Chapter Thirty-Five: Pressing the Advantage-Reencarnei como a irmã malvada da família camponesa: fugindo da fome e virando proprietária de terras!(Ji Lingran)

While the "dearly beloved" couple was lost in their own world, she took out some carefully selected stones and launched a simultaneous two-handed attack with her hidden weapons.

At that moment, Liu Qionghua and Wang Dagui were still locked in a tight embrace.

Without hesitation, Su Jinyu immediately purchased a giant burlap sack from her space, threw it over their heads, pulled out a wooden club, and began a relentless barrage of strikes.

"You two heartless bastards, dare to provoke me? I’ll beat you until you can’t get up!"

"Ouch! It hurts! Stop hitting, quit it! Which son of a bitch is this? Let me out!"

"Which dog-brained fool dares to hit me? Are you looking for death? When I get out, I’ll finish you off!"

Su Jinyu deliberately altered her voice, making it impossible to tell if she was a man or a woman: "Hmph! You two scoundrels deserve a beating!"

Liu Qionghua and her accomplice shrieked in pain, but regardless of their howling, Su Jinyu ignored them, only stopping when they were too weak to scream and she herself was tired from the exertion.

There will be plenty of time in the future; every time you provoke me, I’ll make sure to give you another thrashing!

Having vented her anger, Su Jinyu tossed the club to the ground, flicked her sleeves, and walked away without leaving a trace. She quietly slipped out of the woods and returned along the path to rendezvous with Lady Luo and the other village women.

Liu Qionghua and Wang Dagui lay on the ground for a long time before they had the strength to move. They had been soundly beaten by someone, and the most frustrating part was not knowing who had done it.

...

Su Jinyu arrived with the fish, looking cheerful. Sharp-eyed women immediately noticed the bundle of fish in her hands and were instantly stunned.

"Oh my, girl Jinyu, did you go fishing again? Goodness gracious, am I seeing things? Did you catch five fish all by yourself?"

"It really is fish! And delicious silver carp at that! These fish are so big and plump; they’ll be perfect for braising or soup. You’re truly capable, Jinyu!"

Lady Luo, the village head’s eldest daughter-in-law, agreed, "You all should envy the elders in Jinyu’s family. To have such a clever and capable child—they must be so proud. Even my father-in-law often praises her, saying that when Jinyu grows up, she will surely be the most successful person in our village!"

Lady Luo held Su Jinyu in high regard. She wished she had a daughter as excellent as her—not just because Su Jinyu had saved her son, but because the girl genuinely possessed real talent.

"You are all too kind, aunts. I also caught a bunch of small crucian carp. I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll give one to each of you!" Su Jinyu pulled eight crucian carp from her bamboo basket and handed them out.

She had bought these carp from the system shop for only two mall credits each; gifting them to these women was a small price to pay for building social capital.

The women beamed with joy as they accepted the fish, showering Su Jinyu with flattery all the way back.

Su Jinyu wore a smile on her face, but her heart remained calm. She understood one fundamental truth: as long as you have strength, you will be respected wherever you go.

Upon returning to the camp, Su Jinyu handed the five fish to Chen Shulan.

"Aunt, I remember you mentioned yesterday that you wanted to eat grilled fish. I caught a few by the creek, so you can grill as many as you like!"

Chen Shulan’s face blossomed into a wide smile.

"Jinyu, you are so good to your aunt. You took to heart a passing comment I made. But be careful by the water; I worry about you!"

Su Jinyu nodded obediently. Just as she sat down to rest, she saw Liu Qionghua and Wang Dagui return one after the other.

Both of them looked guilty as they returned to their respective family spots without making a move. However, the fact that they were both bruised and battered drew the attention of the other villagers.

"Oh, Qionghua, what happened to your face? Why is it so swollen?"

"I fell! I was digging for wild vegetables in the woods and tripped over a rock!" Liu Qionghua said, her eyes darting around as she gave a perfunctory excuse.

"Are you lying, Qionghua? It doesn't look like a fall to me. Who falls and gets bruises of identical size on both sides of their face? The swelling is so symmetrical—it looks more like you were beaten!"

One woman had hit the nail on the head.

The others widened their eyes and examined Liu Qionghua closely. "My god, she's right! Look, the bruises on both sides of Qionghua’s face are exactly the same size. It really does look like a monkey’s bottom split in two, haha!"

"Look! Wang Dagui’s face is all black and blue too. It looks just like Qionghua’s. Did you two fall in the exact same spot?"

The village women loved gathering to gossip, their tongues wagging incessantly. Some even cast knowing glances between Liu Qionghua and Wang Dagui, suspecting that something improper was going on.

Seeing that she had been figured out, Liu Qionghua became angry out of shame. "I said I fell, so I fell! If you keep spouting nonsense, I won't let you off!"

The other women chuckled to themselves and fell silent. Liu Qionghua was known for scratching people’s faces with her nails when she got into a fight, and they dared not truly provoke her.

Since they stopped speaking, Liu Qionghua found her anger trapped in her chest, leaving her breathless and agitated.

If it weren't for the fact that she and Wang Dagui had been meeting secretly in the woods—and her fear that the person who beat her might expose them—she would have interrogated the entire village to find that bastard!

Watching the scene unfold from afar, Su Jinyu smiled with satisfaction. She leaned back against a tree, relaxed, and began to whistle a tune.

That morning, Chen Shulan had dug up some mushrooms and asked her eldest son, Li Zhe'an, to chop them into pieces to stew with the chicken.

"Mother, if I chop the mushrooms into such small pieces, won't they just disintegrate when stewing with the meat?"

Chen Shulan’s kind face darkened instantly. "If I tell you to chop them, then chop them! Why so many questions? Are you reluctant to help your mother in the kitchen?"

"No, no, not at all!"

Li Zhe'an shook his head violently. He knew better than to make his mother angry; she was even scarier than his father. If he angered his father, he’d get a beating, but if he angered his mother, he’d get a "joint discipline" from both parents.

Chen Shulan turned to her second son: "And you, Erniu, hurry up and wash the green onions and garlic. I’ll need them for the fish soup later!"

"Daniu, Erniu, let me tell you something: even men must know how to cook. If you marry a wife in the future and she’s tired from cooking, and you don't know how to help, won't you let your wife go hungry? If you can't even take care of your own wife, what kind of responsibility do you have? Don't even talk about being a real, upright man."

"A wife will only love a man who knows how to cook. When I’m cooking, you two better open your eyes and learn well. I’m waiting for the day I get to eat a meal cooked by you."

The rest of the Li family remained silent during Chen Shulan’s lecture.

Seeing his older brother working diligently, Li Chuxiu dared not challenge his mother’s bottom line either.

"We’ll do as Mother says!"

As for Chen Shulan’s strict parenting style—which avoided coddling her sons—her parents-in-law, Wang Qiaohui and Li Yongzhi, fully approved. As for Li Tianhe, he was a henpecked husband and naturally followed his wife’s lead.