?
Xu Hui even came to borrow money from her at one point.
But everyone in the village knew Liu had lost her silver. How could she possibly lend anyone anything? She'd already had to sell land!
Clearly, friendship meant nothing. If Xu Hui was really a friend, she would've helped during Liu's worst moment — not come asking after she'd managed to survive.
Liu told Xu Hui she didn't have money, but Julie might. After all, Julie was building a new house, so she must have some extra silver. Xu Hui and Julie used to be close — maybe she could borrow something.
And if Xu Hui could borrow some, maybe Liu could too later.
If she couldn't borrow, it wouldn't hurt Liu anyway.
In the end, not only did Xu Hui fail to borrow any money — he ended up bringing in a younger husband.
Liu never understood what that meant and later went to ask. Xu Hui brushed her off, then threw her out.
That made Liu angry, so she left without another word.
Fine. If that's how it is, don't come crawling back either.
The weather suddenly turned cold. Liu Hongjuan stormed out of the house, complaining loudly, "You lazy bums! Why didn't you gather more firewood when you went out to dig for wild vegetables a few days ago? We're almost out of veggies, too. Get out there and dig some more and collect firewood! Don't think you can just laze around at home. You're useless at everything except eating!" Her voice was so loud the neighbors could hear everything.
Her three husbands stood there with their heads down, not saying a word.
No one in the village really interfered anymore.
This had been going on for a while. At first, people tried to advise her, telling her that peace in the household was the key to happiness, but they gave up eventually.
Liu Hongjuan wasn't well-liked in the village to begin with.
And after her leg got better, her temper got worse. Her neighbors were fed up with the noise and drama.
The walls weren't thick, and she was always making a scene. At first, people didn't think much of it—after all, wasn't it normal for the wife to be the head of the household, with the husbands serving her? A little scolding didn't seem like a big deal.
But then it became clear that she was venting her anger on them, treating them like punching bags.
Some people who couldn't stand it anymore came to talk to her, mentioning Julie in a subtle way.
After all, if things got too out of hand, it might draw attention from the village head.
Julie kept a low profile, yes—but she was also known for being ruthless when necessary.
That finally got Liu Hongjuan's attention.
She toned things down a bit, at least not being so obvious about hitting them during the day.
She might still be doing it, but if it happened under the blanket at home, who would know?
Her three husbands had changed noticeably during this time. They had lost weight and looked lifeless, like their spirits had been drained.
Even the favorite one, Bailee, wasn't spared.
At first, Bailee felt a little smug when the other two, Haven and Lorrie, were being yelled at or hit. He had always competed with them for attention.
In a household like theirs, it was all about trying to impress the wife and be the one she liked most—hoping she'd spend money on them.
But everything changed after the robbery and Liu Hongjuan's injury.
Bailee couldn't escape either. At first, he tried being cute and sweet, but the more he acted that way, the angrier she got.
A woman filled with frustration doesn't care about romance when she's overwhelmed and stuck in poverty.
Not everyone responds to hardship by working harder. Some people just curse their fate every day.
Some sit and wait for miracles to happen.
Julie had just walked up to the house when she heard Liu Hongjuan yelling with her hands on her hips.
Julie looked over just as Liu Hongjuan looked back.
Liu Hongjuan froze. Something about Julie now felt completely different from the messy woman she used to remember.
Julie was wearing new clothes, while Liu Hongjuan was still in last year's patched outfit. The contrast made her feel embarrassed and resentful.
It didn't feel fair.
Why was Julie doing better and she was doing worse?
That bitterness and jealousy took over.
With a sarcastic tone, Liu Hongjuan said, "Well, if it isn't our village head, Julie? What brings you here? Feeling sorry for me and want to give me some silver? I'd feel bad taking it—unless you're serious. Ten or twenty taels would do."
She moved her hand like she was ready to accept the offer.
Julie didn't say whether she would give or not.
Somehow, she had picked up a small stone and, right in front of Liu Hongjuan, crushed it to powder with her hand, then let it fall like dust.
Her expression calm, like it was nothing.
"What did you just say?" Julie asked, as if she hadn't heard clearly.
Liu Hongjuan's face turned pale.
She suddenly remembered that Julie wasn't someone she could mess with anymore.
Her back was drenched in sweat—not from heat, but from fear.
Panic started creeping in.
The village head held the highest authority around here.
If she wanted to deal with a villager, it would be effortless—especially someone with Julie's strength.
Sure, Julie might still have someone above her in the chain of command.
But did that matter?
Those people rarely showed up. And if Julie was close with the county magistrate, a few words could get someone locked up. Not killed, maybe, but definitely punished.
They didn't know much outside the village. Even if someone visited town occasionally, news was scattered.
To people raised in this village, the village head was already a big deal. Anything higher felt out of reach.
So when the soldiers came last time, no one dared approach them. They just watched from afar.
They were all a little scared.