A peasant girl travels through time with a hospital, rising to become an empress.

Grandma Sun was a little annoyed and squinted her eyes, saying, "A young girl with such a sharp tongue won't have a good reputation."

Grandma Sun was annoyed, but Nie Qianqian wasn't. She smiled and said, "It wasn't easy for my mother and me to live alone. If we weren't sharp-tongued, we would be bullied. Besides, I'm married now, so my reputation doesn't matter."

The people of Qinghe Village were already holding back their anger because of the two brothers' kinship, but now that they saw that Nie Qianqian was reasonable, they could no longer suppress their anger.

“Old lady, your children don’t work properly, and you still think you’re right? This is Qinghe Village, not your Huangjia Village.”

"I've put up with you two brothers for far too long, ugh!"

"Go back to your Huangjia Village."

Seeing the villagers' agitated state, Liu Xiong felt even more embarrassed. How could he have failed to notice that the two brothers were taking advantage of the situation, causing so much resentment among the workers? He had made a complete mess of his task of supervising Nie Qianqian's work. Sigh.

Seeing the attitude of Nie Qianqian and the villagers of Qinghe Village, Old Mrs. Sun knew she wouldn't get away with it today. Looking at Nie Qianqian's smiling face, she wanted nothing more than to slap her. Nie Qianqian was a pushover; she smiled, but her attitude was very firm, which only fueled Old Mrs. Sun's anger.

Grandma Sun grabbed her two sons, rolled her eyes at Huang Zhenzhu, and said to Liu Yan, "You should always leave some room for maneuver in your dealings with people. As a mother, you should teach your children more."

Nie Qianqian was speechless. The old lady was truly sharp-tongued. Knowing she couldn't win an argument with her, she resorted to manipulating her mother.

Sure enough, after Grandma Sun finished speaking, she left, leaving Liu Yan deep in thought.

"Mother, don't listen to her."

Liu Yan raised her head, frowning. "Qianqian, I don't think Aunt Sun is right. Her son is cunning and deceitful, so she should be the one teaching him a lesson. How can she criticize you?"

Nie Qianqian was delighted. Not bad, not bad. Her mother had learned to think for herself and was no longer in a state of passively accepting others' scolding.

“Mother, you’re right. Whoever speaks more forcefully isn’t necessarily right.”

Liu Yan was also amused. Now that she was divorced, she couldn't let anyone bully her anymore, especially not her Qianqian.

Grandma Sun brought her two brothers back to the village. Huang Yijin was unconvinced and complained about Nie Qianqian: "They're all relatives, why are you so fussy? I think Nie Qianqian just got some money and doesn't know her place. I heard she got the money from being someone's mistress in the county."

Grandma Sun scoffed. "It's just building a house. The Huang family also lives in a brick and tile house. Generations of the Huang family have lived in Huangjia Village and have accumulated some wealth. Their house is simply an expansion and renovation based on the work of their fathers."

Although she was surprised that Liu Yan and her son had money to build a house, it wasn't enough to impress her.

Grandma Sun said, "At such a young age, she doesn't live up to her wifely virtues. She only got some money to build a house. She's just a grasshopper in autumn. How long can she hop around? She's still a woman. She's all talk and no action. What can she accomplish? She's offended all her relatives. Who will help them in the future?"

Huang Yijin: "What's most infuriating is that my third sister actually sided with them."

The mention of this made Old Mrs. Sun even angrier. "Hmph, she doesn't have much ability, but her temper has grown a lot. If she had married a capable man like her second sister, she would have been more assertive. But she married a poor wretch who even sides with outsiders. She's really had enough of a good life."

Grandma Sun gritted her teeth, "They need a man to keep those two in check, let's see how arrogant they can be then."

Huang Yiyin asked, "Mother, what do you mean by that?"

Grandma Sun said, "She was so aggressive today that it put our Huang family in an awkward position. We can't just let it go like this. Didn't your second sister mention when she came home last time that she wanted to find a husband for the Wu family in the county? I think Liu Yan is a good match."

Huang Yijin: "Huh? How old are the Wu family members? Still living outside..."

Grandma Sun interrupted Huang Yijin, "So what if she's older? She's got great qualities. If we hadn't been there to play matchmaker, would she have even considered a country woman like Liu Yan?"

Huang Yiyin: "Mother is right, she's still a divorced woman."

Grandma Sun had a shrewd plan. If Liu Yan married into the Wu family, with that kind of man around, Liu Yan and Nie Qianqian would be completely under his control.

After Grandma Sun left, Nie Qianqian comforted the villagers of Qinghe Village, saying, "Uncles and elders, I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable the past few days. If you encounter any injustices in the future, feel free to tell me. Today, I will leave work an hour early so you can go home and rest. Of course, the wages will remain the same."

Everyone was delighted to hear this. They could finish work an hour early without paying the same amount, which meant they had gotten a good deal, and their last bit of anger vanished.

"Qianqian, you're a sensible person. Don't worry, your uncles feel at ease working for you and will make sure your house is built solidly!"

"Brothers, let's get to work! Finish this sooner so the mother and daughter can move in!"

Without further delay, everyone went to work one after another. Huang Zhenzhu took the initiative to approach Nie Qianqian, looking ashamed, "Qianqian, today's trouble is all my fault. I was too soft-hearted. These two brothers kept begging me to let them come to work. Please don't blame your uncle. We were both fooled by those two brats."

Liu Yan has a gentle personality. This wasn't something Liu Xiong and Huang Zhenzhu did intentionally. If it were her, she would have just said a few words and let it go.

But this wasn't Nie Qianqian's usual style. She could easily let things slide, but she'd inevitably harbor resentment. The Huang family was an inseparable part of Liu Xiong and Huang Zhenzhu's family; what if something similar happened again?

She wanted them to know that she had clear principles and bottom lines in her actions, principles that would not be broken simply because they were relatives.

Nie Qianqian: "Uncle, Aunt, I am indeed unhappy about what happened today."

Upon hearing this, Huang Zhenzhu's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly said, "Qianqian, it's my fault, it's all my fault for letting them come."

Nie Qianqian shook her head. "It's not that I'm unhappy that Aunt let Yijin and Yiyin come to work. They are your own brothers, and it's only natural that they would think of their own family when they have a way to make money. I can understand that. But Aunt is not unaware of the two brothers. Since you let them come, you have to take responsibility for supervising them. You should come more often, observe more, and not just ask the workers a few questions and be done with it."

Upon hearing this, Huang Zhenzhu broke out in a cold sweat. She couldn't help but think that Qianqian probably hadn't been comfortable with the two brothers before. Perhaps when the two brothers first started working, Nie Qianqian was already keeping an eye on them, secretly observing how they performed and how she, as their aunt, should behave in the middle.

No wonder Nie Qianqian easily exposed the two brothers' true colors today; she had known all along. Could it be that Da Ma and Xiao Ma were people arranged by Nie Qianqian?

Huang Zhenzhu dared not think any further. She lowered her head and listened to Nie Qianqian speak. Although she was just a little girl, she felt as if she were listening to a patriarch of a merchant family in the county giving a lecture.

"This is the first time my uncle has been fully in charge of building a house. You've been running around handling materials, transportation, and labor, and it's been very hard work for you. I've seen all of this and I'm very grateful. But making sure the workers are doing their jobs is definitely within your responsibilities."

Liu Xiong felt even more guilty and nodded emphatically, "It's my fault for not doing a good job."

Nie Qianqian changed the subject, "No one is perfect. As for this matter, I will deduct 200 coins from the supervisor's money as an explanation to everyone. You still have to keep the rest of the supervisor's money. If you really abandon your responsibilities, I really don't know who I can trust to supervise the work for me."

Good performance should be rewarded, and bad performance should be punished.

Nie Qianqian had seen her uncle and aunt's attitude and behavior just now and was quite satisfied; otherwise, she wouldn't have used this method of punishment.

After Nie Qianqian finished speaking, she counted out 200 coins from her money bag and stuffed the rest of the money back to Liu Xiong.

Liu Xiong declined several times, but eventually accepted the money, and took the job of supervising the construction work even more seriously.

Originally, it was just to help my niece, but now I can't afford to lose face again, and I can't betray my niece's trust.

After today's events, a voice deep inside Liu Xiong still yearns to earn more money so that he can hold his head high in the Huang family.

Huang Zhenzhu reflected on Nie Qianqian's actions that day. First, she promised everyone fairness in the work arrangements, leaving the two brothers with no room for argument through anonymous voting. Then, she seized upon Grandma Sun's sore spot, causing her mother to lose in the tantrum. Finally, she used a combination of a big stick and a red envelope, leaving the couple feeling both guilty and grateful, and they worked with all their might afterward.

This hardly seems like the way an uneducated country girl would handle things...