The next morning, the roosters in the village crowed one after another.
Li Miaomiao yawned and rubbed her eyes awake.
She sat up and glanced back.
The man hadn’t woken yet.
She carefully removed her hand from his waist and quietly got out of bed.
Opening the door, she saw the mist blanketing the front yard. Stretching, she glanced at the fence and thought,
“Looking at it in the daytime… it seems even worse.”
Step by step, she decided, starting with breakfast.
She headed toward the kitchen.
Just as she stepped away, Xiao Xian slowly opened his eyes.
Li Miaomiao cooked white porridge, set it on the table in the main hall, and then went to knock on Xiao Xian’s door.
“Time to get up and eat.”
She pressed her ear to the door until she heard a cold, thin response, then walked away.
The yard had a water well. Xiao Xian had only moved here recently—it seemed the previous occupant had dug it.
She drew a bucket of water, grabbed a willow branch and a bowl from the windowsill, scooped a bowl of water, peeled the willow branch, and moved to the side to brush her teeth.
By the time she finished washing her face, Xiao Xian had propped himself up with the two sticks.
Seeing those two sticks, Li Miaomiao felt a pang of concern.
“I’ll get a basin of water for you to wash your face.”
“I can do it myself.”
The kitchen windowsill wasn’t high, and though Xiao Xian had long limbs, his legs were useless. Handling the willow branch was still slightly strenuous.
Even if the hem of his clothes got dirty from the nearby mud, he insisted on drawing water himself. He would not let her help.
Li Miaomiao frowned slightly.
He was proving that he wasn’t disabled. She could sense it.
But the one he was proving it to wasn’t her.
After breakfast, she washed the bedding, hung it on bamboo poles, and threw out the sweaty, smelly straw, preparing to fetch fresh straw.
Seeing Xiao Xian plan to lie down again, she asked,
“Where’s the chopping knife?”
Without turning his head, the man replied coldly,
“In the woodpile.”
Li Miaomiao dug out the knife. A pile of straw was beside the thatched hut, and she planned to go to the back mountain first.
As she closed the door, she saw the village chief and Lin family parents approaching briskly.
Li Xiaorou followed behind.
Yesterday, Lin Dalang had abandoned the original owner to save Li Xiaorou, who had threatened to die. The two had successfully married.
Li Miaomiao noticed Li Xiaorou twisting her waist like a water snake and smirked.
“What’s she up to now?”
“Li Miaomiao, you’re heading out? Just the person I want to see.”
The elderly village chief called out.
“Village Chief, whatever brings you here personally?”
Seeing her polite yet composed demeanor, the chief was slightly surprised but not much; after all, he had watched these village youngsters grow up.
“It’s about that plot of land. Your Uncle Youcai specially came to me today, asking me to mark out a boundary.”
Lin Dalang’s father was Lin Youcai. His mother was Bai Lian.
Land?
Li Miaomiao suddenly remembered: her father had indeed left her a plot. But that land had been lent to the Lin family, in anticipation that their families would eventually be related.
It belonged entirely to her—what boundary could there be?
Calmly, she said,
“Village Chief, if I’m not mistaken, that plot was left to me by my father. A few years ago, because of my engagement to Lin Dalang, my father allowed Uncle Lin to farm it temporarily.”
At her words, Lin Dalang’s parents almost lost their balance.
That year, the Lin family’s harvest had been halved. They had begged Li Laotou to let them farm the land. Taking advantage of the original owner’s foolishness, today they intended to seize the land entirely. They didn’t expect Li Miaomiao to respond so directly in front of the village chief.
Seeing Lin Father’s face darken, Li Miaomiao remained calm and stepped aside, giving the village chief a clear view of their expressions.
“That plot was originally left to me by my father. I remember Uncle Lin saying that my marriage to Lin Dalang would happen eventually, so it made sense for them to farm it first. Now that I’ve married someone else, naturally the land should be returned to me.”
The land was fertile. Even if she had no money, she and Xiao Xian could survive off the crops planted there.
“Impossible!”
Lin Father stomped forward, pointing and shouting,
“The land was given to me by your family! Now you marry someone else and start spouting nonsense?”
Lin Mother also snarled,
“If you claim it’s yours, produce evidence!”
They dared to act so arrogantly because they were certain Li Miaomiao had no official deed.
The village chief stroked his beard. When Li Laotou was alive, he had mentioned this matter in passing. Out of respect for Li Laotou, he decided to help Li Miaomiao.
He spoke kindly like an elder:
“Li Miaomiao, where is the tobacco pipe your father left you?”
“I kept it in the chest with my dowry. Village Chief, please wait; I’ll go fetch it.”
Li Miaomiao remembered Li Laotou had repeatedly told the original owner to safeguard her dowry and the pipe, without mentioning that something was hidden inside. The original owner had thought it was just an ordinary pipe and had tossed it to the bottom of the chest.
Seeing her rush into the thatched hut, Lin Father gave Lin Mother a meaningful glance.
Decades as village chief had taught him to read intentions. With a stern clap of his hands, he said,
“If you want no one to know, don’t do it.”
Lin Dalang’s parents flushed with embarrassment, unable to speak.
Li Miaomiao carried out the small wooden chest. She didn’t lock it and gently lifted the lid.
She took out the tobacco pipe, smelling strongly of tobacco, and examined it carefully, quickly discovering the clever mechanism inside.
Closing the chest, she handed it to the village chief.
“Village Chief, here you go.”
The chief examined it. Following Li Laotou’s instructions, he held one end while twisting the other.
The pipe separated in the middle, and a yellowed piece of paper gradually appeared.
Lin Dalang’s parents’ faces immediately changed.
Damn it! Li Laotou had tricked them!
He had said the deed was burned, but they didn’t believe it. They tried every way to coax the truth from Li Miaomiao, who kept insisting she didn’t know.
All their resentment toward Li Laotou had been transferred onto her. Their gazes were poisonous.
That land had originally been under Li Laotou’s name. He had legally transferred it to Li Miaomiao and told only the village chief.
As the chief spread the red deed on the table, Li Miaomiao felt complex emotions seeing her name written there.
Her father had provided a fallback plan while allowing her stepmother and stepsister to bully her—she could not understand his intentions.
Lin Dalang’s parents approached. Seeing the deed, their faces darkened like coal.
Li Xiaorou was so jealous she nearly ground her teeth.
The village chief looked at their faces, folded the deed, and handed it back to Li Miaomiao.
“Keep it safe.”
“Thank you, Village Chief.”
Li Miaomiao tucked the deed into her sleeve’s small pocket and returned the pipe to the chest.
With the black ink, red seal, and the village chief present, the Lin family had no way to act arrogantly. Lin Father grew frantic.
“Village Chief, we’ve farmed that land for three years. In two months, the potatoes we planted will be ready. If the land is returned to her, what about our potatoes?”