Her eyes carried a hint of playful interest.
Soon after, villagers who had heard the commotion rushed over. In the countryside, there was little entertainment—any excitement drew a crowd.
Zheng Chunli had been uncertain from the start; this accusation was nothing more than a spur-of-the-moment idea. Now that so many people had gathered, she felt increasingly cornered.
On one side stood the calm and composed Lin Zhixia. On the other, the sharply cold and imposing Zhou Yunliang.
“Comrade Zheng, who exactly pushed you into the water?”
“This is serious! How can there be such a wicked person in Hongshan Village?”
“We must report this to the police!”
“……”
The crowd discussed heatedly.
They seemed unwilling to believe in the darker side of human nature, and their gazes toward Lin Zhixia and the Zhou family gradually turned unfriendly.
Zheng Chunli panicked. She hadn’t expected things to escalate to this point—even dragging the Zhou family into it.
She had only intended to use this as a way to get closer to them, not to ruin everything.
Thinking quickly, she glared at Lin Zhixia and said hatefully:
“The aunties must have misheard. I didn’t say someone pushed me—I just accidentally fell myself…”
Not far away, Sun Haomin quickly stepped forward and caught her.
“Comrade Zheng has fainted. She probably hasn’t recovered yet. I’ll take her to the clinic…”
His words came out fast. As someone from the same place, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
Lin Zhixia glanced at Zheng Chunli’s flickering eyelids and understood everything immediately.
With a flick of her wrist, silver needles shot out and struck two pressure points.
Under her control of inner force, the needles were precise and accurate.
As expected, the effect was immediate—Zheng Chunli suddenly sprang upright from Sun Haomin’s arms.
That agile movement did not look like someone who had fainted at all.
The villagers immediately began to suspect.
This girl was probably faking it to frame Zhou’s daughter-in-law. When pressured, she simply pretended to pass out.
Many villagers who knew Zheng Chunli shook their heads in disappointment.
At that moment, Zhou Yunliang’s body stiffened.
Silver needles?
She knows medicine?
The moment Zheng Chunli suddenly jumped up, he realized her control of acupuncture points was extremely precise.
To do that from such a distance required terrifying accuracy in both strength and skill.
His gaze grew deeper and harder to read.
It seemed some villagers also noticed that Lin Zhixia’s needle technique was not ordinary.
The brigade leader’s wife, Jiang Guihua, was the first to step forward.
“Zhou family daughter-in-law, are those acupuncture needles? It really looks like it!”
The accountant Sun Qiulan, who was more educated, also had some understanding. She had once seen skilled traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, but even they were nowhere near this level.
Her eyes now sparkled with admiration.
After Lin Zhixia nodded in confirmation, she was immediately surrounded again.
Old Master Zhou looked at the lively scene and sighed.
“Yunliang, Zhixia is excellent. She’s a good girl. You’re very fortunate.”
Zhou Yunliang’s usually cold expression softened slightly as he looked at the figure surrounded by villagers.
“Yes, Grandpa. Meeting her… is my luck in this lifetime.”
Old Master Zhou patted his shoulder lightly, and the two walked toward the work site.
Meanwhile, Zhou’s father felt slightly unaccustomed to the sudden liveliness of their home.
It was the first time their family had been so warmly received in Hongshan Village.
Inside the small hut, things were piled up densely. Without knowing better, one might think it was New Year’s stockpiling.
The already cramped space felt even tighter.
Fortunately, most people were sitting outside.
Lin Zhixia was surrounded so tightly that she could barely move.
Her silver needles hardly had time to rest. There were many elderly villagers in the village, many of whom had chronic ailments.
Her acupuncture, infused subtly with a trace of life energy, brought immediate results.
Word spread quickly. Soon, almost every household had come for treatment.
By the end of the day, nearly the entire village had been seen by her—except those who were away.
Zhou Yunliang’s father held his chest and muttered inwardly: maybe… I should also let my daughter-in-law take a look?
But he still had duties—he was responsible for organizing everything in the house.
A former military commander, now reduced to sorting food supplies, felt a deep sense of strangeness.
That night, when the Zhou family returned, they were again met with villagers’ gratitude and enthusiasm.
Back at home, they were stunned by the piles of goods.
Vegetables, eggs, seasoning, and various daily supplies filled the house.
Lin Zhixia was also surprised when she returned.
She hadn’t expected this at all.
Zhou Yunliang’s father explained softly, “These are gifts from the villagers.”
Only then did she carefully look over everything: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, corn, potatoes, eggs, cabbage, radish, carrots, spices…
It was everything the season could offer.
She had received far more valuable gifts in her past life, yet she still felt moved by this simple sincerity.
These ordinary vegetables might represent the only food a family had left.
That night, after dinner, the Zhou family quietly returned most of the gifts to the villagers, leaving only a small portion.
The next morning, villagers found the returned items at their doorsteps.
Though only part of it had been returned, it still warmed their hearts.
They silently accepted it, knowing how precious these things were at this time.
When the Zhou family went out to work again the next day, the villagers’ attitude had become noticeably warmer.
And this was exactly what Lin Zhixia wanted.
She had a feeling that Zhou Yunliang was no longer planning to stay hidden.
If that was the case, the old master and Zhou’s father would likely remain in this village for a long time.
Given their identities, their situation would not be easy.
So she had to plan ahead.