Before anyone could react, Su Haiting, standing next to Aunt Chu, raised her hand and slapped Ling Huanwu across the face, cursing, "Ling Huanwu, you bitch!"

A crisp "snap" sounded.

Exhausted both physically and mentally, Ling Huanwu was slapped so hard that she almost fell over.

Fortunately, Zhou Jiuzhen reacted quickly and grabbed her, his eyes wide with fury as he slapped Su Haiting across the face.

Zhou Jiuzhen was originally very strong. Although he held back some of his strength, he still managed to make Su Haiting spin 360 degrees on the spot, and her teeth and bloody saliva flew out.

"Brother Zhou, you hit me?"

Su Haiting was incredulous, covering her face which had instantly swelled up like a steamed bun, her eyes filled with despair.

She simply couldn't accept that the person who had been so affectionate with her last night had turned on her the moment he opened fire.

Chu Mei was even more shocked. She pulled the trembling Su Haiting into her arms and slapped Zhou Jiuzhen across the face. "Er Gou, how could you hit a woman? A man who hits a woman is not a man, you know that?"

Zhou Jiuzhen was furious and immediately retorted, "You say I'm not a man if I hit a woman? Does that mean I'm a man if I just stand by and do nothing while my wife gets beaten?"

His words left Chu Mei speechless, unable to utter another word in defense.

Ling Huanwu, not to be outdone, raised her hand and slapped the other half of Su Haiting's face.

One, two, three...

No one present reacted to her invisible slap until Su Haiting screamed after being slapped on both cheeks and losing consciousness. Only then did everyone belatedly realize that Ling Huanwu had slapped Su Haiting more than a dozen times.

Ling Huanwu shook her numb hand and looked at the dumbfounded Chu Mei, "Men can't fight, but I, as a woman, can!"

Chu Mei snorted coldly, as if she had just remembered the purpose of the hospital visit, and raised her head to loudly rebuke Ling Huanwu.

"Ling Daniu, is this the sense of propriety and shame your grandfather taught you? Meeting with two men in the middle of the night, causing the cooperative to be burned down, what do you think of collective property? I brought these aunties here today specifically to demand an explanation from you!"

"A secret rendezvous? Aunt Chu, can you take responsibility for what you said? If you say it was a secret rendezvous, at least provide evidence!"

Ling Huanwu coldly swept her gaze over Su Haiting, who was crying with her face contorted in pain, then over the aunties who had struggled alongside her in the cooperative and were now all bowing their heads, before finally fixing her gaze on Chu Mei.

Chu Mei was clearly prepared and showed no sign of panic.

She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and slapped it on Zhou Jiuzhen's chest. "Ergou, take a good look. Your wife has been hooking up with your brother for a long time. In the middle of the night, while you're asleep, she first meets with your brother and knocks over the candles, then runs outside to meet with the pilot. You don't even know how many times your wife has made you a cuckold!"

Ignoring the people coming and going in the hospital, Chu Mei raised her voice and spoke as if it were a serious matter.

The bewildered passersby all stopped and pointed at Ling Huanwu, their gazes like those of people in ancient times looking at a woman about to be drowned in a pig cage.

Zhou Jiuzhen didn't even glance at the letter on the ground. When Ling Huanwu picked it up and showed it to him, he warned in a deep voice, "This isn't Huanwu's handwriting. You're all trying to frame my wife. I don't mind calling the police right now!"

Su Haiting still wouldn't give up, covering her face and struggling to open her mouth, looking heartbroken, "Brother Zhou, stop protecting her. Just now at the fire scene, we heard people outside talking about how your wife was crying in your brother's arms!"

"Also, you were woken up early this morning, and your wife wasn't by your side, was she? Later at the fire scene, wasn't she with that pilot? Doesn't that prove they're having an affair?"

"If you're going to have a secret rendezvous, fine, but why did you have to meet two men in one night? Are you that desperate? Now you've ruined the entire cooperative's hard work. How are you going to explain this to the aunties who trusted you!"

Su Haiting became increasingly agitated as she spoke, to the point that she lost another tooth that had just been loosened by the beating.

Holding her fallen tooth, she glared at Ling Huanwu with resentment, wishing she could tear her apart.

Ling Huanwu took a deep breath, almost laughing in exasperation, and pointed at herself, saying, "I'm thirsty?"

“Su Haiting, I admit that I went to Pilot Song’s dormitory just before dawn. He said the roof was leaking, so I helped him put on a new blanket. As for your accusations about me and Zhou Shuyao, you have no evidence. Why are you making baseless accusations against me?”

Song Panmei also stepped forward to chime in, "Da Niu and I are innocent. You have no evidence. I'd even say that you set fire to the cooperative to frame Da Niu. Don't you think so?"

"You're talking nonsense!"

Su Haiting suddenly raised her voice, extremely agitated, "Who set the fire? Go ask the gatekeeper, he'll definitely know everything. Find out which bastard did it!"

The aunties who had been silent nearby nodded in agreement, "Yes, we should just call the widower out and ask him. He was just here a moment ago, where is he now?"

"Yes, Old Niu was just here too. Just ask him."

Everyone looked around and finally spotted Niu Guanfu, who was crouching down and trying to leave, at the end of the corridor.

"Old Niu! Tell me quickly, what exactly happened last night?"

Several women rushed forward and grabbed the widower who was trying to escape.

When the widower was brought to the center of the crowd, he was already pale with fright and cold sweat was pouring down his forehead.

He didn't dare to raise his head, nor look Ling Huanwu in the eye, and stammered, "That night...that night, as I said...I went to relieve myself in the field next door, but when I came back...it caught fire..."

Su Haiting grew anxious and quickly interrupted him, pressing for an answer, "Comrade, we want to know if your commune leader and Battalion Commander Zhou's brother were having a secret rendezvous at the cooperative last night? Was the fire caused after their rendezvous?"

"This...this..."

The widower's lips trembled, and his whole body shook.

The aunties, displeased with Su Haiting's aggressive attitude, defended her, saying, "Old Niu is an honest man who never lies. Don't scare him; he'll tell the truth!"

Ling Huanwu was equally exhausted, both physically and mentally, and looked haggard. She hadn't slept all night, and the aggressive attitude of this group of people, along with the pointing and whispering of the onlookers, made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

But she also knew the power of gossip.

By this time, a crowd of people had gathered around them, three or four deep. They had already overheard the general situation and knew that they were from the Wantan Island Cooperative.

If the matter isn't resolved properly, their cooperative's reputation will be ruined, and even if the cooperative reopens, no one will buy their clothes.

So Ling Huanwu stepped forward and said very seriously to the widower, "Old Niu, don't be afraid. Just tell everyone the truth. I didn't go at all last night..."

Suddenly, the widower, who had been speaking haltingly, looked past her and behind her. His eyes widened in horror, and he raised his voice, uttering words that shocked everyone present: "Yes, last night, President Ling and Battalion Commander Zhou's brother stayed in the cooperative for a full three hours!"