Living like a widow? My rough neighbor is coaxing me to have a baby every night.

Chapter 4 Rumors and Gossip

In the courtyard, Qin Rushan was standing a piece of elm wood, as hard as an iron lump, on a stool.

"drink!"

He gave a low shout and brought his axe down.

The axe blow was so powerful that the force of the wind ripped the bark off the wood before the blade even touched it.

Then came a crisp crack, and the elm stump, as thick as a large bowl, split open, the two halves of the wood flying far away and crashing to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Qin Rushan's bare upper body was drenched in sweat, his bronze chest muscles heaving violently with each breath, and the hideous scar glistened in the sunlight, giving him a wild look.

Liu Chunhua stared, her eyes wide, her throat parched. This was a real man!

Compared to the other educated youth in the village who looked like boiled chickens, Qin Rushan was a lion.

"Brother Qin..."

Liu Chunhua, in a high-pitched, sickeningly sweet voice, said, "Why are you chopping firewood on such a hot day? Aren't you afraid of getting heatstroke?"

As she spoke, she swayed her hips as she stepped into the courtyard, her eyes lingering on Qin Rushan's muscular waist and abdomen.

Qin Rushan paused, but didn't turn around. His face, which had been carrying a slight,憨笑 (a kind of simple, honest smile), instantly turned cold.

It was like a sudden gust of white wind blowing in June, freezing you to death.

He slowly straightened up and turned around.

Where was the tenderness that had been in those dark, deep eyes when they looked at Li Xianglian?

At this moment, there was only impatience at being disturbed, and a chilling ferocity.

"Get out."

The three words, hard and unyielding, hit Liu Chunhua's face like a stone.

Liu Chunhua's smile froze. Growing up, she had always acted arrogantly in the village because she had the village secretary as her father. Every man who spoke to her was always polite and friendly.

"Brother Qin, why...why are you so fierce?"

Liu Chunhua bit her lower lip, her eyes instantly reddening with grievance. "I just saw you were working hard and wanted to bring you some water. My dad said we're all from the same village and should look after each other..."

As she spoke, she deliberately puffed out her chest and took two steps toward Qin Rushan, a strong, pungent smell of face cream wafting towards him.

Qin Rushan's brows furrowed so deeply they formed the character "川" (river), and he took a half-step back in disgust, as if avoiding a plague.

"I'm not thirsty."

He casually tossed the axe to the ground with a loud crash, the blade embedding itself deeply into the mud beside Liu Chunhua's feet, less than a finger's width from the tips of her black cloth shoes.

"what!"

Liu Chunhua screamed in fright, jerking backward, her face deathly pale. "You...you..."

"My axe has no eyes."

Qin Rushan casually grabbed a tattered undershirt draped over the woodpile, wiped it haphazardly on his body to cover his enviable muscles, and said in a icy tone, "Next time you barge into my yard without warning, don't blame me for not warning you if you get hurt."

His eyes were sinister, like a vicious wolf guarding its food, but this ruthlessness did not scare Liu Chunhua away; instead, it intensified her desire to conquer him.

This man is something else!

"Brother Qin, I know you're a kind-hearted person. I saw everything last night..."

Liu Chunhua's eyes darted around, and she said pointedly, "You're delivering steamed buns to that widow Li next door. What? Li Xianglian can catch your eye, but I, Liu Chunhua, can't? In terms of looks and family background, in what way am I not better than that unlucky jinx?"

When Li Xianglian was mentioned, Qin Rushan's eyelids twitched.

He suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Liu Chunhua, his gaze like two ice knives piercing straight into her heart.

"What did you see?"

His voice was deep, yet carried a dangerous undertone.

Liu Chunhua, thinking she had caught him red-handed, smugly raised her chin: "Hmph, a lone man and woman, breaking into a house in the middle of the night. Brother Qin, if word gets out, your reputation doesn't matter, it's ruined anyway. But what about Li Xianglian... does she even want to live with herself? If that old hag from the Zhao family finds out, she'll skin her alive!"

She thought these words would put Qin Rushan in his place and make him back down.

To everyone's surprise, Qin Rushan was not afraid at all. Instead, he sneered and approached her step by step.

He crawled out of piles of corpses on the battlefield, and once he unleashed his murderous aura, it was something that a country girl like Liu Chunhua, who had never seen the world, could not withstand.

Qin Rushan walked up to her, looking down at her from above, his massive body casting a shadow that completely enveloped Liu Chunhua.

"Liu Chunhua, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."

He lowered his voice, each word seemingly squeezed out between clenched teeth, "If you dare to gossip about her outside and ruin her reputation, believe me, I'll make sure your father's job as village secretary is over."

Liu Chunhua was so frightened that she trembled all over, her legs shaking uncontrollably. She had never seen such a terrifying look before; it was a look that could kill!

"I...I dare not..."

"roll!"

Qin Rushan roared.

Liu Chunhua burst into tears, covered her face, turned and ran, not even daring to look back to pick up one of her shoes which she had lost.

Only after running a long way and hiding in a cornfield did Liu Chunhua dare to stop and catch her breath.

After the fear subsided, what followed was an overwhelming wave of humiliation and jealousy.

"Li Xianglian! You vixen!"

Liu Chunhua gripped the corn leaves tightly, her eyes filled with venom. "Qin Rushan is protecting you, isn't he? He's threatening me for your sake, isn't he? I'll see if you, you worthless piece of trash, can withstand this bucket of filth!"

Since Qin Rushan wouldn't let her talk about what happened last night, then she wouldn't talk about it.

But what this village has no shortage of is gossip.

With just a little embellishment, she could make it impossible for that bitch Li Xianglian to stay in the Red Star Brigade!

……

The sun was scorching, and the melon fields of the Hongxing Brigade were steaming.

Li Xianglian worked in the fields from early morning until noon, sweat streaming down her face and into her eyes, stinging painfully.

She straightened up, rubbed her aching back, and looked at the round, green watermelons scattered on the ground, but felt a sense of desolation in her heart.

Zhao Gang has started a small family in the city, so he probably won't get much of the harvest from the land.

She packed up her farm tools and walked back, her steps uneven.

As we passed the old well at the entrance of the village, the usually bustling scene suddenly fell silent.

Several gossipy women who were washing clothes had been laughing and joking, but as soon as they saw Xianglian, they immediately huddled together, their eyes turning strange and lewd.

"Look, that's it."

"Tsk tsk, he usually looks so honest and unassuming, but I never expected him to be someone who can't stand being alone."

"That's right, who is Qin Lao Er? A jinx! I heard he's useless in that area, how could she even bring herself to kiss him?"

The voice wasn't loud, but every word felt like a barbed hook, piercing into Xianglian's ears.

Xianglian stopped in her tracks, her face turning deathly pale.

She gripped the hoe handle tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"Oh, Xianglian!" Aunt Zhou from the east end of the village threw her wet clothes into a basin and called out sarcastically, "It rained so hard last night, did your woodshed leak? I heard it was quite noisy."

A burst of laughter immediately erupted around them.

It was laughter tinged with voyeurism, disdain, and a certain secret excitement.

"Aunt Zhou, what do you mean by that?"