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

The roar of the diesel engine at the courtyard gate faded into the distance, and Qin Lie withdrew his gaze and picked up his bowl again.

"Have a meal."

The people at the table started eating again.

Gu Qiangying put the smooth egg into her mouth and then took a handkerchief to wipe her hands.

"Brother, the clinic is out of anti-inflammatory medicine." Gu Qiangying folded the handkerchief and placed it on the corner of the table. "We're also short on mercurochrome and gauze. I need to go to Hongqi Town to get some supplies. I also need to go there for a follow-up appointment with an old patient."

When the words "Red Flag Town" were uttered, Lin Qingqing's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly.

The piece of pickled mustard greens that had just been picked up fell back into the porridge bowl, splashing a little rice water.

She kept her head down and didn't dare to say a word.

Hongqi Town was her hometown, but it was also a den of iniquity that devoured people without spitting out their bones.

Her biological father, who wanted to sell her to an old bachelor for a dowry, and her younger brother, who idled away his days and only knew how to ask for money, were both there.

Qin Lie raised his eyelids, his gaze lingered for a moment on her pale fingertips, then looked away.

"How many days will you be gone?" Qin Lie asked.

"About half a month," Gu Qiangying pushed up her glasses. "The roads over there are difficult to travel, and if it rains, it will be even more delayed."

Qin Lie put down his bowl, remained silent for a moment, then nodded towards Lin Qingqing with his chin: "Take her with you."

Lin Qingqing suddenly looked up at Qin Lie.

"I don't--"

"We need to get your household registration sorted out. Isn't your household registration not with Old Li's family?" Qin Lie interrupted her. "You're currently an unregistered resident, which will make things inconvenient for you in the future. While Lao San is away, let him take you and get the paperwork done."

Lin Qingqing knew that Qin Lie was doing it for her own good, but the thought of going back to that home made her legs tremble.

"I'm going too!"

Jiang He turned to look at Gu Qiangying, "Wherever you go, I'll go!"

Qin Lie frowned deeply: "What nonsense are you talking about? We're going to take care of serious business."

"I don't care!" Jiang He grabbed Lin Qingqing's arm, buried his face in her shoulder, rubbing against her so hard her clothes were wrinkled. "I want to go to Hongqi Town too! I'm so bored at home, I want to go out and play!"

"You're still injured," Xiao Yong interjected, chewing on a steamed bun. "Why are you running around like that? If you fall and hurt your butt again, Lao San will have to stitch it up for you."

"Fine, I'll sew it up!"

Jiang He stiffened his neck, his eyes instantly reddening, looking utterly pitiful. "Fourth Brother is gone, Third Brother is leaving too, and now even Sister is going out, leaving me all alone at home... Eldest Brother, are you planning to wait until everyone leaves and then throw me into the back mountains to be fed to the wolves?"

Qin Lie's temple throbbed twice.

"Take it with you."

Gu Qiangying suddenly spoke.

He leaned back in his chair, a gentle smile on his face: "Fifth Brother is staying home too much, which isn't good for his wound healing. It'll be good to take him out for a walk. As for the wound... I'll keep an eye on it; nothing will go wrong."

Qin Lie glanced at Gu Qiangying.

The two men's eyes met briefly in mid-air.

Gu Qiangying's smile remained unchanged, but the reflection in her glasses made it impossible to discern the emotions in her slender eyes.

"Okay." Qin Lie threw the half-smoked cigarette on the ground. "Keep an eye on him on the way, don't let him cause trouble. If he does, I'll settle the score with you when we get back."

"Don't worry," Gu Qiangying readily agreed.

Jiang He immediately went from tears to laughter, his expression changing faster than turning the pages of a book.

He made a smug face at Xiao Yong, then nuzzled his head against Lin Qingqing's neck: "Sister, let's go on a trip!"

Lin Qingqing was choking him so much that she could hardly breathe, and helplessly reached out to touch his messy hair.

That's settled.

After finishing her meal, Lin Qingqing went back to her room to pack her things.

There wasn't much to pack, just a few changes of clothes. She found an old cloth bag, folded the clothes neatly, and put them inside.

The curtain was lifted, and Xiao Yong blocked the doorway, clutching a handful of crumpled bills.

He strode in, grabbed Lin Qingqing's hand, and shoved the money into her palm: "Take it."

There were one-yuan coins, five-mao coins, and even a few two-cent coins.

"Second brother, I have money..." Lin Qingqing tried to push it back.

"How much money do you have?" Xiao Yong glared at him and said in a gruff voice, "If your older brother gives you a treasury, you'll definitely be too embarrassed to spend it. If you have any, it'll be your private stash, which you'll save for haircuts."

This money is for your food. When you get to town, buy whatever you want to eat, don't be stingy. If your family sees you've lost weight, they'll blame us for not taking good care of the household.

Lin Qingqing held the money in her hand, her palm burning.

Xiao Yong is clumsy with words and has a bad temper, but he is so honest that it's heartbreaking.

"You don't need that many." Lin Qingqing counted out two large ten-yuan bills and wanted to return the rest to him.

Xiao Yong took a step back: "Just take it! Why all the nonsense? Don't you know the saying 'a poor family needs to be frugal on the road'? Besides, that third brother is incredibly stingy. Expecting him to buy you new gadgets? Dream on!"

After saying that, fearing that Lin Qingqing would refuse again, he turned and ran, but stopped at the door, grabbed the door frame, and turned back to give her a final instruction:

"Um... if anyone dares to bully you, just tell Lao San. Lao San has a lot of underhanded tricks up his sleeve; he's the one who bullies others."

Lin Qingqing chuckled and said, "Okay."

Xiao Yong's face flushed red when he saw her smile. He scratched the back of his head, chuckled foolishly, and walked away.

Lin Qingqing carefully put the money into her small cloth pocket, then rummaged under her pillow, trying to find a handkerchief to wrap it up.

As soon as I reached under the pillow, I touched something hard.

She paused for a moment, then took it out and looked at it.

It was something wrapped in kraft paper, with a piece of cardboard torn from a cigarette box pressed down next to it.

Lin Qingqing's heart skipped a beat. She subconsciously glanced back at the door to make sure no one was there before carefully opening the paper package.

Inside lay two orange-flavored fruit candies, their wrappers shimmering with colorful light in the sunlight.

She picked up the piece of paper.

The words above were written with a ballpoint pen; the handwriting was messy and unrestrained, yet powerful enough to penetrate the paper, just like the flamboyant Li Dongye himself.

"I'll bring you something even more fun this time. Be a good girl at home and eat your meals, don't miss me so much you'll cry."

The signature was an extremely ugly smiling face, which made Lin Qingqing's cheeks twitch.

asshole.

Who would want him to cry?

She held the note in her hand, then picked up the two candies. She peeled one open and put it in her mouth, then put the remaining candy and the note into her diary and placed it at the bottom of the box.

After packing her things, Lin Qingqing left the house with her cloth bag on her back.

In the courtyard, Gu Qiangying had already changed her clothes.

He wore a white shirt and black trousers with perfectly straight creases, and his leather shoes were polished to a shine. He was carrying a black medical kit and didn't look like a barefoot doctor; he looked more like a cadre from the provincial capital.

Jiang He also changed into clean clothes and kept glancing towards the door.

"Let's go."

Gu Qiangying glanced at the sun. "If we stay any later, we'll miss the passing bus."

Qin Lie stood under the eaves, sweeping the yard with a large broom in his hand. He didn't look up, but paused his sweeping motion for a moment.

Go early and come back early.

Four simple words were all it took to say goodbye.

The three of them hadn't gone far when a head popped up on the wall of Wang Dazui's house next door.

Wang Dazui held a feather duster in his hand, pretending to air out the quilts, his beady green eyes darting around the three of them.

"Hey, where are you going?" Wang Dazui's voice was loud enough to be heard throughout half the village. "Carrying all those bags, going back to your parents' house?"

Gu Qiangying stopped, adjusted her glasses, and smiled warmly, "Auntie, are you airing out your quilts? The sun is nice today, so let them air out a bit. We're going to town to take care of some things."

"Get things done?" Wang Dazui was clearly skeptical. His gaze swept over Lin Qingqing's delicate face, then he looked at Jiang He. "This whole family, old and young, what could they possibly get done? Is this young widow going to remarry again?"

She spoke in a low voice, and Lin Qingqing's face paled, while Gu Qiangying's smile faded slightly.

"Auntie, I heard from Uncle Gangzi the other day that your toothache has flared up again?" Gu Qiang asked with concern. "I just happened to go to town this time to buy some special medicine, specifically for treating chatter." "Would you like me to bring some back for you?"

Wang Dazui's face stiffened.

"No...no need, my teeth are fine." Wang Dazui shrank his neck and swished the feather duster off the wall.

Outside the village entrance, there is a winding dirt road with waist-high weeds on both sides.

Although Jiang He was injured, he gritted his teeth and walked on in order to get out. He leaned on a tree branch and limped behind Lin Qingqing.

"Sister, slow down."

Jiang He's forehead was covered in a layer of cold sweat. "My wound hurts."

Lin Qingqing's heart softened, and she stopped to help him.

A hand suddenly cut in and grabbed Lin Qingqing's wrist, pulling her aside with a gentle pull.

Gu Qiangying stood between the two, completely blocking the already narrow dirt road.

"Fifth brother, since it hurts, talk less and save your energy."

Gu Qiangying released Lin Qingqing's wrist and instead took Jiang He's arm.

"Third Brother, what are you doing?" Jiang He glared at him. "I need my sister to help me!"

"Men and women shouldn't touch each other," Gu Qiangying said with a smile. "Besides, you're so heavy, what if you hurt someone? Third Brother is strong, Third Brother will help you."

As he spoke, he forcibly grabbed one of Jiang He's arms and half-dragged, half-pulled him forward.

Lin Qingqing was pushed to the side of the road, watching the backs of the two men in front of her.

Gu Qiangying walked in the middle, her head slightly turned to the side, seemingly talking to Jiang He, a smile playing on her lips.

Jiang He was struggling to turn his head, looking over Gu Qiangying's shoulder at her, his eyes full of grievance and resentment.

"What are you standing there for?" Gu Qiangying turned around, her eyes behind her glasses curving slightly. "Stay close, or I won't look for you if you get lost."

"Coming," Lin Qingqing replied, and jogged after him.

The wind rustled through the wild grass, making a sound like countless secrets whispering.