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

Lin Qingqing was huddled under the covers, her heart still pounding. Just as she was about to turn over to cool off the heat on her face, the door latch was turned on by someone outside.

Before I could even turn over, the edge of the bed suddenly sank down.

A familiar presence instantly drew near, and then a rough, large hand pulled her, blanket and all, to the inside.

"Still not asleep?"

Qin Lie took off his outer cloth jacket and casually draped it over the wooden frame by the bed, revealing a military green vest underneath.

He was very hot, and as soon as he lay down, the temperature in the bed rose sharply.

Lin Qingqing shrank back, her back pressed against a hard wall. It was Qin Lie's chest.

"I just took my medicine and can't sleep," Lin Qingqing whispered, her body a little stiff.

The strange sensation left by Gu Qiangying hadn't completely dissipated, and now that she was with someone else, she felt that something was off.

Qin Lie didn't say anything, but crossed his arm and put it on her waist.

His hand was large, and his palm was rough and calloused from years of holding guns and knives. He didn't move, just rested it there loosely.

Suddenly, he brought his head close to Lin Qingqing's neck and gently sniffed.

"Did the third brother give you a massage?"

Lin Qingqing's heart skipped a beat, and her body tensed instantly: "Um... Third Brother said that the medicine needs to be rubbed in to work."

"Um."

Qin Lie responded, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

But his hand, which was on Lin Qingqing's waist, slipped under her clothes and precisely covered the spot where Gu Qiangying had just pressed.

Qin Lie's hands were burning hot, the rough lines of his palms rubbing against his skin, domineeringly trying to cover up all the marks left behind.

"Is it hot?" Qin Lie asked.

"It's hot..." Lin Qingqing shrank her stomach.

In the darkness, Qin Lie's breathing could be heard right beside him, steady and powerful, one breath at a time.

After a while, the hand stopped just covering her and started making circles on her stomach intermittently.

"Want to study medicine?" Qin Lie suddenly asked.

Lin Qingqing paused for a moment, then nodded in the darkness, her hair brushing against Qin Lie's chin: "Yes. I want to have some skills, I don't want to just stay at home and eat for free all the time."

"In this family, no one dares to say you're a freeloader." Qin Lie's voice was deep and resonant, the vibrations of his chest transmitted to Lin Qingqing's back. "As long as I'm here, you'll have food to eat."

These words were heart-melting, but Lin Qingqing stubbornly remained silent.

Qin Lie sensed the silence in the person in his arms, paused his movements, and then pulled the person closer to him.

"Learn if you want to."

He rested his chin on the top of her head, his stubble tickling Lin Qingqing's scalp. "Third Brother's medical skills are genuine. In this remote mountain village, there's a lack of doctors and medicine. If you can learn them, it will be a skill you can use to make a living in the future."

Lin Qingqing was surprised by Qin Lie's words, and a huge weight was lifted from her heart.

She turned around and, in the darkness, groped for Qin Lie's arm, asking, "You don't object?"

"Why should I object?" Qin Lie took her hand in his, cupped her soft little hand in his palm and squeezed it. "Do whatever you want. I'll take care of it if anything goes wrong."

"Even if we burn down Third Brother's pharmacy, it won't matter?"

"If it burns down, let him rebuild it." Qin Lie smiled. "He has plenty of money."

Lin Qingqing couldn't help but burst out laughing.

With that laugh, her body trembled, and she snuggled against Qin Lie.

Qin Lie's breathing became erratic for a moment, and he suddenly tightened his grip on her wrist.

"Go to sleep." His voice was a little hoarse, carrying a warning. "If you move around again, you won't be sleeping tonight."

Lin Qingqing immediately became obedient, shrinking into his arms and not daring to move.

Qin Lie's large hand remained on her lower abdomen, and a steady stream of heat emanated from it.

That sense of security was like a mountain blocking my way, so that no matter what storms or wolves and tigers were outside, they couldn't get into this little bed.

……

The next morning, Lin Qingqing was awakened by a series of pig-like screams.

"Eat up! Go ahead and eat! I followed the recipe exactly, it's even more refined than what I eat, and you, you pig, are still being picky?!"

Lin Qingqing rubbed her eyes and sat up. The bed next to her was empty and felt cold to the touch. Qin Lie had obviously been up for a long time.

She put on her clothes and opened the door. The morning mist in the mountains had not yet dissipated, and the air was filled with the damp scent of grass.

Jiang He was squatting by the pigpen in the corner of the yard, holding a large wooden spoon, staring at a black and white piglet.

For some reason, the little pig turned its head to the side, grunting and snorting as it rooted around in the mud, not even glancing at the pig feed in the trough.

Jiang He was so angry his hair was practically standing on end. He rolled the book "The Art of Pig Farming" in his hand into a tube and pointed it at the pig's nose, yelling, "Are you trying to disrespect me?"

Pig: "Oink oink."

"Hey! You dare talk back!" Jiang He rolled up his sleeves. "Believe it or not, I'll roast you like a suckling pig!"

The pig probably understood the threat, because it kicked with its hind legs and splashed mud all over Jiang He's trouser leg.

"Ah—! My new pants!"

Jiang He screamed in despair, jumping three feet high on the spot, "Big brother! Second brother! Bring me the knife! I'm going to kill it!"

Lin Qingqing stood on the steps, watching this scene, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

She walked over, washed her face in the basin, casually tied her hair up, and went to the edge of the pigsty.

"Xiao Wu, what's wrong?"

Upon hearing the voice, Jiang He's fierce, pig-slaughtering demeanor vanished instantly.

He hid the wooden spoon behind his back, turned around, and looked at Lin Qingqing with a wronged expression. His beautiful peach blossom eyes were actually filled with tears.

"Sister..." he pointed at the pig and accused, "It bullied me."

Lin Qingqing looked in the direction he was pointing.

The little piglet, barely taller than knee-high, blinked its beady green eyes innocently, a vegetable leaf still hanging from its mouth.

"How did it bully you?" Lin Qingqing suppressed a laugh, took out a handkerchief from her pocket, and went over to wipe the mud off Jiang He's face.

Jiang He obediently moved his face closer, and even went so far as to rub his face against her palm, humming softly:

"It won't eat. The tattered chart my third brother gave me says it has to eat 300 grams of food at 7 a.m. It won't eat a bite and even turns its back to me. It thinks my cooking is awful!"

Lin Qingqing glanced at the food trough.

Inside was a dark, sticky, unidentified object, which certainly didn't look appetizing.

"What is this?" Lin Qingqing pointed at the lump.

"Pig feed," Jiang He said. "The book says it needs to be nutritionally balanced. So I added some leftover rice, half a steamed bun that my second brother had left yesterday, and that...that..."

"That...what?"

"Two slices of licorice root in Third Brother's medicine jar," Jiang He blinked, "I was thinking of using them to cool down his internal heat."

Lin Qingqing: "..."

It's incredibly lucky the pig wasn't poisoned.

"Pigs won't take medicine." Lin Qingqing sighed helplessly, reaching out to take out the feeding trough. "Besides, this is too dry; pigs prefer soupy food."

"Don't move!" Jiang He grabbed her hand. "Dirty! Sister, don't touch it, this thing stinks."

Although he complained, he was faster than anyone else, grabbing the food trough and pouring the contents into the swill bucket next to him.

"I'll redo it." Jiang He fumed as he carried the bucket toward the kitchen. "I refuse to believe that I, your humble servant, can't even take care of a pig."

Lin Qingqing followed him into the kitchen.