Refusing to marry a widower, I went on a crazy spree of sending my children to the army.

"Ah, yes, reporter, are you here to interview Xiao Lu, the educated youth? Oh dear, what a pity, Xiao Lu is on leave these past two days!"

Qiao Manman breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Wang Defa say that. She thought to herself that it was fortunate Lu Yuan wasn't there, otherwise she would have had to find a way to smooth things over.

Dong Qiuchan felt a little regretful, as she could only imagine what the educated youth was like from Wang Defa's few words.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, what Wang Defa said was very different from Lu Yuan in the book. She felt that the captain was talking about Wang Xiaoshun.

Well, maybe she's just overthinking it.

As evening approached, Wang Defa invited the group back to his house for dinner. Dong Qiuchan declined, saying she needed to finish her manuscript that night.

Wang Defa had no choice but to awkwardly ask the reporter to say a few nice words for him.

Dong Qiuchan said with a smile, "I have a very good impression of this place. I will have to trouble the brigade leader to help take care of my distant cousin in the future!"

Wang De paused for a moment, then smiled: "Don't worry, Reporter Dong, I will take good care of Manman's family!"

Dong Qiuchan hummed in agreement and pulled Qiao Manman to an open space.

With a serious expression, he asked, "Didn't you say anything to me?"

Qiao Manman chuckled, "I knew I couldn't hide it from you! Cousin, will you be mad at me?"

Dong Qiuchan sighed and flicked her nose: "She's already calling me cousin, what can I say? It's good to be a little shrewd, so your grandma won't rip you off."

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. I'd like to publish your article in our newspaper. What do you think?"

Qiao Manman smiled and said, "Of course! But will the Industry Daily agree? Aren't there any copyright issues involved?"

"Let our leader handle this; it shouldn't be a problem. In the future, if you have any good work, you can submit it directly to the provincial newspaper. Don't worry, you'll definitely get your share of the payment!"

Qiao Manman smiled and agreed, taking out a letter severing ties from her pocket: "Could you please help me publish it, cousin?"

Dong Qiuchan smiled and accepted, "Absolutely."

He took out a piece of paper and wrote down two addresses: "This is the newspaper's address. Submit your manuscripts directly, and I'll help you get a higher price."

This is my home address. If you need any help, please feel free to write to me. I will do my best to assist you.

Qiao Manman reached out and hugged Dong Qiuchan: "Sister Dong, thank you!"

Dong Qiuchan raised her hand and patted her head, her words filled with affection: "It's good that you know!"

The two chatted for a while longer before Dong Qiuchan had to leave.

Qiao Manman watched her get into the truck, waving goodbye in the sunset: "Cousin, be careful on the road!"

Dong Qiuchan smiled and stretched her hand out the window to say goodbye.

Zhou Guoping asked, "Does Reporter Dong really like Manman?"

Dong Qiuchan retorted, "Who wouldn't like such a vibrant girl!"

Zhou Guoping laughed heartily: "Yes, she feels like a little sun!"

The car drove away, leaving behind a trail of exhaust fumes.

Once Qiao Manman and the others could no longer see the truck, they followed Wang Defa back.

On the way, Wang Defa hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped. Qiao Manman smiled and asked, "Uncle Captain, what do you want to ask?"

"Hey Manman, how did you manage to get the reporter to come to Qingshan Brigade?"

Qiao Manman didn't hide anything: "Reporter Dong came to interview Captain Zhou. I think the atmosphere in our Qingshan Brigade is great, so I invited them to come and take a look!"

Wang Defa softened his tone: "Uncle knows you mean well, but next time there's an interview or something, please have someone inform the team in advance!"

Qiao Manman nodded, indicating that she understood. She thought to herself that she hadn't invited Dong Qiuchan over just to take a few photos of the fields.

So the topic changed: "Uncle Captain, did Manager Sun lose money?"

The moment this was mentioned, Wang Defa's face turned ashen, his smile vanishing completely.

After a long silence, he sighed and said, "Manman, it's all my fault. That grandson originally said he would compensate for half of the hospital fees, but then he thought the surgery was too expensive and went back on his word. He said it was all because your father violated regulations that you got hurt by the stone."

"Manman, it's because your uncle is incompetent."

Qiao Manman's face was gloomy. She took a deep breath and said, "It's okay. I'll go to the quarry myself tomorrow to discuss compensation."

Wang Defa looked ashamed and said many things about how difficult things had been for him.

Qiao Manman could understand, but she felt very upset.

I thought to myself that she had a system, which was why she hadn't reached a dead end. But most of the workers in the quarry were ordinary people. How desperate must they be when they needed money to save their lives and were harassed and cheated?

If Sun Jianhong could make things difficult for Qiao Manman, he could make things difficult for others as well. He was so adept at shirking responsibility; she couldn't believe Qiao Runming was the only victim.

Thinking of this, Qiao Manman inquired with Wang Defa about Sun Jianhong's background and the victims who had suffered injustice.

Wang Defa didn't understand why Qiao Manman was asking these questions, but he still told her everything.

Qiao Manman was afraid she wouldn't remember, so she asked the system to record the audio for her.

When they reached the foot of Daqingshan Mountain and were about to part ways, Wang Defa stopped Qiao Manman: "Manman, Sun Jianhong has a bad reputation. If you need money, I can lend you some, but you'd better not go to the quarry to find him."

Qiao Manman smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Wang Defa was unsure of her intentions, but the sun had already set, and staying any longer would be bad for the girl's reputation, so he left the newly built Qiao family courtyard, looking back every few steps.

Qiao Manman watched him walk away before turning and entering the courtyard.

The small, 30-square-meter yard was completely bare, without a trace of weeds.

Only one of the two rooms was repaired. Qiao Runming lay on the cracked kang (heated brick bed), while He Nian stood beside him changing the dressings on his legs.

Qiao Manman took out two Black Jade Bone-Mending Plasters from her system space and walked in: "Mom, put these on Dad!"

He Nian asked suspiciously, "What?"

"The miracle drug! I got it from those old men in the cowshed!"

He Nian was shocked: "How dare you? Those people are..."

Qiao Manman didn't take it seriously: "Mom, don't just parrot what others say. Those people who were sent down to the countryside in the cowshed were all big shots in their respective fields. Even if we can't be friends, we shouldn't be enemies. Who knows if they'll ever turn their lives around!"

He Nian thought it made a lot of sense. She immediately picked up the ointment: "This, does it really work?"

"Of course! They're from the capital, after all, and come from a family of doctors!" Qiao Manman didn't know if there were really any medical experts in the old man's cowshed, or if he was just making things up to find a source for the ointment.

Fortunately, He Nian is simple-minded, and Qiao Runming has come to recognize Qiao Manman's abilities over the past two weeks.

Neither of them suspected anything. After asking how to use it, they applied the ointment to the most severely injured area.

Within just five minutes, Qiao Runming felt an itch between his bones, and he wanted to scratch it. Moreover, this itch became increasingly intense.

Qiao Manman and He Nian each grabbed his arm and leg respectively, preventing him from moving around.

Qiao Runming's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his lower lip was bitten so deeply that it left deep marks. He occasionally let out muffled groans, which sounded like he was in great pain.