After becoming a widow, I became the apple of a rough man's eye.

The sound of water in the yard finally stopped.

As soon as the agonizing crashing sound stopped, Qin Lie and Xiao Yong breathed a sigh of relief almost simultaneously, but then felt inexplicably empty inside.

Not long after, the straw curtain was lifted by a fair and delicate hand.

Lin Qingqing came out carrying a wooden basin.

Her hair was wet and clung to her cheeks, her face flushed pink from the steam, like a ripe peach that looked as if it would burst with juice at the slightest touch.

The old, faded shirt she was wearing was somewhat see-through, revealing the outline of her undershirt and the exposed section of her neck, which was dazzlingly white.

Xiao Yong almost spat out the wine he had just drunk.

He abruptly turned his head away, his neck turning bright red, and the large bowl in his hand creaked as he gripped it tightly.

Qin Lie sat firmly, his dark eyes sweeping over her before he lowered his eyelids and gently stroked the back of the freshly sharpened sickle with his fingertips.

"Are you done washing?" Qin Lie's voice was a little hoarse.

Lin Qingqing lowered her head, not daring to look at the two men who stood guard in the courtyard like door gods. She gave a soft "hmm" and, holding the basin, tried to slip into the east room.

"stop."

Qin Lie suddenly spoke.

Lin Qingqing stiffened, stopped timidly, and turned to look at him: "Big...Big Brother, is there anything else?"

Qin Lie stood up, his tall shadow instantly looming over her. He walked up to Lin Qingqing and took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket—it contained the liniment Gu Qiangying had left behind.

"Hand out."

Lin Qingqing paused for a moment, then hesitated before extending the wrist that Xiao Yong had just gripped so tightly it had turned red.

Qin Lie poured some oil into his palm, rubbed it to warm it, and then silently grasped her wrist. His rough, calloused hand covered her delicate skin, and the contrast between the hot and cold, the rough and the smooth made Lin Qingqing involuntarily flinch.

"Don't move." Qin Lie said in a low voice, but he used very little force as he slowly rubbed the bruise. "Second brother is a scoundrel. If he acts up again, just call me."

Xiao Yong, who was listening from the side, gritted his teeth. He wanted to retort, but when he saw the glaring red mark on that fair wrist, he felt guilty and swallowed his words. He could only gulp down water and suppress his anger.

After rubbing the medicine in, Qin Lie released his hand, his gaze lingering on her face for a second: "Lock the door when you go to bed tonight."

These words sounded like a word of advice, but coupled with his unfathomable gaze, they always seemed to carry a hidden meaning.

Lin Qingqing blushed and ran back to the east room, locking the door with a "click".

This night was destined to be a difficult one.

The Qin family's mud-brick houses are quite old, and the sound insulation is terrible.

Lin Qingqing lay on the kang (heated brick bed) in the east room, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. In the next room, Xiao Yong was snoring loudly, interspersed with a few indistinct words in his sleep, which sounded like "little wife" or "don't run away" or other nonsense.

Meanwhile, the Li family's dilapidated house at the east end of the village was also brightly lit.

Li Ergou lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), his broken leg still wrapped in tattered cloth, grimacing in pain.

"Mother, I'm not reconciled!" Li Ergou's eyes were filled with resentment, his hand clutching the tattered cotton quilt tightly. "Why do those bachelors in the Qin family get to eat and drink well, and even have that young woman with them? She should have been mine!"

Li Liushi sat to one side sewing shoe soles, her old face, as withered as tree bark, looking particularly sinister under the kerosene lamp.

She spat, "That little slut, what an unfaithful woman. She's only been a widow for a few days and she's already hooking up with those wild men. Today I heard from Wang Dazui that Xiao Lao Er was about to kill someone by the river because of her."

"Mother, think of a way." Li Ergou propped himself up, his face lewd. "If we can make it a fait accompli, her body will be tainted, and those shameless members of the Qin family definitely won't keep her. Then we can make a scene, and maybe we can even extort that compensation money back!"

Li Liu's cloudy eyes darted around, and she rubbed the needle in her hand against her scalp: "Those people in the Qin family are not to be trifled with, especially Qin Lie, who has seen blood. We need to be thorough."

"What's there to be afraid of!" Li Ergou sneered. "Those guys from the Qin family all work during the day and sleep like logs at night. I've figured it out: the Qin family's wall is low, and there's a gap over the bamboo grove..."

The mother and son exchanged a glance, both seeing greed and malice in each other's eyes.

Late at night.

The mountain breeze was cool, rustling through the bamboo grove.

Lin Qingqing was woken up by the urge to urinate. She held it in for a while, but couldn't hold it any longer, so she put on her coat and quietly pushed open the door.

The courtyard was quiet, and the moon was half-hidden by dark clouds, with only a hazy glimmer of light visible.

She glanced at the tightly closed doors of the main room and the west room, and felt a little more at ease. Although the Qin family had a courtyard, the outhouse was built outside the courtyard wall, requiring one to walk through a small bamboo grove.

Lin Qingqing carried the kerosene lamp and carefully walked outside.

The bamboo grove was pitch black; when the wind blew, the bamboo shadows swayed, like menacing ghosts. Lin Qingqing felt a chill run down her spine and quickened her pace.

Just as she reached the door of the outhouse and was about to push it open, a dark figure suddenly darted out of the bushes beside her!

"ah--"

Before she could even utter a shout, a large, foul-smelling hand tightly covered her mouth.

The kerosene lamp in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter" and went out.

"Ugh! Ugh!"

Lin Qingqing stared wide-eyed in terror, struggling desperately. But the man behind her was incredibly strong, dragging her deeper into the bamboo forest.

"Don't shout! Sister-in-law, it's me."

Li Ergou's lewd voice whispered in her ear, his breath hot and nauseating, "I've missed you so much, let me smell you..."

Despair instantly overwhelmed Lin Qingqing. She smelled that familiar stench of tobacco; it was the smell of her former brother-in-law, Li Ergou.

She kicked and struggled, her nails digging fiercely into the back of the hand covering her mouth.

"Damn it! You bitch, you dare scratch me!" Li Ergou cursed in pain, raising his hand to slap her face. "You're asking for it! Tonight I'll fuck you!"

The slap came down with a whoosh.

Lin Qingqing closed her eyes in despair.

However, the expected pain did not materialize.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

This was followed by Li Ergou's pig-like scream: "Ah—my hand!"

Lin Qingqing felt a sudden lightness on her body, and the disgusting man who was restraining her was thrown away as if hit by a heavy object.

She collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. In the darkness, a tall figure blocked her way.

"You bastard! You're asking for it!"

At this moment, Xiao Yong was no longer the simple-minded man he usually was. He was shirtless, his muscles bulging, and he was holding a pair of freshly made iron pliers. His eyes were bloodshot in the darkness.

Li Ergou fell to the ground, clutching his arm that had been broken by the iron clamps, writhing in pain.

Before he could even get up, Xiao Yong had already rushed over and stepped on his chest.