Shen Yueliang was actually quite uneasy.
After returning from the military base that day, she couldn’t resist stopping halfway, squatting behind an inconspicuous dirt mound, and counting the money.
Earlier, judging by the thickness, she had estimated there were a little over thirty bills.
But after counting carefully, she discovered there were actually forty-three ten-yuan notes, plus a five-yuan note tucked in the middle—a total of 435 yuan.
If that was only half, didn’t that mean the ginseng was worth 870 yuan?
That was way too valuable!
At the time, she had even thought that Commander Ji was surprisingly knowledgeable. He knew the value of ginseng so well that he could estimate the price down to the exact digit.
Impressive, impressive!
Suddenly possessing such a large sum of money made her feel somewhat uneasy.
Still, she accepted it with a clear conscience.
After all, she had found the ginseng, and splitting it equally was already quite fair in her opinion.
But she was a woman who kept her promises.
Since he had mentioned chili chicken sauce, she didn’t skimp on it.
After returning home, she slaughtered one of the family’s old hens.
The rest of the chicken was made into soup, which she and Lin Qinfen drank clean, tears in their eyes from how delicious it was.
The chicken breast and drumsticks were diced and cooked together with chili peppers into chili chicken sauce.
As for not giving any to Ji Yanchuan, that had indeed been intentional.
Since he didn’t eat spicy food, giving it to him would only be a waste.
Besides, that commander had a rather strange temper.
She was grateful to him, but she had no plans to interact with him further.
This time, just because she froze after seeing a snake instead of running away, he had scolded her in front of everyone.
Who knew what she might get scolded for next time?
She was a nineteen-year-old young woman and still cared about her dignity.
She definitely didn’t enjoy being publicly berated.
Another reason was that Qinghe Village had been unusually lively lately.
Technically, the excitement had nothing to do with her.
It belonged to the Luo family.
But because of her former “engagement” to Luo Shengli, whenever villagers talked about the Luo family’s good fortune, they always mentioned her as well.
For example, at this very moment, Shen Yueliang was washing bedsheets by the river.
“Have you heard? The old commander arranged jobs for everyone in the Luo family. They say Luo Shengli is going to work at the pharmaceutical factory, and Luo Xiaomiao has been placed in the supply and marketing cooperative,” said Auntie Qian from the village.
Shen Yueliang hadn’t intended to listen.
But when she heard “supply and marketing cooperative,” she immediately felt unhappy.
“Luo Xiaomiao really got a job there?”
“As if that’s fake. Liu Amei said it herself. She also said the whole family is moving to the city and won’t be staying in the countryside anymore. Not just the children—Luo Genzhu is apparently getting a job cleaning public toilets in the city. That’s six yuan a month.”
Shen Yueliang usually didn’t pay attention to the Luo family’s affairs.
There were so many people in the world.
They lived their lives, and she lived hers.
But Luo Xiaomiao working at the cooperative wasn’t good news.
The cooperative was an essential part of daily life.
She couldn’t avoid going there and would likely visit often.
The thought of repeatedly seeing someone she disliked made her uncomfortable.
She curled her lips.
Auntie Qian noticed her expression and assumed she was upset.
“Yueliang, don’t blame me for talking too much. The Luo family is clearly bullying you and your widowed mother. The engagement was already arranged, yet they still called it off. If it were me, I wouldn’t have agreed. If they refused to cancel it, I’d have hung myself right at their doorstep. Let’s see if they could really watch you die!”
She became so agitated that spit flew everywhere as she spoke.
Shen Yueliang glanced at the clean bedsheets in her basin and silently moved the wooden tub farther away.
“If they don’t want me, there’s no point forcing it.”
She thought that was a perfectly polite response.
Yet somehow it angered Auntie Qian.
The old woman slammed a piece of clothing into the river, splashing water all over Shen Yueliang’s face.
“You can’t tell good advice from bad! I’m helping you come up with ideas. If I wasn’t pitying you and your widowed mother for having such a hard life, I wouldn’t even bother!”
Shen Yueliang: …
She quietly looked Auntie Qian up and down.
The woman was nearly seventy years old.
A bundle of old bones.
One light shove and she’d probably fall into the river.
But there was no point.
The old woman was too old.
If she ended up half-drowned, she’d probably try to extort compensation.
Too troublesome.
Forget it.
She’d show some respect for an elder this once.
“Oh. Thanks.”
After delivering those emotionless words, Shen Yueliang picked up her basin and prepared to leave.
Unexpectedly, Auntie Qian suddenly grabbed her arm.
“I’m talking to you. What’s with that attitude?”
The basin contained heavy wet bedsheets and blankets, along with the weight of the wooden tub itself.
It wasn’t light.
Shen Yueliang was already struggling to carry it.
With Auntie Qian’s yank, the basin tipped over and all the freshly washed bedding spilled onto the ground.
“Just like your mother—raising a child without a father. No manners at all,” Auntie Qian continued to rant.
Shen Yueliang took a deep breath.
She wasn’t the original owner, so memories from long ago felt somewhat distant.
But looking at Auntie Qian now, she suddenly remembered something.
Was Auntie Qian really helping her?
Absolutely not.
Back when Lin Qinfen returned to Qinghe Village with Shen Xiangbei and her after becoming widowed, life had been difficult.
A widow raising two children alone naturally attracted suggestions to remarry.
Auntie Qian had been one of the loudest voices advocating for it.
The Qian family had six sons.
They were infamous in the village for having trouble finding wives.
Lin Qinfen was beautiful and hardworking.
Auntie Qian wanted her as a daughter-in-law but disliked the fact that she came with two children.
So she came up with a rotten idea:
Sell the two children for money, then marry into the Qian family and become the fourth son’s wife.
Lin Qinfen had naturally refused.
As the old memories resurfaced, the more Shen Yueliang looked at Auntie Qian, the more mean and vicious the woman appeared.
“You may have had both parents to raise you, but you’ve done too many wicked things. That’s why, out of your six sons, two are still bachelors, and two of your four daughters-in-law have already run away. You deserve it!”
Everything she said was true.
Two of the Qian family’s sons remained unmarried.
Of the four who had married, two wives had run off.
Shen Yueliang didn’t think she was being harsh.
The family always blamed the daughters-in-law, claiming they were the problem.
Although everyone in the village knew about it, nobody said it openly.
Auntie Qian was furious enough to smoke from the ears.
“You little brat! Giving you face and you still don’t know your place! You were engaged to Luo Shengli for so long—who knows if you’re even pure anymore? And your widowed mother earning money from men to raise you—”
Shen Yueliang had reached the end of her patience.
She was just about to slap the old woman first and ask questions later when—
“Qian woman, shut that filthy mouth of yours!”
The newcomer was none other than Huang Xiuhua, wife of Village Chief Chen Gensheng.
She was around the same age as Lin Qinfen, broad-shouldered and sturdy, with a brisk and capable manner.
“Bullying a girl who lost her father as a child makes you feel capable, does it? Comrade Shen died on the battlefield. His family are martyrs’ relatives! What gives you the right to bully a martyr’s family?!”
At the sight of Huang Xiuhua, Auntie Qian immediately shrank back.
The Qian family still owed grain to the production team.
How could she dare offend the village chief’s wife?
She muttered a few curses under her breath, picked up her basin, and left.
As she departed, she even tried a dirty trick by deliberately bumping into Shen Yueliang.
Noticing it, Shen Yueliang stepped aside.
Auntie Qian couldn’t stop herself in time.
Her basin fell to the ground, and her chin slammed into it.
Blood instantly filled her mouth.
Shen Yueliang: …
Clutching her mouth, Auntie Qian couldn’t even speak.
She could only glare viciously at Shen Yueliang.
“What are you staring at? I saw everything clearly. You fell by yourself. It has nothing to do with Yueliang.”
Huang Xiuhua genuinely hated seeing Auntie Qian bully people.
Besides, she had practically watched Shen Yueliang grow up.
She had always liked the girl.
Pretty, capable, hardworking.
In fact, Huang Xiuhua had long wanted Shen Yueliang to become her daughter-in-law.
“Come on, Yueliang. I was just looking for your mother anyway. Let’s go together.”
Having a witness would save her a lot of trouble.
And since Huang Xiuhua had always taken good care of their family and was the village chief’s wife, Shen Yueliang had no reason to refuse.
“Sure.”
She bent down to pick up the basin.
Unexpectedly, Huang Xiuhua grabbed it first.
Being much stronger, she lifted the heavy tub effortlessly and flashed Shen Yueliang a broad smile.
“Those skinny arms and legs of yours aren’t meant for this kind of work. I’ll carry it.”
Looking at Huang Xiuhua’s enthusiastic face, smiling so widely that wrinkles formed around her eyes, Shen Yueliang couldn’t explain why—
But she suddenly felt as though…
someone had set their sights on her.