A lonely, unlucky military officer with a stubborn fate insisted on marrying me.

The captain walked into the yard, glanced around, and his lips twitched.

The yard was unusually "clean and tidy," with even the corn cobs used for burning at the entrance gone.

He had overheard the gist of the matter on his way here, and his gaze immediately shifted to Lin Yinyin.

He frowned as he looked at her bandaged arm and the four needles in her hand.

This girl is someone who has been abused since childhood and never uttered a sound; she doesn't seem to have such great abilities.

While the battalion commander was sizing up Lin Yinyin, she also secretly glanced at the man beside him.

The man stood upright with an imposing air, his eyes deep and his lips curved into a familiar, faint smile.

It's him!

Lin Yinyin immediately lowered her head to hide her surprise.

She quickly calculated in her mind how she should respond if the man exposed her.

Just then, the captain spoke up. "Where are Lin Baogui and Lin Xiulan?"

The captain thought: Linjia Village has always been very safe, and there really isn't a thief who would break into a house like this. However, given Lin Baogui's flirtatious and teasing nature, it's possible that he was the one who did it!

Some villagers hurriedly said, "Captain, we've looked at several households, but we can't find it."

"I've even checked the homes of the families Lin Baogui usually hangs out with, but it's not there!"

"We've searched his grandparents and relatives, but they can't find him."

The captain pondered for a moment, then looked at Lin Yinyin with a scrutinizing gaze. "Do you know where your brother and mother went?"

Lin Yinyin shrank back under his gaze. By this time, she had composed herself and decided to take a gamble!

That man won't meddle!

So, Lin Yinyin shrank back and said, "I...I don't know!"

I knew it. Before I left, my mom said she was going to find me a good man to marry. She scolded me for being ungrateful, saying that the man was strong, well-endowed, and good in bed...

"Ahem!" the captain interrupted.

There was another person standing next to him; the reputation of their Chaoyang Brigade for being tough couldn't be spread.

"Wait a moment." The brigade leader turned to the man, his tone polite. "Comrade Li, I have some village matters to attend to. I've noted down what you mentioned earlier."

"Okay." The man uttered a single word and then gave Lin Yinyin a meaningful look.

Lin Yinyin felt the gaze and glared back. Inwardly, she thought: Why are you looking at me? Can't you just pretend you're blind?

Seeing her fierce yet frightened expression, Li Jinye smiled faintly. He didn't ask any more questions and turned to leave.

Lin Yinyin breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he had finally left.

Go away! Get out of here! Never see you again!

After Li Jinye left, the captain turned to Lin Yinyin and said, "You continue."

"Oh? Oh! Where was I? Right, my stepmother scolded me for being ungrateful. She said the other guy was strong and well-endowed..."

"Shut up!" Lin Dayong interrupted him before he could finish speaking.

"Captain, don't listen to this girl's nonsense."

"Shut up!" The captain glared at Lin Dayong before turning to look at Lin Yinyin.

"Go on!"

Lin Yinyin seemed frightened, her voice trembling slightly, "I...I..."

"You brat! Stop talking nonsense!" Lin Dayong couldn't help but yell.

He didn't want to hear anything about being well-endowed or skilled in bed; it was too hurtful to a man's pride.

"Then... then I don't know, I'm afraid I'll get beaten if I say something wrong..." As she spoke, Lin Yinyin's voice became even more timid.

"Don't be afraid!" The captain softened his tone. "Tell me what you know, I'll stand up for you."

Lin Yinyin raised her head, her eyes full of trust: "Captain, my dad always tells me that our village's captain is a man of his word, a tough guy, and the most fair. I... if I say this now, and my brother Lin Baogui comes back and beats me, can you protect me...?"

Mentioning Lin Yinyin's biological father, the captain's eyes softened a little. "Yes, you said, with me here, they wouldn't dare to touch you."

Having received the promise, Lin Yinyin bit her lip and said, "My mom and brother were home before I left. But..."

But before I left, my mom said she would help me find someone to marry.

Then my mom looked at me with envy.

But not long after, her expression suddenly changed, she slapped me, and told me to go cut pig feed.

I... I saw my mom's face was flushed at the time, was she happy for me and then went to find a partner for me?

Hearing this, Lin Dayong was a little confused. Wang Dashan didn't need to do any matchmaking at all; today was the wedding day, so he could just bring the person over.

The brigade leader also knew about what had happened today, so he told Lin Dayong, "Go and find two people to go to Wangjia Village and see if your wife is there."

Then, looking at Lin Yinyin, he asked, "Anything else? What else do you know? Do you know anything about Lin Baogui?"

"Can I really say anything?" Lin Yinyin asked cautiously.

"Of course," the captain assured him. "You can say whatever you want, your dad won't blame you, I promise."

"Alright. I... I often see my brother climbing over the wall to observe Aunt Liu next door..."

Everyone: "..." Aunt Liu from next door?

Isn't that Widow Liu?

Lin Yinyin continued in a startling tone, "Last night he even peeked at my aunt taking a bath."

I... I also heard him muttering, "Bai, I really want to try it..."

Could he have gone to... Aunt Liu's house?

"What?! A grown man, peeping at a widow bathing!" The surrounding villagers were astonished.

"Sigh! These young men are full of youthful vigor, they can't resist being seduced!"

"But didn't Widow Liu have an affair with Lin Dayong's father?"

"Yeah, that bastard's got a loose belt! He's got money to be made, who cares about the grandfather and grandson..."

Before the old woman could finish speaking, she saw Lin Dayong raising his foot to kick Lin Yinyin.

Lin Yinyin quickly dodged towards the captain.

"Captain, my dad is going to beat me to death!"

Waaaaah! Dad, please don't hit me! I was wrong, I'll never say anything like that again!

Aunt Liu didn't drop her soap on the floor last night, my brother didn't try to climb over the wall to help, and Aunt Liu didn't sway her big white buttocks or twist her thick waist. Sorry, I have nothing more to say!

Everyone: "........"

Child, you've said everything you should and shouldn't have said.

Lin Dayong's temples throbbed with urgency; he was determined to beat Lin Yinyin to death today.

"Lin Dayong!" the captain roared, stopping Lin Dayong's actions.

At this point, some of the older women couldn't stand it anymore, "Lin Dayong, you son of a bitch, you've fallen for a slut, who can you blame...!"

"Yeah, why are you taking your anger out on someone else's child! You'd be better off going to check on them!"

"Yeah, what if your house gets burgled and it's done by your own family?"

"Exactly! They were so flattered they were completely bewildered, who knows who they might give it to!"

There's always been gossip surrounding widows, especially in rural areas during the 1970s. Those flamboyant widows with bright red lipstick were particularly disliked by the locals.

Lin Dayong, angered by what he was being said, shoved aside the onlookers and stormed toward Widow Liu's house with a livid face.

He wanted to see if Baogui wasn't at Widow Liu's house; if so, he would beat Lin Yinyin to death and see what they would say then.

But as soon as he rushed to the door, he heard strange noises coming from inside the house, and his face turned pale.

"Hey, why aren't you going in? Your son might be there!"

"Yes, open the door. Why close the door in broad daylight?"

"Exactly, just don't do anything or start any business."

Lin Dayong took a deep breath and kicked the door open.

The moment the door opened, two naked bodies were exposed to everyone's eyes.

It was Lin Baogui and Widow Liu!

The villagers gasped in surprise.

Seeing the mess in the room, and the strong smell of alcohol and fish, Lin Dayong felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

Lin Yinyin, who had been at the back of the crowd, smiled slightly and quietly left, heading straight for the brigade leader's house.

She found Lin Zhaodi, who was cooking, panting.

"Zhao Di, I...I...I have something urgent to tell you..." She leaned against the door frame, panting heavily.

"What's the rush? Catch your breath first!" Lin Zhaodi was the second daughter of the brigade leader and the woman Lin Baogui longed to marry.

Lin Yinyin swallowed hard and deliberately raised her voice: "Zhao Di, my house has been burgled!"

"Money, grain, cloth—everything's gone! Even the big, fat pig we kept in the yard is gone!"

"What?!"

Lin Zhaodi suddenly stood up, and the fire poker in her hand fell to the ground with a "clatter".

Those things were her betrothal gifts!

How could it just disappear like that?

Hearing the commotion, the brigade leader's wife came out from inside. "Zhaodi, let's go take a look together!" Everything was missing, and her family wouldn't approve of this marriage!

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhaodi immediately grabbed her mother, saying, "Mom, let's go!"

Turning his head, he saw Lin Yinyin standing to the side, and his face darkened as he ordered, "Lin Yinyin, you stay here and watch the fire. Cook the food on the stove!"

"Oh, okay." Lin Yinyin replied meekly.