“No need, cousin,” Lin Wanqiu sighed deliberately. “Grandma Shen is too old, and I don’t want to argue with her. Besides, I can support Nian’an now, so it doesn’t matter whether I have that dowry or not.”

This seemingly weak statement was actually an implication that she could earn money now and didn't need to rely on her dowry. Lin Moli took the bait and immediately pressed, "Sister Wanqiu, how are you supporting Nian'an now? I heard from the villagers that you've been going to the back mountain a lot lately. Is there something good there that you can sell for money?"

Lin Wanqiu's heart skipped a beat—Lin Moli really was after the land on the back mountain. Knowing she couldn't tell the truth, she deliberately acted mysterious: "It's nothing, I just grow some vegetables on the back mountain and occasionally sell them at the town market to earn some pocket money."

"Growing leafy greens?" Lin Moli's eyes lit up. "What kind of leafy greens? Leafy greens are hard to grow this season. Do you have any good methods? Also, how many did you grow? How much can you sell them for?"

She bombarded her with questions, afraid of missing a single detail. Lin Wanqiu deliberately kept her in suspense: "It's just ordinary bok choy, nothing special. I only planted a small plot, it doesn't make much money, just enough for Nian'an and me to eat."

“Even a small plot of land can make money!” Lin Moli persisted, moving even closer. “Sister Wanqiu, can you take me to the back mountain? I also want to plant some vegetables to nourish my mother’s body. Don’t worry, I won’t compete with you for business; I just want to learn some techniques from you.”

Lin Wanqiu sneered inwardly—this Lin Moli not only wanted to find out how many vegetables she had planted, but also wanted to steal her techniques. She was truly insatiable! She deliberately put on a troubled expression: "Cousin, it's not a good idea. The land on the back mountain was applied for by the brigade. If I take you there and the brigade leader finds out, he'll say I'm breaking the rules."

"Oh, no one will know!" Lin Moli grabbed her arm and shook it, pleading, "We'll go secretly, and come right back. I promise we won't tell anyone. Sister Wanqiu, please take me! I'll definitely repay you in the future!"

Lin Wanqiu felt disgusted looking at her coquettish manner, but deliberately pretended to be persuaded: "Well... okay, but we have to wait until night to go. There are too many people and too many eyes during the day, and it's easy to be seen."

"Okay! Okay!" Lin Moli immediately agreed, her face beaming with joy. "It's settled then. I'll come find you tonight, and we'll go to the back mountain together!"

Fearing Lin Wanqiu might change her mind, she said a few more words of concern before picking up her cloth bag and leaving, satisfied. Watching her retreating figure, the smile on Lin Wanqiu's face vanished instantly, replaced by coldness in her eyes—Lin Moli wanted to steal her vegetable garden on the back hill and even try to learn her techniques? Perfect, she could set a trap and make Lin Moli lose more than she gained!

She walked to the wooden crate, opened it, and took out a packet of "special seeds" from her spatial storage. These were seeds she had found in her spatial seed bank; they looked like leafy greens but had a strange taste. Animals wouldn't eat them, and humans who ate them would get diarrhea, but it wouldn't be life-threatening. She had originally intended to grow them for fun, but now they came in handy.

She carefully wrapped the "special seeds" and hid them under the kang mat. She also took out a few bars of soap and several packets of ordinary seeds and put them in a wooden box. She deliberately left these for Lin Moli to see, so that she would think that this was all she had and lower her guard.

After doing all this, she walked to the window, pushed it open a crack, and looked outside—a dark figure flashed past the courtyard wall; it was Shen Tingzhou. She knew that Shen Tingzhou had been secretly observing her, and he must have heard everything Lin Moli said. She felt conflicted, hoping that Shen Tingzhou could help her, yet also fearing that he would discover the secret of the space.

But then she thought again and realized it wasn't a big deal—Shen Tingzhou was her husband and Nian'an's father. Even if he discovered the secret of the space, he wouldn't harm her and her daughter. Moreover, with Shen Tingzhou protecting her in secret, she would have more confidence in setting up a scheme against Lin Moli.

She closed the window, walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), looked at the sleeping Nian'an, and gently stroked his head. Nian'an was sleeping soundly, his little face rosy, and he looked much plumper than before. Lin Wanqiu felt a surge of warmth in her heart—for Nian'an, for Shen Tingzhou, for this little family, she had to drive away bad people like Lin Moli so that she and her son could live a peaceful life.

Evening arrived quickly. Lin Moli arrived as promised, having specially changed into dark clothes, looking rather furtive. As soon as she entered, she urged Lin Wanqiu, "Sister Wanqiu, let's hurry up, lest someone comes."

Lin Wanqiu pretended to be nervous, picked up a bamboo basket containing the packet of "special seeds" and a small shovel: "Let's go, we have to be careful not to be seen."

The two quietly made their way to the back of the mountain. Along the way, Lin Moli kept asking all sorts of questions, such as where the vegetables were planted, how long it would take to mature, and how much they cost per pound. Lin Wanqiu gave perfunctory answers, but in his heart, he was plotting how to trick Lin Moli into falling for his trap.

Soon, they arrived at the vegetable garden on the back hill. Under the moonlight, the lush green vegetables looked incredibly appealing, making one's mouth water. Lin Moli immediately ran over, squatted down by the vegetable garden, and reached out to pluck some vegetables: "Sister Wanqiu, these vegetables are growing so well, even better than those in the commune's experimental field!"

Lin Wanqiu quickly stopped her: "Don't pull them! These vegetables aren't ripe yet. If you pull them, you won't be able to sell them."

Lin Moli had no choice but to withdraw her hand, but her eyes remained fixed on the vegetables, and she kept praising them: "This is wonderful! Sister Wanqiu, please teach me how you grow such good vegetables? What kind of fertilizer and seeds do you use?"

Lin Wanqiu deliberately sighed: "Actually, there's nothing special about it. We just used some special seeds and fertilizers. But these seeds and fertilizers are very hard to get. I had to pull a lot of strings to get a little bit."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!