Chapter 75: Doesn't he mind his feet getting cold?
Zhou Congsheng held the enamel mug, scraped off non-existent tea leaves with the lid, took a sip, and glanced at the crowd at the door, whose expressions ranged from surprise to complexity to disbelief.
"It's quite lively, isn't it?"
Yu Manman staggered back a step, "Captain Zhou."
When Qiao Nianyu heard her soft gasp behind her, she felt a chill in her heart and knew that her premonition was right. When she looked up again and met another cold gaze, her breath caught in her throat and her face turned deathly pale.
"Go ahead and search me! We made a deal in front of so many people. I just told the old folks outside that if I win, I'll buy them candy!"
Shen Yuzhu spoke loudly from behind the crowd.
Yu Manman tried to back away, but Lü Guangzhi took the opportunity to push her.
"Search! I'm going to search everyone today, no matter who doesn't. So much time has been wasted, so many important things have been delayed. They've been hibernating all day and still causing me trouble. I think they're just bored. Starting tomorrow, everyone in the village will go and help me compost manure, and we'll dig up the ditch too. Damn it."
Hearing the captain's words, everyone became even more annoyed with Manman and Qiao Nianyu.
Just like the captain said, every time he causes a whole mess, he causes a whole whole mess. What an annoying bear.
Despite trying to comfort themselves, the two women felt uneasy under the strange looks they were being given.
Lü Guangzhi personally supervised the search of the two bedrooms, the main room, the woodshed, and the kitchen. At the very bottom of the woodshed, they found a pair of tattered cloth shoes tied together.
"!!!"
Everyone: "........."
If they were hiding something under here, and they were helping each other out, no one would believe there wasn't something fishy going on. Qiao Nianyu and Yu Manman both looked incredulous.
I've never seen anything so stupid. It's just a shoe, how could you hide it like that? Things like this should be hidden in a wardrobe, in the stove, or even under a dressing table.
"This... Comrade Yu, Comrade Qiao, you said you saw a disheveled man run out of Shen Zhiqing's courtyard. That man didn't bother to put on clothes, yet he still had time to tie these shoes so tightly and hide under such a heavy pile of firewood. Doesn't he... doesn't he feel cold feet?"
Yu Manman: "......."
Qiao Nianyu: "..."
The others didn't say anything, but suddenly someone chuckled, and the others joined in with laughter.
Yu Manman suddenly turned her head to look at Wang Yanhong and Zhang Shujuan outside, but they were nowhere to be seen.
They had considered having Wang Yanhong and Zhang Shujuan expose the accusations before, but they refused, saying they still needed to live in the Xiangyang production team and dared not cause trouble.
They had no choice but to come and take the risk, but they never expected these two people to be so incredibly stupid.
"I believe anyone with eyes can see, Comrade Yu, it's time for you to keep your promise."
Yu Manman's face was deathly pale, as if she had seen a ghost. She said in a trembling voice, "This, this is not evidence. Moreover, we really saw someone run out of your yard, but that doesn't prove that you didn't have an affair."
"You said you saw him around dusk, but Comrade Bai Chunyang and I arrived in the afternoon. If there really was a man there, wouldn't we know?"
Zhou Congsheng said sternly to Yu Manman.
"You're her fiancé, of course you'd say that."
"Then I can also testify. This is my first time here. I don't know Comrade Shen Yuzhu at all. I am quite familiar with Captain Zhou. I arrived in the afternoon and haven't seen any men before. Comrade Shen has been talking to us the whole time. Captain Lü left just then."
Before Yu Manman could say anything more, Qiao Nianyu quickly pulled her back. "She can testify, she really can. She, she is my sister. Manman, I already told you, you've seen wrong. Why do you have to make a scene? Comrade Shen, for the sake of Manman being a researcher at the Agricultural Research Institute, can you let this matter go?"
"That won't do, it's three hundred yuan after all!"
Yu Manman stared at Qiao Nianyu in astonishment. She hadn't expected to be betrayed at such a crucial moment. But it was Qiao Nianyu who had been the one to make the decision, and it was Qiao Nianyu who had made the agreement with Shen Yuzhu. She hadn't been involved at all from beginning to end.
Even if I told someone now, who would believe me?
Under Bai Chunyang's gaze, Qiao Nianyu leaned close to Yu Manman's ear and said, "Manman, just admit it. I'll write back and get your younger brother, who just graduated from high school, a job so he doesn't have to go to the countryside anymore. I'll compensate you with five hundred yuan when I get back. The agricultural research institute won't hold you accountable. Trust me."
Yu Manman stared at her for a while, then said softly, "One thousand, or you won't have an easy time either." Only after receiving confirmation did she turn to look at Shen Yuzhu.
The farce completely ruined Yu Manman's reputation. She bowed to Shen Yuzhu and apologized three times, saying that she was a gossip and agreed to send over three hundred yuan and a big-character poster the next day.
Shen Yuzhu said she would buy candy for the people who spoke up for her, and that she would do so tomorrow, before everyone left.
When Qiao Nianyu was about to leave, she was stopped by Bai Chunyang, and Qiao Wangshu also left with the two of them.
Zhou Congsheng pulled Shen Yuzhu up and down, gently stroking her face, his eyes revealing a hint of grievance.
"I'll let it go this time, but if you bring up breaking off the engagement again next time, I'll really get angry."
Shen Yuzhu shrank her neck and stuck out her tongue. Her clever and quirky appearance was completely different from her fierce demeanor outside.
"I was wrong, I was wrong. It was just something I said in the heat of the moment. Don't be angry, don't be angry."
She raised her little hands to beg for mercy, and Zhou Congsheng simply couldn't do anything with her.
Hehehe..
The two turned around and saw Panpan and the other children covering their mouths and giggling. They blushed bright red and patted the children's heads.
"Yuzhu, Captain Zhou, you two talk, I'll take the kids to make dinner, okay!"
Shen Yuzhu nodded and pulled Zhou Congsheng into the room. Just as she was about to light the kerosene lamp, the person behind her suddenly hugged her.
The room was dark, with only a few specks of moonlight filtering through the window.
The two had never been so close in a closed room before. For a moment, all they could hear was the other's suppressed breathing and increasingly rapid heartbeat.
"W-what's wrong?"
"Zhuzhu, it's my fault. Otherwise, you wouldn't have suffered such injustice today. When those filthy words were thrown at you like garbage, I almost went crazy. Zhuzhu, let's get married, okay?"
Shen Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat, and she gently shook her head, saying, "It's not time yet, wait for me a little longer."
Zhou Congsheng had a premonition about this answer. He wasn't exactly disappointed, but he felt that he hadn't given her enough security, which was why she was so hesitant.
The body in his arms was soft and yielding, completely dependent on him. He rested his chin on her shoulder.
"Okay, I'll listen to you, I'll listen to everything you say, but let me hug you one more time, I miss you so much."
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