Just as Qian Chunhua was descending the mountain with a bundle of firewood on her back, she encountered Qin Laizi (Qin the Leper), a well-known village rogue.

He was pacing at the foot of the mountain, glancing repeatedly at the mountain path, as if waiting for someone.

The moment he saw Qian Chunhua, his eyes lit up, and he strode toward her.

Qian Chunhua immediately stopped in her tracks, alert.

Qin Laizi was infamous in Huanghualing for being a scoundrel.

Qian Chunhua remembered him clearly from the original owner’s memories.

“Chunhua, let me help you,” he said, stepping forward and trying to grab the firewood from her back without waiting for a response.

Qian Chunhua assumed he was just too lazy to chop his own wood and had come to steal hers.

“Stop right there!” she shouted sternly, pulling out her electric stun baton from her coat pocket.

Qin Laizi stopped, smiling sheepishly. “Alright, alright, I won’t touch it. I just wanted to help.”

But he didn’t leave. Instead, he stood beside her, staring.

Qian Chunhua frowned and, ignoring him, hefted the firewood back onto her shoulders, holding the stun baton in her hand as she walked briskly toward the village. Qin Laizi, unfazed, followed with his hands behind his back.

Along the way, whenever they ran into villagers, Qin Laizi acted completely out of character — smiling and cheerfully greeting everyone.

At the village entrance, Wang Erwa, also carrying a load of firewood and panting heavily, asked, “Qin Laizi, what are you up to?”

“Helping with firewood,” Qin Laizi replied, pointing ahead.

Then, realizing he had fallen behind, he trotted to catch up with Qian Chunhua.

Because his voice had been too low, Qian Chunhua didn’t hear what he said, simply quickening her pace.

What she didn’t know was that Qin Laizi’s little “publicity tour” had fooled the entire village.

Everyone thought they saw with their own eyes that Qin Laizi helped Qian Chunhua gather firewood today.

A man and a woman, alone in the mountains all day?

Rumors spread like wildfire.

With every retelling, the story became more exaggerated.

Soon, half the households in Huanghualing believed that Qian Chunhua, who had just broken ties with the Zhao family, had hooked up with the village rogue Qin Laizi.

Some felt she was foolish — even if she wanted a man, why Qin Laizi?

He was ugly, diseased, addicted to vice, and had never been able to marry.

Was she really that desperate?

Some refused to believe it.

But most people were ready to watch the drama unfold.

After breaking off with the Zhao family, she’d built a house and sent her kids to school. Everyone thought she was trying to stand on her own feet — and now she was with that kind of man?

Now, besides her break with the Zhao family, villagers had something else to gossip about: Qian Chunhua must be blind — she got involved with Qin Laizi.

Unaware of the brewing scandal, Qian Chunhua returned home with her firewood and began preparing dinner for the children.

Although dinner was just reheated sweet-and-sour pork ribs, pork belly, shredded potatoes, and cabbage from the day before, she still needed to stoke the fire.

First, to warm the kang bed, and second, because it wouldn’t make sense for food to appear without anyone seeing a fire lit.

While the fire was going, she also boiled hot water for the kids’ evening wash.

Just as she finished, Qingsong and Xiaoling returned from school.

Qian Chunhua sent Qingsong to fetch Qingfeng from her mother’s house, and then dinner could begin.

..

The next day, Qian Chunhua saw that they had enough water and firewood stocked up and decided to stay home for a few days to focus on sewing winter clothes for the kids.

After Qingsong and Xiaoling went to school, Qingfeng shouldered his little backpack and went off to play with friends in the village.

Qian Chunhua stayed home alone, sewing.

The kang was warm and cozy — not cold at all.

Taking advantage of the heated kang, she began brewing brown sugar ginger tea to prepare for the upcoming cold snap.

After finishing one pot, she poured it into stainless steel containers in her space.

Then she started a second, a third… one after another, nonstop until noon.

When she checked the time in her space, she figured the kids should be home soon, so she began preparing lunch.

No need to cook — she simply took out pre-made food she had stored before transmigrating: a bowl of white rice, a pot of white beans stewed with pig’s feet, and a plate of fish-flavored eggplant.

She waited for the children to come home and eat.

But she waited and waited — and they didn’t return.

Worried that something had happened, she quickly put the food back into her space, locked the house, and headed toward the school.

From afar, she could hear Qingfeng crying.

Instinctively, she ran in that direction.

A crowd had already gathered. In the center, a grown man was shoving someone.

A young boy was thrown to the ground.

It was Qian Xingshan. Right after, Qingsong was also pushed down. Then Xiaoling’s crying began.

As Qian Chunhua rushed closer, she realized it was Qin Laizi causing the trouble.

He had Qingfeng by the collar, grinning maliciously.

“You little brat, how dare you bite me? If I tell you to call me ‘dad,’ you’d better obey!”

The bystanders started laughing and jeering. “Come on, Qingfeng, call him Dad. If you do, he’ll give you candy!”

Qingfeng tried to bite Qin Laizi again. Xiaoling, crying, kicked and punched him — but the kids were too small.

To Qin Laizi, their efforts were like tickles.

“Let go!” Qian Chunhua shouted, furious.

She pulled out her stun baton, ready to strike him down.

When Qingfeng saw her, he cried out, “Mom!”

Qin Laizi let him go, placing Qingfeng in front of himself as a shield, still smiling shamelessly.

“Chunhua, you’re here. This little brat disrespected me — look, he even bit me,” he said with mock affection.

His fake tenderness caused another round of jeers.

“Qingfeng, that’s not right. He’s your dad now. You have to respect him.”

“Chunhua, when’s the wedding banquet? Don’t forget to invite us for a drink!”

Qin Laizi took the chance to play along, saying, “Of course, of course.”

Qian Chunhua was absolutely livid.

So this was what he was up to yesterday — waiting for her at the foot of the mountain with the intention of ruining her reputation!

In this era, a woman with a ruined name had only two paths: marry the man or die.

It didn’t matter whether this was Qin Laizi’s own idea or someone else’s plan — Qian Chunhua had no intention of letting him go.

Swallowing her fury, she turned to Qian Xingshan and Qingsong, who had gotten back to their feet.

“Xingshan, go get Village Chief Wang. Qingsong, go get Clan Leader Zhao.”

No matter what, she lived in Huanghualing — and when trouble struck, she had to turn to its village authorities.

And though she had severed ties with Zhao Daqing’s family, she was still part of the Zhao clan.

This was a matter of her reputation, and she needed the Zhao clan leader to stand up for her.

Her mind spun rapidly, but Qian Chunhua had already decided on a plan — and was taking action.