The setting sun, like blood, bathed the mud-brick houses of the Hongqi Production Brigade in a warm orange hue. After coaxing Shen Nian'an to sleep, Lin Wanqiu sat before the kerosene lamp, tidying her cloth bundle. The dim light danced on her fingertips, clearly illuminating the scratches on the recorder's casing. The clamor of the threshing ground during the day seemed to still echo in her ears, but Lin Moli's resentful gaze as she was dragged away remained like a thorn in her heart, making her feel that this turmoil was not truly over.
Her fingertips traced the cool surface of the recorder, her thoughts drifting away—how could Lin Moli, a cousin from out of town, who couldn't even recognize the roads when she first arrived in the village, dare to win over Old Lady Shen and spread rumors in just half a month? She even dared to threaten to report her to the commune? It was illogical that there wasn't someone pulling the strings behind the scenes. The wind outside the window grew stronger, rustling the corn stalks in the corner of the yard, as if someone was spying on her from the shadows, causing her to instinctively tighten her grip on the cloth bag in her hand.
Meanwhile, under the old locust tree at the west end of the village, a tall, dark figure leaned against the trunk, the hem of his dark robe billowing in the evening breeze, revealing a short knife tucked at his waist. Shen Tingzhou gazed at the kerosene lamp burning in Lin Wanqiu's house, his eyes swirling with complex emotions. During the day, he had hidden behind the crowd, taking in everything that happened on the threshing ground—he had seen Lin Wanqiu's resolute stance on the earthen platform, heard Shen Nian'an's choked voice when he said, "My mother is a good person," and noticed that when Lin Moli was exposed, a figure in the crowd quietly took two steps back—it was Zhao Jianjun, the son of the brigade secretary.
After faking his death, he lived in anonymity in a dilapidated temple outside the village, investigating the truth behind the leaked mission while secretly observing the well-being of his wife and children. At first, he thought Lin Moli was just a vain relative, but when he saw Lin Moli secretly give Zhao Jianjun a cloth bag, and Zhao Jianjun immediately went to the commune clinic to find an acquaintance, he realized that things were not so simple.
At that moment, Shen Tingzhou pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it by the moonlight. On it was information he had asked his comrade to find out—Lin Moli's hometown was Lijia Village in a neighboring county. Half a year ago, her father was arrested for stealing and selling collective property, and the family's farmland was confiscated. Logically speaking, she wouldn't have any spare money to come to the Hongqi Production Brigade to "visit relatives." What's even more suspicious is that before she came, Zhao Jianjun had gone on a business trip to the neighboring county. After returning, he took extra "care" for Lin Wanqiu, delivering grain and helping to repair the roof. Now that he thought about it, it was all a deliberate setup.
A soft rustling sound came from behind him. Shen Tingzhou tensed instantly, his hand gripping the hilt of his short sword as he whirled around. In the moonlight, he saw a wild rabbit dart out of the grass and run frantically towards the edge of the field. He breathed a sigh of relief, but his fingertips remained icy cold. He knew that Zhao Jianjun, relying on his father's power, had been a tyrant in the village and had repeatedly harassed Lin Wanqiu before. This time, it was highly likely that he had harbored resentment after being rejected and had joined forces with Lin Moli to spread rumors, trying to ruin Lin Wanqiu's reputation and force her to submit.
Thinking of this, a cold glint flashed in Shen Tingzhou's eyes. He tucked the note back into his pocket, and with light steps, he walked around the old locust tree, heading towards Old Lady Shen's house. After being criticized by the villagers during the day, Old Lady Shen hid at home and didn't dare to go out. At this moment, she was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) sighing, and on the kang table was half a bag of flour left by Lin Moli.
"Damn it, we've lost everything!" Old Mrs. Shen cursed, slapping her thigh. "If I had known that Lin Wanqiu was so capable, I would never have gotten involved with Lin Moli! Now look what's happened, everyone in the village is talking about me behind my back, and even my second son's marriage is going to fall through!"
"Mom, please keep your voice down!" Sister-in-law Zhang Lan walked in from the outer room, carrying a bowl of corn porridge so thin you could see your reflection in it. "If someone hears us, our family won't be able to stay in the village anymore."
"So what if I heard?" Old Mrs. Shen glared at her. "If you hadn't been greedy for Lin Moli's favors and helped her gossip in the village, would I have ended up in this state?"
Zhang Lan put down her bowl, a wronged look on her face: "Mother, I was just doing this for our family! Lin Moli said that as long as we kicked Lin Wanqiu out, she would help us get some scarce cloth coupons, but who knew she would be so useless..."
Every word of their conversation reached Shen Tingzhou's ears. Hidden behind a stack of firewood outside the courtyard wall, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper. It turned out that Old Lady Shen and Zhang Lan had not only accepted bribes from Lin Moli, but also knew that Lin Moli had someone backing her up; they just didn't know that person was Zhao Jianjun. Just as he was about to listen further, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the courtyard. He quickly and silently retreated, hiding in the nearby sorghum field.
The man who arrived was Zhao Jianjun. He carried a cloth bag and walked into Old Lady Shen's house with a gloomy face. Shen Tingzhou peeked through the gaps in the sorghum stalks and saw Zhao Jianjun throw the cloth bag onto the kang table and say angrily, "It's all your fault for being useless! You can't even handle a widow, and you let her make a big scene!"
When Old Lady Shen saw Zhao Jianjun, she panicked and stammered, "Young Master Zhao... I never expected that girl Lin Wanqiu had a 'recording device'! Now everyone in the village is on her side, and there's nothing we can do..."
"No way?" Zhao Jianjun sneered. "Lin Moli has already been sent back to her hometown. If she keeps her mouth shut on the way and tells everyone about us, neither of you will have an easy time!"
Zhang Lan turned pale with fright and quickly said, "Young Master Zhao, don't worry, we definitely won't tell anyone! It's just... it's just that the cloth coupons and grain you promised us..."
"Still want cloth coupons and grain?" Zhao Jianjun glared at her. "Now that things have been messed up, you're lucky you haven't been arrested! Quickly hide all the things Lin Moli left behind, so no one finds them!" With that, he turned and walked out, his hurried steps disappearing into the night.
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