Xie Ming returned to Xiangyang Village after seeing his parents off on the bus back to the city. Xie's father knew that his son was going to do something big in the countryside, so he didn't stop him.

In fact, no one in the Xie family cares whether Xie Ming should fulfill the marriage agreement anymore. After all, arranged marriages are not allowed in the new society, and no one can stand up for Xie Ming now that he's gone.

Xie's mother muttered a few words, but seeing the expressions on the father and son's faces, she knew that they actually knew what was going on.

When Xie Ming returned to Xiangyang Village, he had become the same dark-skinned, thin young man he used to be. Qian Youdong also returned to the village around the same time.

Last time, Xie Ming splashed water on his face in the county town, making him dizzy and disoriented. In the end, Chen Fu successfully kicked him, causing him to not only fracture his lower ribs but also lose face in the county.

After that, the factory began to show dissatisfaction and ostracize him. This led Qian Youdong to decide to temporarily return to his village. Nothing much had changed in the village; things remained the same as before.

Only the Qian family exuded an eerie atmosphere. The day after Qian Youdong returned home, he threw a huge tantrum and beat Qian Fen's father severely. After that, the Qian family calmed down again.

However, Qian Youdong couldn't resist coming over to test the waters. Xie Ming did as he wanted, telling him that he hadn't won Master Xie's favor, and also mentioning that Master Xie had retired due to illness.

When Qian Youdong found out, he was both excited and disappointed. He was excited because he could easily target Xie Ming in his granddaughter's matter, but disappointed because his family might lose a major ally.

After Qian Youdong found out what he wanted to know, Xie Ming felt his treatment in the Qian family had improved dramatically. Were they preparing to target him? It seemed Qian Fen had already slept with her lover, and the entire Qian family knew.

His idea was soon confirmed when Chen Fu returned from the steel plant in the county three days after he returned to the village.

He brought back two pieces of news. One was that Qian Fen had been caught by the eldest brother of the Qian family after getting involved with a young man from the county. The other was that the village widow had been taken away by the county for "education" a few days ago, and it was said that even the village's women's director had been reprimanded.

Xie Ming sneered. In her previous life, that widow had already been defiled. She went to file a complaint, but unfortunately, she failed and was beaten up instead.

Qian Youdong also felt that this person was out of control, so he used her to frame Xie Ming.

The widow, repeatedly humiliated and feeling guilty for harming an innocent young man, lost all will to live and hanged herself at the Qian family's doorstep in the most foolish way.

But she forgot that Xie Ming also lived in the Qian family's house.

After returning to the village, Xie Ming investigated and found that many villages were abusing their power.

Those who had been oppressed seemed to unleash their true nature, turning their ugliest faces toward the villagers they had lived with day and night.

Many people abuse their limited power to oppress the villagers, and honest farmers can only swallow their pain even if their daughters suffer losses. The more cunning ones simply send their beautiful young children into the hands of these people.

The investigation also revealed that almost no village in this area was clean.

Those people even banded together and covered for each other; that's how the widow from Xiangyang Village was suppressed.

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