Chapter 7: Li Lian's Failed Attempt to Steal a Chicken Results in a Heavy Loss

Li Lian was working in the fields, her stomach churning with anger as she thought about last night’s events, when someone nearby struck up a conversation with her.

She immediately launched into a furious tirade against Lin Qin.

"It’s all that wretched girl Lin Qin’s fault. She did those shameful, disgraceful things, making us lose face along with her, and then she even dared to give me attitude. It’s getting more and more out of hand!"

The woman’s interest was piqued. "Did Lin Qin really commit adultery?"

Li Lian’s eyes flickered; she neither nodded nor denied it.

To the onlookers, this meant it was true, and Li Lian was simply finding it hard to admit.

Others crowded around to press for details.

They surrounded Li Lian, leaving no room to breathe.

Li Lian loved the feeling of being the center of attention. Smugly, she cleared her throat and snorted, "That wretched girl usually looks quiet and unassuming, but who knew she was so rotten to the core? Her muddle-headed father protects her so tightly that you can’t even say a word about her. If we keep indulging her like this, who knows what kind of massive trouble that girl will stir up next!"

"Oh! We can’t have someone like that in our village; she’ll corrupt the young girls and wives!" one woman said righteously.

Another immediately chimed in, "That’s right! We can’t keep such a disgraceful thing in our village. No! We have to go find Lin Yi and talk to him. We can’t let one rat turd ruin the whole pot of porridge!"

"Have you all said enough!" Lin Qingxiang’s roar startled the group of women.

Li Lian turned back, feeling a bit guilty when she saw Lin Qingxiang, secretly wondering how much he had heard.

She watched as Lin Qingxiang slammed his hoe into the ground just a foot away from her feet.

"Ah!" Li Lian fell to the side in fright, clutching her chest in lingering fear. Once she regained her senses, she cursed, "Are you crazy?"

Lin Qingxiang snorted coldly and pointed at Li Lian. "I’m telling you! We all know whether or not Lin Qin committed adultery. The police in the city and the neighborhood committee director aren't blind. You dare to spread baseless rumors about things that never happened? I can have the brigade leader and the village director deal with you!"

"What? What does that mean?" a woman asked, bewildered.

Lin Qingxiang glared at her irritably. "What else could it mean? Is she, Li Lian, a good person? She’s a black-hearted, rotten-lunged thing. You believe what she says? You’re all pig-headed, stupid and slow! No wonder you’re being used as pawns!"

The group of women turned bright red from Lin Qingxiang’s scolding, losing all their dignity and face.

After Lin Qingxiang left, they all turned to settle the score with Li Lian.

What started as pushing and shoving soon devolved into a group beating.

Everyone felt satisfied only after landing a couple of blows on Li Lian.

When the brigade leader arrived, Li Lian was lying in the field wailing, looking as if she didn't want to live anymore.

Lin Zhi arrived shortly after and stepped forward to pull Li Lian up. "What happened? Who beat you up like this?"

Li Lian cried even harder.

The final result was that the brigade leader called Lin Qingxiang and the women who had hit her over for questioning.

Lin Zhi looked furious, but he didn't expect Lin Qingxiang to be even angrier. As soon as he entered the room, he pointed at Lin Zhi’s nose and cursed, "You coward, you can’t even control your own woman, and you dare to let her out? Aren't you afraid someone will come to your door and put a sack over your head?"

Lin Zhi’s expression changed drastically. "Lin Qingxiang, what do you mean by that?"

Lin Qingxiang gave a roguish smile, looking unbothered and defiant as he recounted how Li Lian had spread rumors about Lin Qin committing adultery.

The brigade leader’s expression shifted. He had heard rumors about Lin Qin committing adultery, but since it had only happened last night, he hadn't had a chance to go to Lin Yi’s place to investigate.

"Lin Qingxiang, are you saying Lin Qin was framed? This is no small matter!" the brigade leader said sternly.

Lin Qingxiang slapped the table with conviction. "Brigade leader, if you don't believe me, just send someone to the police station near the Liu family’s place to ask! Lin Qin called the police last night. I heard the neighborhood committee director went over too; it’s probably spread through the whole street by now.

This kind of thing is easy to check. What makes me angry is that while we didn't know, Lin Zhi and Li Lian went to the Liu family’s house last night, and today I heard Li Lian spreading rumors everywhere that Lin Qin committed adultery. If you don't believe me, ask them."

The women who had been deceived by Li Lian all nodded angrily.

"Brigade leader, we aren't unreasonable people, but we were just so angry. If Lin Qingxiang hadn't shown up in time, we would have gone to Lin Yi’s house to demand an explanation. Li Lian was intentionally digging a pit for us to jump into!"

"Exactly, her heart is truly venomous! She thought we didn't know what she was up to!"

Li Lian was furious and retorted loudly, "What was I up to? What was I up to? I didn't say anything! You all thought of it yourselves, what does that have to do with me? Did I say Lin Qin committed adultery? Did I ever say those words?"

"What were you up to? You were just eyeing Lin Yi’s fields and house because he doesn't have a son. Everyone knows it clearly. Do you dare say you don't want Lin Yi’s family assets?" Huang Guihua bluntly exposed Li Lian’s scheme.

"You intentionally misled them!" Lin Qingxiang added, not caring at all about Li Lian’s status as a married woman.

The brigade leader’s gaze toward the couple, Lin Zhi and Li Lian, turned dark.

Lin Zhi was so angry he had no choice but to trade insults with them. Moreover, the longer they stayed, the worse the things Huang Guihua and the others said became, so he could only drag Li Lian away in disgrace.

They didn't dare ask for any "explanation" anymore.

Lin Qingxiang gave a triumphant scoff.

Huang Guihua and the others felt ashamed, so they told the brigade leader they were going back to work.

The brigade leader patted Lin Qingxiang twice, speechless. "I know you’re righteous, but you’ve offended Lin Zhi and his wife to death today. Watch out, they might try to sabotage you."

"I’m not afraid of them! I’ve got seven or eight brothers, and I’ve got you, my cousin, backing me up. If he dares to mess with me, I’ll finish that bastard off!" Lin Qingxiang grumbled, thinking about going to see Lin Yi later to warn him about the couple’s schemes.

By midday, everyone in Shanglin Village knew that Lin Qin had been abused and framed by the Liu family, and that Li Lian had been spreading rumors about her.

Even the news that Lin Zhi was plotting to take Lin Yi’s family assets was being spread with vivid detail.

Some of the more decent elders specifically sought out Lin Zhi to question him. Since they were all from the same village, by seniority, he had to address them as uncles.

Lin Zhi was cornered at his own doorstep being lectured, and he couldn't force them away—he was absolutely livid!

Li Lian had it even worse. The villagers had already sympathized with Lin Qin, and with Li Lian spreading rumors at such a time and offending several of the village’s older women, the label of being a black-hearted woman plotting to steal someone else’s assets was stuck to her for good.

When Lin Qin learned about the situation outside, she hid in her house and laughed.

Lin Yi brought a bowl of fish soup into the room and called Lin Qin and Liu Yaya out to eat. Seeing how happy Lin Qin was, he couldn't help but shake his head. "If you don't have brothers, you’ll be bullied. Your dad is useless and can’t vent your anger for you; I can only let you bear it all on your own."

Lin Qin wasn't happy to hear that. "Dad, why say things like that? So what if I don't have brothers? If I don't have brothers, I’ll stand up for myself! Even though Second Aunt is a piece of trash, she was right about one thing: I was too weak before, which is why people dared to bully me as they pleased. From now on, I’ll be tough. Whoever gives me trouble, I’ll pay them back tenfold, a hundredfold!"