“Aunt, look how bad Lin Wanqiu’s reputation is now. No one will dare to associate with her anymore. Once she can’t stay in the village anymore, you can drive her away and take all her chickens and other good things for your uncle.”
"Jasmine, you're so resourceful!" Old Mrs. Shen's voice was full of smugness. "But you have to be careful not to give her any leverage. If she finds out it was you who spread the rumors, who knows what she might do to you!"
"Don't worry, Auntie," Lin Moli chuckled, her tone full of disdain, "Even if she knows I did it, there's nothing she can do about it. If she dares to do anything to me, I'll go to the commune and report her for abusing her relatives. Then her reputation will be even worse!"
Lin Wanqiu stood at the door, listening to the conversation between the mother and daughter inside, trembling with anger. She raised her hand to knock, but suddenly stopped—going in now would only alert them, and Lin Moli would definitely deny it; she needed to find more compelling evidence. She quietly retreated to a corner and took out a small voice recorder from her spatial storage—a tool she often used in modern times, which unexpectedly came in handy today. She pressed the record button, recording the conversation word for word.
After recording, she quietly left the side room, a weight finally lifted from her heart—with this recording, Lin Moli couldn't deny it anymore. Just as she was about to go home, she saw Zhao Jianjun, the son of the brigade secretary Zhao Jianguo, swaggering towards her from the village entrance. His eyes lit up when he saw her, and he quickly approached her: "Wanqiu, I heard you've been in trouble lately? Do you need my help? If you come with me, no one in the village will dare bully you anymore!"
Lin Wanqiu felt a wave of nausea looking at Zhao Jianjun's greasy face. She coldly pushed him away: "Zhao Jianjun, stop dreaming! Even if I never marry, I'd never be with someone like you! If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll tell your father to teach you a lesson!"
When Zhao Jianjun was rejected by Lin Wanqiu, the smile on his face vanished instantly, and he said viciously, "Lin Wanqiu, don't push your luck! Do you think you still have the right to be picky? Once your reputation is completely ruined, let's see who will help you!" After saying that, he turned and left, not forgetting to glare fiercely at Lin Wanqiu before leaving.
Watching Zhao Jianjun's departing figure, Lin Wanqiu felt a growing sense of unease. Zhao Jianjun had always harbored ill intentions towards her, and now that he was involved with Lin Moli, he might join forces against her. She had to expose Lin Moli's true colors as soon as possible; otherwise, things might get complicated and unforeseen problems might arise.
Back home, Lin Wanqiu hid the recording pen and took out a few sheets of paper and a pen from her storage space. She began to write a letter of clarification—she wanted to write down the facts of Lin Moli's slander one by one, find a few villagers who believed her to testify, and then read it aloud in front of everyone at the next village meeting so that the whole village would know the true face of Lin Moli.
As she was writing, she heard a knock at the gate. She went to open it and saw Aunt Wang carrying a basket of eggs, smiling as she walked in: "Wanqiu, my old man's illness is completely cured. He specially asked me to bring you some eggs. Thank you!"
Lin Wanqiu quickly took the eggs and said with a smile, "Aunt Wang, you're too kind. This is what I should do."
Aunt Wang held Lin Wanqiu's hand and sighed, "Wanqiu, I know some people in the village have been saying bad things about you lately, but don't take it to heart. My husband said you're a good person, and those rumors are all false. If you need any help, my husband and I will definitely be on your side!"
Looking into Aunt Wang's sincere eyes, Lin Wanqiu felt a warmth in her heart—at this crucial moment, someone was still willing to believe in her and support her, which strengthened her resolve to clarify the rumors. She said to Aunt Wang, "Aunt Wang, thank you. I plan to expose Lin Moli's true colors in public at the next brigade meeting. I'll need you to be my witness then, proving that the medicine I used to treat your old man was legitimate, not some kind of evil method."
Aunt Wang nodded quickly: "No problem! I'll definitely go then. I'll also tell everyone that you're a good person. If anyone dares to spread rumors again, I'll be the first to object!"
After seeing Aunt Wang off, Lin Wanqiu received support from several villagers. Grandpa Zhang came to tell her that if Lin Moli dared to cause trouble again, he would gather the village elders to teach Lin Moli a lesson. Li's wife also brought a basket of vegetables, saying that no matter what happened in the future, she would stand by Lin Wanqiu's side.
Seeing the villagers supporting her, Lin Wanqiu felt even more confident. She knew that as long as she presented evidence, coupled with the villagers' testimony, Lin Moli's rumors would surely be disproven. She continued writing her clarification letter, her pen flying across the paper, each word imbued with her determination—she not only wanted to clear her own name, but also to make Lin Moli pay the price for her actions, letting everyone know that she, Lin Wanqiu, was not someone to be trifled with!
In the evening, Lin Wanqiu went to pick up Shen Nian'an from school. Just as she reached the classroom door, she saw Shen Nian'an and several classmates gathered together, chatting and laughing as they played games. Seeing Lin Wanqiu, Shen Nian'an ran over quickly, her face beaming with joy: "Mom! Nobody laughed at me today! Wang Xiaoming even shared his candy with me!"
Lin Wanqiu picked up her son, kissed him on the cheek, and said with great relief, "You see, as long as Mom explains things clearly, no one will dare to bully you anymore. Our lives will get better and better from now on, and no one will let us suffer any more grievances."
Shen Nian'an nodded vigorously, her little hands tightly hugging Lin Wanqiu's neck: "Mom, I believe you!"
As the sun set, its golden rays bathed the mother and son in a warm glow. Lin Wanqiu carried her son home, secretly planning—the next village meeting was the day after tomorrow, and she needed to be fully prepared to present evidence publicly, humiliating Lin Moli and ensuring she would never dare cause trouble in the village again. However, she hadn't expected Lin Moli to do something even more outrageous in her attempt to stop her…
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