On the appointed day for plowing, Liu Yi arrived with his rotary tiller.
Two hundred credits for a day’s work, and he strolled in at nine in the morning.
Ruan Ming met him at the entrance to lead him in, her eyes locking onto his chest area.
A silver chain was faintly visible around his neck, but the pendant was hidden beneath his clothes, unidentifiable.
Seeing her reflective face mask, Liu Yi felt greatly disappointed and spoke up immediately. “Sister Ruan, are you guarding against me or a thief? Wearing such a big mask, I can’t even see your eyes. How are we supposed to communicate?”
“It was so much better like that day. Why don’t you go home and change into a different mask?”
Beneath the mask, Ruan Ming’s gaze was icy.
Before she could speak, Liu Yi let out a dry laugh. “Ai, this is no fun. You’re making me out to be a bad guy. Without basic trust between people, how can we cooperate?”
“Are you saying my wearing this mask will affect your plowing?” Ruan Ming finally spoke.
“Of course. You’re not even respecting me, so how can I plow?” Liu Yi’s face was full of smugness, his eyes slanting as he looked at her.
Based on his past experience, striking first to establish a dominant position would crush the other party’s confidence. Then, they would be easily led around by the nose.
But he didn’t expect the woman to respond coolly. “If you can’t plow it, I’ll find someone else to rent a machine from.”
Liu Yi’s face soured. “Are you messing with me?”
“Didn’t you say first that you couldn’t plow?” Ruan Ming replied.
Liu Yi hadn’t expected Ruan Ming to be so direct. He laughed in anger. “Plow, of course I can plow. Tell me how you want it plowed.”
Ruan Ming ignored his mood and simply pointed coldly towards the area needing work.
Grumbling, the man finally started the rotary tiller, chugging along towards the Purification Grass field.
Ruan Ming, fixated on the pendant, followed him.
Liu Yi, accustomed to being buttered up by others, was very displeased by her cold treatment. Seeing her follow, he sneered. “Just moments ago, you said we didn’t need to talk, and now you’re following me. What, afraid I’ll slack off? Coming to supervise me?”
Ruan Ming replied, “You just worry about your plowing. I have my own things to do.”
Hearing this only made Liu Yi angrier. He deliberately sped up the tiller without even adjusting the tines. He wasn’t even scratching the surface, let alone deep-plowing.
Ruan Ming looked at the haphazardly turned soil and gritted her teeth.
Liu Yi, sensing her displeasure, grew even smugger, even beginning to hum a tune.
Ruan Ming had no intention of indulging him. The only reason she’d hired this man was to see if the pendant around his neck was her father’s keepsake. But the bastard hadn’t shown it today.
Then she would have to make it visible.
“Hey, are you crazy? Trying to get yourself killed? My machine will roll right over you! Get out of the way, now!”
Liu Yi saw Ruan Ming walking recklessly towards the running machine and hurriedly cut the engine.
“Is this how you plow for people?”
Ruan Ming had turned aggressive, standing before the machine without a trace of fear.
Liu Yi looked back at the large patch of ground he’d mangled and felt a twinge of guilt. But when had he ever been afraid of anyone around here? He shrugged. “What can I do? Your land’s got too many stones. This is the best I could manage. With so many rocks, I should be asking you for repair fees.”
A true scoundrel.
But he never imagined the woman in front of him wouldn’t take his nonsense.
Ruan Ming lunged at the rotary tiller without a moment’s hesitation. She seized Liu Yi by the collar and yanked him from the driver’s seat.
Although Liu Yi was a man, his strength was no match for Ruan Ming’s C-Rank Strength Ability. He was dragged down and slammed onto the ground.
He yelped in pain, then erupted into curses. “You stinking btch, what’s your problem! You’ve only been in this territory for a few days and you’re already rebelling? I’m telling you, even if your old man were still alive, he wouldn’t dare fart in front of me!”
Hearing him mention her father only enraged Ruan Ming further. She grabbed his collar again, and her fists flew.
The force of a Strength Esper made Liu Yi howl in agony. When had he ever been beaten like this, let alone by a woman? He scrambled up from the ground, roaring, and lunged at Ruan Ming.
Ruan Ming sidestepped, and the man lunged past, hitting the ground again.
Humiliated and furious, he flipped over and grabbed for Ruan Ming.
He even tried to cop a feel, but Ruan Ming was wearing thick protective gear and possessed immense strength. She tore his clothes to shreds, yet he couldn’t lay a single finger on her.
He was simply no match for Ruan Ming and finally realized this woman was no pushover. He had no choice but to press his wristband, calling the Patrol Team for help.
Ruan Ming hid the pendant she’d snatched during the scuffle in her palm, then stood up.
She knew Liu Yi was Liu Guang’s brother, and the patrol would arrive here soon.
She hadn’t yet figured out how to deal with them.
Just then, a voice came from behind her: “What’s with the fight?”
A pleasant female voice, somewhat familiar.
Ruan Ming turned her head. It was her new neighbor.
Seeing someone arrive, Liu Yi cursed. “Ask her! She hired me to plow, and I’d barely started when she went crazy and attacked me! She’s insane! I’ve called for help, just you wait!”
Huang Yu raised an eyebrow, pointing to the roughly half-acre he’d tilled behind him. “You charge two hundred credits a day, and this is how you plow someone’s land? If it were me, I’d have started swinging too.”
Liu Yi’s face flushed red. He argued indignantly, “Her land is full of stones! There’s no way to plow deep! I haven’t even asked her for wear-and-tear fees yet.”
Huang Yu clicked her tongue, shaking her head. “Anyone can see whether there are stones just by looking. Is this how you earn your pay? I’ve seen enough.”
She raised her wristband and snapped several photos of the scene. “I’m posting these to the public channel. Let’s see what everyone thinks of two-hundred-credit-a-day weeding results.”
Panic flickered across Liu Yi’s face. He shouted, “You can’t post that! I told you, it’s the rocks! Anyone else would have the same trouble!”
Amidst his cursing, the sound of a vehicle approached. The Patrol Team had arrived.
It was Wei Heng, Liu Guang, and a few others.
Seeing his younger brother Liu Guang, Liu Yi immediately yelled, “It’s this bitch, Ruan something! Said she hired me to weed, but halfway through, she went crazy and beat me up! Arrest her now!”
The aggressor filing the complaint first—classic.
The moment Liu Guang heard this, his face darkened ominously.
In this area, who didn’t know Liu Yi was his brother? Touching Liu Yi was a direct slap in his face. Slapping his face meant showing disrespect to the entire Patrol Team.
Without a second thought, he charged forward.
There was no way Ruan Ming would just stand there and take it.
She also saw that Huang Yu was standing up for her.
If not for Huang Yu, she might have been willing to swallow this loss just to get her father’s pendant.
But now that someone was backing her, she wasn’t going to be a passive victim.
She also wanted to see who was tougher: the Patrol Team, or the person behind Huang Yu?
She swiftly sidestepped. Liu Guang lunged at empty air and stumbled forward a few steps, looking utterly pathetic.
Huang Yu watched Ruan Ming’s reaction with satisfaction, then turned to Wei Heng. “Captain Wei, your Patrol Team’s authority is quite intimidating. Charging in to fight without even asking what happened. Someone might think our New Land patrol has been infiltrated by outside bandits.”
Liu Guang flew into a rage at her words, roaring, “Who the hell do you think you are—”
Before he could finish, Wei Heng grabbed him by the back of his collar.
“Shut up!” Wei Heng barked.
Liu Guang finally recognized the woman in front of him and quickly swallowed his curses, hanging his head and shrinking back.
“Tell me, what happened here?” Wei Heng turned to Ruan Ming.
Ruan Ming replied, “Yesterday on the channel, I saw Liu Yi renting out his rotary tiller, two hundred credits a day…”
Before she could finish, the expressions of the men behind Wei Heng shifted awkwardly. In New Land, renting a rotary tiller cost a hundred credits a day at most, never exceeding one hundred fifty. Liu Yi was demanding two hundred! Though everyone had heard whispers in the channel, hearing it said to his face was mortifying.
Ruan Ming continued, “When he arrived this morning, he first complained that my wearing a reflective mask was disrespectful and wanted me to change it…”
Unable to keep face, Liu Yi interrupted, “It was just a little joke! Have you never talked to anyone before? Can’t even take a joke?”
Ruan Ming replied, “Captain Wei asked me to state the facts. I’m simply relaying them. If you could say those words, why can’t I repeat them?”
Liu Yi was instantly silenced.
Ruan Ming then pointed to the field behind her. “I spent two hundred credits a day to hire someone to weed, and this is the result. Do I not have the right to be angry!”
Wei Heng and his men looked where she pointed, their faces growing grim.
Unable to bear it, Liu Yi brought up his excuse again: “Her land has too many stones—”
Huang Yu cut him off. “We all have eyes; anyone can see whether there are too many stones or not. I also have a rotary tiller. Ruan Ming, you can come use mine tomorrow to weed. Let’s see how many stones there really are.”
Liu Yi’s face instantly turned the color of pig’s liver, muttering curses under his breath.
Wei Heng’s face was ashen. He barked, “Liu Yi, Territory Lord 33 just posted those pictures to the channel. Everyone’s buzzing about it. If you want to keep staying in New Land, this ends here! Liu Guang, tell your brother to take his tiller and go. Don’t embarrass us further.”
Liu Guang, seeing Wei Heng truly angry, didn’t dare say half a word. He quickly dragged Liu Yi away, driving the rotary tiller off.
Wei Heng then turned to Ruan Ming, his tone stern. “Miss Ruan, although Liu Yi’s attitude was problematic, resorting to violence first is absolutely not the correct way to resolve issues. Since it’s your first offense, I’ll let you off with a warning this time. Next time, it won’t be this easy.”
Ruan Ming said expressionlessly, “Next time, I’ll call the Patrol Team directly.”
For such trivial disputes, the Patrol Team was naturally reluctant to get deeply involved. Wei Heng slightly raised his eyelids, tacitly accepting her statement. He then nodded to Huang Yu and turned to leave.
Ruan Ming knew Wei Heng had been so lenient only because of Huang Yu, because of the Young Master Meng behind her.
She turned to Huang Yu. “Sister Yu, thank you. If not for you today, this wouldn’t have ended well.”
Huang Yu curved her lips. “Why thank me? A close neighbor is better than a distant relative. Maybe I’ll need your help someday too.”
“Alright. If you ever need anything, just say the word.” Ruan Ming immediately assured her.
Huang Yu put an arm around her shoulder. “Come on, let’s go to my place. I’ll show you my new rotary tiller.”
The grass in the fields still needed to be dealt with quickly, and Ruan Ming was more than willing.
“Sister Yu, I saw you fight that day, but didn’t get a close look at your ability?”
Huang Yu smiled. Suddenly, her arm stretched out, instantly reaching a small wildflower over ten meters away by the roadside. She plucked it with a gentle pinch, and her arm retracted smoothly.
She handed the small flower to Ruan Ming. “Is this ability alright?”
Ruan Ming’s eyes widened in amazement. She nodded vigorously. “It’s amazing! Can your legs stretch too?”
Huang Yu replied, “They can, but that looks too ugly. I avoid it unless absolutely necessary.”
![Rise of the Wasteland Lord [GL / Post-Apocalyptic Farming]](https://i1.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/app.jpeg?resize=151,215 "Rise of the Wasteland Lord [GL / Post-Apocalyptic Farming]")
![After We Broke Up, She Started Pursuing Me [Entertainment Industry]](https://i1.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/exx.jpeg?resize=151,215 "After We Broke Up, She Started Pursuing Me [Entertainment Industry]")
![The Other Shore [Criminal Investigation]](https://i2.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/sh.jpg?resize=151,215 "The Other Shore [Criminal Investigation]")
