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

As soon as the sun climbed over the wall, Chen Qinghe stood in the pigsty once again.

He gripped a long-handled iron shovel tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, whether from exhaustion or anger, it was hard to tell.

"The big one on the left."

Jiang He sat on a small stool a few steps away, tossing a bright red apple in his hand, taking a bite with a crunch, and letting the juice spill out.

He casually propped his two long legs up, and held a tree branch in his other hand, pointing at Jiang Heshan from a distance.

"Chen, you have terrible eyesight. There's such a huge lump sitting there; are you planning to save it for the New Year?"

Chen Qinghe was breathing rapidly, his chest heaving violently.

He suppressed the nausea churning in his stomach, mechanically turned around, and tossed the shovelful of pig manure out of the pen.

Li Dongye sat next to Jiang He, enjoying the spectacle and commenting on Chen Qinghe's actions.

"You need to lower your waist and focus your energy in your lower abdomen. If you keep shoveling like that, your back will break tomorrow. Then Miss Su will feel sorry for you and use that as an excuse to come knocking on your door."

Mentioning Su Jiaojiao, Chen Qinghe's shoveling motion suddenly froze, and he almost threw the shovel at his own leg again.

"Ouch, be careful."

Jiang He chuckled and spat the fruit pit into his hand. "This is our whole family's food supply. If you scare the pig badly, we couldn't afford to pay for it even if we sold you."

The three pigs in the pigpen were already squealing with hunger.

Especially the little piglet named "Huahua," who was the smallest and could never compete with the other two for food.

Right now, the pancakes and steamed buns completely blocked the trough. Hua Hua was so anxious that she kept whimpering behind her and tried to nudge the pancake's bottom with her nose. As a result, the pancake kicked her with its hind legs and rolled around, ending up on her back.

Hua Hua turned over, huddled in the corner with a wronged expression, and looked at the people outside with wet little eyes.

Jiang He looked at that stupid pig-like face, clicked his tongue impatiently, and flicked his wrist.

"Tsk."

The apple core, still containing the flesh, traced an arc through the air and landed precisely in front of Huahua's head.

The piglet was startled and shrank back, its nose twitching as it smelled the sweetness. It tentatively moved closer and began to nibble away, its tail wagging like a propeller.

As Jiang He watched the piglet eat heartily, his initial mischievous grin gradually faded, replaced by an inexplicable and conflicted expression.

Fourth Brother.

Jiang He poked the ground with a twig. "Why is this pig growing so slowly? It just eats and sleeps, doesn't seem to care at all."

Li Dongye glanced at him sideways, took a bite of his apple, and said, "What, how fast do you want it to grow? So it can grow big enough to block your way?"

"No." Jiang He rested his chin on his hand, looking at the little pig gnawing on an apple core. "I was thinking that when it's time to kill it and eat it for the New Year, I might be a little reluctant to do it."

Li Dongye almost choked on the apple.

He looked Jiang He up and down as if he were meeting this younger brother for the first time.

"Fifth brother, you've changed your mind so quickly. Just a couple of days ago you were complaining about the smell and wanted to tear down the pigsty, and now you've developed feelings for it?"

Li Dongye chuckled, "Then when the braised pork is served, don't reach for your chopsticks."

"That won't do." Jiang He was getting impatient. "Feelings are feelings, and flesh is flesh. Isn't it all grown up so that I can eat it? If I don't eat it, I'll be letting it down after all the hard work it put in to grow so big."

Li Dongye shook his head. Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from the courtyard gate.

"Qinghe!"

A delicate cry rang out, tinged with sobs and anxiety.

Su Jiaojiao was wearing a pink floral shirt, and her hair was a little messy, obviously because she had run all the way here.

She rushed into the backyard and immediately saw Chen Qinghe standing in the pigsty, covered in filth.

That was the scholar she held in high esteem, the Chen educated youth who would one day take her back to the city to live a better life. And now he was being treated like a servant by these peasants!

Upon hearing this sound, Chen Qinghe's back stiffened instantly, and he wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.

He had his back to the door and didn't dare to turn around.

Su Jiaojiao's eyes instantly reddened. She rushed over and started cursing at Jiang He and Li Dongye, who were sitting leisurely on stools.

"Jiang He! Are you even human?! How dare you bully him like this?!"

Su Jiaojiao trembled with rage, her chest heaving. "He's an educated youth! He came to build up the countryside, not to be your family's slave! This is... this is class revenge!"

Jiang He slowly stood up.

He was much taller than Su Jiaojiao, and now he looked down at her, the boyish smile on his face completely gone, and his usually crescent-shaped eyes were now filled with coldness.

"Su Jiaojiao, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."

Jiang He took a step closer, his chilling aura sending shivers down one's spine. "Who bullied him? You can ask the talented Chen; did he come to help voluntarily?"

"You're talking nonsense!" Su Jiaojiao reached out and pushed Jiang He. "You must have forced him! I'm going to tell my dad, and I'll have him arrest you all!"

"Arrest me?"

Jiang He seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world.

His gaze drifted lightly to Su Jiaojiao's belly, which wasn't showing yet.

"Okay, go and call your dad."

Jiang He bent down slightly, getting closer to Su Jiaojiao's flushed face, "And let your father see whose child is in his unmarried daughter's belly."

Su Jiaojiao's face turned deathly pale instantly, and her previous imposing manner deflated like a punctured balloon.

She instinctively clutched her stomach, looking at Jiang He in horror.

"You...you..."

"What's wrong with me?"

Jiang He straightened up, looking nonchalant. "I'm the kind of person who can't keep a secret. What if I accidentally let slip this good news and the whole village knows that our Chen educated youth is a sharpshooter who hits the target on the first try? That would be so embarrassing."

Li Dongye listened from the side and couldn't help but laugh.

Su Jiaojiao's lips trembled, tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked pleadingly at the figure in the pigsty.

"Qinghe..."

Chen Qinghe's hand holding the shovel was trembling.

He heard Jiang He's words, and every word felt like a nail piercing his pitiful pride.

But he was even more afraid that this matter would really be exposed.

That way, he'd never be able to return to the city in his lifetime, and would be stuck in this poor mountain village, a scorned man who would be talked about behind his back for the rest of his life.

That's worse than death.

"Go back."

Chen Qinghe didn't turn around; his voice was terribly hoarse.

Su Jiaojiao was stunned. "What did you say?"

"I'm letting you go back!"

Chen Qinghe suddenly turned around, his face, covered in mud, contorted with rage and grotesque expressions.

He yelled at Su Jiaojiao, "This is my own business! It's none of your concern! Get out!"

Su Jiaojiao was stunned by the yelling.

This was the first time in her life she had been treated so harshly, especially by the man she had always protected.

"Chen Qinghe, you bastard!"

Su Jiaojiao cried out, covered her face, and ran away.

The courtyard fell silent again.

All that remained was the smacking sound of pigs eating.

Chen Qinghe lowered his head dejectedly, picked up the shovel again, and began shoveling pig manure one stroke at a time.

Jiang He watched his retreating figure, pursed his lips, and sat back down on the stool.

"Boring."

Just then, a commotion came from the courtyard gate.

"What's going on? I could hear chickens running and dogs jumping around in this yard from far away."

Gu Qiangying's voice.

Jiang He's eyes lit up, his sarcastic tone vanished instantly, and he threw down the branch in his hand and rushed outside.

"elder sister!"

As soon as Lin Qingqing entered the room, before she could even wipe the mud off her feet, a heavy object bumped into her arms.

Jiang He, like a big dog that only sees its master, wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and rubbed his head against her neck.

"Sister, you're finally back! I'm starving!" Jiang He said in a spoiled tone. "Those pigs eat better than me, and I have to take care of them. If you hadn't come back, I would have been fighting with the pigs for food."

Lin Qingqing was knocked back half a step by him, but fortunately Qin Lie reached out and helped her up from behind.

She patted Jiang He on the back with a laugh, "How old are you? Still comparing yourself to a pig."

Jiang He raised his head, resting his chin on her shoulder. His beautiful eyes were now full of grievance, showing no trace of the ruthlessness he had shown when threatening Su Jiaojiao.

Qin Lie unloaded the heavy hiking backpack and placed it on the stone platform under the corridor.

He ignored Jiang He's coquettishness, his gaze sweeping over Li Dongye sitting in the yard, then glancing at the figure still working diligently in the pigsty, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

"Fourth brother," Qin Lie called out in a deep voice.

Li Dongye stood up and patted his butt. "Brother, what's wrong? This Chen educated youth is doing this voluntarily. I didn't force him."

Qin Lie didn't respond to that.

"Fifth brother, stop fooling around. Qingqing needs to wash her face and change her clothes."

After Qin Lie finished speaking, he turned to Li Dongye and said, "Fourth brother, come inside with me."

Lin Qingqing keenly sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere.

Qin Lie is usually a man of few words, but he rarely shows this kind of expression.

"Big brother?" Lin Qingqing called out tentatively.

Qin Lie paused, turned around and glanced at her, his voice softening, "It's nothing, go and rest. I need to discuss something with them."