A small stone, carried by a strong gust of wind, flew towards He Changjiang.

He couldn’t dodge in time, and it hit him near his ear with a loud thud, causing him to cry out in pain.

Dabao frowned in dissatisfaction.

He didn’t hit He Changjiang’s forehead; it was a miss!

He Liang grabbed the slingshot from Dabao’s hand and laughed, “Oh, sorry, I missed.”

He Changjiang, angry, asked, “Missed where were you aiming to hit?”

He didn’t pay much attention to who had thrown the stone; it wasn’t worth causing trouble over.

He Liang replied, “I was aiming for that tree knot. Sorry, it wasn’t intentional.”

He Changjiang snorted and walked to the door, asking Fang Chengguang, “Chengguang, where did you go this afternoon? We couldn’t find you anywhere.”

Fang Chengguang replied, “I went out for a bit. Why were you looking for me?”

He Changjiang cast a sideways glance at Jiang Lin.

Although she was very beautiful, he increasingly felt she was a troublemaker, a seductress!

Especially since Fang Chengguang, who usually was indifferent to women, was actually laughing and chatting with her.

This made He Changjiang even more displeased.

He imagined Jiang Lin trying to seduce Fang Chengguang, leading to a rift between Chengguang and Cheng Rushan over a woman, which he found deeply upsetting.

“Let’s go to the cafeteria for a special meal,” He Changjiang said, dismissing Jiang Lin’s cooking.

He now saw her as a seductress, appearing among men just to attract them and disrupt brotherly bonds.

Jiang Lin coldly said, “Don’t worry. I haven’t poisoned anyone or done anything to deceive any man. As for you, I haven’t wronged you, so why do you keep glaring at me?”

She wasn’t interested in playing games or pretending to be gracious.

Since He Changjiang had been unfriendly to her in the afternoon and was now coming over to mock her, she decided to confront him directly.

She wanted to make it clear to Cheng Rushan and everyone else that she didn’t welcome He Changjiang.

She also wanted to show publicly that she would address problems straightforwardly, rather than letting him mock her with passive-aggressive comments.

She had no intention of tolerating his behavior.

He Changjiang was taken aback by Jiang Lin’s audacity to criticize him in front of so many people.

He saw it as her manipulative scheme to damage male friendships.

“Hey, what’s your attitude? You’re a married woman, should be focused on supporting your husband and raising children, not causing trouble…”

“He Changjiang!” Fang Chengguang interrupted, looking at him, “Have you lost your mind?”

He Changjiang was stunned.

While Fang Chengguang had teased him before, it was always in jest, and they were still good friends.

Now, Fang Chengguang was scolding him over a woman?

And not even his woman—she was Cheng Rushan’s wife!

He Changjiang, enraged, shouted, “Are you all enchanted by her? Where did this vixen come from—”

Before he could finish, a hand had already closed around his throat. It was so fast and silent that he couldn’t defend or react.

Cheng Rushan, gripping his throat, said coldly, “I thought you were just incompetent, but it turns out you have a filthy mind. Stay away from my wife and don’t show up around her again.”

He was holding He Changjiang with one hand, making He Changjiang unable to resist.

Zhao Quanyou and Du Qiang quickly tried to mediate, “Cheng, don’t be angry. He Changjiang was just joking.”

“Chengguang, you should say something fair,” they urged.

Fang Chengguang, still angry, said, “Get lost. I don’t want to see him.”

Originally, he had considered moving into the same courtyard, but now he felt it would be better to avoid He Changjiang and his group to prevent trouble later.

He felt embarrassed by He Changjiang’s behavior and apologized to Jiang Lin, “He’s lost his mind. I’m sorry on his behalf. Please don’t be angry.”

Jiang Lin, seeing that Fang Chengguang wasn’t defending He Changjiang, had a better impression of him. “This isn’t your problem. It’s his issue.”

She walked over to He Changjiang and said, “Are you targeting me specifically, or all women? Do you see women only as tools for having children and doing housework? If that’s your mindset, then stay away from us.”

Dabao and Xiaobao ran to Jiang Lin’s side and shouted, “Mom is right! Men who bully women aren’t real men!”

Cheng Rushan released his grip on He Changjiang and gave him a cold glance before saying nothing more.

He had thought He Changjiang was a decent young man, but he was disappointed by his narrow-mindedness.

He Changjiang was confused and furious, his face dark with anger, ignoring the pain in his throat. “For a woman, you’re treating your brother like this?”

He Liang said, “Shut up. This isn’t about whether she’s a woman or not. My sister-in-law is a college student. Have you even been to a provincial university? Why do you have the nerve to look down on her? I think she’s great, and it’s not just because of her looks.”

In the days he had interacted with Jiang Lin, she had neither pried into others’ business nor gossiped about anyone.

The most important thing was that Jiang Lin never looked down on him and treated him the same as she did Fang Chengguang.

Although he and Fang Chengguang were good friends, he knew that many people secretly regarded him as just Fang Chengguang’s sidekick or assistant.

Even if it wasn’t overtly obvious, he could see through their disdain.

Jiang Lin, however, had never looked down on him and didn’t treat him differently just because Fang Chengguang was better-looking.

He felt that, just for that reason alone, he could accept her as his sister-in-law.

He Changjiang turned to Fang Chengguang and asked, “Fang Chengguang, what’s your point?”

Fang Chengguang replied, “The same point.”

You have a mother and sisters; how can you look down on women?

Why didn’t I notice before how twisted you were?

In the past, you would just joke about some shrew or comment on a female performer’s love life, a.nd it was nothing serious.

But now, you’ve gone too far, even targeting Jiang Lin, calling her a seductress.

It’s really too much and makes us look bad for being friends with you.

He Changjiang, furious and trembling, stormed out, pushing aside Zhao Quanyou and Du Qiang, kicking the dormitory door open. “We’re moving! We’re not staying here!”

Hearing his shouting, Fang Chengguang said to He Liang, “Pack up. We’ll move in a few days.”

He Liang, excited, looked at him and then at Cheng Rushan. “Really? You’re moving so quickly?”

They had just talked about it during the day, and now they were actually moving?

Fang Chengguang smiled at Jiang Lin. “Cheng has a way with things. I’m impressed.”

Thinking of Cheng Rushan negotiating with the stubborn old man, Fang Chengguang felt enlightened.

He never imagined that challenging authority could be done so confidently and even end with the old man feeling grateful.

Fang Chengguang believed that once Cheng Rushan entered the military district, their group of young people might see some significant changes.

If an unknown newcomer entered, they would just sink without a trace, making no waves.

But Cheng Rushan was different; he became famous in the playground battle, and now everyone in the compound knew that He Changjiang and his group had lost to him.

It was surprising that He Changjiang was so narrow-minded, but it didn’t matter.

Dabao and Xiaobao approached.

Dabao said to Fang Chengguang, “Uncle Chengguang, you have principles, are polite, and keep your word. I admire you!”

Fang Chengguang couldn’t help but pat his head. “Don’t put me on a pedestal. We’re all brothers. If you’re someone I support, I’ll support you too.”

Everyone else: …………

Bie Dongshan, who hadn’t followed He Changjiang, came over and asked, “Chengguang, can I come with you guys?”

Fang Chengguang replied, “Ask the college student.”

He nodded towards Jiang Lin.

Bie Dongshan apologized, “Jiang Lin, I’m sorry for my previous offense.”

Jiang Lin smiled. “It’s fine. I can tell the difference between a joke and real hostility. I’m not that petty.”

The next day, Cheng Rushan and Fang Chengguang went out with He Liang and Bie Dongshan to handle some business, while Jiang Lin took Dabao and Xiaobao to school.

She noticed that Xiaobao wasn’t carrying a backpack, and his things were packed into Dabao’s backpack.

She said, “Maybe the teacher won’t allow you to share, so each of you should carry your own backpack.”

Xiaobao grinned and said, “Mom, Dabao said he can share everything except you. It’s just a backpack, no big deal.”

Jiang Lin: ……

She saw that Dabao had a slingshot in his pocket, and Xiaobao had candy and a toy gun in his.

She said, “Leave the slingshot here, but you can take the toy gun.”

Dabao hesitated for a moment, then followed her instructions and put the slingshot in her hand.

“Let’s go,” Jiang Lin said, reaching for the boys’ hands.

Xiaobao willingly took her hand, but Dabao was a bit awkward, keeping his hands in his pockets.

Dabao said, “I’m a grown-up now. I shouldn’t always hold Mom’s hand. That’s for little kids.”

Jiang Lin raised her hand and ruffled his hair. “What’s wrong with being a grown-up? Even if you become an old man, I’ll still be your mom. Haha.”

Dabao sighed as she messed up his hair.

He pulled her hand from his head and said, “Let’s go.”

On the way to school, Jiang Lin reminded the kids not to engage with any provocations.

If they encountered troublemakers, they should report it to the teacher rather than getting into fights.

She warned them that there would likely be cliques among the kids, and they wouldn’t be able to handle them alone.

Xiaobao cheerfully agreed.

After dropping them off at the school gate, Jiang Lin returned to the dormitory.

She cleaned up a bit, prepared the things she would need for her registration in two days, and updated her planner with tasks and goals.

She wrote down urgent tasks on a calendar, flipping through it daily to keep track and avoid missing anything.

At noon, Dabao and Xiaobao came home for lunch.

Jiang Lin noticed Xiaobao was cheerful, while Dabao had a grumpy face.

She asked with a smile, “Did you have a conflict with anyone?”

Xiaobao shook his head and said, “Don’t worry, Linlin. It’s nothing. We won’t fight back and will definitely avoid conflicts.”

Jiang Lin smiled, remembering Cheng Rushan’s advice that some things the kids needed to face on their own, so she didn’t press further.

After the kids left for school, Jiang Lin went to tend the vegetable garden, preparing for planting after the Qingming Festival.

In the evening, Cheng Rushan, Fang Chengguang, and He Liang returned.

He Liang, looking pleased, said, “Sister-in-law, we’re moving tomorrow.”

Jiang Lin was surprised, “Why so soon?”

He Liang replied proudly, “Cheng and Chengguang have a plan.”

Cheng Rushan had come up with a way to legalize the eight tons of steel.

They had to pay most of the money to the finance department and strictly warned their relatives not to engage in illegal activities again, or they would face jail time.

Cheng Rushan could see that the advisor, Tie, was unhappy with his brother-in-law but didn’t want to say anything directly due to personal reasons.

So, Cheng Rushan and Fang Chengguang worked together to warn the brother-in-law and let Tie handle the situation more diplomatically.

If Cheng Rushan had done it alone, it would have taken more time due to his limited connections.

With Fang Chengguang’s help, things were accomplished more efficiently, showcasing Fang Chengguang’s abilities and minimizing offense to others.