At fifty, she remarried into a wealthy family; her ex-husband knelt down and begged for reconciliati

He Gui hesitated before letting go of her car door and began to morally blackmail her:

"He Qiaoyun, don't be so heartless. We're all from the same village. The supermarket has so many stores. Your little bit of fruit isn't even enough to fill their teeth. They'll definitely go to other villages to buy from. It doesn't matter where they buy from. Help me negotiate orders; you're doing a good deed for the village!"

He Qiaoyun didn't care at all. "Let people collect fruit wherever they want. What does it have to do with me? But what you said last time is right. It is indeed a good thing for the village. But I can't compete with you, an elder, for this kind of opportunity to do good deeds, right?"

He Gui was rendered speechless by her retort, "You!"

Seeing him humiliated, He Qiaoyun was in a good mood, got into the car with a flourish, and left.

He Gui looked at the back of her car, cursed angrily, and then turned and went to his own greenhouse.

Aunt Zhao observed He Qiaoyun from inside her greenhouse for a while. Only after seeing He Qiaoyun leave did she come out of the greenhouse and ask He Gui gossipy, "What did you two talk about?"

He Gui said irritably, "What else can we talk about? Supermarket orders, of course."

Aunt Zhao clicked her tongue twice. "I can't even talk to her, and you? Have you forgotten that you tore down her greenhouse?"

Hearing this, He Gui became even more annoyed and said defiantly, "So what if we demolished her greenhouse? I'm being lenient by not hitting her! She has to go and negotiate this order for me; it's something they owe us!"

Aunt Zhao looked disgusted and said sarcastically, "It's all ancient history, everyone in the village knows it. That's someone else's land, and only your family wants to take it for yourselves."

He Gui sneered, "What do you know, you're just a woman? It's only because times have changed that you're not allowed to sit at the table before, let alone meddle in village affairs."

Aunt Zhao's face turned red and then pale from the words, but she didn't know how to refute them. Indignantly, she threw down the words: "He Gui, you deserve to have no fruit!"

He Gui glared at her angrily, his fist clenched as if he wanted to hit her face. "Try talking nonsense again. Don't think I won't hit you. I can hit any woman!"

Hearing this, Aunt Zhao was immediately frightened and unconsciously took two steps back. "You dare?"

The next moment, Aunt Zhao's husband, He Qing, came out of the greenhouse and stammered as he said to He Gui, "Speak properly, don't hit me."

Aunt Zhao felt a pang of disappointment seeing He Qing's pathetic state.

If a normal man sees his wife being bullied, even if he doesn't retaliate, he should at least shout and intimidate the other party to show them his attitude.

He Gui looked at He Qing and said sarcastically, "If you say another word, believe me, I'll beat you up too."

Aunt Zhao tugged at He Qing, "Don't argue with him, go back to work."

*

He Qiaoyun returned to the orchard, transported a truckload of fruit to town, and had lunch at a restaurant there.

Back in the village, she felt sleepy and decided to go home for a nap.

As soon as the car entered the yard, the village secretary was seen standing outside the gate.

She got out of the car and hurriedly greeted, "Secretary, you were looking for me? Please come in and have a glass of water."

The secretary smiled and said, "Let's not go inside. We can chat in the yard."

"it is good."

The two stood under the eaves of the courtyard. He Qiaoyun asked, "Secretary, you called me here because of the grapes, right?"

The secretary nodded. "Yes, it's because of this. They all say that since you've secured orders with supermarkets and shopping malls, and you have connections and channels, could you lend them a hand? It wouldn't be a free favor. We'll write articles for your WeChat official account, okay?"

He Qiaoyun didn't mince words. "Secretary, it's not that I don't want to help, it's that I can't. Besides, they're all tearing down my greenhouses and trying to drive me out of Hejia Village. Would I really be so foolish as to help them with all this trouble and no reward?"

The Party Secretary's lips twitched. "Well, we all live in the same village, so it's inevitable that we'll have some minor conflicts. If you're still unhappy about this, I'll have them apologize to you one by one. Is that alright?"

He Qiaoyun shook her head. "No."

Do these people really think she owns the supermarket?

The secretary sighed and advised again, "Qiaoyun, just consider it helping me out, don't hold it against them."

He Qiaoyun said, "Secretary, live-streaming e-commerce is quite popular now. Why don't you let them try it? They don't necessarily have to rely on this as a sales channel."

The secretary sighed again, "Live-streaming e-commerce is not an easy business. We were all ready last year, but we just didn't succeed. We were swept away by the flood of traffic. But now, we can only continue to do it."

He Qiaoyun watched the secretary leave, then turned and went back into the house.

When I woke up from my afternoon nap, my phone, which was on the bedside table, was ringing incessantly.

Upon picking it up, I saw that there was an argument in the village's WeChat group.

The other grape growers were all cursing He Gui and He Ping, saying very harsh things, accusing them of creating division within the collective and fabricating conflicts for no reason.

He Qiaoyun was still a little sleepy after waking up, so she lay on the bed idly scrolling through group messages. She found that He Ping hadn't said a word, but He Gui didn't seem to mind and kept replying to everyone.

This process is so familiar; it's exactly the same as when they demolished her greenhouse—both involve praising the powerful and flattering the weak.

But she doesn't admit it.

Like those who watch the spectacle, they remain detached and observe from the sidelines.

Just as she was about to put down her phone, a message from Feng Jiashu popped up in the notification bar.

Feng Jiashu: [How's the orchard going?]

He Qiaoyun sat up and replied: [Yes, I'm fine. How about you? How's your wound? Is Tian Tian alright?]

After the message was sent, Feng Jiashu called.

As He Qiaoyun watched the incoming call notification, her heart raced, her palms sweated slightly, and her anxiety escalated instantly.

She lightly touched the answer button, "Hello?"

Feng Jiashu, who was standing on the golf course on the other end of the phone, said calmly and composedly, "I hope my sudden call didn't interfere with your work."

He Qiaoyun quickly replied, "No, I just woke up from my afternoon nap."

"I'm outside and can't look at my phone while walking, so I'm calling you."

He could have just sat down and texted, but he really wanted to hear her voice.

He Qiaoyun drew back the curtains, glanced at the bright sunshine outside, and couldn't help but ask with concern, "It's very hot today. Take care of yourself outside and don't get heatstroke."

“Hmm,” Feng Jiashu turned and walked towards the shade. “I went to get my stitches removed this morning. The doctor said I’m recovering very well and will be able to get wet in a few days. Tian Tian is doing well; she can eat and sleep well and is taking her medicine on time.”

He Qiaoyun: "That's good."

After the conversation ended, it was as if a pause button had been pressed between the two of them, and they didn't know what to say next.

He Qiaoyun wanted to end the conversation, "I'm going to wash up first, and then..."

At this moment, Feng Jiashu also spoke up, "Then you can go ahead and get busy..."

Their words collided, and there was a two-second silence before they both laughed.

He Qiaoyun said, "Then I'll go and get busy now, we'll talk later."

"it is good."