Jiang An’an spoke in a low, firm voice, her eyes fixed on Zhao Chunmei. Sure enough, she noticed the woman’s gaze flickering with unease.  

The surrounding villagers all turned their attention to Zhao Chunmei as well.  

“What’s going on? What’s the argument about?” The village chief looked baffled. He’d only been away for a few days—how had things escalated like this?  

A few nosy villagers quickly filled him in: Jiang An’an had been found disheveled in the mountains by the village chief’s wife, rumors had spread that she was fooling around with men, and then her engagement had been broken off with demands for the betrothal gifts to be returned.  

By the time the village chief heard all this, he nearly choked on his own breath.  

*How could my wife stir up this kind of trouble?!*  

“That’s all in the past now! I got the betrothal gifts back, so why would I still hold a grudge against your Jiang family?!” Zhao Chunmei shouted, her voice booming.  

“You can’t just keep dragging up old grievances! I didn’t tamper with the work points! You’ve got no proof—how can you accuse me out of thin air?!”  

She planted her hands on her hips, her tone full of righteous indignation, as if she were truly the wronged party.  

“Who else would target us like this? And who else would have access to the work-point ledger to change our family’s records?” Jiang An’an argued back fiercely.  

The village chief rubbed his temples, feeling utterly exasperated.  

“Alright, alright, since we haven’t found out who did it, and we need evidence for everything… How about this? From now on, the Jiang family’s work points will be adjusted to seven per day. Does that work?”  

But before Jiang An’an could respond, Zhao Chunmei cut in sharply:  

“Who knows how many work points the Jiang family had before? It’s not like they definitely deserve seven per day! If we just raise theirs like that, it’s unfair to the other villagers, don’t you all think?”  

Hearing this, the onlookers stayed mostly silent, but a few of the village chief’s relatives nodded in agreement.  

“Yeah! If it’s like that, shouldn’t our work points be raised too?”  

Seeing the situation devolve into chaos, Zhao Chunmei grew even more confident.  

“No one even knows if these work points are right or wrong in the first place. And without proof, how can we change them? Can you prove exactly how many work points your family had before?”  

She then turned to the brigade secretary.  

“Old Yang, you’re the brigade’s secretary, didn’t you say the work-point ledger was foolproof? If the Jiang family’s records really were messed up, then you’re not fit to keep your position, are you?”  

That was a threat.  

A blatant one.  

The brigade secretary’s heart skipped a beat.  

Zhao Chunmei was right—if the Jiang family’s work points really had been altered, it would mean he’d failed in his duties!  

After a moment of hesitation, he muttered, “Actually… I don’t really remember the Jiang family’s work points clearly either.”  

Seeing things reach this point, the village chief—though he didn’t understand why his wife was so fixated on targeting the Jiang family—waved his hand dismissively.  

“Fine, fine. Since no one’s sure, let’s just leave it at that. From now on, all work points will be publicly posted to avoid this kind of problem. As for the Jiang family’s past records… we’ll just keep them as they are. No changes!”  

Hearing this, even a fool would understand what was happening. The village chief was sweeping the issue under the rug, forcing the Jiang family to swallow this injustice.  

“We can’t accept this, Village Chief! It’s already late September—most of the year is gone! With just these few work points, our whole family will starve to death!”  

Jiang An’an’s mother burst into tears as she spoke.  

Last year, they had nearly starved, forcing her daughter to agree to an engagement with the village chief’s dim-witted son just for two bags of coarse rice. The guilt had kept her awake every night. If this winter was the same, how would their family survive?  

“Starve to death? And whose fault is that?” Zhao Chunmei sneered.  

Who cares if the Jiang family lives or dies?

Seeing Zhao Chunmei’s callousness, Jiang An’an couldn’t suppress her fury. But just as she was about to retort, her mother, overwhelmed with rage and despair, collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.  

Chaos erupted instantly.

The two sons of the Jiang family hurriedly helped their mother up.  

But with no clinic in the village, no one knew what to do for the moment. They could only move her to a shady spot and send someone to fetch the village’s only barefoot doctor.  

Jiang An’an stood to the side, carefully checking her mother’s condition. Once she confirmed there was no serious danger, she let out a relieved sigh.  

In her past life, she had graduated from medical school. It was only because she couldn’t stand the endless overtime at the hospital that she switched careers to become a warehouse manager. Based on her assessment, her mother’s current condition was simply due to extreme physical weakness—nothing more serious than that.  

But then…  

Her gaze shifted to Zhao Chunmei, the village chief’s wife.  

Even after watching Jiang An’an’s mother collapse from sheer fury, Zhao Chunmei’s face was still filled with smug satisfaction.  

Now, sensing Jiang An’an’s stare, Zhao Chunmei snorted coldly, her expression practically spelling out the words “Serves you right.”

Their eyes locked, sparks flying between them.  

Jiang An’an was certain—99% sure—that Zhao Chunmei was the one who had altered the Jiang family’s work points. But why? Was it just petty revenge for the humiliation she suffered yesterday?  

Her mind flashed back to the moment she first saw Zhao Chunmei after transmigrating—forcing her into the pig cage, demanding the betrothal gifts back, then pressuring her to marry Zhao Chunmei’s brother, and now tampering with the work points to starve her entire family?  

Had the original Jiang An’an and Zhao Chunmei really had such a deep-seated feud?  

Searching through the original host’s memories, she couldn’t find any major conflicts between them.  

How strange.

By then, the barefoot doctor had arrived and was about to examine Jiang An’an’s mother when the woman slowly regained consciousness, though still a bit dazed.  

After some thought, Jiang An’an decided to let it go for now. She helped her mother home, planning to settle the score with Zhao Chunmei properly tomorrow.  

But not long after they returned, an uninvited guest showed up at their door.  

Who else could it be?  

Zhao Chunmei.

The moment Jiang An’an’s mother, still lying on the kang (heated brick bed), saw Zhao Chunmei walk in, she struggled to sit up and pleaded in a low voice,  

“Chunmei, please, think of a way to help us. Our family’s work points couldn’t possibly be this low—there must be some mistake. Can’t you fix it for us? I’m begging you!”  

But Zhao Chunmei just curled her lip.  

“How could I possibly help with that?”  

Her tone dripped with disdain and smugness.  

Back in the day, Jiang An’an’s mother had been the most beautiful woman in Sihe Village. She was originally supposed to marry the village chief—but in the end, she lost to me.

Zhao Chunmei had always despised her. And now, with that troublesome Jiang An’an causing problems, her hatred had only grown.  

Besides, after going through all the trouble of altering the Jiang family’s work points, did they really think she’d help them now?  

Not a chance.

“Chunmei, please, just think of something. Have pity on our family, won’t you?”  

Tears welling in her eyes, Jiang An’an’s mother clutched Zhao Chunmei’s hand.  

Seeing this, Zhao Chunmei pretended to comfort her but then glanced helplessly at Jiang An’an.  

“I want to help, but the work-point ledger isn’t up to me. There’s nothing I can do.”  

At these words, Jiang An’an’s mother trembled.  

“Then… then are we just supposed to wait to starve to death?”  

“Not necessarily.” Zhao Chunmei sighed dramatically. “I do feel sorry for your family’s situation. So, I’ll say it again—if Jiang An’an marries my brother, we’ll be family. Then, at the end of the year, I might spare some grain to pull you through. How about it?”