Lu Qingqing instantly understood what was going on.

“Ning Xiuwen, that land belongs to my family. If you want to swallow it whole—see you in court!”

Seeing that Ning Xiuwen was stalling and reluctant to sign anything, Lu Qingqing lost her patience.

She had nothing to lose, but Ning Xiuwen—he cared very much about his future.

Without bothering to argue further, she turned and left.

Before going, she kicked the rickety little gate to pieces.

The rotted wood was hollow inside, full of bug droppings—just like the black hearts of the Ning family mother and son.

“She’s gone?” Liu Shi got up, her face livid and pale in turns with fury.

“Xiuwen! Has Lu Qingqing gone mad or gotten possessed? That money is ours—we have to get it back!”

“Don’t worry. She’ll come crawling back,” Ning Xiuwen said confidently.

Lu Qingqing had just lost her head in the moment, lashing out and treating him like anyone else.

Once she cooled down, she’d regret it.

But even if she came begging, he wouldn’t forgive her!

..

Lu Qingqing had no idea where the Lu family land actually was—the original Qingqing had never even been there!

Even during the busiest harvest seasons, she had never brought a single meal to her exhausted father and brothers.

Worse, before Feng Xiaowan married in, the Lu men would come home after a full day’s labor and still have to cook for her.

And if there was no meat, she’d throw a fit and refuse to eat!

The more Lu Qingqing thought about the original host, the more she felt she was truly worthless. Such a good family…

She didn’t even need to ask where their land was.

Because a crowd had already gathered around it!

There were no phones in this era, yet somehow everyone always seemed to know where the drama was.

Even toothless Old Lady Liu from the village was shoving her way to the front for a better view.

Leaning on a wooden cane, her neck stretched so far it had no folds left, her hunched back nearly straightening from the effort!

“I said you’re not planting anything this year!”

“Ning Xiuwen! You bastard!”

“Don’t know the first thing about farming and still want to ruin our land?!”

Shouts echoed from the field, filled with rage and frustration.

Lu Yun had only known the land was sold to repay loan shark debt.

But today he learned it had gone full circle and ended up in Ning Xiuwen’s hands.

He’d used Lu family money to buy Lu family land.

Could anything be more humiliating?

Enraged, Lu Yun sabotaged the field—throwing down hoes, scattering seeds—refusing to let them plant.

Even though villagers were starting to think he’d gone mad, he still didn’t tell them the reason behind it all.

“What a damn brat—begging for a beating!”

“Daring to throw away crop seed!”

“That land’s not yours anymore—get out!”

“Won’t leave? Beat him till he can’t stand!”

They pinned Lu Yun to the ground, grinding his face into the soil.

Lu Qingqing rushed forward, but someone grabbed her arm from behind.

It was Ning Xiuwen, who had chased after her.

“Lu Qingqing, don’t cause trouble. I’m about to take the county exam—once I pass, I’ll come to your family to propose. You’ll be the wife of a scholar!”

“And your family’s debts—I’ll help pay them off.”

If memory served, this was the first time Ning Xiuwen had spoken to the original Lu Qingqing in such a gentle and earnest tone.

If it were the old Lu Qingqing, she’d probably be blushing and floating by now!

“Screw you! What do you mean my family’s debt?!”

With a face red as a monkey’s rear and fake sincerity plastered on, this was just disgusting!

“Keep dreaming, you fraud!”

Lu Qingqing shoved him aside and dashed into the field.

She ran straight toward the two villagers beating Lu Yun—and kicked them hard.

The two of them faceplanted into the dirt.

“Lu Qingqing!” Ning Xiuwen shouted, eyes wide with panic, watching her like she was a grenade about to explode.

Lu Yun was covered in mud, bleeding from the brow, looking absolutely wretched.

He staggered up like a mad beast.

Seeing Lu Qingqing standing with Ning Xiuwen, his bloodshot eyes grew even darker.

“You went to him again! You went to him again!” he screamed in despair.

“Lu Qingqing! What the hell do you want?!”

The boy’s cry was like a dying beast—hoarse, agonized, and full of helpless rage.

Lu Qingqing suddenly felt her chest tighten with pain.

Strange… She had always walked alone, seen life and death, and rarely felt such intense emotions.

The original Qingqing had only ever taken from this family—never given a shred of love.

But now, seeing Lu Yun like this—why did her heart ache like a real sister’s?

“Lu Qingqing! Don’t think I won’t hit a woman! I’ve had enough of you! You bullied my sister yesterday too—what do you think you are?!”

One of the beaten villagers got back up—it was Lin Zhuang, the guy who had “bought” their land with Ning Xiuwen’s money.

He even made a tael of silver on the deal, acting as a middleman.

Now, he’d been hired by Ning to plant the field.

A pair of crooks—no wonder they were so smug.

“And what are you? A scumbag working with Ning Xiuwen to cheat people! If he ends up in prison, you won’t get off either!”

“What did you just say?!”

Lin Zhuang’s eyes bulged. He reached out to shove her.

Lu Yun, still dazed by her words, snapped out of it at that moment—and threw a punch.

“Touch her and see what happens!”

“Lu Yun, your whole family’s crazy! Treating that walking disaster like treasure—she’s gonna drag you all down one day!”

“My family’s business—none of yours!”

They started brawling again.

Suddenly, the crowd gasped in surprise.

Lu Qingqing had started grabbing all the tools scattered in the field—plow, buckets, corn seeds, even Lin Zhuang’s jacket—and hurling them off the field one by one.

People scrambled out of the way to avoid getting hit.

She was too fierce!

That plow was huge—and not only did she lift it, she threw it all the way to the edge of the field.

When it landed, it nearly shattered!

And it wasn’t even Lin Zhuang’s—it had been borrowed.

“Lu Qingqing! What are you doing?!” Lin Zhuang forgot all about the fight.

Lu Qingqing clapped the dust off her hands, then turned to the crowd with a commanding voice:

“Listen up! This land is my family’s! Ning Xiuwen tricked me into borrowing from loan sharks—”

Ning Xiuwen’s knees buckled.

His face went pale as death.

Lu Qingqing really didn’t care about her reputation—she was ready to burn everything down with him!

It was over.

Totally over.

The villagers buzzed with disbelief.

She was nuts.

An unmarried girl… dared to borrow that kind of money?

And eighty taels?!

Their shocked eyes turned to Ning Xiuwen, stunned—but toward Lu Qingqing, they were filled with even greater scorn and disbelief.

Lu Yun stood frozen.

He’d thought he was hallucinating when she cursed out Ning Xiuwen earlier.

Now he thought he was seeing things.

Was she… actually standing up for her own family?

But when she mentioned the debt…

“No, no! The loan was my big brother’s, not hers!” he shouted quickly.

“Lu Qingqing, are you crazy?! You’ll never get married now!” he growled.

Even now, he was trying to protect her name.

Lu Qingqing’s heart twisted again.

“I’m not crazy. I’ll take responsibility for what I’ve done. Second Brother, I won’t be foolish again.”

What… what did she call him?

Second Brother?

Lu Qingqing used to call Dad only when she needed money.

Called Big Brother when she caused trouble and needed help.

Called Sister-in-law when she wanted someone to cook for her.

But him?

She never called him anything but “Lu Yun” or “Old Second.”

What was happening?

Lu Qingqing ignored his dazed expression and called out to someone in the crowd: “Uncle Shitou! Do you have time to go to the county with me? I’ll pay thirty wen!”

Cui Shitou was the village carter—and a cripple.

Liuyun Village was far from the county seat. A round trip usually took a full day, and cost six wen.

Staying overnight added a bit more.

But thirty wen?

That was way too much!

Cui Shitou stared blankly—not because of the money—

But because… did Lu Qingqing just call him “Uncle”?

Did he hear that right?

“Brother Shitou, she said she’ll give you thirty!” a nearby woman nudged him.

“Me? She meant me?” he blinked.

“Who else would she mean? Aren’t you Cui Shitou?”

He was, of course!

But she used to call him “Limping Cui”!

“Uncle Shitou, are you going or not?” Lu Qingqing asked again.

“Y-Yes! Yes, yes, I’ll go!” he stammered.

This time, he heard it loud and clear.

Never mind the money—she called him Uncle!