Liu Hechang looked at Qin Caiyun's evasive gaze and then at Zhu Hongxia and Qin Lei's awkward expressions. His anger surged, and he felt an overwhelming urge to call off the engagement that had just been agreed upon.

But his rational side stopped him from doing so.

The moment he had been foolish enough to let Qin Caiyun stay overnight at his house, his options had vanished. There was no turning back now.

Liu Hechang's heart was in turmoil—he was furious and regretful. Qin Caiyun was young and somewhat attractive, sure, but compared to whom? In comparison to Qin Qingman, she was nothing but an ugly duckling. Losing out on a swan like Qin Qingman because of an ugly duckling? His regret was deep and biting.

His gaze toward Qin Caiyun's family grew even darker.

The shift in atmosphere made Zhu Hongxia instantly realize that Liu Hechang was now having second thoughts. But it was too late. Her daughter had spent the night at his house, and earlier at lunch, he had promised to help her son get a job. Zhu Hongxia had no intention of letting Liu Hechang take advantage of her daughter without following through on his promises.

She smiled tightly and reminded him, "Hechang, it's getting late. You should head back soon. The town isn't too far, but if it starts snowing, the roads will be tough to travel."

Calling someone older than her "Hechang"—in the face of her interests, Zhu Hongxia had no problem bending a little.

Liu Hechang understood what she was implying. Suppressing his frustration, he shot a deep look at Zhu Hongxia, Qin Lei, and the visibly uncomfortable Qin Caiyun before climbing into the cart with the matchmaker and leaving.

On the ride back to town, Liu Hechang's expression was grim.

The moment he laid eyes on Qin Qingman earlier, he realized he had been set up—tricked by Qin Caiyun and her family.

As the chairman of the workers' union at the farm, he'd seen plenty of scheming and manipulation in his life. But he never thought, at his age, that he'd fall victim to such a simple trap. He knew something was fishy when Qin Caiyun threw herself at him, but he hadn't expected the situation to be this bad.

There was no way he could just swallow this humiliation.

They would pay for this!

"Mom... what should I do?" Qin Caiyun was only eighteen. Though she had some ambition, her nerves couldn't withstand the pressure she felt after seeing Liu Hechang's dark expression as he left. She feared that everything she had worked for—the future she thought she had secured—was about to fall apart.

Zhu Hongxia was still fuming. "And here I thought you were smart! How could you be so stupid today?"

Qin Caiyun was filled with regret—deep, biting regret.

Why had she provoked Qin Qingman? Why had she complicated her own marriage for no reason?

Outside, Qin Lei was freezing after standing in the courtyard for so long. He stomped his feet to warm up and said impatiently, "That's enough! Whatever you two need to say, say it inside."

People in the village talked, and with Liu Hechang's high-profile visit today, it was likely that rumors had already started spreading. They didn't need to let the rest of the village see their family drama playing out.

"Get inside!" Zhu Hongxia snapped, giving Qin Caiyun a hard shove toward the door, her expression filled with disappointment. Her daughter, grown up and with her own plans, had dared to go behind her back and arrange her own future. How could she not be angry?

Qin Caiyun, jolted back to her senses by the shove, quickly lowered her head and hurried inside.

At this moment, any of the smug satisfaction she had felt earlier when provoking Qin Qingman had completely disappeared. Now, her mind was consumed with one thought: how to make sure Liu Hechang would go through with marrying her.

Given the situation, Qin Caiyun had no plans to let go of Liu Hechang.

More importantly, she couldn't let go. A girl's reputation was critical, especially in those days. She had already appeared publicly in the farm's family quarters, openly presenting herself as Liu Hechang's fiancée, and many workers had seen her spend the night at his house. If she were to back out now, it would be the end of her. The rumors and gossip alone could ruin her.

Zhu Hongxia's entire family retreated indoors to figure out how to secure Liu Hechang, while over at Qin Qingman's house, she was utterly disgusted.

She had caught the look Liu Hechang had given her earlier—a greasy, lecherous gaze that made her skin crawl.

"Jiejie, are you okay?"

Squatting by the stove with a stick in his hand, Chu Chu had been practicing writing in the dirt. He immediately noticed Qin Qingman's shift in mood and ran to her, leaving behind what he was doing.

"I'm fine, just a bit cold from outside."

Chu Chu was still too young. Qin Qingman certainly couldn't tell him about Liu Hechang and what had just happened.

"I'll get you some warm water, Jie!" Chu Chu dutifully turned and hurried to fetch her a cup of hot water. Being so young, he didn't suspect anything and simply thought his sister had gotten too cold while bringing in the firewood.

As she accepted the warm cup from him, Qin Qingman sipped it, feeling the warmth spread through her body. She wanted to wash the memory of Liu Hechang away completely. With that thought, she quickly turned to a more serious topic. "Chu Chu, do you know if anyone in the village has any puppies?"

Qin Qingman couldn't shake off her unease. After everything she remembered from the original storyline, especially Liu Hechang's devious ways, she had to think ahead and protect them.

"Jie, no one can afford to keep a dog here except the hunters," Chu Chu replied, his large eyes filled with confusion as he looked up at her.

Qin Qingman immediately understood.

In this era, even feeding people was a struggle. Very few households could afford the luxury of keeping a dog, especially since dogs had hearty appetites. Only hunters, who relied on the mountains for their livelihood, might have the means to raise one.

She furrowed her brows in thought.

Even though the village was cut off by heavy snow, as long as the weather cleared, people would still come and go. The homes here all had tall wooden fences, but they were designed to keep out wild animals, not determined humans. Right now, it was just her and Chu Chu at home, with no real means of defense. She needed a way to protect them.

If she couldn't raise a dog, she had to think of something else.

"Chu Chu, does anyone in the village keep geese?"

Although Qin Qingman had absorbed the original host's memories, the host had spent most of the year focused on scraping by, so she hadn't paid much attention to village affairs. But Chu Chu, even at his young age, had a way of picking up all the important bits of information.

Though unsure why his sister was asking, Chu Chu answered promptly, "Aunt Yun has two geese, and they're huge. If their wings weren't clipped, they could fly."

Seeing how Chu Chu stretched out his thin little arms to show the size of the geese, Qin Qingman smiled in satisfaction.

"Jie, Aunt Yun's geese are fierce! They once attacked Lazy Liu with their beaks, and his legs were covered in bruises. If he hadn't been quick enough to climb a tree, they might have hurt him even more!"

Chu Chu's eyes gleamed with amusement as he recounted the story of how Lazy Liu had been embarrassed.

Lazy Liu was notorious in the village for being both lazy and a bully. He often picked on the elderly, the weak, and children like Chu Chu. The little boy had been scared by him before, and if it wasn't for his quick feet, he would've been beaten.

Originally, Qin Qingman just wanted to see who had geese in the village, thinking she might be able to get one for protection. But seeing Chu Chu's expression, she quickly sensed something was off. "Chu Chu, did Liu the Lazy try to bully you?"

Chu Chu's eyes widened in shock.

Qin Qingman's face turned cold. Her sympathy for the original host waned even more.

What kind of person couldn't even protect their own child or keep their home safe?

"Jie, he didn't manage to bully me, really! I ran away fast, and when I saw him, I always ran before he could catch me."

Chu Chu was anxious, both happy that his sister cared but also worried that she might confront Liu the Lazy.

Liu the Lazy might be lazy when it came to work, but he was still a tall and strong man. Chu Chu knew his sister couldn't stand up to him in a fight. That's why he had never told her about these incidents.

"I'm sorry, Chu Chu. It's my fault for not protecting you better."

Looking at her little brother, who was being so sensible despite everything, Qin Qingman's heart softened. She pulled him into her arms for a warm hug.

Snuggled in her embrace, Chu Chu clung to her clothes, his cheeks flushed. "Jie, you've always protected me, really well. Without you, I would've starved by now."

Chu Chu's emotions were written all over his small, innocent face, easy for Qin Qingman to read.

With a quiet sigh, she let go of the idea of confronting Liu the Lazy for now and turned the conversation back to the geese.

When Chu Chu heard that geese could protect their home, his excitement was palpable. He had always been afraid of the neighbors—those same aunts who had barged into their home before to "borrow" things while his sister was out. He was too small and weak to stop them. But if they had geese to guard the house, maybe things would be different.

But just as the smile spread across his face, a new worry flashed across his mind. "But Jie, Aunt Yun's geese are really mean. They bite people, and they might bite us too!"

Since Qin Qingman had already thought of using geese as protectors, she had also considered how to make them loyal.

She stroked Chu Chu's worried face and explained, "We'll feed them their favorite foods and take care of them every day. After a while, they'll recognize us as their owners, and then they'll protect us."

"But... but it's winter, and there's no grass for them to eat."

Chu Chu knew what geese liked to eat.

"Then we'll feed them corn," Qin Qingman said, determined. She knew that to gain something, you had to invest something.

Chu Chu's eyes widened in disbelief. Corn? That was their precious food!

They didn't have much grain left, and Chu Chu couldn't imagine using their limited supply to feed geese.

"It's okay. Our uncles still owe us grain. And if that doesn't work, I'll go into town to buy more. I still have a few grain tickets hidden away from before." Qin Qingman said, reassuring him with a little white lie to ease his concern.

"Hmm."

Chu Chu believed Qin Qingman and immediately transformed his worry into excitement. He tugged at her sleeve, urging her to hurry up. "Jie, let's go! Let's go to Aunt Yun's house and pick a goose!"

With no playmates around, Chu Chu was eagerly anticipating the arrival of their new feathered guardian.

But getting a goose wasn't as simple as just asking for one!

Qin Qingman glanced fondly at her little brother, who was practically bouncing with excitement. She rummaged through their things and pulled out two fabric tickets. Since they didn't have money or extra goods to trade, bartering with tickets was their only option.

Aunt Yun's house wasn't close by. Wrapped up like two little balls in thick winter clothes, the siblings trudged slowly through the snow-covered paths of Koushan Village.

The village had seen a lot of foot traffic recently, and the well-trodden paths were frozen solid, slippery and dangerous. To avoid slipping, Qin Qingman carried Chu Chu on her back and walked carefully through the fresh, untouched snow along the edges, where it was still soft and provided better footing. The snow reached up past her ankles, but at least it was stable.

After about ten minutes of slow, steady walking, the siblings finally reached the gate of Aunt Yun's home.

Before they even had a chance to knock, the sound of a goose's pitiful honking echoed from the yard.

Qin Qingman's eyes widened in alarm, and she immediately realized what was happening. Without a second thought, she pushed the gate open and ran inside, shouting as she went, "Aunt Yun! Stop! Don't kill the goose!"

At the entrance to the kitchen, the gleaming blade of a kitchen knife was just about to come down on the goose's neck. The blade shone brightly in the sunlight as it hovered, ready to strike.