Before leaving, the village chief dispersed the onlookers and warned Wang Chunhua once again not to hit anyone.  

“Mom, you heard it—the village chief said I can eat whatever’s at home,” Jiang Qiuyue said, brushing the dust off her pants. Seeing Wang Chunhua raise her hand to strike, she quickly shouted, “Village Chief!”  

“What now?” Hu Haizhi, who hadn’t gone far, turned back.  

Wang Chunhua cut in, “It’s nothing. Qiuyue was just thanking you.”  

“No need for thanks. I’ll head off now.” As soon as Hu Haizhi turned away, Wang Chunhua’s face darkened. “Jiang Qiuyue, don’t push your luck. Get inside now!”  

She couldn’t discipline Jiang Qiuyue in front of the village chief, but once the door was closed, she’d see how bold Jiang Qiuyue could be.  

Yet Jiang Qiuyue stood motionless at the doorway, as if she hadn’t heard a word.  

She wasn’t stupid—Wang Chunhua’s petty schemes were crystal clear to her.  

“Jiang Qiuyue, didn’t you hear me?” Wang Chunhua hissed, her eyes darting around, afraid someone might overhear.  

Jiang Qiuyue said she heard, “But I’m not going in. Once I step into the yard, you’ll definitely hit me. Mom, the village chief made it clear—if you lay a hand on me, I’ll go straight to him.”  

“Have you lost your mind?” The usual Jiang Qiuyue wouldn’t dare talk to her like this. Wang Chunhua’s heart skipped a beat—Jiang Qiuyue’s head had indeed been bleeding heavily earlier. “You… just come inside first. I won’t hit you.”  

“Those are your words.” Jiang Qiuyue followed her into the yard and was about to return to her room when Qian Li grabbed her.  

“Eldest sister-in-law, you haven’t made dinner yet,” Qian Li said, her stomach growling loudly. The rest of the family was hungry too.  

Jiang Qiuyue pushed Qian Li’s hand away. “Doctor Jiang said I need rest. You all can cook for yourselves.”  

Qian Li didn’t want to cook. In the four years since she’d married into the Lin family, she’d never once made a meal. Having grown accustomed to others doing the laundry and cooking, the thought of doing chores again filled her with resentment.  

Hearing her mother-in-law cursing in her room, Qian Li’s eyes darted around before she ran off to tattle.  

“She’s rebelling against heaven!” Wang Chunhua had just sat down but immediately slipped her cloth shoes back on and stormed to Jiang Qiuyue’s door, pounding on it. “Jiang Qiuyue, what the hell do you think you’re doing? Not even cooking? What’s the point of keeping you in this family? Get out here, open the door… Ah!”  

As Wang Chunhua pounded, Jiang Qiuyue seized the moment to suddenly yank the door open. Wang Chunhua fell flat on her face, her front teeth smashing into the ground, blood gushing instantly.  

“Heavens, second sister-in-law, why did you push Mom?” Jiang Qiuyue struck first. “Look what you’ve done—you’ve hurt Mom so badly!”  

She reached out to help, secretly delighted at the sight of Wang Chunhua’s broken teeth.  

Qian Li shook her head frantically. Seeing the men of the family approaching, she tried to defend herself—she’d been knocking on the door too but hadn’t pushed her mother-in-law.  

But Jiang Qiuyue anticipated her thoughts. “Second brother, control your wife! She actually dared to push Mom. Good heavens, how could there be such a vicious daughter-in-law in this world?”  

Wang Chunhua, now on her feet, was covered in blood, her tongue feeling as if it had been severed, tears streaming from the pain. “Husband… wuwu…”  

Lin Fugui’s head was spinning. “What the hell happened?”  

“I don’t know,” Jiang Qiuyue answered fastest. “I just opened the door and saw second sister-in-law shove Mom to the ground.”  

“That’s bullshit!” Qian Li raised her hand to hit Jiang Qiuyue, but before she could, Jiang Qiuyue shouted again.  

“Everyone, come quick! My sister-in-law hit our mother-in-law!” As soon as Jiang Qiuyue finished yelling, her father-in-law immediately told her to shut up.  

Lin Erzhu frowned. He knew Qian Li wouldn’t push his mother, but with his eldest sister-in-law shouting like this, others might really misunderstand.  

“Enough talk for now. Third Brother and I will take Mom to the clinic. Qian Li, you go make dinner.”  

“But I—”  

“Just go! Why do you have so much to say?”  

Qian Li was on the verge of tears, unable to explain herself, and stomped angrily into the kitchen.  

Jiang Qiuyue, ever the instigator, added, “I’ll go too. You two men can’t take care of her as well as I can.”  

Lin Erzhu instinctively agreed but immediately regretted it. His eldest sister-in-law wasn’t quite herself today—same person, but suddenly so articulate. “No need, Eldest Sister-in-law. You’re injured and should rest. Third Brother and I can handle it.”  

“Are you sure?” Jiang Qiuyue was disappointed. If she went to the clinic, she could make sure the whole village knew Qian Li had pushed Wang Chunhua.  

“We’ve got it, Eldest Sister-in-law,” Lin Erzhu said through gritted teeth, supporting his mother with his younger brother on the other side.

Wang Chunhua glared at Jiang Qiuyue with venomous hatred. If not for the pain rendering her hands cramped and speechless, she would have clawed Jiang Qiuyue’s face to shreds.  

Watching Lin Erzhu and the others leave, Jiang Qiuyue rubbed her stomach—all that arguing had made her hungry again.  

She walked to the kitchen door and, mimicking how Qian Li used to boss around the original Jiang Qiuyue, said, “Second sister-in-law, sweet potatoes taste better steamed. Don’t be lazy and just boil them all together. Call me when the food’s ready—ah, my poor back can’t take this anymore. I need to lie down.”  

Qian Li gritted her teeth so hard they nearly cracked. When had she ever endured such humiliation? After cooking, she spat into Jiang Qiuyue’s portion and even stirred in a handful of soot from the pot.  

“Pah! Let’s see you eat this! Go eat shit!”  

Hearing the commotion outside and guessing the food was ready, Jiang Qiuyue brought the two children to her in-laws’ room.  

When Qian Li handed her a bowl of wild vegetable porridge, Jiang Qiuyue didn’t hesitate to swap it with Qian Li’s. “I can’t eat this much. You worked so hard cooking—you should have more.”  

She had no interest in eating bland, oil-less wild vegetable porridge. It was disgusting. Besides, the moment she entered the room, she’d noticed Qian Li’s barely suppressed smirk and knew something was off.  

Qian Li froze.  

“Go on, eat, Second Sister-in-law. You made this yourself—can’t let it go to waste.” Jiang Qiuyue turned to the children and lectured, “Wasting food is shameful. You two better finish every bite.”  

With their grandfather and aunt present, Lin Beibei and Lin Nannan didn’t dare speak but nodded earnestly.  

“See, Second Sister-in-law? Even the kids understand. Hurry up and eat before it gets cold and even harder to swallow.” Jiang Qiuyue downed her porridge in a few gulps—it was truly awful. She never wanted to eat it again.  

She remembered tomorrow was the day her husband’s money order would arrive. Unlike the original Jiang Qiuyue, she wasn’t about to suffer for others’ benefit. Once she got the money, she’d buy plenty of good food. In this world, eating well and sleeping soundly were the most important things.  

Under everyone’s watchful eyes—especially her father-in-law’s—Qian Li had no choice but to force down the soot-laced porridge.  

In her heart, she cursed Jiang Qiuyue ten thousand times, wishing her dead on the spot. But outwardly, she could only seethe in silent fury.