However, she was very dissatisfied with Old lady Lin using the so-called life-saving grace to manipulate her. Moreover, if she didn’t let the old woman receive her due retribution, she would feel unworthy of the original owner. So, if she had the opportunity, she would thoroughly investigate this matter.

She had no idea how much of a shock her words had given Old lady Lin—so much so that the old woman was nearly scared to the point of fainting.

“She really said that?” Old lady Lin asked anxiously.

Lin Qingqing nodded. “Grandmother, she’s not stupid at all. She will never come back to help us.”

Initially feeling guilty over her past actions, Old lady Lin forced herself to calm down upon realizing something. Then, with a dark expression, she sneered, “So what if she’s not stupid? Even if she suspects something, what can she do? She has no evidence. If she really makes a fuss, people will only say she’s ungrateful. After all, everyone in the village knows that I was the one who took her in.”

“But if she ignores us, there’s no benefit to us either,” Lin Qingqing muttered.

Old lady Lin was convinced she had Lin Nannan in the palm of her hand. She was smug, thinking that no matter how good Lin Nannan’s true identity was, it wouldn’t matter. Her parents would never find her. She would never know who her real parents were. She would be stuck with Lu Heng, that cripple, for the rest of her life—dragged down, unable to rise above her circumstances.

But who would have thought that Lin Nannan had been pretending to be foolish all along, deceiving her for over ten years?

Thinking about those old folks who lived in the back hills and had been close to Lin Nannan, Old lady Lin was filled with regret.

Had she known they would teach Lin Nannan to play dumb, she would never have allowed them to interact.

Taking a deep breath, she said grimly, “Anyone who leaves the Lin family and wants to sever ties with us—it won’t be that easy!”

Lin Qingqing, knowing how formidable her grandmother’s methods were, eagerly awaited how she would deal with Lin Nannan.

…

When Lin Nannan married Lu Heng, many jealous people in the village were waiting to see the Lu family become a joke. They believed that the Lu family had made a terrible mistake by letting a foolish woman marry in, thinking that from now on, their household would be full of ridicule.

But seeing how active Lin Nannan was in the fields, how capable she was at farm work, the onlookers were left dumbfounded.

They really wanted to ask the Lin family—was this woman really a fool?

If so, could they also have such a fool in their family?

A fool who worked fast and fiercely protected her own? They wanted one too!

Instead of seeing the Lu family become a laughingstock, they were growing envious of Lin Nannan’s efficiency, their jealousy souring them like pickled vegetables. Each of them regretted it so much that their intestines turned green with frustration.

Those who were on good terms with the Lu family couldn’t help but tease Zhang Xiaofeng about it. But it was all in good fun, and the Lu family didn’t mind. Lin Nannan certainly didn’t either—she was too busy making comparisons, carefully monitoring the differences between the seeds she had planted and those planted by the rest of the Lu family.

If something went wrong with her crops, she wanted to spot the issue early so she could remedy it in time.

She had even set aside some extra seeds as a precaution.

…

Just as Lin Nannan was settling into life with the Lu family and Lu Heng was growing accustomed to having a straightforward and carefree wife by his side, news finally arrived regarding He Ye and Han Li.

That evening, as the Lu family was having dinner, the sound of hurried footsteps approached. Among those arriving was the village chief.

“Ah Ding?” Seeing the village chief, Grandma Lu immediately stood up in surprise. But when she saw the people behind him, she grew even more emotional. “This… these people… are they from the military?”

“Yes, they came straight here as soon as they arrived,” Lu Ding introduced.

The rest of the Lu family immediately stood up to welcome them, Lin Nannan included.

She looked at the five people who had entered and noticed that the man at the forefront had an upright demeanor and a dignified appearance, with an air of authority about him, suggesting that his status was anything but ordinary.