Being Fierce 

A group of people tugged and pulled each other all the way to the secretary’s office. 

At this time, everyone had already finished their work, and many were waiting for their wives or mothers to prepare dinner. During this idle time, they gathered under the big tree to relax and chat. 

When they saw a large group of female educated youths and some older women coming down from the mountain, they all crowded around to see what was happening. 

Lin Miaoyin had already put on a pitiful, wronged expression. 

She was already quite beautiful, and now with her pitiful look, it stirred up great sympathy among the crowd. Without asking for details, they had already begun to side with her. 

Secretary Li hadn’t gone home yet and was still in the office. 

The two older women were bold and took the lead, entering the office first. They clapped their thighs and hands, explaining the situation in just a few sentences. 

On the way there, Yan Hongyue had not missed any chance to sway the two women. 

The older women’s understanding of the situation was that Lin Miaoyin and Yan Hongyue had overheard a group of female educated youths gossiping badly about Lin Miaoyin and Meng Yuanzheng. 

They first said that the two had stolen Zhu Wanqin’s credit, and then made some defamatory remarks about Lin Miaoyin and Jin Chengren. 

Lin Miaoyin could not stand such slander and, unable to hold back her anger, went up to argue. 

At that time, people still had relatively conservative views, and a woman’s chastity and morality were held to high standards. It was a serious matter to casually suggest that a woman was having an affair with another man. 

Lin Miaoyin scolded the educated youths. 

But Zhou Min, one of the educated youth, showed no remorse and instead struck first, hitting Lin Miaoyin hard. 

The other educated youths nearby just watched without intervening. 

It was clear that the crowd was bullying the weaker side. 

After the older women finished speaking, Yan Hongyue stepped forward to add more fuel to the fire, and soon the onlookers were filled with righteous indignation. 

No matter what, Lin Miaoyin was the daughter of Team Leader Lin, someone they had watched grow up. These female educated youths had only arrived at Houtouwan Brigade recently, so they were considered outsiders. 

And now, so soon after arriving, they were already acting so arrogant and even dared to raise their hands to someone, scratching a girl’s face like that. 

It was truly infuriating. 

The female educated youths couldn’t defend themselves. They wanted to say it was Lin Miaoyin who made the first move, but no one believed them. Moreover, the older women’s voices were loud, and their momentum strong, leaving no room for them to speak. 

Additionally, Lin Miaoyin had only struck Zhou Min in places where the onlookers couldn’t see, and Zhou Min appeared to have no visible injuries. 

Zhou Min was so furious she almost spat blood, but could only shoot a murderous look at Lin Miaoyin. 

Secretary Li gestured for everyone to quiet down. He first asked the educated youths if they had indeed said things they shouldn’t have. 

The educated youths had no answer, only lowering their heads in silent acknowledgment. 

Then, Secretary Li asked if Zhou Min had hit someone. 

He didn’t ask who had struck first. 

Again, the educated youths still only gave a silent acknowledgment. 

The outcome was clear. 

Although both sides had fought, Lin Miaoyin’s injuries were more serious, and this whole incident had been caused by the educated youths. 

Therefore, the final decision was that, considering all factors, and since Lin Miaoyin herself was willing to settle the matter privately, no formal meeting would be held. However, the educated youths were required to apologize to Lin Miaoyin and pay her medical expenses. 

Led by Zhou Min, they reluctantly apologized and contributed five yuan as compensation. 

Lin Miaoyin smiled as she took the money, as if she didn’t see the displeased expressions on their faces. 

After everyone had dispersed, she went to Secretary Li’s house, where his wife helped her clean her wounds and apply some medicine before she went home. 

The firewood had already been brought back by Yan Hongyue earlier and was placed in the yard. 

Due to the delay, it was already dark by the time she returned. Feeling a bit awkward, she walked into the room and approached Meng Yuanzheng. 

Meng Yuanzheng had lit the oil lamp and was sitting on a chair. When he saw her enter, he didn’t react, his expression cold. 

He didn’t seem very happy, probably because she had returned so late and he was starving. 

Lin Miaoyin carefully observed his expression and cautiously approached, saying, “I’m back. I’ll go make dinner. Are you hungry?” 

“No.” 

His response was cold and emotionless. 

“Oh, well, I’ll start cooking then.” 

When she turned to leave, Meng Yuanzheng’s face darkened, and his voice became stern, “Come back.” 

Lin Miaoyin froze and looked at him in confusion. 

“What did you just do?” 

“Chopping firewood.” 

She still didn’t know that when she had gone to Secretary Li’s house to treat her wounds, Yan Hongyue had already told Meng Yuanzheng everything. 

She moved closer to him, showing him the side of her face where she had been scratched, looking pitiful as she said, “Look, I was scratched by a wild cat just now. My face is all ruined.” 

Although Meng Yuanzheng kept a cold expression, he still picked up the oil lamp and leaned in to take a look. Seeing the three red scratch marks on her face, which had previously been smooth, he felt anger rise within him. 

Remembering that Yan Hongyue had said she had deliberately gotten scratched, he became even more upset. 

He reached out, held her chin, and pushed her head back, his tone more severe, “It looks like it was scratched by human nails.” 

Lin Miaoyin was stunned, feeling embarrassed. “Ah, being scratched by a person and a cat is pretty much the same, right?” 

Meng Yuanzheng ignored her response and asked bluntly, “Did you get into a fight?” 

“…” She carefully observed his expression. “You already know?” 

“Hmm.” He stared at her. 

Lin Miaoyin’s gaze shifted, and she nervously said, “Ah, I didn’t lose. I was scratched with three marks, but she probably has bruises all over from me and Hongyue squeezing her.” 

She then chuckled to herself, “And everyone thinks she wasn’t hurt.” 

“You’re still laughing!” He glared at her, a bit agitated, “There were so many of them. If it had come to a fight, do you think you’d have come out on top? This time you got lucky and scared them, but if we really took this further, you were the one who struck first. What if Secretary Li doesn’t favor you? How will you handle the meeting? What if the other side gets rough, and you end up with worse injuries?” 

Meng Yuanzheng rarely lectured like this, and Lin Miaoyin was taken aback. She couldn’t take in what he was saying and didn’t know if he was saying it for her own good. The only thought she had was—he’s scolding me. 

Meng Yuanzheng actually scolded her! 

“Why are you yelling at me!” She got upset. “Do you have any idea how awful the things they said were? Not only did they accuse us of pocketing Zhu Wanqin’s reward, they even said I was having an affair with Jin Chengren!” 

Meng Yuanzheng remained silent. Just a moment ago, Yan Hongyue briefly mentioned this matter, saying that they had made some ridiculous accusations, but she didn’t go into detail. 

Lin Miaoyin got angrier as she spoke. “They also said, they said that because I’m having an affair with Jin Chengren, I deliberately tricked you into the mine so that Jin Chengren could harm you! And they said that because you broke your leg, you couldn’t… couldn’t satisfy me, so I went after Jin Chengren!” 

Meng Yuanzheng: “???” 

Meng Yuanzheng didn’t quite understand the implication of Lin Miaoyin’s words at first. 

After Lin Miaoyin finished speaking, she saw that he was still wearing the same expression. Feeling wronged and furious, she stormed out to cook. 

This damn man. She had been slandered outside, even got into a fight, and yet, no matter who was right or wrong, as a family member, shouldn’t he be the one comforting and supporting her first? 

Instead, he scolded her. This was too much. 

Her eyes red, she sniffed and walked to the kitchen door to unlock it. 

But then she realized a serious problem. 

When she had fought with Zhou Min earlier, it seemed like her keys had fallen out of her pocket, silently dropping onto the grass without anyone noticing. 

She checked her pockets but couldn’t find them. Feeling exhausted, she stood at the door for a moment, looking at the completely darkened sky, and decided not to go up the mountain to search for them. 

She patted her stomach. Well, she didn’t have an appetite anyway. 

But even if she didn’t eat, she couldn’t let Meng Yuanzheng go hungry. With no choice, she went under the eaves, found a firewood knife and a hoe, and decided to break the lock open. 

She started with the axe, using all her strength to strike. 

The fierce action lasted only a moment, but when she looked, there were two lines of tears. 

The lock didn’t budge. 

She switched to the hoe, striking the junction between the iron plate and the wooden door. 

With loud clanging sounds, it seemed like there were signs of loosening. 

Meng Yuanzheng, leaning on his crutch, came out and saw her just as she raised the hoe high to strike. 

His eyes widened. “Wait!” 

But it was too late. With a crash, the wooden door collapsed. 

This wooden door was made from several long planks, and wasn’t sturdy. Lin Miaoyin appeared to be smashing the iron plate, but in fact, she was hitting the door. 

Meng Yuanzheng’s voice almost coincided with the sound of the door falling. Lin Miaoyin jumped in surprise, losing hold of the hoe, and the handle struck her toe. 

Already feeling frustrated, now this, she sat down on the ground, tears flooding down her face uncontrollably. 

Meng Yuanzheng threw away his crutch, hopped over on one foot, and sat beside her, reaching to take off her shoe. 

“Let me see if it’s injured.” 

“Don’t worry about it!” She pushed him away, got up, and even thought about kicking him. 

“Sit down!” He grabbed her and pulled her down, firmly removing her shoe. 

Fortunately, it was just the hoe handle, not the head. Her toe was only slightly red. 

He silently put her shoe back on. 

Looking up, he saw Lin Miaoyin’s red eyes, tears streaming down her face, looking seven parts pitiful, three parts ridiculous. 

“Alright, alright, stop crying. It was my fault just now.” 

He sighed internally, trying for the first time to coax someone gently. 

He cupped her face in his hands, looking her in the eyes and said, “It’s all my fault. I’m an idiot. I shouldn’t have scolded you.” 

Lin Miaoyin stared at him for a while, then slapped his hand away. “Aren’t you disgusted? You touched my feet, then touched my face!” 

Meng Yuan Zheng: “…” 

“I didn’t mean to scold you. I was just worried about you,” he said sincerely. 

“Is this how you show concern? You even need my help to bathe these days. You better recognize your place.” 

Lin Miaoyin suddenly stood up, feeling like such a pushover. Just a moment ago, she was so angry, but after he said just two sentences and took off her shoe, all her frustration melted away. 

She was so spineless. 

Now, all she could do was act tough with her words to cover up her inner weakness. 

She knew he had a point, but when someone was angry, who would listen? Obviously, no one would. 

“Mm.” He smiled gently, looking up at her and said, “I know. I won’t scold you again. You can scold me from now on. Whatever you ask me to do, I’ll do. Next time someone tries to fight, don’t handle it yourself. Come back and tell me. I’ll beat them all up and vent your anger.” 

Seeing him look so serious, Lin Miaoyin couldn’t help but laugh. “With your lame leg, stop pretending.” 

Meng Yuanzheng relaxed when he saw her laugh and added, “Wife, could you help me up? I can’t get up.” 

Lin Miaoyin’s legs went soft at his tone. She cursed inwardly but reluctantly reached out. 

He tried to stand up with her help, but his plastered leg got in the way. Not only did he not get up, but he also dragged Lin Miaoyin down with him. 

Meng Yuanzheng fell to the ground, and Lin Miaoyin, supporting herself on him, looked down. He couldn’t help but glance at her chest. 

Lin Miaoyin was furious, climbed off him, and kicked his butt lightly. 

“You did that on purpose!” 

She shot him a glare before storming into the kitchen. 

Meng Yuanzheng: What now? How do I get up? 

Lin Miaoyin ignored him and cleaned up the collapsed door in the kitchen. After all, these days, no one even bothered to steal from kitchens, and whether the door was there or not didn’t matter much. She could just put a bamboo door on top later. 

She then washed her face, applied some ointment, and started cooking. 

It was getting late, so she made two bowls of noodles. 

Meng Yuanzheng had managed to stand up with difficulty, and the two of them quickly ate the noodles, cleaned up, bathed, and went to bed. 

Lin Miaoyin was truly exhausted today. She lay down and was about to fall asleep when Meng Yuanzheng started causing trouble again, not letting her sleep. He asked, “Miaoyin, can I ask you something?” 

“Go ahead…” she mumbled, barely awake. 

“Today, those educated youths said that because my leg is injured, I can’t satisfy you anymore?” 

That startled her awake. She sat up slightly, flustered. ” “Why bring this up suddenly?” 

Meng Yuanzheng didn’t answer but continued, “We haven’t done that in a long time.” 

Lin Miaoyin: “!!!” 

She instantly woke up, sitting up in shock. “With your leg like that, you still want to talk about this?” 

Meng Yuanzheng replied fearlessly, “I can prove that they were wrong. I can still…” 

What followed was Lin Miaoyin throwing a pillow at him. 

“Enough! If you’re not going to sleep, get out!” 

Meng Yuanzheng took the pillow off his head and smiled at her. “Isn’t this normal between a married couple? What’s wrong with talking about it?” 

Who’s your wife? She cursed him in her heart. 

“Go ahead, talk. I’m going to sleep.” 

She snatched the pillow back, put it back in place, and lay down, covering her head with a blanket. 

“Miaoyin, I’m a man,” he continued. 

Lin Miaoyin reached out from under the blanket, pointing at the door. “I suggest you go outside and take care of it yourself.” 

Meng Yuanzheng…… 

He smiled helplessly, stopped teasing her, and pulled the blanket off her head so she wouldn’t suffocate, then lay down beside her. 

What he didn’t know was that at this moment, Lin Miaoyin was secretly relieved. At least she had managed to get through tonight. But what about when he brought this up again? 

Was she supposed to act indifferent? 

Author’s note:  

In response to reader requests, they are speeding up their family planning preparations. 

Lin Miaoyin: You’ve changed. You used to be so cold!