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

After leaving the village, the three of them got on the tractor. The tractor's back was lined with a layer of dry straw. Lin Qingqing sat in the corner, clutching a cloth bag in her hand.

The space was cramped, and the three of them squeezed together.

Jiang He insisted on sitting next to her, his body so limp it felt like he had no bones, and as the car swayed, his head kept hitting Lin Qingqing's shoulder.

"Sister," Jiang He groaned, leaning half his weight on her, his warm breath brushing against her soft neck. "This car is so old and bumpy, it hurts my wound."

His brows were furrowed, and he looked genuinely distressed.

Lin Qingqing's heart softened, and she was about to reach out to help him when a hand reached out from the side, holding a yellowed thread-bound book, and stood between the two of them.

"Just bear the pain." Gu Qiangying opened the book, a handwritten copy of "Compendium of Materia Medica," the pages brittle. "Now that you're out here, don't be so delicate. If you lean on your sister again, I'll throw you down to walk."

Jiang He ground his back teeth, rolled his eyes at him, and ultimately didn't dare to cause any more trouble.

But his hands were still restless. Under the cover of the straw, he secretly hooked Lin Qingqing's little finger and even scratched her palm.

Lin Qingqing withdrew her hand as if she had been electrocuted.

Gu Qiangying ignored their little actions, pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses, and shoved the book right under Lin Qingqing's nose.

"You've got nothing better to do anyway." His voice drifted into Lin Qingqing's ears. "Last time I came back, I saw you reading in your room. What were you reading?"

Lin Qingqing was taken aback, not expecting that she had been discovered for idly reading his book for a while.

"Just browsing..." she answered honestly.

"You seem to be reading very intently." Gu Qiangying turned a page and pointed to a roughly drawn herb. "What's this called?"

"Baiji".

"Sexual flavor?"

"Bitter, sweet, astringent, and slightly cold," Lin Qingqing answered haltingly.

"Pretty impressive!" Gu Qiangying's smile deepened, and he leaned forward slightly, almost encircling Lin Qingqing in his arms so that she could see the words on the book clearly.

From Jiang He's perspective, the two people were head to head, looking as intimate as a young couple whispering secrets to each other.

"What about this one?" Gu Qiangying moved her finger down. "This herb is hard to find. There are a few plants on the shady side of the back mountain. I'll take you to pick them later."

"This is... Panax notoginseng?" Lin Qingqing was not quite sure.

"Yes," Gu Qiangying praised gently, "You have a good memory. Much better than that silly little thing who only knows how to cry out in pain."

Jiang He was so angry that his face turned pale.

The feeling of being excluded made him extremely uncomfortable.

"Third Brother, I want to learn too." Jiang He leaned in and squeezed between the two of them. "I'm smart too, I can memorize it too."

Gu Qiangying slammed the book shut, almost pinching Jiang He's nose.

"You don't need to learn it." Gu Qiangying put the book back in her bag. "The biggest help you can give is to learn not to cause trouble for the family."

Jiang He felt a lump in his throat, wanting to curse but afraid of being punished, so he could only angrily turn his head to the side and vent his anger on the roadside weeds.

Vast stretches of birch forest swept past, their trunks greyish-white, their leaves rustling in the wind.

Lin Qingqing stared at the trees, her eyes somewhat glazed over.

She knew this forest well.

Before she married that deadbeat husband, she often came here with a basket to dig for wild vegetables. Back then, her family was poor, and that scoundrel Lin Dajun always wanted to eat, so she had no choice but to search for food all over the mountains and fields.

Once, she lost her sickle.

That's the only iron sickle in the house; I'm sure I'll get a beating when I get back.

She searched in the woods all afternoon but couldn't find it. In the end, she could only sit under a tree, hugging her knees, and cry.

The sky was just as blue back then, and the wind was just as strong. She felt that this was all she would ever be, trapped in this poor place, either sold to an old bachelor or drained dry by her family.

"This grove is quite nice," Gu Qiangying suddenly said, interrupting her thoughts.

Lin Qingqing snapped out of her daze and nodded haphazardly, "Yeah, it's pretty good."

"The bark of the birch trees here, when burned to ash, can stop bleeding and promote tissue regeneration," Gu Qiangying said calmly. "Three years ago, when I came here to collect herbs, I saw a little girl crying here."

Lin Qingqing's heart skipped a beat, and she turned her head sharply to look at him.

Gu Qiangying didn't look at her, her gaze fixed on the rapidly receding tree trunks: "She was crying terribly, groping around in the grass while crying. I was thinking of going over to ask her, but then a wild dog chasing a rabbit scared her away."

Lin Qingqing's palms began to sweat.

A stray dog ​​did indeed dart out that time, scaring her so much that she ran home. Back home, she was beaten with a belt by her alcoholic father for losing her sickle, and spent two days in bed.

So he had seen her back then?

"That is..." Lin Qingqing opened her mouth, her throat dry.

"Who it is doesn't matter." Gu Qiangying turned her head, her eyes behind her glasses holding something unreadable. "What matters is that if you lose something again, don't hide and cry alone. We have plenty of sickles at home; if you lose one, you lose it."

Lin Qingqing's nose tingled, and her eyes instantly reddened.

She quickly lowered her head, using the act of fixing her hair to suppress the tears welling up in her eyes.

Jiang He, listening from the side, was completely confused. He suspiciously scanned the two women's faces: "What sickle? Sister, you've never lost a sickle? Who would dare make you cry!"

No one cares about him.

The tractor turned a corner, and the scenery along the roadside changed.

This place was much livelier than the village; the streets were lined with stalls selling all sorts of things. Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Lin Qingqing's gaze was drawn to a noisy scene on the street corner.

There was a single-story house with a sign over there, and a group of people were gathered at the door. Several thugs were shoving a man who was as thin as a monkey and trying to get him out.

The skinny guy was wearing a vest so dirty you couldn't tell its color, his hair was a mess like a bird's nest, and he was being pushed around, staggering as he cursed.

Lin Qingqing felt her blood run cold.

That was her younger brother, who only knew how to gamble, drink, and cause trouble.

"I'm going to win back my losses! I still have money! Let me in!" Lin Dajun was kicked in the butt and fell face-first into the dirt, but he got up and still tried to rush in.

"Get out of here! You want to play even if you don't have money? You wouldn't even be worth two coins if you were skinned alive!" The thug guarding the place spat at his feet.

Lin Qingqing subconsciously turned her head away, afraid that the people over there would see her.

Gu Qiangying followed her gaze and understood in just one glance: "Are those your family members?"

Lin Qingqing sighed softly: "My younger brother."

Gu Qiangying raised an eyebrow and tapped the metal sheet with her hand: "Master, stop for a moment."

The tractor sputtered twice and stopped by the roadside.

"Let's get off here." Gu Qiangying picked up the first-aid kit, jumped out of the car first, then turned around and extended her hand to Lin Qingqing very naturally, "The road over there is difficult to walk, let's walk over."

Lin Qingqing looked at that slender and clean hand, hesitated for a second, and then placed her hand on it.

Gu Qiangying's hands were very steady. With a little force, she pulled her down and blocked the view from that side.

Jiang He jumped down on his own without needing anyone's help, but the landing aggravated his wound, causing him to wince and gasp for breath.

He glanced in the direction he had just seen, then curled his lip in disdain: "Sister, is that your brother? He's really ugly, looks like a big monkey, not even half as good-looking as me."

Lin Qingqing had no interest in listening to his banter at that moment; she only wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

"Don't be afraid." Gu Qiangying patted the back of her hand. "We won't go to your house first. Let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative and buy you some things. You can't go back to your parents' home empty-handed; people will laugh at you."

Lin Qingqing was in a state of confusion and could only let him lead her in the opposite direction.

There were quite a few people in the supply and marketing cooperative, and the shelves were fully stocked.

Gu Qiangying didn't ask Lin Qingqing what she wanted to buy, and went straight to the counter selling cigarettes and alcohol.

"Get two bottles of good wine." Gu Qiangying pointed to the medicinal wine in red paper packaging at the top of the counter, "and two cartons of Daqianmen."

The sales clerk, seeing this, knew it was a big customer, and laughed heartily as she quickly wrapped it up.

Lin Qingqing looked at the pile of things and whispered, "There's no need to buy such expensive things..." They don't deserve it.

Giving such good wine to that alcoholic father is a complete waste.

Gu Qiangying paid anyway, picked up the items, and smiled meaningfully.

"This wine isn't for them to drink, it's for them to see. Sometimes appearances matter more than substance. You have to let them know that you're doing well now, that you have powerful backers, so they won't dare to have any crooked thoughts."

After buying their things, the three of them headed towards the Lin family's house. They had only gone halfway when a noisy argument suddenly broke out at the corner of the alley ahead.

"Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! I have money! I really have money!"

Gu Qiangying paused, raising her hand to stop the two people behind her.

Several muffled thuds, like fists hitting flesh, were heard from the other side, followed by Lin Dajun's pig-like screams.

"Money? You've gambled away your entire fortune, where are you going to get money?" a gruff voice cursed. "If you can't come up with fifty bucks today, I'll chop off your hand!"

"No! Big brother! Spare me!" Lin Dajun cried, tears and snot streaming down his face. He looked up and suddenly saw Lin Qingqing, shouting excitedly, "My sister's back! My sister's back!"

He pointed at Lin Qingqing, tears and snot streaming down his face, and said, "That's my sister! I'm not lying, her deadbeat husband is dead, and they paid out a huge sum of money! It's all in her hands!"

Lin Qingqing clenched her fists tightly. At that moment, she suddenly wanted to ask Gu Qiangying for some rat poison.

Lin Dajun was still shouting over there, his voice sharp and piercing with fear:

"She's a widow now, all alone! If I cause trouble, she'll definitely give me money! If she doesn't... then you guys take her away! She's incredibly beautiful, a famous beauty for miles around! Sell her to that old cripple in the mountains, and you can get a few hundred yuan!"

……

Qingqing's resilience is slowly becoming apparent!! Everyone, please be patient!

There are too many male leads, far too many. Let's push the romance storyline forward first, and then develop the characters' growth arcs.

Otherwise, without sufficient support from behind, it will be difficult for them to grow.