After Lu Tingchuan and his group walked away, that cold sense of pressure finally faded.
The crowd, which had been silent a moment ago, suddenly boiled like water hitting a rolling boil.
Those probing, pitying, and gossip-loving stares openly fell on Lin Nian, making her feel like she had been stripped naked and thrown onto a display stand.
She lowered her head quietly and started packing up her things.
There was no way she could continue business today.
A fire burned in her chest, burning so hot her organs ached.
Right now, she just wanted to go home quickly and hug her two adorable children.
Only when she saw them could she feel that everything she was doing was worth it.
“Hey, isn’t this Boss Lin? Why are you closing so early today?”
A mocking voice sounded above her head.
Lin Nian looked up and saw several familiar faces.
Leading them was Zhao Hong, the wife of the Military District’s Chief of Staff.
Zhao Hong was tall and sturdy, with dark skin. She was wearing a floral Dacron shirt and had the most fashionable small perms from that era. Her thin lips naturally carried a harsh look.
Behind her stood two military wives who were known for gossiping all day.
Lin Nian sneered inside.
The wolves had just left, and now the flies had come.
Zhao Hong and her group had disliked her for a long time.
Why should a rural widow from some unknown mountain village be prettier than them, the city women?
Why should a small-time vendor who showed her face in public earn more than their husbands who worked government jobs?
What made them most jealous was that many young single officers in the compound seemed to have a bit of interest in Lin Nian and often came by her stall.
They had been holding in their resentment for a long time.
And today, they finally grabbed their chance.
“Sister Zhao,” Lin Nian said faintly, her hands still busy.
She didn’t want trouble, but that didn’t mean she was afraid of trouble.
Zhao Hong disliked her indifferent tone even more. She deliberately raised her voice so everyone around could hear.
“Boss Lin, I’m just saying this for your own good. You’re a woman, your husband is dead, and raising two kids alone isn’t easy. You should behave properly, stay at home, find a job at a factory, or ask the neighborhood office to assign you something. That’s what a proper woman should do.”
As she spoke, she glanced at Lin Nian from the corner of her eye, unable to hide the ridicule on her lips.
“Look at you. Why must you run a business like this, showing your face outside every day and mixing with a bunch of men? Is that how a woman should behave? Well, it’s come back to bite you now, hasn’t it? Didn’t the leader just call you out? I heard that Captain Lu is famously strict. Your stall probably won’t survive this!”
A military wife next to her chimed in immediately:
“Exactly! My Old Zhang says women should behave like women. You’re never home, no wonder the kids can’t be raised properly!”
Another added snidely, pretending to “advise”:
“Nian Nian, listen to your sisters. Hurry and shut this stall down before they forcefully shut you down. That would be so embarrassing.”
They took turns talking, pretending to care, but every sentence poked at the softest parts of her heart.
The onlookers whispered among themselves.
Lin Nian paused her hands and slowly straightened up.
She first looked around at the crowd, then focused her gaze on Zhao Hong’s proud face.
She suddenly smiled.
A bright, dazzling smile that almost hurt to look at.
“Sister Zhao, you care about me so much. I’m really… touched.”
Zhao Hong felt a bit unnerved by that smile but forced herself to act tough.
“Of course! We live in the same compound. How could we not care?”
“Is that so?” Lin Nian’s smile deepened, but it didn’t reach her eyes; instead, it carried a cold glint. “I thought Sister Zhao was just calling the grapes sour because she couldn’t eat them.”
Zhao Hong’s expression changed instantly.
“You—what do you mean by that?!”
“What do I mean? Don’t you know the answer in your heart?” Lin Nian took one step forward, her aura surging. “You say I’m improper for showing my face outside? Then let me ask you— I get up before dawn to buy ingredients, I work late into the night at this stall, and I earn every cent through hard work to raise my kids. Tell me—how am I not acting like a proper woman?”
“I earn my living with my own hands, openly and honestly! That’s more than I can say for some people.”
Her gaze swept over Zhao Hong and the two military wives behind her.
“Some people rely entirely on their husbands’ ranks to elevate themselves, doing nothing all day except gossip about others. Their mouths say they look down on small business owners like me, but in their hearts they’re probably jealous of the steady stream of money I make every day.”
“I—”
Zhao Hong’s face turned pale then green.
Lin Nian didn’t let her speak.
“And you also mentioned my husband. Yes, he’s gone. He died serving the country—he is a hero! I’m proud of him! I raise his children with my own strength without disgracing him!”
Her voice suddenly rose as she stared sharply at Zhao Hong.
“Unlike some people, whose husbands are alive and well—but their hearts have already flown to those little vixens outside, haven’t they? You stay at home like a living widow, bitter as swallowed gall, and the only way you can feel better about yourself is by tearing others down. Sister Zhao— tell me, am I wrong?”
She leaned in and whispered the last sentence into Zhao Hong’s ear.
Everyone in the compound knew Zhao Hong’s husband fooled around outside. It wasn’t a secret—just something nobody dared say aloud.
Today, Lin Nian said it openly.
Zhao Hong’s face instantly drained of all color.
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she puffed up, pointing at Lin Nian with shaking fingers, unable to form a full sentence.
“You—you—you’re slandering me!”
“Whether I’m slandering you, you know very well.” Lin Nian’s expression returned to calm. “If you ladies have so much free time, maybe go home and keep an eye on your husbands. After all, men are like sand— the tighter you hold, the faster they slip away.”
“No need to waste time meddling in my life. Better think about how to win your husbands’ hearts back.”
With that, she ignored their colorful, humiliated faces and bent down to continue packing quickly.
The crowd went dead silent.
Everyone was stunned by Lin Nian’s explosive comeback.
No one expected the usually gentle, smiling stall owner to have such a sharp tongue.
This wasn’t an argument—it was a massacre.
Zhao Hong and the others felt like their faces had been stripped off and thrown on the ground for people to trample on.
Unable to stay any longer, they exchanged a glance and fled the crowd like frightened rats.
The commotion ended just like that.
Lin Nian lifted the last pot onto her tricycle, straightened up, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Driving away the flies felt satisfying.
But thinking of Lu Tingchuan’s cold expression and that sentence—“bear the consequences”—her heart sank again.
The real battle was still ahead.