Leading the group was Zhou Shuhua, the women's director. Her eyes were sharp, and she exuded an air of authority without being angry.
When Qiu Chunfang, Li Hongjuan, and the others watched the movie, they occupied the very center seats.
Just when we were watching the most exciting part of the movie, a few people suddenly stood up and left, making quite a commotion, and their expressions and movements were all strange.
Zhou Shuhua could tell at a glance that these two were definitely up to something.
She stopped watching the movie and kept an eye on where they were going.
As soon as she heard the pig-like screams, she immediately led her people over.
The beams of seven or eight flashlights pierced the darkness, instantly illuminating the grove as if it were daytime.
Everyone stared intently, and were immediately dumbfounded—
Qiu Chunfang, Li Hongjuan, and several other military wives were currently struggling in the cesspool in a sorry state.
Their hair was disheveled, and their bodies were covered in filth; their previous arrogant demeanor was completely gone.
The military wives watching couldn't help but whisper among themselves, some covering their mouths with their hands and chuckling to themselves.
Zhou Shuhua frowned and quickly shouted for people to pull them up.
But it was a cesspool, and the stench was overwhelming. The military wives who were watching all backed away, and not one of them was willing to help.
In the end, Zhou Shuhua called over the soldiers who were maintaining order in the square.
Several young soldiers exerted tremendous effort, panting heavily, before finally managing to pull the men out of the cesspool.
After struggling for a long time, the men were exhausted and collapsed on the ground, weakly wiping the dirt off their bodies with handkerchiefs.
"What happened? What are you all doing...?"
Seeing their disheveled appearance, Zhou Shuhua frowned, took out a handkerchief to cover her nose, and spoke with a tone full of doubt.
"Director Zhou, you have to stand up for us! It's Zhou Qiqi!"
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Qiu Chunfang's sharp voice.
Her face turned bright red, like a boiled shrimp; at that moment, she no longer cared about being embarrassed.
Extending a trembling finger, she pointed tentatively at Zhou Qiqi not far away and rattled off everything she knew in a rapid-fire manner.
"Zhou Qiqi, Zhou Qiqi wants to take advantage of everyone watching the movie to meet Lei Ming in the woods! Zhu Yingying passed Lei Ming a note yesterday afternoon! I'm here to catch them cheating!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes turned to Zhou Qiqi.
The rumors about her in the compound had been circulating for some time, and now they've exploded.
People whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with gossip and curiosity.
Zhou Qiqi had anticipated that Qiu Chunfang would retaliate. She slightly raised her chin, tilted her head gently, her eyes innocent and clear, and her voice as clear as a broadcaster's.
"What rendezvous? What note? I don't understand. Aunt Qiu, don't make false accusations!"
She paused, then continued.
"You're saying I had a secret rendezvous with Lei Ming? Where is Lei Ming?"
The group shone their flashlights around, but the woods were empty; there wasn't a man in sight.
A murmur of doubt immediately arose from the crowd. Some said Qiu Chunfang was spreading rumors, while others speculated that Lei Ming might have taken the opportunity to run away.
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Zhou Shuhua's voice suddenly rose, and her tone became serious.
"Lei Ming's junior high school classmate got married these past two days. Yesterday at noon, he hitched a ride with Commissar Lei. How could he be having a rendezvous with someone in the woods!"
Director Zhou is the Women's Director, and she is known for her impartiality and incorruptibility. She would never lie.
Upon hearing this, Qiu Chunfang's face turned deathly pale, but she was still unwilling to give up and shouted at the top of her lungs.
But she was still not giving up and shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Impossible! I clearly saw it with my own eyes! Zhou Qiqi wrote a note! It had the time and place written on it, and a drawing of a boy and a girl! It even had a heart drawn!"
She did have a brain; her eyes darted around, and she immediately came up with another idea.
"If it wasn't Lei Ming, then it must be someone else! Otherwise, why would Zhou Qiqi sneak into the grove while everyone was watching the movie? She must have arranged to have an affair with a man!"
Her words successfully garnered support from some people.
"That makes sense. They finally get a movie screening, and instead of watching it, they're running off to this grove..."
"That's right..."
Zhou Qiqi curled her lips into a cold smile, walked calmly towards Qiu Chunfang, fanned the pungent smell in front of her nose, and her eyes were full of mockery.
"Why would I come to the grove? The answer lies with you, Aunt Qiu."
What do you mean by that?
Qiu Chunfang looked bewildered and hadn't reacted yet.
Deng Cuixiang laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight. After finally catching her breath, she raised the shovel hidden behind her back and said...
"We're here to dig a manure pit. The vegetable garden hasn't yielded a good harvest lately, so I wanted to find a spot to dig a manure pit and collect some fertilizer. I asked Qiqi to draw up a plan for me, and Yingying helped write the report. Yesterday afternoon, Yingying handed it over to Director Zhou for approval on her way."
"Look, I just went to a nearby village to collect some fresh pig manure during the day. I was worried it might rain in a couple of days, so I dragged Qiqi along to help me dig it up quickly so it wouldn't be delayed!"
As she spoke, she gestured with her chin toward Zhou Shuhua.
"If you don't believe me, you can ask Director Zhou."
Zhou Shuhua nodded.
"That's absolutely right. Digging manure pits is a legitimate purpose, and I approved it yesterday afternoon."
As Zhou Shuhua spoke, Deng Cuixiang kept rummaging through her pockets.
As soon as Zhou Shuhua finished speaking, she exaggeratedly slapped her forehead, pulled a crumpled piece of white paper from her pocket, held it high, and waved it in front of everyone.
"Oh dear, I still carry it with me. Here it is! Everyone, take a look!"
Everyone crowded around to take a closer look, and indeed the time and place were written on the paper, but what was drawn was not a little person at all, but clearly several pigs that were dung and a small dung pit, which corresponded perfectly to the scene in front of them.
The military wives looked at the drawing paper, then at Qiu Chunfang and the others who had just crawled out of the cesspool and were in a sorry state, and their pointing and whispering grew louder.
"People are digging latrines to collect fertilizer, and they insist they're cheating on their partners. What kind of nonsense is this!"
"Absolutely! They've stolen all the good fertilizer! This is a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead!"
"She believes everything she hears! Luckily I didn't come with her, or I would have fallen into the latrine too!"
"Who can argue with that!"
......
Qiu Chunfang, Li Hongjuan, and the others wished they could disappear into the ground; their faces turned bright red, and they were extremely embarrassed.
Especially Li Hongjuan, she didn't say a word the whole time.
From the moment they fell into the cesspool, she knew they had fallen into Zhou Qiqi's trap.
She had been trying to stop Qiu Chunfang from talking, but Qiu Chunfang wouldn't listen and insisted on getting to the bottom of things.
And now, the joke is getting bigger and bigger!
Seeing that more and more people were gathering, she quickly pulled Qiu Chunfang away and ran away.
These men were covered in pig manure, and wherever they went, all the military wives covered their noses and kept their distance, afraid of being contaminated by them.
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