Merit 

Lin Miaoyin couldn’t hold back and let out a soft laugh. 

She gave him a sidelong glance. “You did that on purpose to make me laugh.” 

“Mm.” He gave a quiet reply and started eating as if nothing had happened. 

After a few bites, he added, “I made some herbal tea this morning. Fill up your kettle with it this afternoon.” 

“Sure.” She relaxed, smiling with her eyes curved warmly. “I’m not stopping you from helping out, but you can just feed the chickens and make tea. Don’t bother with washing clothes or cooking.” 

Meng Yuanzheng opened his mouth to speak, but Lin Miaoyin cut him off. “I said no, so no. Be good.” 

Then she added, “If you got hurt, I’d feel bad.” 

Meng Yuanzheng reluctantly agreed. 

While eating, she recalled what happened earlier that morning and briefly told him about it. 

“Do you think someone accidentally poured that water there? Who drinks water while going uphill or downhill? Even drinking from a water bottle would spill,” she said with a pout. 

Meng Yuanzheng paused for a moment. “It was Jin Chengren who saved you?” 

“Yes, he happened to be going uphill. You wouldn’t know, but everyone around stepped back, afraid I’d pull them downhill with me. He was the only one who rushed over and held me up by the waist and back so I could steady myself.” 

Meng Yuanzheng’s gaze darkened. “He touched your waist and back? Anywhere else?” 

“What are you thinking?” She rolled her eyes at him. “What, would you rather I went tumbling down the slope?” 

Meng Yuanzheng pressed his lips together and changed the subject. “Just keep your guard up. We both got featured in the paper and received commendations. There are always people with bad intentions. Can’t be too careful.” 

Lin Miaoyin nodded. “Don’t worry, I get it. Someone probably wanted to see me make a fool of myself. Or if I broke an arm or leg, that’d probably satisfy their twisted mind.” 

“Mm. Stay away from Jin Chengren too.” 

“Why?” 

Jin Chengren was the male protagonist in the original story. Even if everyone else turned out to be bad, there’s no way he could be. 

“Men and women should keep their distance,” he said seriously. 

Lin Miaoyin: “…” 

He added, “You’re a married woman.” 

Lin Miaoyin: … 

“Okay, okay, I got it.” Faced with his stern look, she had no choice but to give in and lower her head to eat. 

After lunch, she quickly washed the dishes. Since Meng Yuanzheng was home, she figured she didn’t need to lock the house, so she took the lock off the main door and used it to lock up the kitchen. 

Meng Yuanzheng: “…” 

“Come on, take a nap. Now you can’t cook even if you want to.” She was in a great mood, tugging his sleeve and taking a few steps toward the room. Then she remembered his injury and turned back to help him. 

“I’ll support you, I’ll support you.” 

Using him as a human cane, the two of them returned to the room and lay down. Lin Miaoyin had gotten up early and worked through the morning, so she quickly fell asleep. Meng Yuanzheng lay with his eyes closed, already forming a plan in his mind. 

After forty minutes, she got up and pushed him back onto the bed. 

“I bought you sunflower seeds and red dates. Just snack on them when you’ve got nothing to do. I’ll buy more once they’re gone.” 

Seeing him lying quietly and just staring at her, she was satisfied. She washed her face, poured some herbal tea into the kettle, grabbed her things, and headed out to the fields. 

Once the creaking sound of the courtyard gate closing rang out, Meng Yuanzheng sat up, took out the pen and notebook Lin Miaoyin had bought for him, along with the notebook and fountain pen he brought from the city, and sat at the desk by the window to start writing. 

As his pen moved smoothly across the paper, neat lines of math problems filled the pages. 

If Lin Miaoyin were here, her jaw would probably drop. 

He paused occasionally to recall something, and if he hit a block, he’d switch notebooks and start writing chemical equations… 

After a while, he grabbed the sunflower seeds on the desk, peeled them by hand, placed the kernels on a clean plate, but didn’t eat them. He checked carefully if he’d made any mistakes while peeling. 

On her way to the fields, Lin Miaoyin ran into Jin Chengren, who was coming from the other direction. 

Jin Chengren wore a white jacket and a straw hat. He was tall and upright, and in just a few steps, he was in front of her. 

“Sister-in-law,” he greeted her with a sunny, handsome smile. 

Thinking of what Meng Yuanzheng said about men and women keeping their distance, Lin Miaoyin forced a polite smile and gave a soft hum in response. 

Jin Chengren didn’t seem to notice anything strange and asked, “How’s Brother Meng doing? Is he feeling okay after coming home?” 

“He’s fine. Doing well.” 

“I’m going to the commune this weekend. If you need anything, I can help bring it back.” 

Need anything? 

With Meng Yuanzheng’s leg injury, she needed to buy some bones for making broth. If she could get an old hen, that would be even better. Milk or goat’s milk would be nice too—but those things were usually only available on the black market. 

“I can go myself. No need to trouble you.” 

“Don’t say that, Sister-in-law. My mother already said I’m like a younger brother to Brother Meng now. Your family’s business is mine too,” Jin Chengren said earnestly. 

Looking at him, he seemed like he’d be heartbroken if she turned him down too hard. So she considered it and said, “Then help me get some chicken gizzards, intestines, and chicken feet or something.” 

Those weren’t in high demand and were troublesome to cook, so people didn’t usually fight over them. Plus, you didn’t need ration tickets to buy them. 

But she had some braised spice mixes from the county. She could make some snacks later for Meng Yuanzheng and her family. 

“Got it. Don’t worry, I’ll go first thing in the morning,” he replied cheerfully. 

As they chatted, they got close to the fields. Other team members were gathering from all directions. Some people noticed her and Jin Chengren arriving together and gave them looks with unclear meaning. 

Especially a few of the female educated youth—they clustered together, exchanged glances, and giggled like they were sharing some little secret. 

Lin Miaoyin ignored them. After Father Lin assigned the tasks, everyone picked up their sickles and got back to harvesting the wheat. 

The cut wheat was piled on the flat ground at the foot of the slope. A few men who could handle the ox cart took turns hauling it to the threshing area to dry. 

That afternoon, Jin Chengren was the one driving the cart. After bringing back one load, he saw that there wasn’t enough wheat for a second trip, so he went back up the slope to help. 

He happened to run into Lin Miaoyin just like in the morning, carrying a basket on her back and holding a bundle in her arms. He quickly stepped forward to meet her. 

“Sister-in-law, let me take that. I’m free right now.” 

Before Lin Miaoyin could refuse, he had already taken the wheat from her basket, tucked it under his left arm, and used his right hand to take the bundle from her arms. 

She was left standing there with an empty basket on her back. 

She narrowed her eyes watching him walk a few steps until he met her cousin, Yan Hongyue, who was also Jin Chengren’s fiancée. 

Due to the novel’s setting, Yan Hongyue and Jin Chengren didn’t get along well. Yan Hongyue saw no good qualities in Jin Chengren, only thinking his family background was poor and that he talked too much. 

Sure enough, the moment Jin Chengren saw her, he immediately smiled, his face tinged with shyness, and said, “Hongyue, wait for me, I’ll be right back to help you carry things.” 

Yan Hongyue felt guilty toward Jin Chengren because of her situation with Liang Song. She didn’t want to face him, so she replied coldly, “No need. I can manage on my own. Just take care of your own tasks.” 

With that, she walked away quickly, carrying her bundle of wheat. Jin Chengren gave a slightly bitter smile, but he was already used to it and quickly adjusted his mood. 

Lin Miaoyin saw the whole thing. She felt the kid was pretty pitiful and figured she should find a chance to ask Yan Hongyue how things were going between her and Liang Song. 

After finishing work that afternoon, she noticed it was still early and that they were running low on firewood at home. So, she went to find Yan Hongyue to ask her to help gather some. 

Yan Hongyue was currently quite afraid of her and obeyed her without question. The two of them headed toward the back mountain. 

Along the way, they collected dry branches, pine seedlings, and dry leaves suitable for firewood. Lin Miaoyin asked her, “You haven’t been with Liang Song recently, right?” 

Hearing that, Yan Hongyue blushed and shook her head. “No.” 

“That’s good. What did he say about proposing? When’s that going to happen?” 

Yan Hongyue bit her lip shyly. “He said he’ll come after the busy farming season. He’s already talked to his mother about it, and his family isn’t really against it.” 

Lin Miaoyin felt a little relieved when she heard that. It seemed like things were turning out much better than in the original story. 

“What about breaking off your engagement? What’s your plan? Can your grandpa handle it?” 

Yan Hongyue leaned in and whispered, “I told my mother I’m seeing someone. She scolded me, but she doesn’t like Jin Chengren either and agreed to help. Now that my grandpa’s getting older, it’s my father who makes the decisions at home. Grandpa probably won’t go against all of us. hehe.” 

Though Lin Miaoyin felt bad for the unlucky kid Jin Chengren, she still nodded in approval and said, “Good. If you can break it off, do it sooner. But since you’re the one in the wrong here, you should offer some kind of compensation.” 

“I know,” Yan Hongyue mumbled. “As long as I don’t have to marry him, anything else is fine. It’s not that I look down on his family background—I just don’t like him.” 

Lin Miaoyin replied, “I understand, I understand.” 

But deep down she thought: Because you’re not the female protagonist, or even a supporting female lead. You’re just cannon fodder. 

They collected a lot of firewood, tied it tightly with bamboo strips, each carrying a bundle down the mountain. The forest was large and dense, with many vines growing along the small mountain paths, entwined around shrubs and branches. 

In the distance, they faintly heard voices. Judging by the accent, it should be those new female educated youths. 

“Hey, do you think Wanqin’s contributions were really taken over by Lin Miaoyin and her husband Meng Yuanzheng?” 

Hearing her name, Lin Miaoyin and Yan Hongyue stopped in unison. 

Lin Miaoyin put a finger to her lips and shushed softly. Yan Hongyue nodded. They crouched down and parted the vines to peek through. A few female educated youth were gathered nearby, picking wild fruits. 

“Can this be eaten?” Xu Liwen asked, holding a fruit she didn’t recognize. 

Lin Miaoyin and the others were too far away to see what kind it was. But normally, this place wasn’t remote, and any good fruit would’ve already been picked clean by the village kids. There shouldn’t be anything tasty left. 

“I saw them on the Jin family’s table the other day. They probably brought some back. Should be edible. Try it and see how it tastes,” Zhu Wanqin said gently. 

Xu Liwen took a bite. It was mild, a bit bitter and a bit sour, not tasty at all. She swallowed what was in her mouth and threw the rest away. “Not good. Probably something the villagers eat only when they’re really hungry.” 

“About what you said earlier, I was thinking—it actually makes a lot of sense,” another girl said. 

“Tell us, what do you think?” 

Lin Miaoyin and Yan Hongyue listened carefully. The girls hadn’t noticed them, so they were speaking without holding back, making it easy to overhear. 

“Wanqin, you said you all noticed the mountain was about to collapse around the same time and got there at the same time, right?” 

“Yes, but it was Brother Meng who went in. I stayed outside with Miaoyin to block the others. As for stealing credit, I don’t think they would. They don’t seem like that kind of people…” Zhu Wanqin replied. 

“Sigh, you never really know people. These villagers haven’t been properly educated. They love taking advantage of others.” said the same girl from earlier. 

Lin Miaoyin’s expression twisted. What nonsense were they spouting now? 

She and Meng Yuanzheng stole Zhu Wanqin’s credit? 

Author’s note: 

 Zhengzheng’s leg is injured, so to help him rest properly, he’ll have fewer scenes for now. 

Please enjoy the upcoming plot — tearing apart the fake white lotus. 

How can a period drama just focus on romance? (lights a cigarette)