Chapter 33 Love Letters
Wang Laizi struggled to his feet, pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, and eagerly handed it to Aunt Zhou.
Aunt Zhou took it with suspicion. She was illiterate, so she looked at Xu Zhihong in the crowd and said, "Xu Zhiqing, come and take a look."
Xu Zhihong took the love letter and read it aloud as she read.
The letter was full of explicit love words, and she blushed when she read half of it.
Finally, upon seeing the signature, it clearly read "Liu Zhixia".
She looked at Liu Zhixia in astonishment: "Comrade Liu, did you really write this? But the characters are crooked and crooked, it doesn't look like something someone who writes regularly would write."
With Xu Zhihong's "testimony," the crowd instantly erupted in uproar.
Did Liu Zhixia break off her engagement with Lu Huaiyuan for Wang Laizi?
The reason is absurd, but the evidence is right in front of us.
Just then, Zhao Dongmei, who had been silent all along, stepped forward, snatched the love letter, and said coldly, "This letter paper is only available at our educated youth settlement. How could Comrade Liu possibly have gotten it?"
"Oh right!" Xu Zhihong suddenly realized, "Was it given to me by Comrade Liu Xuejun?"
“Our family studied at Xuejun Academy and never used anything issued by the brigade!” Zhang Xiuying immediately denied.
Shen Hongmei also took the letter and looked at it, then said with a smile, "The paper and ink that my brother-in-law used were bought by us in town. I can guarantee they're not this kind! This paper is much better than what we use at home!"
Liu Zhixia took the paper and smelled it: "This ink still has a fragrance. Our family can't afford it."
After saying that, she looked at Gu Mansheng, who was starting to break out in a cold sweat, with a smile in her eyes.
Gu Mansheng gritted her teeth and retorted, "You were dating Comrade Lu before, what if he was the one who gave it to you?"
“Okay,” Liu Zhixia raised an eyebrow, “then let’s go ask Lu Huaiyuan.”
A large group of people escorted Wang Laizi to the Lu family.
When Lu Jianping saw this scene, especially that Liu Zhixia was leading it, his heart skipped a beat. He quickly shouted into the house, "Quick, make that unfilial son hide!"
However, it was too late; Lu Huaiyuan had already walked out curiously.
“Our family already offered a sincere apology last time, what are you trying to do now?” Lu Jianping questioned Liu Zhixia with a dark face.
“Captain Lu, don’t worry,” Liu Zhixia blinked, “We’re here to ask Lu Huaiyuan to verify something.”
After Aunt Zhou explained the situation, Lu Jianping breathed a sigh of relief and scolded his son, "You brat, hurry up and explain yourself!"
Lu Huaiyuan was about to deny it when he caught a glimpse of Gu Mansheng winking at him in the crowd.
He immediately understood, put his hands in his pockets, and nodded: "Yes, I delivered it."
An uproar erupted around them.
Liu Zhixia narrowed her eyes: "Are you sure?"
"Of course!" Lu Huaiyuan said stubbornly, feeling guilty. "Didn't we write each other love letters every day before? But don't even think about getting me to take them out; I burned them long ago!"
“No wonder Comrade Liu is such a good writer,” Gu Mansheng suddenly realized. “He used to write like this all the time.”
A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.
Zhang Xiuying was so angry her eyes turned red: "What nonsense are you talking about! My daughter is not..."
Liu Zhixia quickly covered her mouth and calmly looked at Wang Laizi: "I think I not only wrote you a love letter, but also a token of our love, right?"
Wang Laizi smugly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket: "Don't you dare say I stole it from your house, or things will get complicated."
Seeing that the evidence was irrefutable, Lu Jianping looked at Liu Zhixia with disdain: "You look down on my son, an intellectual, but you actually like this kind of person."
Gu Mansheng also anxiously advised, "Captain Lu, you can't say that. Comrade Liu, things have already gotten to this point, why don't you just make a decision? It won't sound good if word gets out."
"Yeah, let's just settle it!" someone started to jeer.
Lu Huaiyuan felt a pang of unease as he watched this scene.
He knew this was Gu Mansheng's scheme, but Liu Zhixia was, after all, a woman he had once set his sights on. The thought of spending his life with a scoundrel like Wang Laizi made him feel disgusted.
Looking at Liu Zhixia's calm face, he wondered: Could she have given up on herself? If he were to play the hero and save her today, would she change her opinion of him and obediently marry him?
Seeing that everyone was getting more and more excited, Lu Huaiwan impatiently shouted, "Have you all had enough?!"
Seeing him like this, everyone naturally thought of their previous engagement and were all eager to watch the show.
Lu Huaiyuan walked over like a hero, stood next to Liu Zhixia, and shouted to the crowd, "I only said that Zhixia and I used to exchange love letters, I didn't say that the love letter in Wang Laizi's hand was written to him, right? What if it was written to me?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes widened in surprise.
Xu Zhihong scratched his head and muttered, "Now that you mention it, the love letter is addressed to 'My Lover,' and it certainly doesn't say it's for Wang Laizi. Could it be that Comrade Liu wrote it for Lu Huaiyuan, and then Wang Laizi picked it up!"
With Lu Huaiyuan's intervention, the situation seemed to be even more unfavorable for Wang Laizi.
His face darkened, and he hurriedly retorted, "Nonsense! She even gave me a token of our love! How could this little handkerchief, which I keep close to my body, be fake?"
Xu Zhihong retorted, "You might be the one who stole it! You've always been a thief in the village!"
As she spoke, she suddenly felt that the handkerchief looked somewhat familiar.
Taking advantage of Wang Laizi's inattention, Shen Hongmei snatched the handkerchief, pointed at him, and yelled, "This afternoon, my sister was washing jars by the river, and you went to harass her. I chased you away. Was that when you stole it?"
As she spoke, she unfolded her handkerchief and exclaimed, "Oh!" "This isn't my little sister's handkerchief; it looks more like the kind a city girl would use."
The village girls' handkerchiefs are all made of homespun cloth with large floral patterns, but this handkerchief is embroidered with small purple flowers and has lace trim.
“I’ve seen this in the city, it’s so expensive! My family can’t afford it!” Shen Hongmei said excitedly.
Xu Zhihong also saw the handkerchief clearly, exclaimed in surprise, and quickly covered her mouth.
Gu Mansheng glared at Liu Zhixia with hatred, knowing that it would be difficult to convict her today, so she tried to shift the blame to Xu Zhihong, saying sarcastically, "Yes, if this handkerchief doesn't belong to Comrade Liu, then whose could it be?"
"This is mine."
Zhao Dongmei came out and gave Gu Mansheng a cold look.
When Gu Mansheng saw that it was her, she panicked.
“Yesterday, when Gu, a educated youth, splashed water on Xu, I lent her my handkerchief. She said she would return it to me after washing it, but I never expected it would become a token for Wang Laizi.”
Gu Mansheng immediately retorted: "Oh! So someone came to our educated youth settlement under the pretense of inquiring about the exam to steal things!"
Liu Zhixia's eyes darkened: "So, now you're not only saying I'm indecent, but you're also trying to call me a thief?"
"How did the things that Zhao Zhiqing gave to Xu Zhiqing end up in your hands, and then you gave them to Wang Laizi?" Gu Mansheng pressed aggressively.
Liu Zhixia spread her hands and said slowly, "Isn't this simple? The letter was from the educated youth station. The handkerchief was also from the educated youth station. Both items are from the educated youth station, so who wrote the letter and who delivered the items? Sigh, it's really hard to guess!"
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