Farming with kids: My deceased husband returns and I spoil him rotten.

Everyone knows Shang Qing's character. Since she could say such things in front of so many people, it means that she is credible.

As for Shang Qing, she entrusted the matter to the villagers without hesitation. Since they wouldn't be able to find the culprit anytime soon, it was better to let others do it and save time.

Zhang Cuilan, on the other hand, naturally harbored resentment.

That afternoon, she secretly followed Shang Qing up the mountain.

At this time of year, the village is usually sparsely populated, with most people resting at home to conserve their energy for farming in the afternoon. Zhang Cuilan seized this opportunity and followed them up the mountain.

No sooner had Shang Qing replanted the sapling than Zhang Cuilan walked over.

Seeing that no one was around, she glared fiercely at the saplings and cursed, "Shang Qing, I'll teach you to be so smug! So what if you made a little money? What's so great about that!"

"If it weren't for you, Shang Qing, would I be ridiculed by the whole village? If it weren't for you, would I be... Anyway, I really hate you! So please don't blame me, you brought this all on yourself!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Cuilan stomped on the sapling at the very edge without hesitation, laughing excitedly as she did so: "I'll make you plant trees! I'll make you plant trees! I'll stomp on every single one you plant! I don't believe I can't stomp them all down!"

But she had only stepped on two trees when she noticed the movement behind her.

Turning his head, he saw that it was Liu Datou.

Liu Datou lived not far from her home and was known in the village for his great strength.

Feeling guilty at being discovered, Zhang Cuilan immediately withdrew her foot, shamelessly pretending nothing had happened: "What's wrong, Liu Datou? What are you doing up the mountain? Are you here to steal something too?"

At this moment, the other two also rushed over upon hearing the news. They witnessed the situation firsthand and became even more certain that Zhang Cuilan was the murderer Shang Qing was looking for.

If only Liu Datou were present, Zhang Cuilan could have defended him with her silver tongue, but the current situation seems less than optimistic.

"Zhang Cuilan, I knew it was you!"

"You've gone too far! Shang Qing even saved your life before!"

"Yes, it's absolutely outrageous!"

Zhang Cuilan was speechless for a moment, but she quickly retorted, "How do you know it was me? The sapling was already trampled when I came here!"

After Zhang Cuilan finished speaking, she stepped aside, and the other two immediately stepped forward and restrained her.

Zhang Cuilan naturally denied it repeatedly: "What are you doing? I've already said I didn't do it! Let me tell you, if you dare to do anything to me, I'll definitely go to the village chief and complain about you!"

Liu Datou was young and quick-witted. His gaze swept over her and then settled on her shoes.

"Zhang Cuilan, don't you even look at your own shoes? They're covered in mud and wet. That's because you stepped in them. Do you think everyone else is as stupid as you?"

Zhang Cuilan then realized what was happening and was about to throw her shoes off when Liu Datou had her restrained.

"Don't let her succeed!"

Seeing that no matter how hard she tried, it was all in vain, Zhang Cuilan could only resort to verbal sparring with them.

"Do you really think Shang Qing will give you money? Don't be fooled by the fact that she seems to have made a lot of money; she's still very stingy. Jiang Yingyue is her family member, but she was sent to the county government office just for stealing pork..."

"Even if Shang Qing is just trying to thank you, she might only be giving you some things as payment. I know very well what kind of person she is. It would be really foolish of you to believe her."

Zhang Cuilan's words made the other two men waver, but Liu Datou, knowing her character, naturally wouldn't believe her. He immediately said to the other two, "Even the village chief believes Shang Qing, so why shouldn't we? If Shang Qing really doesn't give us the money, then we'll go find the village chief. What are you afraid of?"

Perhaps finding Liu Datou's words reasonable, the two men didn't say anything more and took Zhang Cuilan directly to Shang Qing's house.

At that time, Shang Qing was in the courtyard, and coincidentally, the village chief was also there, and the two were chatting.

Liu Datou quickly stepped forward and recounted everything that had just happened.

The fact that the murderer was Zhang Cuilan was entirely within Shang Qing's expectations, so she didn't show much surprise on her face.

Upon seeing Zhang Cuilan, the village chief immediately launched into a tirade: "Zhang Cuilan, Zhang Cuilan, don't you even know what you're doing? If it weren't for Shang Qing, would you still be alive today? How could you do something so despicable?"

With all the evidence laid out before her, and the village chief present, Zhang Cuilan knew she was powerless to defend herself, so she could only remain silent, though her gaze was still fixed on Shang Qing with a sinister intensity.

As for Shang Qing, he ignored her and instead took out twenty coins from his purse and handed them to Liu Datou, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."

Liu Datou was very pleased to see Shang Qing's straightforwardness: "In the future, if you have any more good jobs like this, just call us, and we'll definitely handle them for you perfectly!"

Zhang Cuilan remained incorrigible, so the village chief naturally summoned all the villagers to give an official report on the incident. Now, everyone knew about Zhang Cuilan's shameful deeds.

While everyone was disgusted by her, the village chief said sternly, "Everyone sees Shang Qing getting richer and richer, but who knows how hard she worked to get here? It's fine to envy others, but you have to earn money through legitimate means, instead of destroying what you can't have!"

"I'm making this clear today: if anyone dares to go up the mountain or cause trouble without Shang Qing's permission again, I will expel them from the village and they will never be allowed to come back!"

Zhang Cuilan was stunned by the last sentence, and her legs went weak with fright.

So she disregarded everything else and immediately begged the village chief for mercy: "Village chief, I was out of my mind this time. Please don't kick me out of the village! If you do, how will my daughter and I survive?"

Zhang Cuilan lost her husband at a young age, which was indeed pitiful, but the village chief still consulted Shang Qing's opinion.

Shang Qing knew that she was unlikely to cause any more trouble, so she nodded and said, "I'll let it go this time, but I definitely won't let it go next time."

She could control her own destiny with a single, casual remark, which made Zhang Cuilan hate her to the core, but she had no choice but to submit.