Chapter Summaries

Su Qiao rejected Madam Xie’s demand that she stay away from her son, Xie Hui, and left with Xiao Jingsheng, declaring that she was engaged. Madam Xie remained worried that Xie Hui and Su Qiao would meet again in Beijing, where they would soon both be studying.

• Madam Xie told Su Qiao she was unworthy of Xie Hui and should stop clinging to him.
• Su Qiao retorted that Xie Hui was the one pursuing her and said he could not even beat her in an exam.
• Xiao Jingsheng arrived and stood protectively in front of Su Qiao, who told Madam Xie she was engaged to a fiancé far better than her son.
• Xiao Jingsheng gave Su Qiao the books his Little Uncle had brought for her cultivation research and said experts sent by Maternal Aunt-in-law would arrive soon.
• After Su Qiao and Xiao Jingsheng left, Madam Xie told Father Xie that she feared Su Qiao and Xie Hui would become involved in Beijing.

Madam Xie and Father Xie discussed whether Su Qiao should marry into their family, with Madam Xie planning to suppress her. In Xiaohe Village, officials and the school principal delivered prize money to Old Lady Liu for Su Qiao’s top national exam result and praised Xiao Jingsheng’s admission to a Beijing military academy.

• Madam Xie objected to Su Qiao marrying into the Xie family and urged Father Xie to put her in her place.
• Father Xie agreed to look for a chance to warn Su Qiao’s family.
• The Old Village Chief brought Secretary Xie and Principal Jiang to the Old Liu Family to deliver rewards for Su Qiao’s exam result.
• Old Lady Liu accepted the city’s prize money and the school’s gift after the visitors explained that Su Qiao had earned them.
• Principal Jiang praised Xiao Jingsheng for gaining admission to the country’s best Military Academy.

Principal Jiang and Secretary Xie visited Su Qiao to deliver her municipal reward, and Secretary Xie learned that she was engaged to Xiao Jingsheng. Lin Bingkun arrived with fish and revealed that he had found his older sister in Xiaohe Village, while Secretary Xie noticed his connection with Liu Chunfang.

• Su Qiao and Xiao Jingsheng returned home with firewood and found Principal Jiang and Secretary Xie waiting to bring Su Qiao a reward.
• Su Qiao introduced Xiao Jingsheng as her betrothed, and Old Lady Liu explained that they had grown up together and planned to study in Beijing.
• Secretary Xie realized that his son, Xie Hui, had no chance with Su Qiao.
• Lin Bingkun arrived with two fish and told Secretary Xie that his older sister was in Xiaohe Village and that Xiao Jingsheng was his nephew.
• Secretary Xie noticed the closeness between Lin Bingkun and Liu Chunfang, then he and Principal Jiang took their leave.

Su Qiao and Xiao Jingsheng celebrated their growing savings and exchanged gifts while talking about the life they planned to build together. Meanwhile, Father Xie returned home upset after meeting Su Qiao, but Madam Xie still did not understand what was special about her.

• Old Lady Liu saw Principal and Secretary Xie off after they declined her invitation to eat.
• Su Qiao told Xiao Jingsheng that their reward money brought them closer to buying a house, and he revealed that he had realized Secretary Xie was Xie Hui's father.
• Su Qiao gave Xiao Jingsheng a fountain pen, and they teased each other about saving money and buying gifts.
• Father Xie complained to Madam Xie that she had nearly gotten him killed, then asked if she knew who the girl their son liked really was.
• Madam Xie called Su Qiao a village girl with good grades and a sharp tongue, not understanding why she was special.

Father Xie told Madam Xie that Su Qiao was the national Zhuangyuan, was engaged to Captain Lin’s nephew, and had a mother Captain Lin was pursuing. The next afternoon, Xie Hui went to Xiaohe Village and continued pestering Su Qiao, who rejected him again.

• Father Xie explained that Su Qiao was the national Zhuangyuan and that she was engaged to Captain Lin’s nephew.
• Father Xie warned Madam Xie not to provoke Captain Lin and told her to keep Xie Hui away from Su Qiao.
• Madam Xie remembered that she had told Su Qiao not to cling to her son and felt embarrassed.
• Xie Hui went to Xiaohe Village after his mother told him Su Qiao and Xiao Jingsheng were engaged.
• Su Qiao told Xie Hui she was engaged and had no interest in him, while he remained unwilling to give up.

Su Qiaoqiao tried to force Xiao Jingsheng into a compromising situation by the river, prompting both families to argue over what happened. The dispute ended with Su Youqing questioning how Xiao Jingsheng could marry Qiaoqiao when he was engaged to Xiao Qiao.

• Little Bean told Su Qiao that Xiao Jingsheng was in trouble by the river, and she rushed over.
• Su Qiaoqiao clung to Xiao Jingsheng, who shook her off, and she tore open her clothes while villagers gathered.
• Yang Yue'e demanded an explanation from the Xiao Family, while Old Lady Su suggested Xiao Jingsheng marry Su Qiaoqiao.
• Old Lady Liu accused the Su Family of plotting to steal Xiao Jingsheng from Xiao Qiao, and Liu Chunfang blamed them for a scheme.
• Su Youqing questioned how Xiao Jingsheng could marry Su Qiaoqiao when he was Xiao Qiao's fiancé, angering Yang Yue'e.

Su Qiaoqiao tried to frame Xiao Jingsheng, but Su Qiao arrived and exposed her scheme in front of the villagers. The chapter ended with Su Qiao publicly accusing Su Qiaoqiao of learning to seduce men from her mother.

• Su Youqing backed Su Qiao, while Su Qiaoqiao wailed that Xiao Jingsheng had ruined her chance to marry.
• Su Qiao entered and mocked Su Qiaoqiao’s threat to die, and Old Lady Liu and Liu Chunfang reassured her they would protect her marriage.
• Su Qiao questioned Xiao Jingsheng, who said he had shut his eyes when Su Qiaoqiao pulled at her clothes and described her as a fox spirit.
• Su Qiaoqiao threatened to kill herself, but Su Qiao dismissed the threat and Xie Hui urged everyone to get to the bottom of the incident.
• Su Qiao accused Su Qiaoqiao of trying to seduce Xiao Jingsheng and said she had learned such tricks from her mother.

Su Qiao exposed Su Qiaoqiao's accusation against Xiao Jingsheng as a lie by pointing out the lack of evidence and the water buckets he had been carrying. The villagers sided with Xiao Jingsheng, leaving Su Qiaoqiao publicly disgraced.

• Su Qiaoqiao accused Xiao Jingsheng of grabbing her and trying to tug at her clothes, while Su Qiao called her out for trying to cling to him.
• Xiao Jingsheng denied wanting anything to do with Su Qiaoqiao and obediently hid behind Su Qiao when she told him to stand aside.
• Su Qiao questioned why Su Qiaoqiao had been at the river without a bucket or washing, and explained that Xiao Jingsheng came there daily to carry water and irrigate the fields.
• The villagers backed Su Qiao after one witness confirmed Xiao Jingsheng had still been carrying water buckets when the incident began.
• The villagers called Su Qiaoqiao shameless and told her to leave.

Su Qiao demanded that the village chief deal seriously with Su Qiaoqiao for trying to ruin Xiao Jingsheng, and the villagers agreed she should be sent away or sent to the Police Station. Su Qiaoqiao’s attempt to stay by pretending to faint left her in Xie Hui’s arms, while Su Qiao warned them both to stay away from her.

• Su Qiao told the old village chief that Su Qiaoqiao had tried to prevent her marriage to Xiao Jingsheng and destroy his Military Academy prospects.
• The old village chief gave Su Youqing the choice of sending Su Qiaoqiao away or taking her to the Police Station for reform through labor.
• Su Youqing decided to send Su Qiaoqiao away, and Yang Yue'e refused to protect her daughter.
• Su Qiaoqiao ran to plead with Su Youqing, then pretended to faint when she fell into Xie Hui's arms.
• Su Qiao teased Xie Hui about his feelings for Su Qiaoqiao and warned them both not to appear before her again.

Su Qiao took Xiao Jingsheng home and decided to train him harder after he failed to dodge Su Qiaoqiao. Meanwhile, Yang Yue'e asked her brother for help finding a solution before the Su Family's deadline to marry Su Qiaoqiao off.

• Su Qiao dismissed Xie Hui and led Xiao Jingsheng home, where he admitted he had been thinking about her when Su Qiaoqiao tackled him.
• Su Qiao started training Xiao Jingsheng in martial arts, and he agreed to practice so he could avoid women throwing themselves at him.
• Old Village Chief ruled that the Su Family had to find Su Qiaoqiao a husband and marry her within a week, though she was not sent away after fainting.
• Yang Yue'e visited Yang Rui and asked him to arrange temporary factory work for Su Qiaoqiao.
• Yang Rui asked whether Xie Jingsheng might marry Su Qiaoqiao, but Yang Yue'e said it was impossible and complained about Liu Chunfang and her daughter.

Yang Rui warned Yang Yue'e not to provoke the Su family or the Lin Family, then proposed marrying Su Qiaoqiao to Director Wang's brain-damaged son to secure Wang Quan's support during the factory's rectification. Yang Yue'e hesitated but considered the proposal as Yang Rui promised her a factory job after she gave birth.

• Yang Rui told Yang Yue'e that Fu Gui was still serving time because of her and urged her not to act recklessly.
• Yang Yue'e worried that Old Lady Su might harm her unborn baby and blamed Su Qiao's family for Fu Gui's imprisonment.
• Yang Rui warned that the Lin Family was powerful and said Su Qiao should not be provoked.
• Yang Rui proposed that Su Qiao marry Director Wang's son so he could win Wang Quan's support and improve his chances of promotion.
• Yang Yue'e objected that Wang's son was an idiot, but Yang Rui argued that marriage would provide for Su Qiao and promised Yang Yue'e a factory job after childbirth.

Yang Yue'e agreed to her brother's plan to marry Su Qiaoqiao into the Wang Family, but Su Qiaoqiao refused and blamed Su Qiao for her troubles. The chapter ended after Su Qiaoqiao watched Su Qiao and Xiao Jingsheng leave, then the riverbank emptied as night fell.

• Yang Yue'e agreed to marry Su Qiaoqiao into the Wang Family after her brother promised jobs and protection.
• Su Qiaoqiao angrily refused the marriage, while Yang Yue'e insisted it would give her a secure life.
• Su Qiaoqiao threatened to jump into the river, and Yang Yue'e warned that she had nowhere else to go.
• Xiao Jingsheng ran to Su Qiao for protection after claiming there was a monster, then recognized Su Qiaoqiao and left with Su Qiao and Little Bean.
• Su Qiaoqiao blamed Su Qiao for her predicament and vowed not to let her live well.
• Night fell, and the exhausted villagers went home, leaving no one by the river.

Su Qiao foiled Su Qiaoqiao and her mother's plan to send her to the Wang Family, then exposed her maternal uncle's corrupt dealings. She returned home late at night, where her worried grandmother and mother questioned her disappearance.

• Su Qiaoqiao and her mother planned to drug Su Qiao and send her to the Wang Family, but Su Qiao heard them from inside the hemp sack.
• Su Qiao knocked the two women unconscious, put Su Qiaoqiao in the sack, and left her for the man who came to take her away.
• Su Qiao followed the tricycle to town and saw Su Qiaoqiao delivered through the Wang Family's gate.
• Su Qiao retrieved evidence of her maternal uncle selling jobs and taking bribes, copied it, and delivered copies to the Police Station, an investigating official, and the town chief.
• Su Qiao returned home after nearly three hours, and her grandmother and mother anxiously asked where she had been.

Su Qiao revealed that Yang Yue'e had tried to send her to the Wang Family, but she had switched places with the person meant to go there. The next morning, Xiao Jingsheng and Lin Bingkun arrived at Su Qiao's home with a man and a woman.

• Su Qiao told her family she had followed a strange three-wheeled vehicle and asked her grandmother to heat up food.
• Yang Yue'e confronted Su Qiao, who said she knew about the plan to send her to the Wang Family and warned Yang Yue'e not to complain or risk going to jail.
• Su Qiao went to the hillside while a black car arrived in Xiaohe Village and drew the villagers' attention.
• Xiao Jingsheng and Lin Bingkun arrived at Su Qiao's home with a man and a woman, and Xiao Jingsheng took Su Qiao's back basket from her.

Su Qiao showed Lin Bingkun, Li Guixiang, and Old Hong her soilless vegetable-growing method and explained that suitable conditions could also speed up the growth of medicinal plants. The visitors were impressed by her work, and Old Hong questioned whether cultivated ginseng would retain its medicinal efficacy.

• Lin Bingkun introduced Li Guixiang and Old Hong to Su Qiao, explaining that they had come specifically to see her.
• Su Qiao led the visitors to the backyard, where they saw leafy vegetables growing in water-filled troughs without soil.
• Lin Bingkun explained that Su Qiao had developed the method to help her grandmother, mother, and his older sister grow vegetables and earn income after moving to the city.
• Su Qiao showed them ginseng seedlings that had sprouted after half a month and said suitable conditions could make precious medicinal herbs grow faster.
• Old Hong was astonished that ginseng could be cultivated, and Li Guixiang asked whether cultivated plants would retain their medicinal efficacy.

Li Guixiang invited Su Qiao to join the Agricultural Bureau as a research member, and Su Qiao agreed while continuing her university studies. On the way home, Su Qiaoqiao attacked her, but Xiao Jingsheng knocked her down, and Su Qiao told her that her mother and First Uncle were the people she should confront.

• Li Guixiang told Su Qiao that her cultivated ginseng could reach 60–80% of wild ginseng’s medicinal effectiveness and invited her to join the Agricultural Bureau.
• Su Qiao agreed to become a research partner while studying architecture at university.
• Su Qiao gave Li Guixiang and Old Hong vegetables and bottles of Nutrient Fluid to show their superiors before they left.
• Su Qiaoqiao ambushed Su Qiao on the way home, and Xiao Jingsheng kicked her away.
• Su Qiao told Su Qiaoqiao that Yang Yue'e and her First Uncle, who wanted to sell her, were the ones she should target.

Su Qiao told Yang Yue'e that her brother had been arrested for corruption, while Su Qiaoqiao begged not to be sent back to the Wang Family. Yang Yue'e tried to leave to help her brother, but Old Lady Su and Su Youqing stopped her as the family argued over whether to get involved.

• Su Qiao told Yang Yue'e that her brother was likely in jail and accused him of selling jobs and taking bribes.
• Su Qiaoqiao begged Yang Yue'e not to send her back to the Wang Family, saying they had mistreated her.
• Yang Yue'e tried to pull away and slapped Su Qiaoqiao, who declared that she no longer wanted to acknowledge her mother.
• Old Lady Su arrived and threatened to expel Yang Yue'e from the Su Family if she went to town.
• Su Youqing and Old Lady Su urged Yang Yue'e not to get involved, but Yang Yue'e cried that she could not ignore her brother.

Old Lady Su demanded that Yang Yue'e divorce Su Youqing if she interfered in the family, and accused her unborn child of being a girl and possibly another man's. After Su Youqing sided with his mother, Yang Yue'e stormed away, and Su Qiao left with Xiao Jingsheng.

• Old Lady Su told Yang Yue'e to divorce Su Youqing before meddling in his elder brother's affairs and claimed her unborn child was not a boy.
• Yang Yue'e challenged Old Lady Su's claim, but Su Youqing pulled away from her and said his mother should know better.
• Yang Yue'e called Su Youqing a useless loser and ran off angrily.
• Old Lady Su stopped Su Youqing from chasing Yang Yue'e and accused her of carrying another man's child and ruining the Su family's fortunes.
• 444 condemned Old Lady Su's motives, while Su Qiao took Xiao Jingsheng by the hand and left.

Su Qiao’s appointment at the Agricultural Bureau brought pride to Xiaohe Village and regret to the Xie family, while Old Lady Su discovered her hidden jewelry was missing and accused Yang Yue'e. As Su Qiao packed to leave, 444 asked whether she wanted to see how the Su family was doing, but she had no time.

• Su Youqing asked Old Lady Su to let him reconcile with Liu Chunfang, but she refused and promised to find him another wife.
• News spread that Su Qiao had become a regular employee of the Agricultural Bureau, delighting the village and leaving the Xie family regretful and ashamed.
• Old Lady Su and Su Youqing dug around the banyan tree but could not find her jar of jewelry.
• Old Lady Su accused Yang Yue'e of stealing the jewelry, while Su Youqing questioned why she had hidden it outside.
• Su Qiao spent two days packing, and she told 444 she had no time to watch the Su family.

Su Qiao and Xiao Jingsheng prepared to leave for Beijing as their families made new lives, while her agricultural achievements brought prosperity to Xiaohe Village. Years later, Su Qiao encountered Su Qiaoqiao and saw how differently their lives had turned out.

• Su Qiao learned that Yang Yue'e had given birth prematurely to a girl after arguing with Old Lady Su.
• Su Qiao and Xiao Jingsheng headed toward their futures in Beijing, where she received a courtyard house from the state and he received one from Lin Yu.
• Su Qiao supported Lin Yu and Lin Yan with scripts and a business plan, and her family grew close to the Lin and Liu Families.
• Su Qiao's successful greenhouse experiment helped Xiaohe Village prosper and improve its roads and homes.
• Years later, Su Qiao encountered an exhausted Su Qiaoqiao tending a vegetable stall, while Xie Hui lived an ordinary life with his wife.