That morning, when Qin Qingman and the others went to town, the weather was excellent. The sky was a clear, vibrant blue, with no snow or wind. However, the weather on the return trip was completely different, like the changing moods of a child.

Thick clouds rolled in, covering the sky, and the wind began to pick up.

Once the wind started blowing, the temperature dropped rapidly, and snowflakes began to drift down from the sky.

The driver hurried the horse along at a faster pace.

The horse, sensing the change in weather, trotted with all four hooves moving quickly, speeding up even more than on the way to town. As a result, not only did Qin Qingman bury her face deep into her thick scarf, but she also turned her back to the wind for protection.

Zhu Hongxia, on the other hand, was feeling frustrated. The thought of failing to trick Qin Qingman and losing her children's future prospects made her even angrier.

Not able to directly vent her frustration at Qin Qingman, she muttered a few curses about the "damned weather."

But as soon as she opened her mouth, a gust of cold wind blew in, filling her mouth with icy air. Her face went pale, and she quickly shrank into herself, lowering her head even further.

In the snowy weather, everyone was in a hurry. The return trip ended up being several minutes faster than the journey to town, and they soon arrived back at Kaoshan Village.

As soon as Qin Qingman got off the sleigh, she rushed toward her house. She had been gone for half the day and didn't know how Chuchu was doing at home. Although rural children typically learned to take care of themselves at a young age, the thought of Chuchu's small stature still made her a bit worried.

Seeing Qin Qingman run off so quickly, Zhu Hongxia had no chance to pull her back to try to persuade her further. Frustrated, she exchanged a few words with Qin Xiang before they each headed home.

The moment Zhu Hongxia stepped into her house, she was greeted by the sight of her three sons sprawled out on the heated brick bed, looking like corpses. Her temper flared even more, and she shouted, "Caiyun! Caiyun, are you blind? Didn't you see your mother come home? Can't you get me a bowl of hot water?"

"Mom, my sister isn't home," Qin Jiangjun replied. He saw his mother getting angry but didn't bother to get up.

In their household, Qin Caiyun handled all the chores like serving tea. He had never fetched hot water for Zhu Hongxia before, nor did he have any intention of starting now.

"That girl has run off again, hasn't she? She didn't even make lunch. She's so spoiled!" Zhu Hongxia muttered angrily as she started preparing lunch, her dissatisfaction with Qin Caiyun growing.

Little did she know that her daughter was about to give her a huge surprise.

At the Qin house, after Qin Qingman left, Chuchu obediently sat by the stove to study.

He was reviewing and practicing the characters that Qin Qingman had taught him the day before. At only five years old, he wasn't old enough to attend school yet and hadn't learned to write properly. So instead of wasting paper and ink, he used a stick dipped in water to write on the ground.

Stroke by stroke, he carefully traced the characters Qin Qingman had shown him the day before.

The little boy was practicing so seriously that by the time he realized it, not only was his neck sore, but the weather had also changed. Hearing the wind howling outside, Chuchu began to worry about Qin Qingman. Just as he was about to open the door to check outside, he heard a noise coming from the courtyard gate.

Chuchu's face lit up with a big smile.

He quickly ran toward the gate on his short little legs to open it.

"Sis!" As soon as the door opened, the little boy dashed toward Qin Qingman, who was just about to step inside.

"Don't come near me, I'm cold. Go get me some water so I can wash my hands," Qin Qingman quickly stopped Chuchu from hugging her, and at the same time gave him a task to keep him occupied.

"Okay!"

Seeing Qin Qingman, all of Chuchu's worries vanished, and he happily went to fetch water.

He brought cold water.

Since Qin Qingman had just come in from outside, her hands must have been freezing. In this situation, it wasn't good to use hot water to wash hands. Instead, touching the cold water was actually the better choice to get the blood flowing faster.

After washing her hands, Qin Qingman asked Chuchu, who was following closely beside her, "What did you have for breakfast?"

"Steamed buns!"

The small Chuchu tilted his head up to look at Qin Qingman, a bright smile on his face.

Seeing the smile on the little boy's face, Qin Qingman's mood also brightened. She took off her thick coat and sat in front of the stove to warm herself. The heat from the fire drove away the cold she had brought in from outside. "Are you hungry? Sister will cook some corn porridge."

"I'm not hungry."

Chuchu shook his head seriously, but his gaze was full of admiration as he looked at Qin Qingman.

When their parents had passed away, he was too young to remember much. The deepest memories he had were of Qin Qingman. Though his sister had always cared for him, she had never been as good to him as she was now.

At the very least, the old Qin Qingman didn't teach him how to read.

Thinking about learning characters, Chuchu grabbed Qin Qingman's hand, ready to show off his progress. But because he had written the characters with water, they had long since disappeared from the floor due to the heat of the stove.

Seeing Chuchu's surprised and soft expression, his mouth slightly open in disbelief, Qin Qingman couldn't help but laugh.

She crouched down and encouraged him, "Why don't you write it again for me to see?"

"Okay!"

Encouraged, Chuchu's little face turned red with excitement, making him look even cuter. He grabbed the stick, dipped it in water, and began to write on the floor again—this time without referring to the model characters Qin Qingman had left him.

Qin Qingman watched closely as Chuchu moved the stick, paying attention to the strokes and the order in which he wrote the characters.

When he made mistakes, she didn't immediately point them out. Instead, she waited until he had finished writing and was looking at her expectantly with bright eyes. Only then did she reach out to pat his soft hair, praising him, "You got everything right. It looks like you've been studying very seriously."

"Hehe—"

Chuchu giggled, both happy and a little embarrassed.

Qin Qingman ruffled his hair again before taking his little hand in hers and guiding him through the correct way to write each character. After all, just copying shapes wasn't the same as truly learning how to write.

Chuchu was a quick learner. After being guided through the correct stroke order three times, he had fully grasped how to write the characters properly.

"Alright, you've practiced these characters enough for now. Let's not push it. It's time to make lunch." Qin Qingman knew that learning was a gradual process, and given how much nutrition Chuchu had lacked in the past, she didn't want to rush him.

"Okay."

Chuchu was always obedient in front of Qin Qingman. He immediately put away the stick and followed her to help prepare lunch.

Although he couldn't help much with the actual cooking, he was able to carry chopsticks and bowls.

This made Qin Qingman feel even more protective of the little boy.

With plenty of firewood, the house was kept at a comfortable temperature of at least ten degrees Celsius.

After lunch, the siblings sat by the window, holding frozen pears, and gazed outside.

The snow had gotten heavier, and the wind stronger. The world outside had turned into a vast, snowy landscape. Fortunately, the houses in northeastern China were made of whole logs, with insulated walls to withstand the harsh cold.

Biting into the icy pear, Chuchu's round eyes squinted in delight.

"Sis, I saw cousin Caiyun heading to town this morning," Chuchu suddenly said, startling Qin Qingman.

"How do you know she went to town?" Although Qin Qingman had spotted Qin Caiyun in town earlier, she was still surprised that Chuchu had figured it out on his own.

After all, someone with a guilty conscience wouldn't go around announcing they were off to do something sneaky.

"Sis, I saw cousin Caiyun sneaking out shortly after you left. She hopped onto Aunt Zhang's ox cart, and there's only one road to town from here. The direction she took was the road to town."

Chuchu was quite clever and able to make deductions based on what he observed.

"My Chuchu is so smart."

Qin Qingman praised him, ruffling his hair again. She was now even more convinced that Qin Caiyun would take action regarding Liu Hechang. But that was none of her concern—she had never forced her cousin to do anything, nor had she given any specific guidance.

As it turned out, things unfolded just as Qin Qingman had predicted.

Some people were desperate to climb the social ladder, eager to escape the poverty of rural life and become the wife of a powerful man.

After Zhu Hongxia and the others left, Qin Caiyun quickly found an excuse and hitched a ride on Aunt Zhang's ox cart to town. She arrived about twenty minutes after Zhu Hongxia's group but wasted no time in tracking down Liu Hechang at his home.

Qian Aimin had indeed helped her out, sharing information about Liu Hechang, except for some of the darker details about his ex-wife. Everything else was out in the open.

After a night of consideration, Qin Caiyun had decided to make her move.

So what if Liu Hechang was twice her age, had been married before, and had four children? His position as the chairman of the farm's labor union was real, and as long as he held that title, she was willing to take the risk.

When the time came for Qin Caiyun to have her own son, she would surely be the one calling the shots in the family.

Tired of being treated like a workhorse at home, Qin Caiyun, after much consideration, followed Zhu Hongxia and the others to town. Being clever, she went ahead and found Liu Hechang first.

When she saw Liu Hechang's slightly bulging belly, she felt disgusted, but her desire for power and a better life pushed her to take the final step.

Qin Caiyun wasn't foolish. She didn't want Liu Hechang to back out of their agreement after taking advantage of her, so she carefully timed her move. Just as she was seducing Liu Hechang inside his house, his youngest daughter returned home from school.

The 12-year-old girl, though naive, was still wary of the unexpected presence of a strange woman in her home, especially one who was nestled in her father's arms.

The girl immediately started shouting, and soon the neighbors upstairs and downstairs heard the commotion.

To avoid a scandal, Liu Hechang was forced to say that the woman in his house was his fiancée and that they were already engaged and would be getting married soon.

With this, he acknowledged his relationship with Qin Caiyun.

Qin Caiyun left without losing anything and was thrilled to have "stolen" Qin Qingman's blind date. Since a snowstorm was brewing, she couldn't return home, so she decided to stay at Liu Hechang's house for the night. Of course, she slept in the same room as Liu Hechang's youngest daughter.

During her brief stay at the Liu household, Qin Caiyun made sure to impress everyone, serving them well.

From food to the water for washing their feet, Liu Hechang was thoroughly pleased.

Looking at the youthful and lively Qin Caiyun, Liu Hechang tossed the blurry photo of Qin Qingman out of his mind. With the way Qin Caiyun gazed at him with admiration, he felt as if he were young again, his blood surging with energy, as if he had regained his vigor from his youth.

The next day dawned bright and clear, with not a single gust of wind.

Having spent the night with an unmarried girl, Liu Hechang feared her parents might accuse him of taking advantage of her. So, he hurriedly gathered some generous gifts, enlisted the matchmaker, and hired a horse-drawn cart to head back to Kaoshan Village with Qin Caiyun.

Zhu Hongxia's house became a hub of activity early that morning.

Seeing the shy, blushing Qin Caiyun trailing behind Liu Hechang, Zhu Hongxia and her husband were so shocked they nearly spat out blood.

What was going on?

They hadn't managed to trick Qin Qingman, and now they had ended up losing their own daughter!

"Uncle, Aunt, I'm here today to formally propose marriage. Yesterday, Caiyun stayed at my house..." Liu Hechang was no fool. He could tell at a glance that Qin Plei and Zhu Hongxia weren't pleased with his age. But thinking of the young, gentle Qin Caiyun, he decided to lay all his cards on the table. If they weren't afraid of losing face, they could go ahead and cause a scene.

Hearing Liu Hechang's words, Zhu Hongxia rolled her eyes and nearly fainted.

Qin Plei didn't dare to leave Liu Hechang standing outside the door any longer. If this man said anything inappropriate, their family's reputation would be ruined. How could they continue living in Kaoshan Village?

Terrified, he hurriedly invited Liu Hechang into the house with all the respect due to a new son-in-law.

As Liu Hechang entered, Qin Plei shot a fierce glare at his troublemaking daughter, Qin Caiyun.

But Qin Caiyun wasn't bothered at all. Now that she had latched onto Liu Hechang, she was confident that her status and influence within the family would soon rise significantly.

Feeling smug, she glanced toward Qin Qingman's house next door.

Qin Qingman's home was quiet, and there wasn't a single person in the courtyard, giving Qin Caiyun the frustrating sensation of punching cotton—meeting no resistance.

In truth, Qin Caiyun was overthinking it. Already familiar with her cousin's personality, Qin Qingman had been keeping an eye on the commotion next door. She had seen the scene of Liu Hechang and Qin Caiyun arriving together through the window.

Seeing that Qin Caiyun had truly latched onto Liu Hechang, Qin Qingman finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Some people treat rotten wood as treasure—she just hoped they wouldn't regret it later.