From her hiding place in the grass outside the village, Dong Mingming could see Chang Xiaohu and the two children in the distance. She was furious and wanted to go and kill the two children. Weren't they Song Yan's precious darlings? But with Chang Xiaohu around, she dared not.

She has been squatting on the outskirts of the village for two days.

She saw Pan Bo and Shen Hanyang going to work together intimately, and she felt resentment. She had chosen Pan Bo out of respect for him. She never expected that Pan Bo would rather go to jail than let her go. Moreover, her reputation was ruined, while he remained unscathed.

She saw that Li Yuanzhao was dressed neatly, and she felt resentment. The other educated youth all listened to her; why couldn't they get help from the others?

Why do all the people she sees seem to be doing so well?

But my life is getting worse and worse.

She was also...

She wasn't sure if she'd killed him with that one blow. She was terrified; she hit him once and ran away. When she came to her senses, she went back to look for him, but he was gone. She guessed he wasn't dead. She wanted to go back and kill him.

Dong Mingming had nowhere else to go. She secretly ran back to the brigade. But she didn't dare to come out.

That person has been discovered, and news of her affair has probably reached the brigade level. Does everyone in the brigade know that she was violated?

How would they see her? The more Dong Mingming thought about it, the more humiliated she felt.

Am I neither human nor ghost now? Why am I living this kind of life?

She wanted everyone else to suffer like her. Was she going to die? Then she needed someone to keep her company!

Dong Mingming didn't dare to attack Song Yan; she was capable of catching prey, even killing wolves. She knew she couldn't possibly defeat her.

None of the remaining educated youth were left alone.

Dong Mingming hates the educated youth the most now. If they had treated her better, she wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

I can't figure out how I became so stupid. My memories are hazy. I've never had this problem before!

Dong Mingming stole two steamed buns from Ji Dagang's house, which is located on the edge of the village, today.

The sweet taste of the cornbread still lingered in her mouth. Dong Mingming never imagined she would feel so satisfied from eating a cornbread…

Ji Dagang's younger sister, Ji Xiaochun, is eleven years old this year. In the morning, she does housework and then gathers pig feed to deliver to the brigade to earn work points. In the afternoon, she goes to a literacy class.

When she got home to cook dinner tonight, she discovered that the two cornbread buns she had left over from lunch were gone.

The little girl added water to the pot to cook. The more she thought about it, the more something seemed wrong. How could the cornbread have just disappeared? Who stole it? Such things rarely happened in the village.

After thinking about it, Ji Xiaochun decided to go find Teacher Jiang and Teacher Song.

Jiang Xiaoxiao and Song Yan exchanged a glance, both understanding the situation. Their fear was that Dong Mingming had indeed returned to the vicinity of the village.

Ji Dagang's house was on the edge of the village, making it the easiest place to steal.

Song Yan: "Go back first. The teacher knows about this. Close the door early tonight, okay?"

Watching Ji Xiaochun leave.

Jiang Xiaoxiao: "This child has had a tough time. She lost her mother when she was very young. Her father passed away last year, and she only has an older brother, Ji Dagang. I heard that she started doing sewing and mending for her family when she was very young."

Song Yan knew about this. Ji Xiaochun was the most hardworking and intelligent student. When she and Jiang Xiaoxiao gave Hu Zi extra tutoring, the child would study alongside them whenever she had time.

Song Yan: "I'll go and tell the captain about this..."

Captain Wu didn't say it aloud, but he was seething with anger inside. Dong Mingming had thrown such a huge basin of dirty water on him; it almost scared him to death. "If you're going to go crazy, then go crazy! Why did you run away?" What he heard from Song Yan was pretty much what they thought.

Captain Wu first told Song Yan to go back, then turned around and went to find the militia captain. He instructed the militia captain to place a few sentries near the brigade headquarters.

It must be said that the militia at this time were not trained for nothing; they could hold their own if something happened.

Meanwhile, Captain Wu sent someone to report to the commune police station.

At night, there was no entertainment in the village, and everything was quiet.

Song Yan and her family sat together, and she brought out something fun—a Go set. She had bought it at the supply and marketing cooperative.

Song Yan wasn't particularly good at Go, but she could play it. When she saw a Go set, she wanted to buy it for her child to play with.

These two children are so obedient. Ever since Song Yan said they weren't allowed to go out to play, the two children have stayed at home obediently except when they are in class.

Song Yan could tell they were bored, but they didn't disobey her at all.

Song Yan does like children, but taking care of them long-term requires a lot of patience. Wei Ping and Wei An, on the other hand, don't have any of the spoiled traits often associated with children. They both do things on their own. They are so sensible it's heartbreaking.

So when Song Yan saw the Go set, he wanted to buy it for them.

Song Yan taught, and Jiang Xiaoxiao and her child learned together. Aunt Wei watched the commotion while doing her own needlework. Song Yan said it was bad for her eyes at night, but she felt uncomfortable with her hands idle.

Song Yan's family was enjoying a harmonious time. Dong Mingming, however, was starving. She hid, afraid to come out, because she noticed patrols. Exhausted and hungry, she fell asleep on the grass.

Dong Mingming couldn't sleep well either; when she opened her eyes, it was already dawn. This was the time when patrols were at their most tiring, and if she didn't seize this opportunity to get something to eat, she would go hungry for another day. If she went hungry for another day, she didn't know if she could survive.

Dong Mingming took advantage of this opportunity to sneak into the village...

"Oh dear, one of my chickens is missing!" Cheng Yi's sister-in-law exclaimed.

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