Fang Zhiwei sat directly across from Qin Qing.
Beside him sat a girl with twin ponytails, her plumpness bunched together, the red sweater she wore creased by rolls of flesh.
The girl's eyes blinked with a sparkling light, her gaze never once leaving Fang Zhiwei.
Fang Zhiwei, however, sat as calm as a meditating monk, not sparing the girl a single glance.
"Oh, Zhiwei, you've come to the feast too? Did you pay your gift money?"
An auntie at the neighboring table asked with a sly smile.
"Auntie Zhang, Brother Zhiwei is a veteran who fought on the battlefield! He lost his leg making sacrifices for the country. Even if he doesn't pay gift money, he still has the right to eat!"
The plump girl glared, pointing at Auntie Zhang as she shouted.
"Yanli, you're not really taken with this cripple, are you! You're the village chief's daughter—you could marry anyone you want!"
"I'd marry anyone before I'd marry your idiot son!"
Wang Yanli knew exactly what Auntie Zhang was scheming—trying to climb up the social ladder by marrying into her family. Not a chance!
"You!"
Auntie Zhang, her intentions exposed, could only vent at the man instead. "Fang Zhiwei, your family may be poor, but you still have to pay gift money at a feast. If you can't afford it, then get up and leave the table."
Everyone knew Fang Zhiwei's family was so poor it rang hollow.
With a sudden whoosh…
Fang Zhiwei raised his left hand, the wild rabbit still clutched in his grip.
With a flick of his wrist, the rabbit's legs flew out in a rapid eight-kick combo, sending Auntie Zhang yelping in pain and leaving her face splattered with mud.
Pfft!
Qin Qing couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sight.
"Are you planning to use that rabbit as your gift money?" Qin Qing asked gently.
Fang Zhiwei nodded.
"Then go deliver it to the host. How can you eat with it in your hands?"
Fang Zhiwei nodded again and was about to stand up when Wang Yanli grabbed hold of him.
"Brother Zhiwei, let me go with you!"
Qin Qing's voice was as sweet and delicate as a lark, and Wang Yanli tried to imitate her, squeezing her voice into a syrupy tone.
But the moment she spoke, everyone at the table broke out in goosebumps.
Fang Zhiwei immediately shook his head.
"Mm… Brother Zhiwei, just let me come with you! Pretty please!"
Wang Yanli tugged at Fang Zhiwei's arm, swinging it back and forth, her rolls of fat jiggling along with the motion.
Fang Zhiwei flicked her hand away with a single finger and rose to leave in an instant.
Qin Qing quickly caught up, pulling at Fang Zhiwei's sleeve and handing him a stack of money—four yuan in total.
Fang Zhiwei looked at her with a hint of confusion.
Qin Qing leaned in and whispered by his ear, "Fang Zhiwei, give this gift money to my aunt for me. Just don't tell her it's from me."
If she went herself, she'd definitely be thrown out by Wang Xueping.
In this village, chances to eat meat and fish were rare, especially since her mother was so thin she was nearly skin and bones.
She'd rather spend a little extra to make sure her mother got a proper meal.
Money could be earned again, but a meal had to be filling.
Fang Zhiwei didn't refuse. He took Qin Qing's money without hesitation and walked forward.
It seemed he had heard every word spoken in the bamboo grove earlier.
Wang Yanli turned her head and saw Qin Qing and Fang Zhiwei standing close together, whispering.
She strained her ears to listen, shifting her bottom to the far left of the bench—and suddenly the bench tipped.
Wang Yanli's plump body tumbled to the ground, landing flat on her face, kneeling and sprawled on the floor.
Everyone at the table wanted to laugh at the sight, but they clamped their hands over their mouths to hold it in.
Qin Qing turned around and saw Wang Yanli kneeling right in front of her. She couldn't help but burst out with a snort of laughter.
This is too much of a bow!
"What are you laughing at!"
Wang Yanli scrambled to her feet and pointed at Qin Qing furiously.
She had noticed this woman earlier—an unfamiliar face, but far too beautiful.
Beautiful like a celestial maiden descending to earth. Whatever she said just now, Brother Zhiwei listened to her, and he even whispered secrets with her.
As a woman, she sensed the threat.
"On this joyous day, should I be crying instead of laughing?"
Qin Qing didn't want to bother with Wang Yanli. She turned aside, trying to head back to her seat.
"You're laughing at me!"
Wang Yanli reached out and yanked Qin Qing back.
Then, with a sudden swing, she slapped Qin Qing across the face without mercy.
Qin Qing had no defense at all—she took Wang Yanli's slap full force.
"What do you think you're doing!"
Seeing Qin Qing get hit, Tang Min rushed forward immediately, shielding Qin Qing behind her.
"Auntie Zhang, whose family does this slut belong to? Reeking of mothballs like that, and she thinks she deserves to sit at my table?"
Wang Yanli deliberately pinched her nose and stepped back.
She scanned the mother and daughter from head to toe—they wore patched cotton jackets and reeked of pungent mothballs.
The stench of poverty could be smelled three miles away.
"Isn't this… isn't this the third daughter of the Tang family, Tang Min?"
Auntie Zhang hurried over and studied Tang Min carefully.
Seeing Tang Min's alluring features—though older and sallower than in her youth, with wrinkles now—that vixen look was still there.
And the young woman beside her bore a sixty percent resemblance—another seductive little fox.
"Tang Min, this is your daughter Qin Qing, right? Tsk tsk tsk, she looks just like you! Another little man-stealer."
"Auntie Zhang, being good-looking isn't a crime. We'd love to be as plain and unassuming as you, but heaven won't allow it! As for stealing men—if your husband's eyes wander to other women, go gouge his eyes out. What, am I supposed to never leave the house?"
Qin Qing's mouth fired off like a machine gun, giving no quarter.
Auntie Zhang turned around and sure enough, saw her own husband drooling at Tang Min and her daughter. Fury surged through her, and she threw a punch at him.
"Oh! You're that shameless slut from the village—Tang the Fox Spirit! Uncle Dapeng, you're the reason he was driven away from home! Don't you dare spread your filth in our village—get the hell out!"
Wang Yanli joined in the cursing. No wonder Qin Qing was cozying up to Brother Zhiwei—this little vixen must be trying to seduce him.
She absolutely could not let them stay in the village.
Smack!!
Qin Qing stepped forward and delivered a vicious slap across Wang Yanli's face.
Bullying her was one thing, but insulting her mother like that—absolutely not!
She put all her strength into it. Wang Yanli's fleshy cheeks wobbled from the impact.
"If you don't know how to speak, then shut your mouth! My mother has never seduced anyone—unlike you, an unmarried girl who just shamelessly grabbed and pulled at a man in public!"
"You! You!"
Wang Yanli had been spoiled by her father her whole life—never a harsh word spoken to her. How could she endure such humiliation?
She let out a furious roar and pointed viciously at Qin Qing.
"Dad! Dad!! Throw this woman out—this damned fox spirit—throw her out of Dagang Village!!"