After becoming a widow, I became the apple of a rough man's eye.

That night, the dogs at the west end of the village barked especially fiercely.

Lin Qingqing lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Jiang He had obediently gone back to his room after returning, saying he was tired. But when she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with all sorts of terrifying images.

What did Jiang He do with her clothes?

Will he do something outrageous?

I just heard Li Ergou's voice in the yard...

She finally drifted off to sleep just before dawn.

I woke up again to the noise from outside.

"Something terrible has happened! Something drastic!"

Wang Dazui's signature loud voice was extremely penetrating; it could be heard even through the courtyard wall.

Lin Qingqing sat up abruptly, her heart pounding. She got dressed and pushed open the door.

Jiang He was sitting on a small stool in the courtyard, holding a steamed bun in her hand, slowly peeling off the skin and eating it. When she saw her come out, she looked up and smiled innocently, "Good morning, sister."

"Outside……"

"Looks like there's going to be some excitement." Jiang He stuffed a steamed bun into his mouth, clapped his hands, and said, "Let's go check it out."

By this time, the mill at the west end of the village had been surrounded by a crowd of people.

The dilapidated mill was surrounded by layers upon layers of people, making it impossible to pass through.

People pointed and whispered, their faces displaying a variety of expressions: shock, disgust, and mostly schadenfreude.

"What a tragedy, what a tragedy."

"This is utterly shameless, in broad daylight..."

"Ouch, I'm not looking anymore, it'll give me a sty."

Lin Qingqing followed Jiang He and squeezed into the crowd.

At the entrance of the mill, Li Ergou was lying on the ground, his pants torn to shreds, his skin a bloody mess, and blood flowing down his thighs.

He seemed to have lost his soul; his face was buried in the soil, and his body was twitching. It was hard to tell whether he was crying or in pain.

Not far away, on the threshold, Lai Laoyao sat disheveled, holding his belt in his hand, looking bewildered from a hangover.

"What...what happened?" Lai Laoyao looked around at the people, his mind still a bit blank. "Last night...wasn't I with that young wife of the Li family..."

Before he could finish speaking, an older woman next to him spat in his face.

"Pah! Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror! Li family's daughter-in-law, huh? You just slept with Li Ergou!"

"What?!"

Lai Laoyao looked as if he had been struck by lightning, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

He looked down at the half-dead Li Ergou on the ground, then at the blood on his own body, and his stomach churned. He vomited with a "whoosh".

A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.

"Lai Laoyao, you have some pretty unusual tastes!"

"Li Ergou is really unlucky; his butt is all bruised and battered."

"These two have never done anything good; this is what they call 'the wicked will get their just desserts'!"

Hearing the mocking laughter around him, Li Ergou felt utterly ashamed and furious. He tried to get up and run, but the slightest movement brought a tearing pain to his back.

"Help...help me..." he cried weakly, his voice hoarse and unpleasant.

Unfortunately, no one sympathized with him.

The villagers hate these petty thieves the most. They've suffered a lot of humiliation at the hands of these two. Today's show is even more exciting than the New Year.

Lin Qingqing stood on the periphery of the crowd, watching this scene, and felt waves of nausea rising in her stomach.

Although she hated Li Ergou and Lai Laoyao, the scene was just too shocking.

A cool hand covered her eyes.

"Don't look, it's dirty."

Jiang He's voice rang in her ear, with a hint of nonchalant laughter, "Sister, let's go home, you haven't eaten yet."

Lin Qingqing trembled and was half-pushed and half-held as he turned her around.

Behind him, Li Ergou finally couldn't bear the torment of both body and mind, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

Lai Laoyao was still dry heaving, vomiting so badly he was almost bringing up bile, constantly cursing, "Bad luck! Damn bad luck!"

Back home, Lin Qingqing sat on a chair in the main room, unable to recover for a long time.

Jiang He poured her a cup of hot water, squatted down in front of her, and blinked her doe-like eyes, "Does sister think I'm too bad?"

Lin Qingqing looked at him.

The boy's face was clean and beautiful; you would never guess he was the one who could devise such a vicious scheme.

"They... deserved it," Lin Qingqing said softly, holding her water glass.

If it weren't for Jiang He, she might be the one there one day. Although she didn't completely agree with Jiang He's actions, she couldn't let the Qin brothers' feelings for her go to waste.

Lin Qingqing looked into Jiang He's eyes and told herself that if she had fallen into Lai Laoyao's hands or been caught by Li Ergou, her fate would have been even worse.

Being kind to bad people is being cruel to yourself.

Jiang He smiled and rested her head on her lap. "I'm glad you don't blame me, sister. I told you, I will protect you."

Just then, the courtyard gate was pushed open.

Qin Lie and Xiao Yong strode in.

The two men smelled of dew and earth, and Xiao Yong was carrying a small wild boar weighing about 100 pounds on his shoulder.

"Big brother! Second brother!" Jiang He immediately sprang up from Lin Qingqing's knees, stood up straight, and instantly disappeared from his clingy state.

Qin Lie put the hunting rifle in his hand on the corner of the wall, his gaze swept over Lin Qingqing's somewhat pale face, and his brows furrowed instantly.

"What's wrong?"

He strode over, touched Lin Qingqing's forehead, and said, "When I came back, there was a commotion at the village entrance. You looked so pale. Who bullied you?"

Xiao Yong threw the wild boar to the ground with a loud "thud".

"Who? Who's blind? I'll cripple him!" Xiao Yong rolled up his sleeves, his face full of murderous intent.

"It's nothing." Lin Qingqing shook her head, glanced at Jiang He, and, unsure how to put it, forced a smile. "It's just... something happened in the village, and I was frightened."

"What's going on?" Xiao Yong couldn't keep a secret. "On my way back, I heard a commotion at the west end of the village."

Jiang He chimed in, his tone lighthearted, "It's nothing, just that Lai Laoyao got drunk and mistook Li Ergou for a young woman and took advantage of her. Now the whole village is watching the spectacle."

The air suddenly became quiet for a few seconds.

Xiao Yong's mouth dropped open, his eyes widening like saucers. After a long pause, he finally managed to stammer, "Holy crap? Really? Lai Laoyao is that fierce?"

Qin Lie gave Jiang He a deep look, then looked at Lin Qingqing.

Jiang He's smile froze for a moment, then he casually lowered his head and played with his fingers again.

Qin Lie withdrew his gaze, reached out and ruffled Lin Qingqing's hair again, his palm rough and warm.

"It's alright now," he said calmly. "Since you're frightened, don't go out today. Second brother, clean up the pig; we'll have meat for dinner."

"Alright!" As long as there was meat to eat, Xiao Yong forgot everything else and dragged the wild boar toward the well.

Qin Lie turned to leave, but a small hand gently tugged at the hem of his clothes.

He turned around.

Lin Qingqing looked up at him, "Where...where are you going?"

Qin Lie's Adam's apple bobbed, and he took her hand in return. "Go wash your face. You're all sweaty. Don't let the smell bother you."

Lin Qingqing then let go of his hand. For some reason, she felt uneasy and wondered how Jiang He had schemed against Lai Laoyao and Li Ergou.

She didn't know how to bring it up, but she felt a little more at ease when Qin Lie returned.

Qin Lie was a rough man and didn't understand the feelings of a young girl, but he could sense that Lin Qingqing seemed to be in a bad mood, so he hesitated to move his feet. He then raised his hand and clumsily patted her on the back.

"It's alright now."

Jiang He, who was not far away, watched this scene. The smile on his face completely disappeared, and his eyes were so gloomy that they could drip water.

He stared intently at Qin Lie's hand on Lin Qingqing's back.

He was the one who avenged his sister.

He was the one who protected his sister.

Why does the older sister still rely more on the older brother?

"Fifth brother."

Qin Lie's voice suddenly came, without him turning around, but it was as if he had eyes in the back of his head, "Go help your second brother boil water."

Jiang He took a deep breath, suppressed the fierceness in his eyes, and put on a docile expression.

"Big brother is here."

……

There are too many men, and I have to write out their characters one by one, which is making me very busy.