“Originally, Lu Jinling looked down on the original owner’s body. Even though her little aunt was pretty, her personality was bad, and she was bossed around by her mother like a servant girl. Lu Jinling always felt a sense of superiority over her.

But recently, her mother introduced her to several potential matches from the city, and one after another, they all seemed interested in Lin Shu, that widow who supposedly brought bad luck to her husband!

She, a pure, young maiden—how could she not be better than Lin Shu, that young widow?

Were they all blind?

They weren’t satisfied with her and insisted on a widow?

Lu Jinling was truly furious, even though she didn’t say it out loud, it festered in her heart.

She couldn’t stand Lin Shu, so she paid extra attention to everything Lin Shu did and said.

Like Lu Hehuan, Lu Jinling was also an elementary school teacher.

Recently, they had been busy with the fall harvest, with the teachers and educated youth working together.

Originally, she thought everyone would talk about how Lin Shu was bewitching or cursed, but instead, many of the educated youth praised Lin Shu for being beautiful, kind-hearted, eager to learn, able to drive a tractor, and even posing for posters—prettier than a movie star.

Lu Jinling became even more jealous and bitter.

When she heard someone suggest that Lin Shu should be made an accountant, she couldn’t sit still and ran to remind Lu Shaocai.

Many people were saying that the Lu Family Village Brigade should make Lin Shu the accountant, and even at the educated youth point, people were praising Lin Shu for her beauty and kindness, noting that she had been commended by the Public Security Bureau several times.

Lu Shaocai also panicked.

No, absolutely not!

If he wanted to kick Lin Shu out, he had to start with his second uncle.

He got up and went to the clinic.

With the change of seasons in autumn and winter, people were prone to colds, coughs, and the recurrence of old ailments, so the clinic was quite busy at the moment.

Old Man Lu was giving someone an acupuncture treatment while explaining the characteristics of certain illnesses to Zhang Peijin, with Lu Changgong listening intently.

Lu Shaocai smiled and said, “Uncle, I need to talk to you about something.”

Old Man Lu replied, “What is it? Speak up.”

Lu Shaocai pulled him into the inner room to talk privately, “Uncle, you know the elections are coming up, right?”

Old Man Lu responded, “That’s none of my business. I’m just a barefoot doctor.”

Lu Shaocai felt a pang of resentment but kept smiling, “Uncle, you need to give your nephew a hand. My father is far away and can’t look out for me. If you, my own uncle, don’t care for me…”

Old Man Lu gave him a disdainful look, “What more do you want me to do for you? Why don’t you take over as the barefoot doctor?”

You sneaky thing, do you think I don’t see through your schemes?

Lu Shaocai hesitated, then suppressed his irritation and whispered, “Uncle, with the elections coming up, I need your support as the accountant.”

The implication was that he needed help with his old connections.”

Lu Shaocai was trying to reassure himself, “I have to make sure I get elected again.”

Old Lu responded, “Isn’t my third daughter-in-law already helping you with the accounts? Without her, you probably wouldn’t be able to figure out those accounts even if you worked all night.”

Lu Shaocai, frustrated, tried to explain, “But, Uncle, the elections are coming up!”

At that moment, another barefoot doctor from the brigade came over on a bicycle, looking for Old Lu. “Doctor Lu, do you have any extra hemostatic medicine? Some people got careless after the autumn harvest and ended up cutting their hands on thorn bushes.”

Old Lu, who had a good relationship with Doctor Yan and always received more medicine than other barefoot doctors, went to find the requested medicine.

Lu Shaocai, now even more annoyed, muttered as he walked into the accounting room, “Giving away medicine to others—what if our own brigade runs short? What an idiot!”

Lin Shu, overhearing him, couldn’t hold back and said, “Are you insulting my father? That’s your second uncle! Do you have any manners? A doctor has his plans; what do you, as an accountant, know about a doctor’s work?”

She was quick to defend her in-laws and would double down on anyone who insulted them.

Furious, Lu Shaocai snapped back, “What do you women know? You’re always acting out of line. Don’t you know your place?”

He was thinking, You’re a widow! Why aren’t you at home in mourning? Why are you out here competing with me for a job?

But Lin Shu didn’t back down, retorting, “Why are you yelling at me? Who do you think you are?”

She usually ignored Lu Shaocai’s nonsense, but insulting her father-in-law was crossing the line.

Lu Changong, who was nearby, was shocked by Lin Shu’s boldness.

Since when did Lu Shaotang’s wife become so fierce?

She was even daring to stand up to Lu Shaocai! In the village, only Fang Dihua, the brigade party secretary, and the brigade leader dared to speak to Lu Shaocai like that.

As expected, Lu Shaocai, who had long been simmering with resentment towards Lin Shu, finally exploded.

He was furious that she dared to challenge him and started shouting and gesturing wildly.

But this was exactly what Lin Shu wanted.

She had been waiting for him to lose his temper so she could trap him.

As soon as he started yelling, Lin Shu’s eyes welled up with tears, and she walked out, crying loudly, “Lu Shaocai hit me! Waaaah…”

Lu Changong was stunned.

Lu Shaocai, now panicking, shouted, “You lying woman! I didn’t even touch you!”

But soon enough, Old Lu came running over, having heard the commotion. Concerned, he asked, “What happened?”

Lin Shu lowered her head slightly and said, “Father, Lu Shaocai hit me!” She showed the red mark on her hand, which she had accidentally bumped while cooking the day before.

He rarely spoke to Lin Shu alone, so naturally, he didn’t know about her hand being hurt.

His third daughter-in-law was honest and never lied. If she said she was beaten, then she was beaten!

Old Man Lu was convinced that Lu Shaocai was taking out his anger on his third daughter-in-law because he hadn’t immediately agreed to help him with the election.

He strode inside and glanced at Lu Changgong, “Did you see this?”

Lu Changgong nodded hastily, “Yes, yes.”

There was no room for him to speak here.

Old Man Lu, who was usually a very kind and peaceful person, was so furious that even his hair seemed to tremble.

He pointed at Lu Shaocai and shouted, “You scoundrel! It’s bad enough that you didn’t burn paper offerings for your second grandmother, and I didn’t hold it against you when you tried to profit from your brother’s situation. But now, as the eldest brother, you’re hitting your sister-in-law? You dog! Today, I’m going to teach you a lesson on behalf of your father!”

He looked around for something to use but couldn’t find a stick, so he took off his shoe and started hitting Lu Shaocai.

Despite all his usual bluster and arrogance, Lu Shaocai didn’t dare to fight back against an elder.

He could only try to dodge and whine, “I didn’t hit her! Lu Changgong can testify, I didn’t hit her!”

Lin Shu interjected, “He’s too scared of you to say anything!”

Lu Changgong shrank back against the wall, trembling and keeping his mouth tightly shut.

Old Man Lu smacked Lu Shaocai a few more times with the shoe, “Let me tell you, if your aunt gets her hands on you, you’ll be in even more trouble. Apologize!”

Lu Shaocai protested, “But I didn’t—!”

“Smack!” Another hit on his shoulder.

“Apologize!” Old Man Lu’s face was stern.

Outside the office, a crowd of elderly people, wives, and children had gathered to watch the spectacle.

Even the brigade secretary stood there enjoying the show.

With no way out, Lu Shaocai grudgingly mumbled an apology to Lin Shu.

He was seething with anger and frustration.

He hadn’t even touched her!

Lin Shu wiped away some tears, putting on a magnanimous, forgiving demeanor, “Big cousin, I’m just here to help you with the accounts. Please don’t yell at me anymore. You scold me every time we meet, and I… boo-hoo…”

“Smack!” Old Man Lu struck again with the shoe. “You wretch!”

Lu Shaocai, feeling utterly wronged, could only hop around in frustration before finally apologizing again and promising never to yell at Lin Shu again.

Only then did the matter rest.

Seeing that it was getting late, Lin Shu took her two children and headed home to prepare lunch.

That morning, Fang Dihua had gone with other members to cut dogwood.

On her way back, she heard that Lu Shaocai had hit her third daughter-in-law, so she detoured to the brigade office and gave Lu Shaocai another beating.

Upon hearing what happened, Fang Dihua, Old Lu’s wife, knew immediately that her third daughter-in-law, Lin Shu, hadn’t truly suffered any harm.

But that didn’t stop her from taking the opportunity to unleash her pent-up frustration on Lu Shaocai.

For years, he had been a thorn in her side, and she finally had a reason to put him in his place.

Lu Shaocai had always been a troublemaker, and Fang Dihua had never liked him.

He often caused problems, especially when he tried to meddle in her son’s affairs, and she had wanted to deal with him for a long time.

Now that he had “mistreated” Shaotang’s wife, it was the perfect excuse to give him the beating he deserved.

After giving Lu Shaocai a thorough thrashing, Fang Dihua returned home feeling incredibly satisfied.

The grudge she had harbored since Lu Shaocai’s return from the capital had finally been settled.

She even checked with Lin Shu to confirm that her daughter-in-law was unscathed, learning that the mark on her hand was from cooking the previous day.

Lin Shu reassured her with a smile, “Don’t worry, Mother. I won’t let myself be taken advantage of anymore.”

Meanwhile, Lu Shaocai was feeling utterly miserable.

He couldn’t believe his rotten luck.

All he had done was say a few words to the “little widow,” and now he was being falsely accused of hitting her.

Not only had his second uncle given him a beating with his shoe, but his aunt had also taken a stick to him, and when he got home, even his wife, Zhao Meifeng, was scolding him.

“Whose wife are you, anyway?” Lu Shaocai grumbled, exasperated.

Zhao Meifeng, her voice hushed, snapped back, “I’m busy arranging a match for her, and now you’ve gone and hit her! What if the match falls through because of you?”

Lu Shaocai fumed, “I didn’t hit her at all!”

Zhao Meifeng insisted, “You better not! Our son’s future job depends on her. I’ve already found several good prospects, including someone in the city…”

Lu Shaocai, still angry, muttered, “Why find her such a good match? Get her someone who beats his wife, so she can know what it feels like to be hit every day.”

He was livid at the false accusation and the whole situation.

Neither of them believed the rumors about Lu Shaotang returning, so they continued their futile matchmaking efforts.

But thanks to Lin Shu’s cunning plan, Lu Shaocai found himself completely discredited in the village.

Even Old Lu, who had always had some patience for his nephew, had now lost all respect for him.

When the time came for the village elections, Old Lu decided he wouldn’t lift a finger to help Lu Shaocai get re-elected.