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

Before that long, slender hand could even touch Lin Qingqing's shoulder, it was intercepted halfway by a calloused hand.

A crisp "snap" sound.

Qin Lie turned around at some point, casually slammed the axe in his hand onto the ground, and grabbed the wrist of the man in the leather jacket with his other hand like an iron clamp.

"Fourth brother, put your claws back."

Qin Lie's voice wasn't loud, and it was even impossible to discern any emotion in it, but the heavy sense of oppression made the surrounding air seem to freeze.

The man called "Fourth Brother"—Li Dongye—wasn't annoyed. Instead, he grabbed Qin Lie's wrist and shook it, his peach blossom eyes looking straight at Lin Qingqing over Qin Lie's broad shoulders, a bright smile on his face.

"Big brother, you're already protecting him? I just wanted to greet our new... 'guest'."

Li Dongye deliberately drew out the word "guest," his gaze lingering on Lin Qingqing's still-unbuttoned collar, his eyes gleaming with a seductive glint.

"Who is this? He looks like a celebrity from a magazine. How could such a golden phoenix fly into our poor mountain village?"

Lin Qingqing felt extremely uncomfortable under his blatant scrutiny, as if ants were crawling all over her body.

She hurriedly pressed the clothes in her hands into the basin of water, wiped her wet hands haphazardly on her trouser legs, and shrank behind Qin Lie with her head down.

Qin Lie sensed the movement behind him, and slightly turned his body to block Lin Qingqing behind him like a wall.

"This is my cousin," Qin Lie said expressionlessly, shaking off Li Dongye's hand. "Lin Qingqing."

"Cousin?" Li Dongye raised an eyebrow dramatically, pulled a windproof lighter from his pocket, lit the cigarette in his mouth with a "click," took a deep drag, and exhaled a ring of smoke. "Big brother, did your ancestors' graves emit auspicious smoke? When did we become related like this? How come I didn't know?"

Although he joked, his eyes became more serious.

He was a seasoned driver, and this woman was clearly not suited for farm work. She had delicate skin and a timid air about her, and even in her older brother's ill-fitting vest, she exuded a captivating charm.

Especially that sudden shrunken movement just now, like a frightened little rabbit burrowing into a tiger's arms.

If it were any other man, Li Dongye would have snatched it long ago. But this tiger was his older brother.

"We just acknowledged her." Qin Lie was too lazy to explain, bent down to pick up the axe from the ground, and said, "Show some respect in the future. If I see you touching her again, I'll take your wheels off."

Li Dongye raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he chuckled indistinctly: "Alright, alright, cousin, from now on you're my dear cousin. Hello cousin, I'm your fourth brother. If you ever want to go for a drive in the county town, just tell your fourth brother. Your fourth brother is a great driver, fast and steady."

The last phrase, "fast and steady," just sounds so unserious.

Lin Qingqing only showed half of her head and whispered, "Fourth...Fourth Brother."

Her voice was soft and sweet, with a slight nasal tone, which made Li Dongye's bones melt and he almost swallowed his cigarette butt.

He was about to say something more sarcastic when he received a glare from Qin Lie, so he immediately shut up, whistling as he went inside to get some water.

The courtyard fell silent again.

Qin Lie turned around and glanced at Lin Qingqing, who had her head down.

She stood barefoot on the muddy ground, her toes round and cute, gripping the ground tightly with nervousness.

The large vest hung loosely on her body, making her appear even thinner.

"He's not a bad person, don't mind him," Qin Lie said in a deep voice, "He just has a loose tongue."

Lin Qingqing nodded obediently: "I understand, cousin."

The word "cousin" made Qin Lie's throat tighten. He looked away from the wooden basin: "Leave it there, let the third brother wash it when he gets back. Go and cook dinner."

The bachelors in the Qin family usually eat haphazardly, either roasted sweet potatoes or cornbread, so hard they could kill a dog.

Lin Qingqing felt as if she had been granted a pardon, and quickly dried her hands before rushing into the kitchen.

The kitchen was also a mess, with a layer of dust on the stove.

Lin Qingqing quickly tidied up and found half a bag of flour and a few eggs. She didn't dare to use too much, so she only kneaded a small ball of dough, chopped some scallions, made a few thin scallion pancakes, and cooked a pot of sweet potato porridge.

Before long, the aroma of food filled the entire courtyard.

Li Dongye came out of the house carrying an enamel mug, sniffed it hard, and said, "Wow, it smells so good! Big brother, it was worth having this cousin. From now on, we brothers won't have to eat dry rations anymore."

Qin Lie ignored him, sat at the table, and looked at the golden and crispy pancake in front of him, as well as the bowl of thick porridge.

Lin Qingqing stood by the table, her hands clasped together, looking somewhat flustered: "I... I only made this much, I don't know if it suits my taste."

Qin Lie picked up a pancake and took a bite. It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a wonderful aroma of scallions.

He looked up at Lin Qingqing. She was staring at him expectantly, like a child waiting for praise.

"Sit down and eat," Qin Lie said, pointing to the stool next to him.

"I'm not hungry, I..."

"sit down."

Lin Qingqing dared not disobey, so she carefully sat down and sipped her half-bowl of porridge.

After breakfast, Qin Lie was going to town to sell the wild boar meat he had hunted the night before and to buy some medicine. Li Dongye was also going out to drive. Lin Qingqing was left alone in the courtyard again.

She cleaned up the dishes and found the soy sauce bottle was empty.

These men were too rough with their daily lives, often running out of basic necessities like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. Lin Qingqing figured that since she was living under someone else's roof, she should at least try to be more diligent. She rummaged through a drawer in the main room and found a few crumpled bills, which Qin Lie had left there before he left, saying they were for household expenses.

She took a dollar, found an empty bottle, and prepared to go to the village store to buy some soy sauce.

The streets were muddy after the rain. The idle men in the village squatted under the walls to bask in the sun, while the women gathered by the well to wash clothes.

As soon as Lin Qingqing appeared, the noise instantly subsided, and countless eyes were fixed on her.

"Look, he's already out? He stayed overnight at the Qin family's house and can still walk around today. Qin Lie can't even do that?"

"Shh, keep your voice down! That's Qin Lie. But this young widow is quite capable; she managed to take down that lone wolf from the Qin family."

"What skills? Skills in bed, of course! Look at how she twists her waist, tsk tsk..."

The foul language swarmed into her ears like flies. Lin Qingqing bit her lower lip, her face burning, wanting nothing more than to finish shopping and go home quickly. She kept her head down, trying to stay close to the side of the road to avoid those malicious gazes.

The convenience store is just ahead.

Just as Lin Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief, a figure suddenly darted out from the roadside and blocked her way.

"Oh, isn't this Qingqing, my dear?"

A strong smell of dry tobacco mixed with bad breath hit me.

The man blocking the way was a bachelor in his forties named Zhao Si. He rarely bathed, his hair was greasy and tangled, and he had a mouthful of large, yellow, and uneven teeth. He was wearing a tattered cotton-padded jacket that was open at the front, and his beady green eyes were darting around Lin Qingqing with a sleazy, disgusting gaze.

Lin Qingqing's heart skipped a beat, and she took a step back: "Uncle Zhao, move aside, I'm going to buy soy sauce."

"Just passing by? Uncle'll come with you." Zhao Si grinned and reached out to grab Lin Qingqing's arm. "I heard you moved into the Qin family's place? That Qin Lie is a blockhead, what does he know about caring for people? Why don't you come live with Uncle? Uncle has two laying hens at home..."