Chapter 007

007  

Upon returning home, Qingyin indeed discovered two women’s footprints in the thin layer of dust she had scattered behind the door, and the strands of hair she had tucked between the dictionaries had fallen out.  

She sneered coldly. It seemed the Qing household wasn’t as clean as it appeared.  

Fortunately, she had long since moved the money left by the old master to a new hiding spot. Otherwise, it would have been gone by now.  

Some people were truly insatiable—even the life-saving money the old master had left for her wasn’t spared from their greed.  

But she said nothing. After lunch, once Qing Huihui had left for work and Lin Suifen had gone out with her knitted bag, Qingyin immediately got to work.  

Back when she had just graduated and rented her own place, hiring a locksmith to change the locks was too expensive, so she had bought them online and figured out how to replace them herself. After a few tries, it wasn’t difficult, and she had gradually become quite skilled. Now, taking advantage of the midday nap when the courtyard was quiet, she quickly found Qingyang’s screwdriver and, with a few twists, replaced the lock cylinder.  

She tested the key several times—locking, unlocking, deadbolting—everything worked fine. She kept one key on her person and hid the other two securely.  

From now on, only she would have the keys to her room.  

She worked quickly. No sooner had she finished changing the lock than Lin Suifen returned, carrying a crucian carp weighing over half a pound. She deliberately raised her voice, saying, “Yinyin, you’ve been craving fish these past few days, haven’t you? Today, Sister-in-law will make your favorite dish for you.”  

Neighbors who had just woken from their naps peeked out, swallowing their envy, thinking how kind Lin Suifen was to her sister-in-law. They had always heard that Xiao Qingyin loved fish, and they marveled at what kind of upbringing could foster such a preference. But between the lines, there was also the implication that the sister-in-law was greedy—especially at a time when Qingyang’s mourning period wasn’t even over.  

“Sure, just like before—the thick, meaty part of the fish for Huihui, and I’ll keep eating the tail?”  

Lin Suifen stiffened, her smile nearly slipping.  

She had spent years drilling into Qingyin’s head that “the belly of the fish isn’t tasty, the tail is the best part.” The men of the Qing family, being careless, had truly believed Qingyin was just picky and preferred the tail.  

“Sister-in-law always gave the belly to Huihui and made me eat the tail. If outsiders didn’t know better, they’d think you were sweet-talking but bitter-hearted. Now that Father and Eldest Brother are gone, if you want to eat fish, you can have it all to yourself. I won’t let you take the blame anymore.”  

Lin Suifen: “…” The sarcasm was practically dripping from her words—what was going on?!  

The onlookers: “???” There was such a thing?!  

Everyone had only ever heard Lin Suifen boasting in the courtyard about how she was always buying whatever her sister-in-law craved—eggs, fish, duck, old hens. But if what Xiao Qingyin said was true, and all the good parts went to Huihui, wasn’t that just putting on a show?  

“Oh, Suifen, didn’t your father-in-law give you plenty of living expenses before? I heard it was dozens a month.”  

“That’s enough for a whole family to eat fine grains every meal in an ordinary household. How come you always said it wasn’t enough?” The speaker was Sister-in-law Liu from the back courtyard, who had long disliked Lin Suifen’s “cultured” airs—even buying cabbage with a knitted bag in hand, tsk, like some capitalist young miss.  

“All those years of living expenses from your father-in-law—did they just turn into your private savings?”  

Lin Suifen’s face flushed. “That’s nonsense.”

Qingyin couldn’t let her good sister-in-law suffer, so she immediately chimed in, “Sister-in-law Liu, just because my sister-in-law saw you carrying half a pig’s head back to your parents’ house last year and a set of pig intestines to your brother’s family during the New Year, you shouldn’t wrongfully accuse her like this.”

Her expression was harmless, appearing to defend her sister-in-law.

But Sister-in-law Liu’s face changed instantly. Sure enough, she saw her mother-in-law’s grim face in the crowd and immediately rushed forward, pointing at Lin Suifen and cursing, “What nonsense are you spouting! Which eye of yours saw me sending pig heads and intestines to my parents’ house? Just flapping your lips, huh? You love stirring up trouble, don’t you?”

“When Qingyin was five, I saw you secretly pinching her under that old pear tree just because she wet the bed. When your husband and father-in-law came home, you said she fell by herself and even had the nerve to cry about not watching her properly.”

“Last year, you even tried to introduce Qingyin to your nephew from your parents’ side, praising him to the skies. If he’s so great, why didn’t you let Qing Huihui marry him? You’re just after her dowry, aren’t you?”

The crowd’s eyes lit up: “???” There’s such a thing!

Lin Suifen was good at playing the role—gentle and always smiling, with a great reputation in the compound. But Sister-in-law Liu couldn’t stand her and had been watching her closely, finding clues easily. She spoke so fast that Lin Suifen couldn’t get a word in edgewise as she spilled seven or eight misdeeds.

Especially when the dowry was mentioned, Qingyin’s eyes suddenly reddened, tears like pearls hanging on her face. “Sister-in-law, I’m still young. I don’t want to get married. Please don’t force me out, okay?”

Small, helpless, pitiful.

The aunties’ hearts melted. “Suifen, how could you do this? Driving your sister-in-law out right after your father-in-law and husband passed—is this something a decent person would do?”

“Exactly. Always acting so nice on the surface, but it was all just an act.”

Lin Suifen had always been good at playing the virtuous wife, loving mother, and perfect sister-in-law. Faced with so many accusations at once, she could only panic, unable to say a word.

Why couldn’t she speak? Qingyin was “crying” while holding her arm. Coincidentally, the moment Qingyin touched her, her tongue went numb, rendering her speechless. The more she panicked, the redder her face grew.

If she had bothered to learn even a little during her years married into the Qing family, she would have known about something in Traditional Chinese Medicine called an “acupoint.”

But she didn’t, so she could only fume.

“Oho, looks like someone’s ashamed and angry now. No use getting worked up—several people in the compound saw what I just mentioned. It wasn’t just me.” Sister-in-law Liu finally regained the upper hand. “I’ll tell you this—it’s no use coveting it. Qingyin’s dowry is kept safe by her seventh maternal uncle. Unless she gets married, no one can touch it.”

“*He—tui!* Let me see which shameless wretch dares to eye my future daughter-in-law’s dowry!” Suddenly, an angry shout came from outside the crowd.

Everyone turned to see a broad-shouldered, dark-faced woman who looked like a female Zhang Fei!

Her appearance was rough—square-faced with thick brows, and she wore a green scarf around her neck that looked out of place. Her pant legs were uneven, splattered with mud, as if she’d just come back from the fields.

“Auntie Gu? What’s she doing here?”

“If I didn’t come, my future daughter-in-law would’ve been bullied to death! My in-law’s body isn’t even cold yet, and someone’s already eyeing her dowry. Who’s the heartless scoundrel behind this?”

Though phrased as a question, her copper-bell-sized eyes glared fiercely at Lin Suifen.

Lin Suifen was dumbfounded. She couldn’t understand what was happening today—she had merely mentioned cooking fish as usual, yet somehow it had drawn so many people’s attacks and even summoned this terrifying figure.

The newcomer was none other than Qingyin’s future mother-in-law, the nominal future mother-in-law, Auntie Gu.

“Auntie Gu, it’s a misunderstanding, we were just joking around.”

“Pah! Who’s joking with you? Don’t think just because the Qing family is gone you can act like a tyrant! Qingyin is going to be part of our Gu family—open your dog eyes and see who I am!”

“Don’t give me that nonsense, it’s making me sick to my stomach. Why don’t you look in the mirror? A woman in her forties or fifties trying to act like a little girl—who do you think would fall for that?”

“Why don’t you take a piss and see your reflection? Where do you look like a little girl? Act your age! Can’t you just admit you’re old and barely educated? Why pretend? You’re like a giant water vat—so full of yourself!”

…

She hurled every insult imaginable, rapid and vicious, leaving Lin Suifen no chance to retort. Finally, as a warning, she grabbed the fish that had sparked the conflict and squeezed it hard—

The once lively fish immediately rolled its eyes, split in two, its guts and blood splattering all over the ground.

“If you try any more tricks, I’ll crush you just like this fish.”

Lin Suifen: Trembling, she stumbled back three steps.

Others: Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!!!

This Auntie Gu wasn’t just formidable herself—she also had a son who was the most notorious street hooligan in the entire eastern district. Everyone pitied poor Qingyin, who was destined to marry such a scoundrel.

Old Mr. Qing had really misjudged this one.

But Qingyin’s eyes stung with emotion. This was the first time since her transmigration that she had experienced the feeling of being genuinely protected—it was also the lingering sentiment of the original host’s consciousness.

Before, Lin Suifen had constantly fed her negative impressions: “Auntie Gu is fierce,” “Auntie Gu is dirty and smelly,” “Auntie Gu is uneducated,” “Auntie Gu is unreasonable.” Since childhood, Qingyin had kept her distance from this legendary future mother-in-law, avoiding her even when the Gu family brought gifts during holidays.

Back then, she had been foolish—thinking that her sister-in-law’s random purchase of a sugar figurine or cooking a fish for her was kindness, while rejecting the cloth shoes Auntie Gu had sewn by hand, the steamed flower buns she had shaped herself…

Yet this rough, unreasonable woman was also the only one in the book who frequently visited Qingyin in the countryside, sending her food and supplies.

The Gu family was poor. Auntie Gu had no job—every penny she sent Qingyin was painstakingly saved. To save on postage, she carried the packages herself, trekking over mountains for three or four days to deliver them.

When she heard that local troublemakers in the production brigade were harassing Qingyin, she took up a machete and guarded the educated youth outpost for days, ready to slash anyone who dared approach. After all, she was just an old, illiterate woman with no job—what could those bullies do to her?

Later, to uncover why Qingyin had been sent to the countryside and to reclaim her job, Auntie Gu ventured into the mountains alone at night—only to encounter a flash flood and be swept away.

Such a good person—whether or not they would become mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the future, Qingyin felt blessed to have her.

“Auntie Gu.”

A soft, sweet, and pitiful voice.

Auntie Gu was taken aback for a moment. After confirming it was really Yin Yin who had called out, her eyes immediately reddened as she hugged the girl tightly. “Yin Yin, you’re finally calling me Auntie Gu again. This is wonderful.”

When Yin Yin was little, she had always called her “Auntie Gu.” But a few years ago, she suddenly stopped and began addressing her with the same indifferent “Auntie Gu” as everyone else. The old lady had been deeply saddened by this for a long time.