Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Envy

Later, the village head came to inform them that Zhang Wenming had been arrested. He had helped his relatives commit numerous wrongdoings, and now even his relative couldn’t escape execution.

By the time the sentence came down, A Lin and A Qin had already divorced.

This time, it was A Qin who initiated the divorce. A Lin didn’t want to but had no say, because A Tao had been sent away by her family. They refused to let A Tao continue her involvement with A Lin.

With his name mud, dragging it out would get them nowhere. A Tao’s family resented A Lin even more for deceiving their daughter. After sending her away, they cut all ties. After the divorce, A Lin was left without a single woman by his side.

His reputation was completely ruined, and no woman was willing to marry him.

In the end, A Lin ended up a bachelor, gaining nothing.

As for these matters, Lin Nannan couldn’t be bothered with them, because her fields had begun drawing eyes.

At first, people merely thought the crops Lin Nannan planted grew exceptionally well and didn’t pay it much mind, assuming the seeds were brought back by Lu Hang from outside and were different from the village’s regular seeds.

But later, when the huge gap between the two plots became obvious—despite being planted around the same time, the growth was entirely incomparable—you’d think they had been sown at different times.

Lin Nannan noticed many people eyeing up her fields and immediately got suspicious.

She didn’t care about much else, but she absolutely wouldn’t tolerate anyone interfering with what she had planted. So, she began visiting the fields even more frequently.

Her vigilance was tight, and the villagers, too scared to pry, didn’t dare ask too many questions. As a result, the rest of the Lu family took the heat.

Zhang Xiaofeng had initially backed Lin Nannan up, as even they didn’t know what exactly had been planted. But who could have guessed the seeds would be so extraordinary, growing so well that even she was tempted? However, Lin Nannan had very few seeds left and made it clear they wouldn’t be shared with anyone else. This left Zhang Xiaofeng swamped by the villagers’ probing.

Since she had been the one to spread the initial explanation, she could only insist that the seeds had been brought back by Lu Hang. Beyond that, she truly knew nothing.

Some, thinking they were tight enough, asked for seeds, but Zhang Xiaofeng refused.

It might rub people the wrong way, but she feared angering her daughter-in-law even more.

Lin Nannan treasured these like gold. If Zhang Xiaofeng acted without permission, she might very well be the one to face consequences.

The rest of the Lu family were also grilled until they were fed up. Finally, Lu Hang came up with a solution.

"Just say these were brought back by me and will eventually be reclaimed. Then have the village head put in a word, and people should stop fixating on them."

The Lu family thought this was a good idea, but Lin Nannan disagreed.

"Then wouldn’t that mean I can’t plant anymore?" If they were reclaimed, how could she continue?

"You’re the one who grows them well, so naturally, you’ll keep planting. As for how much, that’s not for you to decide!" Lu Hang reminded her.

"But what if people get suspicious?" Grandma Lu worried.

"What can suspicion do? Let them try and find out for themselves!"

Lu Fang nodded. "A Hang is right. This is how we should handle it. Otherwise, with so many families in the village, all interconnected, distributing the seeds would only cause endless disputes. Better to use this excuse—then even if they’re envious, they won’t dare act recklessly."

"By saying they belong to someone else, people will think twice and stop coveting them. Otherwise, our family will never have peace." Zhang Xiaofeng fully agreed. She had no desire to keep being grilled.