Chapter 9: “My Man Is the Deputy Regiment Commander—Try Touching Me and See What Happens!”

Her cheek was burning with pain. The local thug stared in disbelief at the delicately pretty girl who smiled sweetly in front of him.
“You actually dared to hit me?!”

Jiang Zhi Ning remained calm.
“I did. So what? You tried to force yourself on a woman—I can report you to the police.”

The thug laughed with his hands on his hips.
“Then go ahead and report me! In this godforsaken village, what cop would bother coming all the way here? Ask them—who really runs things in Xinli Village?”

As he spoke, he pointed at the villagers nearby, who all kept their heads down, not daring to say a word.

Jiang Zhi Ning had already seen in the novel: no matter the era, people always bully the weak and fear the strong.

“They may be afraid to report you, but I’m not.” She lifted her chin. “And whether or not I can get the police to show up—you’re welcome to test that out.”

Her posture was upright and confident, and there was a commanding presence between her brows.

Seeing this, the thug became suspicious and scrutinized her more carefully.

But he hadn’t come here for nothing—he was determined to take a woman home today.

And he had his eyes on Jiang Zhi Ning.

With a twisted expression, the thug snarled,
“You little b*tch, you dare slap me? I’ll drag you back as my concubine and ruin you! Boys, take her!”

“Yes, young master!”

Just as his henchmen were about to move, Jiang Zhi Ning’s voice turned ice-cold:
“My man is the deputy regiment commander of the military district. Go ahead—touch me and see what happens.”

Instantly, the henchmen froze. Jiang Zhi Ning looked steadily at the thug with a composed gaze.

When he heard that her man was a military officer of such rank, the thug immediately lost his bravado. Now he understood where her confidence came from.

No one in this era dared mess with a military officer’s wife—it was a death wish.

Seeing the flicker of fear in his eyes, Jiang Zhi Ning secretly exhaled. She hadn’t been totally sure when she bluffed, but she knew better than to lose face in front of a thug.

Realizing he couldn’t take her, the thug turned to Shen Yue Yue instead, sneering:
“I’m not interested in used goods. I don’t want this girl either. Lin Chunmei, if you can’t pay today, your daughter leaves with me. Or I’ll wreck your house and cripple your son!”

Panicked, Lin Chunmei pleaded,
“Please, just give us a few more days…”

“You try and I’ll report you immediately. Attempted abduction and assault—I’d love to see how many years you get!” Jiang Zhi Ning snapped, locking eyes with him.

The thug’s face darkened.
“Don’t think I won’t really touch you, you damn girl. The Lin family owes money—it’s only right to pay it back. No money? Then give me someone instead!”

Jiang Zhi Ning clenched her fists, about to speak—when Shen Yue Yue suddenly stood up.

“I’ll go with you. Just… please don’t hurt them.”

“No, Yue Yue!” Lin Chunmei gripped her daughter’s hand tightly.

Tears rolled down Shen Yue Yue’s cheeks.
“Mom, even if they give us more time, we’ll never raise enough. At least if I go, the rest of you will be safe.”

Lin Chunmei refused to let go.
“No way. I’d rather sell everything, even marry you off, than let him ruin you.”

“But Mom…”

“How much do they owe you?” Jiang Zhi Ning asked calmly.

The thug grinned smugly.
“What, pretty girl—you wanna help them pay? It’s not much. Just fifty bucks.”

“Fifty?! Wasn’t it forty?” Lin Chunmei exclaimed.

“You borrow from me, there’s interest!” he said proudly.

The Shen family was dirt poor—barely earning ten bucks a month. He was sure they couldn’t pay.

Jiang Zhi Ning casually took out fifty yuan from her bag.

When he saw the five crisp ten-yuan bills, the thug was stunned.
“I don’t want the money—I want the girl!”

Jiang Zhi Ning’s eyes turned cold.
“If you won’t be reasonable, don’t blame me for being ruthless. I’ll report you—and not only will you not get your girl, you’ll rot in prison too.”

Even the wicked fear someone more ruthless than them.

Though Jiang Zhi Ning looked delicate, when she hardened her expression, her presence was chilling.

One of the henchmen stepped forward and whispered:
“Young Master… her man’s a deputy commander. We can’t mess with her. Not even the old master can cover for us.”

Faced with the truth, the thug hesitated for a long while before reluctantly grabbing the fifty yuan.
“Fine, you got lucky today. But just wait—this isn’t over!”

With that, he stormed off in a huff.

Once he was gone, Jiang Zhi Ning’s stern expression softened into a gentle smile.
“It’s okay now.”

Shen Yue Yue dropped to her knees with a thud, startling Jiang Zhi Ning.
“What are you doing?!”

Without a word, Shen Yue Yue kowtowed three times.
“Sister… thank you for saving me.”

They were about the same age—Shen Yue Yue maybe a year or two older. Her features resembled Lin Chunmei’s, and, on closer inspection, even Jiang Zhi Ning’s.

But years of hardship in the countryside had left her skin sallow and her frame too thin.

Jiang Zhi Ning bent down and helped her up.
“It’s okay. Girls should help each other.”

Looking at this kind and beautiful girl, Shen Yue Yue was astonished. Rumor had it their long-lost younger sister didn’t acknowledge them.

But the girl before her was gentle and soft-spoken, without a trace of disgust.

“Zhi Ning, thank you. We’ll find a way to repay you,” Lin Chunmei said gratefully. “Please come inside.”

Jiang Zhi Ning nodded and followed them inside—finally seeing how poor they really were.

The wooden house leaked air everywhere. There was barely any furniture: just a small table in the center and some firewood by the stove. Only two stools in total.

At Lin Chunmei’s gesture, Jiang Zhi Ning took a seat.

“In the future, don’t borrow money recklessly. You never know what kind of scum you’ll attract,” she warned softly.

In modern times, she never dared to live beyond her means. She feared late wages, defaulting on loans—and never even touched payday lending.

Shen Yue Yue handed her a glass of water.
“That debt wasn’t ours! It was all Shen An An. She had to screw us over before she left!”

“Shen An An?” Jiang Zhi Ning asked in surprise.

Lin Chunmei sighed.
“She didn’t get into college and said she wanted to find work in the city—but she needed decent clothes to avoid being looked down on. We couldn’t afford it, so she went out and borrowed money on her own.”

Jiang Zhi Ning frowned.

“She was so ungrateful. We were already dirt poor trying to send her to school, and she turned around and borrowed from thugs. Then she just left and dumped the mess on us.”

From their words, Jiang Zhi Ning learned that Shen An An had been sickly as a child. Lin Chunmei thought it was because of a premature birth and lack of breast milk, so she spoiled her rotten.

She was spared from farm work, given the best food, and even prioritized for school—at the cost of the entire family’s resources.

“Didn’t you try to find her?” Shen Yue Yue suddenly asked.

Lin Chunmei lowered her head, eyes red.
“Let’s not talk about her.”

Jiang Zhi Ning recalled how the book’s original female lead had beaten Lin Chunmei. She hadn’t expected Shen An An to be so vile—ungrateful and heartless to the core.

Shen Yue Yue was still upset but refrained from saying more for her mother’s sake.

“Zhi Ning, are you hungry? Let me make you something to eat,” Lin Chunmei asked kindly.

Jiang Zhi Ning nodded.
“Thank you.”

Lin Chunmei checked the cupboard, wiped her hands, and went out. When she returned, she held a small bowl of rice.

By evening, the men of the family—Shen Guo Chao and Shen Wei Lu—had returned from the fields. Upon hearing Jiang Zhi Ning was their real daughter and had even helped pay off their debt, they looked at her with immense gratitude.

At the tiny square table, Jiang Zhi Ning sat with Shen Guo Chao and his wife, while the others stood to eat.

She looked into her bowl of sweet potato porridge and felt a wave of emotion.

Her bowl was the biggest. Almost all the precious rice went to her. The others had mostly hot water with a few thin sweet potato strips—barely any grains of rice.

Shen Wei Lu and Shen Yue Yue occasionally glanced at her bowl and had to swallow their saliva—but no one said a word.

To Jiang Zhi Ning, this was just a plain bowl of porridge.
But to the Shen family, it was a rare luxury.