By the time Shen Zhihuan and Xiao Weidong finally made it home, they found Li Qiuhua standing at the courtyard gate, chatting with Fu Guihua, a close companion of the widow Chen.

Birds of a feather flock together.

If Fu Guihua could become close friends with Widow Chen, how could she be a good person?

Most of the gossip and trouble in Panshi Village could be traced back to these two women.

Take Fu Guihua’s eldest daughter’s marriage, for example. The poor educated youth who became her son-in-law had been pressured and tricked by Fu Guihua’s sharp tongue.

The story went that while shopping in town, the youth caught Wu Qiaoqiao’s eye. Not long after, a tale spread about him saving a drowning girl. Somehow, it morphed into accusations of sullying her reputation. Wu Qiaoqiao dramatically threatened to take her own life in front of him, leaving him no choice but to marry her.

Fu Guihua thus became a mother-in-law, smugly leveraging public opinion to her advantage.

If this were ancient times, she’d be a cunning military strategist. In modern times, she’d be a top-tier internet troll.

Shen Zhihuan shot her a glance, had no intention of greeting her, and simply pulled Xiao Weidong toward the house.

“Zhihuan!” Fu Guihua’s eyes lit up when she saw them. She quickly made her way over.

“What is it?” Shen Zhihuan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Zhihuan, your mother said that the young man who delivered the cotton quilt today is your classmate’s brother. Do you know where his family lives? How many people are in his household?” Fu Guihua asked with a smile full of wrinkles.

She looked just like a scheming fox.

“…”

Shen Zhihuan resisted the urge to tell Fu Guihua to go home and take a good look at herself in the mirror.

Even if she knew where Qin Bin lived she wouldn’t share it with someone whose face screamed bad intentions.

Then it clicked—Fu Guihua’s youngest daughter, Wu Zhenzhen, was sixteen now.

Although she was younger than Shen Zhihuan by a year, her figure was far more developed, easily surpassing hers by miles.

Ah. So this was another attempt at the same old trick.

“He’s just my classmate’s cousin. I don’t know where his family lives,” Shen Zhihuan replied with feigned thoughtfulness, she added, “But my classmate mentioned that her cousin loves going to the movie theater in Chuancheng to watch films.”

“Movies? That’s great! People who enjoy movies are usually cultured,” Fu Guihua said with a broad smile, as if she’d just stumbled upon a gold mine.

Li Qiuhua, listening to the exchange, furrowed her brows. She looked like she wanted to stuff a rag into her daughter’s mouth.

Fu Guihua was trouble incarnate. If widow Chen was a barking stray dog, Fu Guihua was a venomous snake ready to strike.

If Fu Guihua had her sights set on you…

Li Qiuhua sighed heavily in her heart.

“Mother, I’m hungry,” Shen Zhihuan said, pretending to look frail.

“Zhihuan’s mother, the child is hungry. You’d better go make something to eat. I’ll head back now,” Fu Guihua said, satisfied that she’d gotten what she wanted. Wiggling her hips, she waddled away happily.

Watching her leave, Li Qiuhua dragged Shen Zhihuan and Xiao Weidong into the courtyard, slamming the gate shut.

“How could you tell her Qin likes going to the movies? Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?” Li Qiuhua scolded, nearly bursting with frustration.

Her youngest daughter had always been the cleverest in her eyes. How could she make such a foolish mistake?

Everyone in the village knew that the story of the educated youth saving Wu Qiaoqiao had been spread by Fu Guihua herself, all to coerce him into marrying her daughter.

“Mother…”

“Don’t ‘Mother’ me!” Li Qiuhua said, her tone full of reproach. “After all the help Qin Bin has given us, how could you betray him like this?”

If Shen Zhihuan hadn’t been in poor health, Li Qiuhua might have given her a good smack.

“Mother, will you let me explain?” Shen Zhihuan said helplessly.

Yesterday, her mother had told her to stop interacting with Qin Bin. Now, Qin Bin’s position in her mother’s heart is almost as high as that of her own daughter…

“Well, go on then. Let’s see if you can explain this,” Li Qiuhua huffed.

“Qin Bin is so busy he hardly has time to breathe. When would he ever have the leisure to watch movies? I lied to Fu Guihua to throw her off,” Shen Zhihuan explained.

If they loved scheming so much, she’d let them exhaust themselves scheming over nothing.

“Are you sure?” Li Qiuhua asked skeptically, narrowing her eyes at her daughter.

“Mother, are you my mother or Qin Bin’s? How can you not trust your own daughter?” Shen Zhihuan pouted.

“Yeah, are you our mother or Big Brother Qin Bin’s?” Xiao Weidong chimed in, puffing out his chest.

Li Qiuhua furrowed her brows, marched over to the firewood pile, and grabbed a stick. “I’ll show you exactly whose mother I am!”

The only response was the slam of the main hall door.

Before Li Qiuhua could reach them, Xiao Weidong had already pulled Shen Zhihuan inside and bolted the door.

“Open this door!” Li Qiuhua demanded, tapping the stick lightly against the door.

“Third Sister says that gentlemen use words, not fists,” Xiao Weidong muttered through the door, pouting.

“I’m your mother, not a gentleman,” Li Qiuhua retorted coldly.

“… Third Sister says she’s hungry,” Xiao Weidong said, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

Hearing footsteps heading toward the kitchen, Xiao Weidong quietly cracked the door open to peek outside. Before he could get a good look, a large hand swooped in and grabbed him.

“You little rascal, trying to outsmart your mother?” Li Qiuhua said, giving him a playful smack on the backside.

“When did you get so crafty?” she teased, shaking her head.

“Mother, you’re the crafty one,” Xiao Weidong replied, looking exasperated.

“Is that so?” Li Qiuhua laughed, landing another playful smack. “Now, go light the fire.”

Xiao Weidong scurried off to the kitchen.

“Mother, we can’t keep bothering Qin Bin just because he’s easygoing,” Shen Zhihuan said with a smile.

“You mean people might come to us in the future asking him for help with their errands?” Li Qiuhua asked, narrowing her eyes.

“I hope I’m wrong,” Shen Zhihuan sighed. “But no matter who comes, I won’t trouble Qin Bin for anything again.”

“You think your mother is a fool?” Li Qiuhua chuckled. “It asked for help because it was Wang Lianhua, but I won’t do it for anyone else.”