Lin Moli only dared to stop and catch her breath when she reached the small river outside the village. Leaning against a willow tree by the river, her chest heaving, cold sweat trickling down her spine. It had been so close! She almost got caught! She looked down at her hands, still covered in mud and tomato seedling sap, feeling a mixture of fear and pride—fear at almost being discovered, and pride that she had already destroyed many tomato seedlings. In a couple of days, those seedlings would wither, and Lin Wanqiu would be in a real bind.

She crouched down, washing her hands with the river water. Looking at her distorted reflection on the surface, a malicious smile curled at the corner of her lips: "Lin Wanqiu, this is just the beginning. You ruined my life, and I'll make sure you have nothing left!" She thought of Shen Tingzhou, and a surge of resentment rose within her—wouldn't it be better if she could make Shen Tingzhou misunderstand Lin Wanqiu, thinking it was her fault for not taking good care of the tomato seedlings? Perhaps Shen Tingzhou would even despise Lin Wanqiu because of this, and then she could take advantage of the situation and legitimately replace Lin Wanqiu.

Thinking of this, Lin Moli's eyes lit up. She dried her hands, stood up, and walked towards her distant relative's house. Encountering patrolling militiamen on the way, she deliberately feigned panic, saying she had gone out to get water that evening and accidentally saw someone acting suspiciously towards Lin Wanqiu's house. The militiamen asked if she had seen who it was. She shook her head, saying she hadn't, only that it was a woman in a floral blouse, about the same height as Lin Wanqiu. She knew that this way, even if Lin Wanqiu discovered the tomato seedlings had been damaged, she would suspect someone else, while she could remain uninvolved.

It was late at night when she returned to her relatives' house. Everyone was fast asleep, except for a small light still on in the kitchen. Lin Moli tiptoed into the kitchen, scooped a ladle of cold water from the water tank, and gulped it down, trying to suppress her panic. But as soon as she closed her eyes, she would think of the tomato seedlings in the greenhouse with their stems cut open, and the expression Lin Wanqiu might have when she discovered the truth, and she couldn't help but want to laugh.

Unbeknownst to her, shortly after she left, in Lin Wanqiu's greenhouse, Shen Tingzhou was inspecting the tomato seedlings that had been knocked down with a flashlight. Lin Wanqiu stood to the side, her brows furrowed, her fingertips lightly brushing the cut stems, her eyes as cold as ice: "It seems someone deliberately sabotaged this, and they are very familiar with our situation, knowing there's a loose fence here."

Shen Tingzhou turned off his flashlight, his face grim. "I'll reinforce the fence tomorrow and set up a few traps around the greenhouse. If anyone dares to cause trouble again, they'll never leave alive!" Lin Wanqiu shook her head, a knowing glint in her eyes. "No need to rush. Let's see how things go first. I bet this person will slip up soon, then we'll catch them all in one fell swoop." She already had a suspect in mind—lately, only Lin Moli had been coming to her house under various pretexts, constantly inquiring about the tomato planting, and the way she looked at her always carried a strange hostility.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Lin Moli eagerly got up, using the excuse of going to the river to wash clothes. She circled around to Lin Wanqiu's yard to check if the tomato seedlings had withered. To her disappointment, the tomato seedlings in the greenhouse still looked vibrant, showing no signs of wilting as she had expected. Had she not applied enough quicklime? Or had the cut with the sickle been too shallow? She wondered to herself, but dared not approach any further, and could only leave dejectedly.

For the next two days, Lin Moli would walk around Lin Wanqiu's neighborhood to observe the plants, but each time she only saw thriving tomato seedlings, which made her both anxious and angry. Unbeknownst to her, Lin Wanqiu discovered the damaged seedlings that very evening and took out a specially made nutrient solution from her spatial storage. This not only repaired the cut stems but also neutralized the alkalinity of the quicklime, allowing the seedlings to grow even stronger than before. Furthermore, Lin Wanqiu had also installed several simple alarms around the greenhouse, which would sound if anyone approached.

That afternoon, Lin Moli couldn't hold back any longer. She heard that Station Chief Wang from the commune was coming to see the tomato seedlings. If Station Chief Wang saw that the seedlings were growing well, all her previous efforts would be in vain. She decided to take another risk. This time, she would bring more quicklime and dig up all the roots of the tomato seedlings, leaving Lin Wanqiu with absolutely no chance of turning things around.

As evening fell, taking advantage of her relatives' inattention, Lin Moli secretly stuffed a large bag of quicklime and a small shovel into her pocket and returned to Lin Wanqiu's courtyard wall. It was already dark, and most of the villagers were at home eating; the area outside the wall was quiet, save for the rustling of leaves in the wind. Following her previous method, Lin Moli pulled out the wooden wedge and crawled into the yard.

But just as she reached the greenhouse entrance, she suddenly heard a ringing sound—Lin Wanqiu's alarm had been triggered. Lin Moli was terrified and turned to run, but after only two steps, Shen Tingzhou, who rushed out of the house, grabbed her arm. "Who are you? Why are you barging into my house?" Shen Tingzhou's voice was icy, his eyes filled with intense hostility.

Lin Moli trembled with fear, struggling to break free: "I...I didn't...I was just passing by..." Just then, Lin Wanqiu also came out of the house, holding a flashlight, which illuminated the quicklime and small shovel in Lin Moli's hand: "Passing by? Would you bring these things if you were just passing by? Are you trying to destroy my tomato seedlings again?"

With the evidence irrefutable, Lin Moli could no longer deny it. Looking into Lin Wanqiu's cold eyes, and then at Shen Tingzhou's furious expression, she knew she was completely finished. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, muttering, "I didn't mean to... I was just jealous of you... I just wanted to make your life miserable..."

Lin Wanqiu looked at Lin Moli, who was collapsed on the ground, her eyes devoid of any pity. She had long known that Lin Moli harbored ill intentions, but she hadn't expected her to be so vicious as to try to destroy her hard work. "If you're jealous of me, you can earn money through your own efforts and strive for the life you want, instead of resorting to such despicable means to destroy the fruits of someone else's labor." Lin Wanqiu's voice was calm yet powerful. "You're coming with us to the brigade headquarters right now, and let the brigade secretary judge how you should be punished for your behavior!"

Shen Tingzhou released Lin Moli's arm but stood in front of her to prevent her from escaping. Lin Moli knew she couldn't escape, and could only watch helplessly as Lin Wanqiu and Shen Tingzhou led her towards the brigade headquarters. In the darkness, her figure looked particularly disheveled, and she knew in her heart that this time she would not only lose her foothold in the village but might also face punishment from the commune—she had been jealous of everything Lin Wanqiu possessed, but in the end, she had destroyed everything herself.