Seeing the smug expression on Lin Er Lai's face, Tian Jing pretended not to notice the person approaching from behind.
"Then swear an oath, promising you will only love Lin Er Lai your whole life, even if the birthmark on your face disappears, you will still love him, and even if Lin Er Lai is no longer good to you, you will still love him."
"Why?"
"If you swear, I'll help you get the ointment."
Fang Qiu Hong showed a smug smile at the corner of her lips. "What if I don't swear?"
"It doesn't matter, I will definitely help you regain your appearance."
Tian Jing calmly turned to face Li Ai Guo who had already approached. "No need to be sneaky, just sprinkle it directly."
Li Ai Guo was stunned, then revealed a gentle smile. "Jing Jing, you're willing to cooperate with me?"
"Mhm!" Tian Jing nodded. "I'm very willing to cooperate."
"Then, you also like me, right?" Li Ai Guo's eyes were filled with elation.
"Yes, I really like your body, especially when I feel like punching someone."
The elation in Li Ai Guo's eyes vanished, replaced by anger. He raised his hand and sprinkled a handful of powder, then a sinister smile appeared on his face.
The powder, within Tian Jing's surroundings, was blocked by an invisible force and simultaneously absorbed.
Li Ai Guo's sinister smile disappeared, Fang Qiu Hong's smugness disappeared, and Lin Er Lai's smugness disappeared.
Tian Jing's smile trembled, and the powder reflected outwards, all of it being inhaled by the three people who hadn't snapped back to reality.
Only after inhaling it did the three of them snap back to reality, but it was too late.
Tian Jing kindly pulled Li Ai Guo to Fang Qiu Hong's side, making them face each other and interlock their fingers, then kindly helped Lin Er Lai embrace his wife.
"Alright, you all have fun. Zhang Fang Cao should be bringing people over soon, right? Fang Qiu Hong, you've finally become as infamous as Zhang Fang Cao."
"You probably don't care. You two were always very compatible. Don't worry, I will definitely help you get the ointment."
Tian Jing could see that Fang Qiu Hong's jealousy of her appearance had reached a point of obsession, bordering on wanting to destroy it.
She didn't know how Zhang Fang Cao had incited her. Since she was jealous, she would help her.
She was determined to help Fang Qiu Hong get rid of her birthmark. Would a confident and beautiful Fang Qiu Hong still be good friends with Zhang Fang Cao? She was very much looking forward to it.
Tian Jing glanced at a tree not far away and disappeared from the scene in a few flashes.
The three people on the ground had no way to explain their predicament.
Especially Fang Qiu Hong, forced to hold hands with Li Ai Guo face-to-face, she felt nauseous.
Lin Er Lai's eyes flickered with an unreadable light.
Lin Guang De emerged from behind the tree and paced over to his nephew, looking down at him.
Lin Er Lai looked at his second uncle with joy.
His second uncle was here, to help him.
"Er Lai, every man for himself. Since you didn't listen to my advice and insisted on believing Zhang Fang Cao's words, taking what you thought was a shortcut, then I'll go my own way. You won't blame your second uncle, right?"
The joy in Lin Er Lai's eyes faded, filled with pleading.
Lin Guang De shook his head. "Er Lai, the methods of a master. Even if your eyes are blind and you can't see, aren't you enlightened now that you're lying here?"
"Zhang Fang Cao was jealous of Tian Jing and wanted to destroy her, using all sorts of schemes and tactics. But in the face of true strength, they were easily rendered futile. Er Lai, I thank you for this opportunity you've given your second uncle."
Lin Er Lai didn't understand.
Fang Qiu Hong and Li Ai Guo understood.
The hope that had risen in their hearts was extinguished, leaving only coldness.
Meanwhile, after her husband chased into the mountains, Zhang Fang Cao turned and went to the team office.
Regardless of whether her husband succeeded, or whether Lin Er Lai and Fang Qiu Hong had stopped Tian Jing, she had bet everything on this one gamble.
If they stopped her, that would be great.
If they didn't, it didn't matter. With the three of them and herself working together to slander Tian Jing, she didn't believe Tian Jing could escape unscathed.
At the team office, there was lively pig slaughtering. Li Zheng Guo was stopped by his elder uncles to talk, unable to go home, nor could he return home. Not only were his uncles there, but the commune members were also surrounding him, thanking him.
This was because his and Tian Tian's purpose in hunting two wild boars was for one to be credited to their family as work points, to be sold by the team based on work points, and the other to be distributed equally among the families by the team without work points.
Sister-in-law Niu stood in the crowd, surrounded by her close friends.
"Some people should be too ashamed to accept that pig meat that doesn't count as work points, right?"
As Sister-in-law Niu spoke, the sisters beside her understood and immediately chimed in.
"Sister-in-law Niu, your words are like speaking in vain. How could people who do such things have the face to accept it?"
"Exactly, I think they won't just accept it, they'll even complain that brother Zheng Guo and sister Tian Jing are stingy, and that both of them should have been given for free, after all, people's hearts are never satisfied."
"Heh, Sister Ai Lan, that's not right. Others will say this mountain belongs to the collective, so why should brother Zheng Guo and Tian Jing count work points? It should be divided equally among us."
"Oh, now that you say it, it seems to make sense. Why should Li Zheng Guo get work points?"
"Sister Ai Lan, have you sent your wild vegetables and firewood to Brother Zheng Guo's family?"
"Oh dear, I forgot. That girl Li Min isn't supervising, so I actually forgot. What should I do? I don't have the face to accept that portion of meat that doesn't count as work points."
"Sister Ai Lan, let me pinch it. Huh, quite thick-skinned. It's okay, just accept it, eating it is what matters. The rest, like face and conscience, are all fake."
"Hey, you're really pinching hard? I won't let you off. Come here, don't run away, let me see how thick your skin is?"
"Sister Ai Lan, please spare me. No matter how thick my skin is, it can't be thicker than some people's, can it? Especially their maternal family, who can even go and try to get close to brother Zheng Guo."
"Maternal family, what does that have to do with anything? A married daughter is like spilled water, unrelated to them."
"Spilled water can be collected back."
"Nonsense."
"Doesn't Sister Ai Lan know that it was collected back many days ago? By the way, where is that basin of water? Why don't I see it?"
That basin of water...
Zhang Fang Cao listened to the few people's boasting with gritted teeth. She took a deep breath, telling herself to be calm and composed. Soon, she would turn the tables.
"Zheng, uh, Comrade Li Zheng Guo, hurry, hurry! I saw Lin Er Lai and Fang Qiu Hong carrying Tian Jing towards the mountain. Tian Jing's body doesn't seem right, she looks like she can't move. I didn't dare to follow, so I hurried to call you."
The excited atmosphere immediately fell silent with Zhang Fang Cao's words.
All eyes turned to Li Zheng Guo.
Li Zheng Guo looked flustered. Min Min's body had been drugged, what about Tian Tian?
He anxiously squeezed through the crowd, which automatically parted for him.
He ran quickly towards the end of the village, wanting to go home and check first.
The commune members automatically split into two groups. One group stayed to wait for the pig meat, and the other followed behind Li Zheng Guo.
"Tian Tian?"
As soon as he reached the Wang family's doorstep, Li Zheng Guo anxiously called out to his own home.
Leaning against the door and watching the 'passionate kiss' unfolding in the kitchen, Tian Jing smiled and watched the two people who hastily separated. "Li Min, it's even now."
Then, she raised her voice and replied to Li Ai Guo, "Hey, I'm here, what are you doing?"
Tian Jing's voice made Li Zheng Guo overjoyed. He ran into the yard with a few steps. "Where have you been?"
"I went to Sister-in-law Niu's house. Sister-in-law Niu said she was going to watch the pig slaughter, so I came back. What's wrong?"
Tian Jing looked confused, blinking twice. "Where's the pig meat? Why did you come back empty-handed?"