Zhang Xiangrong, who had taken the route to the higher-ups, went directly to Accountant Li's house after leaving the brigade headquarters, waiting for Accountant Li to return and inform him of the results.

He spent a lot of money on gifts, and if he doesn't get the position, he'll take the money back.

But Li's wife was like a mythical creature, only taking in and never giving out.

Therefore, when Accountant Li returned home and told Zhang Xiangrong that he had failed to be selected, he told his wife with a dark face to return the money he had given as a gift. His wife refused, saying, "My husband spoke up for you. Even if the result is not good, he did his best. You want to return the money? Dream on!"

Zhang Xiangrong, believing he had some connections, wasn't as wary of Accountant Li as the others. Since Accountant Li hadn't done the job, he had to refund the money!

Seeing that Accountant Li stood silently to the side, letting his wife rant and rave, clearly not wanting to refund the money, he couldn't stand it and started arguing back with Accountant Li's wife.

However, a man's tongue is no match for a woman's, and in anger, he swung his hand and pushed the tea tray on the table to the ground.

With the sound of a teacup shattering, Accountant Li's wife was dumbfounded: someone actually dared to vandalize her home!

"Son! Someone's come knocking on the door!"

As soon as Accountant Li's wife shouted, her two sons and other family members ran out of the house. Seeing the ceramic shards all over the floor, her eldest son rushed up and punched Zhang Xiangrong in the eye socket. Not to be outdone, her younger son also rushed over.

Zhang Xiangrong was all show and no substance. He was already intimidated when he saw Accountant Li's family rushing into the tea room in droves.

However, before he could retreat, he was punched in the left eye, the pain causing him to bend over, covering his eye with both hands. Before the pain subsided, another punch came flying in.

A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle, so he cursed and fled in disarray.

However, since Accountant Li's family had been bullying others for many years, it was rare to see anyone dare to provoke them today. A number of busybodies had already gathered at the door, including some who had a grudge against Accountant Li.

On the way, they stopped Zhang Xiangrong and asked him with concern what had happened.

In a fit of anger, Zhang Xiangrong blurted out everything about the bribery. When Accountant Li calmed down and went out to find Zhang Xiangrong to mediate, he found him surrounded by a large group of people, recounting the details of the bribery.

Accountant Li suddenly felt a sharp pain in her brain and almost lost her footing.

He quickly pushed through the crowd, intending to pull Zhang Xiangrong back to his home: "Brother, you're drunk, come to my house and rest."

Just as they were getting into the swing of things, Zhang Xiangrong flung Li's hand away, pointed to his two black eyes, and said, "Now you know you're in a hurry? Too late! You dare hit me? I'll make you take off this accountant's coat and see how arrogant you are then!"

Accountant Li's gentle persuasion only emboldened Zhang Xiangrong, who then uttered the outrageous statement: "Give me back my thousand yuan, and I won't pursue this matter!"

This caused a huge uproar. The onlookers mistakenly thought that Accountant Li had accepted a bribe of 1,000 yuan. This was outrageous! They had never seen so much money in their lives!

Upon hearing the news, Zhang Xiangrong's family members, who rushed to the scene, immediately surrounded Accountant Li, demanding that he return the money and also pay for the medical expenses.

When Li's family heard the commotion, they came out to see what was going on. When they saw that Li was being forced, they immediately refused to continue.

Just as the two groups were about to start a brawl, the brigade leader and Party Secretary Liu, who rushed over, stopped them.

After they learned about the dispute, they were speechless for a long time. Accountant Li was completely in trouble.

The truth eventually came out, and the matter ended with the downfall of Accountant Li.

Zhang Xiangrong didn't fare well either. When his misdeeds came to light, his in-laws and the people associated with the commune also suffered a lot of repercussions, resulting in a lose-lose situation.

The newly appointed accountant was strongly recommended by the brigade leader, and over the years thereafter, the voices of the brigade cadres became much more harmonious.

As for the temporary workers at the dried fruit factory, Li Weidong consulted Aunt Tian's opinion and finalized the list of hires, after which each department selected people from the list.

Soon, the dried fruit factory was ready, and Li Weidong and Party Secretary Liu invited Director Cao, a leader of the commune, to participate in the opening ceremony.

On a sunny morning, Director Cao cut off the red silk, signifying the official start of operations for the dried fruit factory.

The dried fruit factory was operating smoothly, but Jiang Yan, who lived far away in the county town, had an accident.

March arrived in the blink of an eye, and Xie Yuyao's wedding was just days away. However, Zhao Honghui still hadn't returned, and there hadn't been any letters or phone calls.

Xie Yuyao had already prepared herself for the wedding to be postponed, but Yang Shumei dragged her to the county town to buy candy, cookies, decorations, quilts and other items needed for the wedding.

In her words, "What if Zhao Honghui manages to come back? We still need to make the necessary preparations."

Xie Yuyao and Yang Shumei went to the county department store. They had just gotten off the bus and hadn't walked far when they saw a mass criticism and struggle session being held on the street. The person being criticized and struggled against was none other than Jiang Yan.

Her hands were tied behind her back, and one side of her head was shaved, creating a half-shaved head. A pair of tattered straw sandals dangled from her chest, tied with rope and hanging around her neck. A wooden sign was stuck behind her neck, bearing the words "Broken Shoes" in black.

Some lewd and wicked men took the opportunity to pinch and grope her, while some women and girls spat on her and threw rotten vegetable leaves at her.

Among the activists who stood in front of her shouting insults, there was a familiar face—Ren Fei.

Jiang Yan, who had been keeping her head down, suddenly looked up when she heard Ren Fei's voice, and a voice as loud as hell broke out of her throat: "You're the one who ruined me!"

Ren Fei gave a cold laugh, "You're the one who had an affair, how can you blame me?"

After saying that, Ren Fei whispered in Jiang Yan's ear, "I should thank you for scheming against me. I prefer my current identity to being a nobody in the art troupe who can be manipulated by others."

After saying that, Ren Fei adjusted the red armband on her left hand, clearly indicating that she had infiltrated the "Revolutionary" Committee.

Jiang Yan broke down emotionally, closed her eyes and screamed loudly. Soon, another activist stuffed a rag into her mouth to stop her voice from poisoning the crowd.

Jiang Yan's pupils dilated to the extreme, her big eyes staring as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. She wanted nothing more than to devour Ren Fei. If it weren't for Ren Fei, how could she have ended up in this state?

"Let's go!" Xie Yuyao pulled Yang Shumei and quickly retreated from the already frenzied crowd.

After this incident, the two lost their mood for shopping. They hastily bought a few pounds of fine pastries and red paper and hurried back.

Even after returning to Qingshantun, Xie Yuyao's heart was still pounding. Jiang Yan's fate was her own fault, but when did Ren Fei quietly infiltrate that kind of unit?

Even knowing that this was her nature, she was fine when she first arrived in Qingshantun. She was warm and knew her limits. If it weren't for Jiang Yan's scheme, she wouldn't have gotten involved with that company.

Strictly speaking, it's hard to say who harmed whom between the two of them.