Xiao Liuyue witnessed the entire scene.

She looked at Lin Qingni in shock.

Lin Qingni was three years older than her and Xiao Zisu.

In the eyes of young children, being three years older felt like a significant age difference.

She had always thought that Qingni, this older sister who was “much older” than them, was a mature and steady big kid.

But… who would have thought she was this kind of person?!

Lin Qingni sat back down as if nothing had happened.

It was Xiao Liuyue who couldn’t hold back her curiosity.

Lin Qingni might be an older child, but having shared a secret brought them closer, making her feel like one of them.

She glanced again at Xiao Zisu walking away.

Xiao Zisu had gone over to Lin Yongcheng and handed him the water bottle.

She even looked back at them, as if afraid they’d sneak off to play without her.

Fortunately, Xiao Zisu was only wary of them playing without her and hadn’t guarded against them sneaking a kiss from the little one.

Xiao Liuyue inexplicably felt relieved.

She waved her little hand at Xiao Zisu, signaling her not to worry—they wouldn’t play behind her back!

Xiao Baiguo suddenly felt she couldn’t take this anymore.

Previously, she had thought Xiao Liuyue was a bit silly—not as clever as her own sister.

But now, it seemed Xiao Liuyue wasn’t dumb, just deceptively simple on the outside!

Would someone truly foolish sneak a kiss from someone else’s little sister?

And then casually greet Xiao Zisu afterward?

She had clearly misjudged her!

After reassuring Xiao Zisu, Xiao Liuyue glanced at Lin Qingni again.

She whispered, “Sister Qingni, is Little Bai Gou’s face sweet? I kissed too quickly and didn’t get to taste it. Did you?”

Afraid Xiao Zisu might look back, she had only given a quick peck, like a dragonfly skimming water.

“Huh? You thought Little Bai Gou’s face would be sweet too?” Lin Qingni was stunned by the question. “I kissed quickly as well and didn’t taste anything.”

“Oh, I see.” Xiao Liuyue felt a tiny twinge of disappointment. She had thought Lin Qingni might know. “Then should we kiss her again next time?”

Lin Qingni and Xiao Liuyue exchanged a glance and nodded firmly.

“Sure, next time we’ll kiss her again!”

“You can’t sneak a kiss without me. We’re in this together!”

“Mm-hmm, we’re in this together!”

These two mischievous little girls, right in front of Xiao Baiguo, were already planning their next attempt. The actual victim, Xiao Baiguo, stared blankly with a bad premonition.

Poor silly sister, she didn’t know a thing!

When Xiao Zisu came back with the water bottle, Xiao Baiguo was there, frantically going “Ah, ah—”

She wanted to tell Xiao Zisu:

Your two companions are completely unreliable. You should stop playing with them!

They’re not good people!!

But Xiao Zisu misunderstood.

“Is Xiao Bai Gou talking to me?” She immediately dropped the water bottle, grinning like a fool, and leaned in front of Xiao Baiguo. “Baobao, say ‘sister’!”

Xiao Liuyue and Lin Qingni also gathered around.

“Baobao can talk now?”

“She can’t talk yet, just goes ‘ah, ah, ah.’”

“I don’t want to play marbles anymore. I want to teach Baobao how to talk.”

“Me too, I don’t want to play anymore.”

What’s so fun about marbles?

Is it more fun than Xiao Bai Gou?

Her fair, tender little face and her sweet milky scent—what’s not to like?

The three little girls abandoned their glass marbles and surrounded Xiao Baiguo, chattering nonstop.

But the three couldn’t agree on what to teach her—one wanted her to say “sister,” another wanted her to say “candy,” and the last wanted her to say “food.”

In short, each taught her something different.

Xiao Baiguo was overwhelmed.

Hey, you three, calm down! Don’t bully me just because I can’t talk!

Once I can talk, I’ll definitely tell Xiao Zisu about being sneakily kissed so she can keep an eye on you two and not give you another chance!

---

On the other side, Bai Zhu was carrying two buckets of herbal tea along a field path.

A few villagers gathered around, all smiling warmly.

This year’s harvest was bountiful. Although the grain hadn’t been collected yet, the heavy ears of rice were a clear sign of a good year, and everyone’s faces were full of joy.

“Doctor Bai, thank you for the hard work of delivering herbal tea in this heat.”

“I didn’t bring a water bottle; I’ll just use a ladle!”

Li Qiurong scooped herbal tea for them while Bai Shu chatted with them, smiling.

Compared to those working in the fields, he wasn’t working hard at all. “You all are working much harder than I am.”

After the first few people took their tea, another person approached.

Li Qiurong looked up and saw that it was Old Lin.

She immediately withdrew her hand.

Old Lin had a worn towel draped over his shoulder. He wiped his sweat and started complaining loudly: “This herbal tea is for everyone in the village! Why won’t you give me any?”

Before Li Qiurong could respond, Aunt Osmanthus, who was drinking her tea nearby, burst out angrily, even louder than Old Lin: “What are you yelling about? The herbal tea was made by Doctor Bai himself—the herbs were his, the water was carried by him, and even the firewood was collected by him. Now he’s personally delivering it. Did you contribute money or effort? If he doesn’t want to give you any, why do you think you get a say?”

Old Lin’s face turned red, then pale.

“Why is a woman like you meddling?” Realizing he wasn’t getting any tea, he grabbed his bamboo tube and stomped off, muttering curses under his breath.

“What’s wrong with women? Weren’t you born of a woman? Or did you pop out of a crack in a rock?” Aunt Osmanthus spat in the direction of his retreating back.

Old Lin heard it but didn’t respond.

Aunt Osmanthus was renowned in the Shanglin Brigade for her arguing skills—she’d never lost an argument.

Old Lin wasn’t her match and didn’t take her seriously anyway.

He thought Lin Yongcheng’s willingness to help his two brothers find jobs showed that he still cared about the Lin family.

Surely, Bai Zhu and his wife wouldn’t dare show him any disrespect.

But then… ha! Those two were nothing but ungrateful scoundrels!

Just because they were a bit more educated, they looked down on everyone else!

And as for Aunt Osmanthus and the others watching the drama unfold, those fools with no vision—currently fawning over Bai Zhu’s family—would eventually come crawling back to him once his other two sons got their city jobs. By then, he wouldn’t even give them the time of day!

Old Lin’s confidence came from the fact that his two other sons were about to secure jobs in the city.

After ranting for a while, he felt much better.

That’s right, soon he would have two more sons earning salaries and eating state-provided rations.

With three sons in total eating “commodity grain,” who in the Shanglin Brigade could compare to him?

Not even Lin Changjin, the brigade leader, could boast of raising three sons who became workers.

Feeling smug, Old Lin began to gloat again.

Meanwhile, Aunt Osmanthus, after snapping at Old Lin, wasn’t the type to provoke people without reason.

In the village, you couldn’t afford to offend the brigade leader or the village party secretary. Next in line was Baishu. After all, who didn’t occasionally need a doctor? It was wise to maintain good relations with him.

Seeing an opportunity to curry favor with Doctor Bai, Aunt Osmanthus eagerly took the lead in reprimanding Old Lin.

After Old Lin left, Aunt Osmanthus turned to Li Qiurong and said, “That family is a disgrace. Even their own sons can’t stand them. Do they have no self-awareness? If you ask me, this herbal tea shouldn’t be given to anyone in their family! They wouldn’t be grateful even if they drank it!”

“You’re absolutely right, Sister Osmanthus,” Li Qiurong replied with a smile.

She added, “The herbal tea shouldn’t be shared with their family—not out of personal grudges, but because I’m worried. If anything happened to their health, they might turn around and accuse us of poisoning them. That’s a serious accusation.”

Hearing this, Aunt Osmanthus immediately gave her a thumbs-up.
“Yes, exactly!”

Whether it was personal or not, not giving them tea was the right decision.

The Lin family had a history of making baseless accusations. Back when the two families had a fallout, didn’t they cause a huge scene?

Their grandson, still a child, had maliciously pushed his pregnant aunt, causing her to lose the ability to have children.

Her child had fragile health because of it. Not only did they show no remorse, but Old Madam Lin even blamed Bai Ji for being barren and cursed her child for not surviving.

That grudge was one to carry for a lifetime.

No matter how others saw it, Li Qiurong had no intention of associating with Old Lin’s family for the rest of her life. Once ties were broken, she wasn’t about to give them a chance to mend them.

Otherwise, where would she find a second opportunity to break away?

Bai Zhu and Li Qiurong moved to another spot to distribute the herbal tea.

The treatment of Lin Yongjia’s family was clearly different from Lin Yongye’s.

The latter couple enjoyed better treatment for two reasons: they hadn’t committed any truly despicable acts, and Lin Yongye always greeted Baishu and Li Qiurong politely as “Uncle Bai” and “Auntie.” After all, who would punch a smiling face? Since they bore no ill will, there was no reason to target them.

Moreover, Xiao Liuye and Xiao Zisu were playmates who frequently played together.

The children were innocent, and it wouldn’t be fair to forbid them from playing due to adult conflicts.

As Bai Zhu and Li Qiurong walked away, Lin Yongjia seethed with anger and began blaming Lin Yongye.

“Second Brother, you’re so spineless! You let yourself be won over by a bit of herbal tea? Calling them Uncle and Auntie—you’re not even that close to Mom and Dad!”

“Oh, and you think you’re the principled one? If you’re so principled, why even approach them? If they don’t want to share with you, that’s the real disgrace!” Lin Yongye dismissed Lin Yongjia’s malice.

He had grown utterly contemptuous of him.

Lin Yongjia’s face turned green.

He had the same misplaced confidence as Old Lin, thinking that his upcoming city job would elevate him above others.

But Li Qiurong didn’t even give him the time of day.

“You’re always siding with outsiders. No wonder Mom and Dad never liked you growing up.”

That remark hit a nerve. Being treated differently by his parents all these years was a sore spot for Lin Yongye.

To hear it thrown in his face by the favored son instantly ignited his anger.

He smiled coldly, baring his teeth. “This is your last warning—stop provoking me. I used to tolerate you, but I won’t anymore. Push me one more time, and I’ll show you just what kind of ‘Third Brother’ I can be!”

That was an open threat, implying he’d do what Lin Yongcheng did—resort to violence. Lin Yongye could just as easily smash his head in; it was only a matter of how far he could be pushed.

“When I wanted to tolerate you, you were my big brother. When I don’t feel like it anymore, you’re nothing!”

“You think you’re Lin Yongcheng?” Lin Yongjia, his face red with anger, refused to back down. “I can’t beat Lin Yongcheng, but I can deal with you!”

“You’re welcome to try,” Lin Yongye said, sipping his herbal tea.

The heat of the day was dissipating, and he felt calmer.

He added with a grin, “Push me too far, and after we get our city jobs, I’ll drag you right back here. I don’t mind staying in Shanglin Brigade forever if it means ruining your future too.”

Lin Yongjia suddenly faltered.

A fight in the village was no big deal, but if they fought after getting city jobs, both could be fired.

Lin Yongye knew his weak spots, just as Lin Yongjia knew his.

And when a desperate man had nothing to lose, Lin Yongjia could only back down.

Truly, only brothers could wound each other this effectively.