That day, amidst a heavy snowfall, Zhao Xiuyun killed Zhou Weijie and Er Laizi. She ate as much as she could in the house as possible, and dried the rest into rations to take with her. She changed into the best clothes in the house, took everything she could, and with the money she had taken from Zhou Weijie and Er Laizi, she left Jianshan Brigade under the cover of night, trudging through the thick snow.

Originally, she wanted to escape into the depths of Qinglong Mountain, thinking that at least in the deep mountains, there would be wild fruits and vegetables to fill her stomach.

However, looking at the heavy snow and remembering what the villagers had said about leopards and tigers hiding in Qinglong Mountain, she hesitated.

She changed her route and headed towards the county town.

She thought, so what if the people from Jianshan Brigade found out that Zhou Weijie and Erlaizi were dead and reported it to the police?

At least she could have a decent meal in Coin City with the little money she had before she was arrested.

Thinking of the steaming, fragrant braised pork in the state-run restaurant, Zhao Xiuyun silently thought to herself: "Being a well-fed ghost before I die wouldn't be so bad!"

After tidying herself up and organizing her luggage, Zhao Xiuyun headed towards Bicheng.

Upon arriving in the county town, Zhao Xiuyun pretended to be lost while visiting relatives and stayed overnight at the home of a kind old woman.

All night, Zhao Xiuyun kept trying to get information out of the old woman, and when she learned that there was an old widower living alone a few streets away, she became interested.

The next morning, after thanking the old woman, Zhao Xiuyun dressed up and went to the old widower's door. She made an excuse that she had run away because she couldn't stand being beaten by the men in her family, and asked the old widower to take her in.

Zhao Xiuyun chose the old widower because she learned from the old woman that the old widower was not a good person, that he was a drunkard, and that although he was impotent, he liked to have illicit affairs with widows.

Such people are usually useless and arrogant. They think they can save the world after being flattered a little.

So when Zhao Xiuyun looked at the old widower with such pitiful eyes, the old widower shamefully fell in love.

The old widower was called Old Man Wang. He had married a woman when he was young, but she died in childbirth.

Later, because of his heavy drinking and lack of ambition, no woman was willing to live with him.

Only when he occasionally had something in his possession would a widow be willing to pay him any attention.

When the young and pretty Zhao Xiuyun looked at him with the eyes of someone looking at a savior, he shamefully fell in love and agreed to let Zhao Xiuyun stay for a few days.

And so, they ended up sharing a bed.

Zhao Xiuyun was always lusting after that kind of thing; otherwise, she wouldn't have died of a stroke in her past life because of an affair with Zhou Jingyun, who was quite old at the time.

In this lifetime, she has been "exploited" in various ways by Zhou Weijie and Erlaizi, so she has a strong capacity to accept that kind of thing.

With her exceptional skills in bed, Zhao Xiuyun successfully won over Old Man Wang and got him to stay.

She found that life became much easier after lowering her moral standards. She catered to Old Man Wang in every way, coaxing him into handing over his money and tickets.

She knew the importance of money and tickets and never spent a penny recklessly, which made Old Man Wang think she was a good woman who could manage a household well, and he began to think about spending his life with her.

Zhao Xiuyun also felt that this kind of life was pretty good, at least it was much better than when she was with Zhou Weijie and Er Laizi.

But at this time, a man named Wei Ge set his sights on Zhao Xiuyun.

He felt that this woman was capable and, if used well, would definitely be a good weapon.

After talking with Zhao Xiuyun for a while, he pretended to be Zhao Xiuyun's man from the countryside, extorted a sum of money from Old Man Wang, and then led Zhao Xiuyun away.

Using some connections, they helped Zhao Xiuyun change her identity, making her Song Xiuyun, an orphan who lived with her brother.

At this moment, Zhao Xiuyun, disguised as Song Xiuyun, stood in the Zhong family's courtyard. Upon seeing her target, Zhong Qiang, she immediately smiled and greeted him sweetly.

"You must be Brother Zhong?"

My aunt was praising you the whole time, saying you're young and capable, and now that I see it, you really are a prodigy.

Zhao Xiuyun spoke these words with great confidence and without the slightest hesitation.

That sweet smile flew straight into Zhong Qiang's heart.

When Zhong's mother noticed that her son was staring at someone, she quickly said, "Qiangzi, this is Xiuyun. She lives next door with her brother. From now on, you'll be neighbors."

After waiting for Zhong's mother to finish speaking, Zhao Xiuyun took the enamel basin from her hand and said with a face full of gratitude:

"Auntie, your pickled mustard greens smell so good! Using them to make pickled cabbage will definitely make it both sour and crunchy!"

Mother Zhong was very proud of her sauerkraut-making skills, and she was quite pleased with Zhao Xiuyun's flattery.

"how?

Stunned?

After Zhao Xiuyun left, Zhong's mother looked at her dumbfounded son and teased him:

Her youngest son is already 23 and still doesn't have a girlfriend, which has always been a source of worry for her.

It's not that no one wants to marry the youngest son, it's just that the youngest son has high standards; those who are interested in him are not interested in him.

The youngest son has his eye on someone, but his own family isn't good enough for him.

This delay has led to me reaching this age.

As a result, whenever Zhong's mother saw a young girl who was even slightly attractive, she would inquire about her situation.

Just now, I managed to get information out of Zhao Xiuyun:

Years ago, the brother and sister suffered hardships while being sent to the countryside with their parents. Their parents did not survive and passed away in the countryside.

Now that he has been exonerated, Song Wei, the eldest brother of the Song family, has been compensated with a job.

Now, Song Xiuyun has come to Bicheng with Song Wei to report for work.

I heard that Song Wei works as an accountant at the supply and marketing cooperative, a job that sounds quite lucrative.

So what if Song Xiuyun doesn't have a job?

People said her older brother dotes on her and is planning to save up some money to buy her a job.

Now that she has a job, wouldn't she be a better match for her son?

Zhong's mother was very satisfied with Zhao Xiuyun, thinking that she was good-looking, tall, had graduated from high school, and would have a job in the future.

Most importantly, this girl has a sweet tongue, and it's very pleasant to talk to her.

She had no idea that when you feel comfortable talking to a stranger, or even feel like you've known them forever, it's because the other person is deliberately going along with your conversation and trying to please you.

Although she was satisfied with Zhao Xiuyun, Zhong's mother did not intend to bring it up herself.

After all, she knew her youngest son's temper, and mentioning it would only make him rebellious.

"Oh, did that Xiaoliu leave you something nice again?"

Zhong's mother, with her sharp eyes, noticed that her son's bicycle was tied with many nice things, and her eyes crinkled with laughter as she went forward to take them:

"Let me tell you, even though you don't like Xiao Liu's appearance, you shouldn't refuse her. After all, that girl has a lot of good stuff."

After thinking for a moment, Zhong's mother added in a disdainful tone, "However, you should also be careful not to give people a chance to misunderstand you, lest that girl come and make trouble for you when you actually find a partner!"

Zhong Qiang didn't speak, he just nodded and went into the house, his mind filled with Zhao Xiuyun's smiling face...