Back home, An Moxue ate well, slept well, and took her medicine effectively, so her health improved significantly faster.

Since she didn't have to work, Old Ma would spend his free time teaching her how to track, how to find clues, how to erase traces, how to fight alone and how to be most advantageous against a group, how to use the terrain, how to build a smokeless stove in the mountains, how to hunt, sign language, Morse code, and even told her to go into the mountains to find wild boars and wolves for practical combat. He taught her everything practical, as if he wanted to cram all the knowledge he knew into her brain at once.

An Moxue was so busy she wished there were 48 hours in a day, and she had no time to deal with those who couldn't stand to see her doing well.

Even so, rumors spread. Aunt Guo was furious when she heard them. They were all a bunch of people who couldn't stand seeing others do better than her. They wished the whole world would suffer so that she could be the only one who was good. People like that would never have a good life.

Aunt Guo stormed home and glared at Village Chief Guo, who couldn't ignore her even if he wanted to.

"Honey, what's wrong? Who's so blind as to mess with you?"

"Who are you talking about? The people you're in charge of are the ones who offended me. You're asking me? You can't even manage these two people properly. I think you should just give up."

"Tell me what happened. If you tell me, I'll think of a solution. I don't know anything if you don't tell me."

"That Wang Zhaodi and that Hu Xiangxiang, they both only know how to take advantage of others. Especially that Hu Xiangxiang, she grabs her child and asks everyone for food, always using the child as an excuse. If she gets something, that's fine, but if she doesn't, she starts badmouthing people. I think her parents really chose the wrong name for her, Xiangxiang. They should call her Hu Chou Chou (meaning stinky Hu). They can't get anything out of others, so they talk behind their backs. They have such a foul mouth. Mo Xue came back these past few days but didn't go to work, and they said she felt ashamed and didn't dare to see anyone. They said such nasty things. A bunch of envious and jealous people. Jealousy really makes people ugly and terrifying."

"Oh, honey, you're so good at talking. What you said makes so much sense."

"I'm so angry, and you're still making fun of me. What am I supposed to do?"

“Honey, let me tell you, this can’t be discussed outside, you know? People from the provincial and Beijing military units have come to help with Mo Xue’s case, and they’re all regimental-level officers, you know how high that is? Like county magistrates. And when Mo Xue asked for compensation, the military gave it to her, two hundred yuan per person, and they got it all. What does that say? It means that even though Mo Xue’s parents are gone, they must have been very important people in life, that even in death their children are valued so much by the military. A bunch of ignorant, stupid women, just asking for trouble. Alright, I’ll discuss this with the other officers and see what to do.”

"No, my goodness! That's amazing! Incredible!"

"There's a lot you don't know. She receives child support until she's eighteen. When she came, she had several large bags, all transported by train. She only had a small bag in her hand. Buying a house, repairing a house, and hosting a dinner party—all of this costs money. Look at her clothes, are there any patches? She's clearly not short of money. Several impoverished and widowed families in our village have told me that Mo Xue brought them food and told them not to say anything. This is a good girl; she's kind-hearted and has a broad perspective. The situation isn't right now. When things improve, our little mountain village won't be able to keep people here. People are just seeking refuge here, like a phoenix in distress. Do you understand?"

"My goodness, old man, how are you so amazing!"

Aunt Guo not only said it, but also looked at her with admiration, as if to say, "How can you be so amazing?"

Seeing her like this, Village Chief Guo straightened his back, which had been hunched over, and his eyes were filled with undisguised laughter. He said modestly, "This is nothing," but his face was full of smugness as he continued, "Since Mo Xue came back this time, she's been learning skills from Old Ma and hasn't had time to deal with them. A bunch of idiots, they're useless and only cause trouble. It just so happens that the higher-ups gave us some quotas, and we had no choice but to give them to them. You just wait and see!" Then he turned and left the house.

As soon as Aunt Guo saw Village Chief Guo leave, she immediately composed herself, muttering, "You little punk, you think I can't handle you? You'd better hurry up and get on with your business!"

The next morning, the village loudspeaker announced a general meeting for all villagers, and that adults and children alike had to attend; for each missing person, one work point would be deducted.

At 7 a.m., on the brigade's drying ground, the captains of each squad were organizing their team members to stand together.

The team's scorekeeper tallied the number of people attending the meeting and diligently recorded it in the scorebook.

For each person who didn't come, 1 work point was deducted. When someone saw that work points were actually deducted, they quickly went home to find the missing person. In this way, one by one, the people who didn't come were called to the scene by their families.

Except for the sick, the very young children, and those who were in postpartum confinement, everyone came; the number of people was unprecedented.

No one knew what had happened. In the past, only one representative from each family was required for this meeting, and there had never been so many people here before.

At 7:30 sharp, the scorekeepers had finished counting the number of participants, and the conference officially began.

Village head Guo Xiwang raised his hand on the podium, signaling the villagers to be quiet. After a moment, there was no noise. He coughed twice, drawing everyone's attention before speaking: "Dear villagers, good afternoon! The main purpose of this meeting is to cleanse our people of unhealthy thoughts, eradicate all evil practices, liberate our minds, and seek truth from facts. Our village never engages in formalism, but some people take us village cadres for granted, disregarding the words of the state, the words of higher-level leaders, and national policies. They spout nonsense, praising or criticizing whomever they see without any basis. This is unacceptable; we must strengthen ideological education for our villagers." From now on, we'll hold a weekly ideological education meeting like this one. Each team will organize daily study sessions on ideological education, studying the thoughts and quotes of great leaders. I'll send people to check on us. If someone can't learn or recite it, they'll lose work points. Everyone, understand? Those who can't read can find someone who can to teach them. It's okay if you can't write or read, but you must be able to read, recite, and understand the meaning. You've all been too idle at home all day. Look at what's happening outside! You've all lost your bearings. You've managed to rise up in this small corner of our village. Today, we're mainly talking about this ideological issue. Everything you say and do must be based on evidence. Don't spread rumors or baseless claims. Anyone caught doing this will be punished: work points will be deducted, you'll have to do free labor, attend a meeting for self-criticism and criticism, and submit a written self-criticism to the village committee. Any unhealthy thoughts must be corrected and rectified promptly. Everyone should learn from each other, supervise each other, and report on each other. Do not believe or spread rumors, strive to be a citizen who embodies the Five Virtues and Four Good Deeds. We will also evaluate outstanding villagers and outstanding families and give them material rewards. Those who perform poorly or negatively will be punished with labor and have their work points deducted.