The man looked at Lin Wenqing with interest. "Is this your wife? She looks quite timid."

"Um."

Lin Wenqing looked at the top of Ali's head. When did this person develop this habit of hunching over with his head down?

But if you really ask him what she was like before, he only remembers her crying pitifully and saying to him, "Please, let him go, and let me and the child go too. After you married me, you left me alone at home and didn't take good care of me. I really can't stand it. I haven't done anything wrong, but people still point fingers at me. Even eating some meat soup makes people gossip. But when I'm with him, all those people shut up."

Just then, Old Man Lin saw Lin Wenqing suddenly heading towards Ali, so he followed.

When he discovered the man inside Ah Li's room, he slapped Lin Wenqing on the back of the head, saying, "You come back and immediately tell your wife you want a divorce, and you even put an outsider in your wife's room. You've really made something of yourself!"

The person standing inside the room said somewhat embarrassedly, "Sorry, I just came in to change my dressing, I didn't mean anything by it."

Ali put the needle and thread she was holding on the windowsill and said to Old Man Lin, "Dad, we have guests. I'll go cook first."

Regardless of whether they divorce in the future, they should still be treated with proper hospitality.

"Okay, I'll come and help you later."

Old Man Lin watched as Ali went into the kitchen. He glared at Lin Wenqing and said, "Go to the yard and collect my clothes. Also, tidy up the two rooms next door. I won't be going up the mountain for the next couple of days."

"Are those your clothes?"

Lin Wenqing looked at the clothes drying in the yard. Those clothes belonged to his father, not some other man.

"These aren't my clothes, whose clothes are they! Lin Wenqing, have you been listening to some gossip and started to suspect your wife!"

"No."

Lin Wenqing glanced towards the kitchen. Things were different now. Her father rarely came down from the mountain back then, and her relationship with him was just so-so, let alone buying clothes for him.

Did he misunderstand?

Ah Li overheard something in the kitchen, but she ignored it.

Lin Wenqing is a reborn person; he has experienced those things firsthand. Now, he is suffering in silence, unable to express his bitterness.

But it was the original owner of this body who did those things, not her!

Ahri cut the meat in her hand, feeling somewhat annoyed. The original owner of this body had already run away by now. She was the original owner now, but she would not follow the path the original owner had taken.

If Lin Wenqing still wants a divorce in the end, then she will go to town and ask Tong Meng for a job as an embroiderer.

As Ahri cooked, she thought about the future, and then put all the chopped meat into the pot to stir-fry.

Old Man Lin came in at this moment. He saw that Ali had cooked the only piece of meat in the kitchen, and he felt a little sorry for him. "Those two are grown men. Just make some cornbread and cook some wild vegetable porridge. Meat is very expensive. Keep it for yourself."

"Dad, it's alright, it's cooked. We'll eat together later."

Ah Li smiled at Old Man Lin; this man was really good to her.

Or... Ahri looked at Old Man Lin, and a strange idea popped into her head.

Ahri shuddered instantly. Such a terrifying thought! No! Absolutely not!

This is in the village; gossip can be deadly and could harm Old Man Lin.

Old Man Lin coughed lightly. This man's smile was incredibly handsome. His son was such a clueless fool. In all the surrounding villages, which wife was as beautiful as his?

Old Man Lin also knew why Ah Li always liked to keep her head down and hunch her chest. It was because she was good-looking and had a good figure. There were many gossips in the village, and people would often criticize Ah Li.

He also encountered quite a few teenagers trying to pry open the gate. He secretly kept watch outside for a few nights, mostly with unmarried men from the village loitering around.

At night, the eldest son's wife also collected a lot of sharp fragments of tiles and bricks and scattered them at the door and in the yard, saying that this would keep people away.

However, in Old Man Lin's eyes, those things were no match for people. It was only after he found the village chief and got him to step in.

At that time, many people in the village were conscripted into the army. The village chief remembered those who hid and sent their brothers instead.

He's a sure thing. Old Man Lin said that if anyone dares to climb over the wall, his machete is no joke.

After the meal was ready, Lin Wenqing, still covered in dust, carried water to the house to clean the large wooden bed.

Old Man Lin took out a bowl and chopsticks and said to Ali, "Don't help him, let him clean up by himself."

The man who was originally in Ah Li's house wanted to help with something, but Lin Wenqing stopped him.

Old Man Lin treated him very politely, telling him to sit down at the table and eat first, while he went to call Lin Wenqing.

When the four of them sat down at the table to eat, Lin Wenqing sat opposite Ali.

For some reason, they all waited for Ahri to pick up some food before they started eating.

Ahri ate her food in small bites, looking as if she were testing poison for them.

Thinking of this, Ahri's eyes lit up with a smile.

Lin Wenqing noticed this, and his eyes flickered slightly. Was he so happy just from having a meal? Was it because he was back? Thinking of this, Lin Wenqing's mood improved considerably.

Meanwhile, the person sitting to Lin Wenqing's left had a look of amazement in their eyes. This Lin Wenqing's wife was quite good-looking. "Wenqing, your wife's cooking is pretty good."

Old Man Lin looked at Ali and said, "Eldest daughter-in-law, eat more meat. You've gotten so thin. Also, you can have Wenqing cook for you this young man. His cooking skills are pretty good."

Ahri glanced at the man, picked up a piece of meat for herself, and found it delicious.

The man withdrew his gaze from Ah Li. He had been abrupt and rude; he shouldn't have stared so intently at Lin Wenqing's wife.

After dinner, Old Man Lin told Ali to rest, and he asked Lin Wenqing to wash the dishes and prepare dinner.

Ah Li didn't stand on ceremony with anyone and went back to her room for a short nap.

When she woke up, she took out her embroidery thread and prepared to embroider some different patterns.

Lin Wenqing was hanging the washed clothes on a bamboo pole when he turned around and saw Ali holding a bamboo hoop, embroidering something.

Ah Li noticed Lin Wenqing's gaze, looked up at him, and then looked down again.

Lin Wenqing walked towards Ali. He knew some things from his father, Lin, that she would embroider some items, such as handkerchiefs and purses, to make a living, and then take them to the embroidery workshop in town to exchange for some money to get by.

Old Man Lin also said, "She's been married into our family for so long, and I've never seen her have any ambiguous relationships with anyone. Her family members don't visit her often either."

Her family was practically deserted; her mother had passed away, and her father had remarried. Later, her father also died, and her stepmother brought a man back, saying he would be her support from now on.

Later, I don't know what happened, but my stepmother got so anxious and wanted to marry him off. She even said that keeping him at home was turning him into an enemy.

Lin Wenqing had heard some stories about this grudge. It was said that the man his stepmother brought with her not only took a fancy to the old man but also wanted to take advantage of the younger one.