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Originally, Lin Yuan had been looking forward to her grandfather’s visit, hoping that her eldest uncle could take a look at the vegetables in the field.

Now that she had some free time, she went to the vegetable patch with Liu Siliang.

Liu Siliang was a true farmer, having worked the land his entire life.

He had an intuitive grasp of farming and his own set of opinions.

Having him look at the vegetable patch meant that the vegetables would certainly grow exceptionally well.

As soon as Xia Zheng heard the two were going to the vegetable patch, he lifted his robe and followed them.

Remembering the inexplicable smiles of her mother and her aunt, Lin Yuan suddenly felt a strong desire to keep her distance from Xia Zheng, so she had no intention of letting him come along. However, she couldn’t stop her eldest uncle from liking him, and reluctantly she let him be.

"My family’s vegetable patch is covered in mud and manure. Sir, you had better take care of your expensive clothes," she said, throwing the words over her shoulder while she picked up a hoe and headed out the door.

Xia Zheng touched his nose. Did she really see him as a pampered lord who had everything handed to him?

That was so shortsighted! Though he was fond of money and from a good background, he had been to places like a vegetable patch many times.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent several days cooped up at home, working out how to grow pomegranates on his own.

Liu Siliang patted Xia Zheng on the shoulder with a smile and murmured something softly.

Xia Zheng’s dim eyes suddenly lit up. Pursuing a wife was never easy, was it?

At that thought, Xia Zheng quickened his pace, took the hoe from Lin Yuan’s shoulder, and strode ahead, happily humming a little tune.

Lin Yuan was about to chase after him when she caught a glimpse of Lin Dashuan on the main street out of the corner of her eye.

Having not seen him for several days, Lin Dashuan appeared even more wretched. He hunched his back and his shifty eyes darted around. Noticing someone approaching, he quickly ducked into a corner by the wall to hide.

Lin Yuan was already quite disgusted with him, and seeing him like this now made her almost vomit her lunch. It was hard to believe that he and Lin Ershuan were born of the same mother, as they were so extremely different!

"Yuanyuan, what’s wrong?" Liu Siliang noticed the change in Lin Yuan’s complexion and followed her gaze, but by then Lin Dashuan had already hidden and was out of sight.

Lin Yuan scoffed internally and casually said to her uncle, "Just a mangy dog," as she led them towards the vegetable patch.

Lin Dashuan only emerged from the corner after the three had walked far away. His formerly shifty eyes now gleamed with malicious intent: "Little Disaster Star, you just wait! If I don’t get my revenge, you can write my name, Lin Dashuan, backwards!"

Having not been to the vegetable patch for several days, Lin Yuan saw her vegetables had grown quite a bit, but...

"Damn it, those people from over there must have come here to ruin my vegetables again! We’ve cut ties, yet they still covet my vegetables!

Hmph!" Several cabbages had been trampled and rotted in what was once a neat vegetable patch, and many young sprouts were also squashed out of shape.

No wonder Lin Yuan was angry—she had carefully planted each vegetable herself, and seeing them destroyed by the ungrateful wolves from the old residence was infuriating.

Although she didn’t name anyone, both Xia Zheng and Liu Siliang understood what she meant.

Xia Zheng’s lips tightened slightly as he considered whether to toss a few diarrhea-inducing cabbages into their patch that evening.

If his woman was unhappy, he was going to make them miserable every single day!

Liu Siliang, however, said nothing. He walked around the vegetable patch, kicking aside rotten leaves with his foot, and shook his head with a smile, telling Lin Yuan, "You, ah, you’ve wronged your grandmother and them this time."

Lin Yuan didn’t understand and looked at her uncle with wide eyes.

Liu Siliang pointed at one of the vegetables and said, "Look at this. These vegetables have all been rooted up by pigs. If it were humans, they definitely wouldn’t have made such a mess. Moreover, there are quite a few pig tooth marks on the leaves."

Hearing her uncle say this, Lin Yuan leaned closer and took a careful look, and sure enough, it was just as her uncle had described.

She stole a smile and did not feel the least bit guilty for having falsely accused someone earlier.

After all, Lady Yang and the others had stolen vegetables many times before, so what was one more false accusation?

On the side, Xia Zheng stroked his chin, his mouth turning down in regret. He wouldn’t get to see those people getting diarrhea now. What a drag.

However, seeing that pigs had come in to root up the vegetables, Lin Yuan’s plan to repair the fence had to be moved up the schedule.

Liu Siliang also instructed her that the vegetable patch, unlike the fields, was most susceptible to wild boars and dogs who could easily sneak in to steal and eat.

Moreover, autumn had arrived and the weather was getting colder.

Animals couldn’t find food and were more likely to run into vegetable patches to root up the crops.

Lin Yuan naturally understood this, but as a young girl, she simply couldn’t do these things. She thought of asking her uncle for help, but he was about to return home. How could he fix the fence in such a short time?

"After I take your grandparents home, I’ll come early tomorrow morning to help you repair the fence," Liu Siliang promised as he casually plucked a weed while speaking to Lin Yuan.

"That won’t do, Uncle."

Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng both stopped him. Setting aside the fact that Liu Siliang had his own chores at home, just the distance from Liu Family Village to the Lin family’s hollow was enough to wear him out.

But without her uncle, who else could do it? Chief Sun and the others were busy building houses and had no one to spare for this task. By the time their houses were finished and they could come and repair it, her vegetables would have long been ruined.

"Uncle, just teach me how to do it and I’ll handle it," Xia Zheng said, poking the hoe into the ground beside his foot and thumping his chest, taking on the task.

Lin Yuan and Liu Siliang both looked at him in disbelief.

Although Xia Zheng didn’t have the airs of a pampered young master and didn’t mind getting dirty in the vegetable patch, it didn’t mean he was cut out for farmwork.

And repairing the fence required going up the mountain to cut bamboo.

With his small frame, could he even carry the bamboo?

As if he understood their concerns, Xia Zheng rolled up his sleeves, revealing his fair arms: "Don’t underestimate me. I am a man of muscle!"

Seeing those muscles, Liu Siliang couldn’t help it and snickered out loud.

Lin Yuan was full of black lines on her forehead.

No wonder her uncle was laughing. Compared to those accustomed to farmwork, Xia Zheng’s muscles, built from practicing martial arts, were hardly impressive.

What’s more, his martial arts were not very refined, and his muscles were even smaller than those of the average martial artist.

"Those aren’t muscles; those are just chicken bones," she muttered under her breath and then started discussing vegetable farming with her uncle.

Xia Zheng, seeing that he was being ignored by the two, pinched the loose skin on his arm and pouted, "Even though I cannot match Big Brother’s brawn, I do have muscles, too. No good, when I get back, I have to practice martial arts with Big Brother. Even that sassy girl looks down on me."

Meanwhile, in the Capital City, a certain big brother was shirtless, showing off his robust muscles while drilling soldiers. Suddenly feeling an itch in his nose, he rubbed it and hummed silently to himself, "What boring drills! It’s so much more fun to go out and play with Second Brother!"