Chapter 111 Spitting in her face
Because of her "meritorious exposure," No. 8 simply handed over the responsibility of preparing the denunciation meeting to Xia Wenwen.
Xia Wenwen wanted to make a name for herself in front of No. 8, so she used this matter as a ladder to climb up the ladder. She has been so busy these past two days that she has barely slept.
On the morning of the third day, three large trucks drove onto the street.
The cargo containers were filled with men in blue overalls carrying rifles and holding megaphones: "Attention, revolutionary masses! A mass meeting will be held at noon today in the city center square—"
The sides of the truck bed were covered with big-character posters, and Xia Qianqian's name was crossed out in red pen, which looked particularly glaring.
The commotion drew the attention of the neighbors, who came out of their homes and gathered around.
"Xia Qianqian? Is she the adopted daughter of the Xia family?" someone asked on tiptoe.
"I heard they stole gold bars from the Xia family and even funded counter-revolutionaries!" someone immediately chimed in, their voice low. "The guy in blue overalls has ledgers, which he says are irrefutable evidence!"
"We should go check it out!"
The crowd grew larger and larger like a snowball, and by the time the car reached the intersection, it was completely blocked by the dense crowd.
"Make way! Make way!" The man in blue overalls jumped off the bus and shouted as he forced his way through the crowd.
The venue was already packed with people. Xia Wenwen, dressed in a brand-new blue overalls, stood on the side of the stage maintaining order, holding a megaphone in her hand.
Suddenly, a commotion arose from the back of the crowd.
"Commander No. 8 is here!" someone shouted, and the previously noisy square instantly fell silent, followed by a deafening roar of shouts: "Welcome, Commander! Welcome, comrades from the command post!"
The slogans were so loud they hurt people's eardrums, and many people were pushing and shoving forward on tiptoe.
Surrounded by a group of people in blue overalls, Number 8 slowly walked through the crowd. He slightly raised his chin, his gaze sweeping over the excited faces, quite satisfied with this scene of "universal support," and nodded slightly.
"Salute to our revolutionary comrades!" his adjutant suddenly shouted.
"Long live the leader! Long live the revolution!" The crowd immediately shouted, and applause rained down like a storm. Number 8 walked onto the platform amidst the boiling cheers.
He walked to the center of the stage, where there was a long table covered with a red cloth, on which were placed a microphone and an account book.
Standing at number 8, his gaze swept across the sea of heads below the stage like a hawk's, and he slowly raised his right hand and pressed it down.
The deafening shouts and applause subsided instantly, leaving only the rustling of the banners in the wind and the faint sound of slogans being broadcast from afar.
"Comrades, fellow villagers," Number 8 finally spoke, his voice booming across the square through the microphone, cold and hard like metal scraping, "Before we begin the meeting, let us first pay tribute to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the revolutionary cause!"
He lowered his head first, and the crowd below the stage was stunned for a moment before following suit. Xia Wenwen immediately pressed the record button, and the song suddenly started playing. The melody echoed in the empty square, carrying a kind of solemn and tragic feeling.
As the song ended, Number 8 suddenly opened his eyes and his voice rose sharply: "The land that our martyrs bought with their blood must never be defiled! Today, we will stand here and denounce the class enemies!"
"Down with Xia Qianqian!" Xia Wenwen was the first to scream, almost poking her own face with the megaphone in her hand.
"Down with Xia Qianqian!" shouted the blue overalls below the stage, their voices in unison.
Seeing that the atmosphere had been set, Number 8 gave a wink to the audience, and immediately four people in blue overalls escorted Xia Qianqian and the others onto the stage.
Xia Qianqian was pushed onto the stage. She didn't look at Xia Wenwen, who was grinning maliciously on the stage, nor at No. 8's cold face. Instead, she quickly searched through the crowd.
No.
Only when her gaze swept over the row of sugar painting stalls at the edge of the square and she didn't see Lu Zheng did her heart, which had been hanging in suspense all morning, finally begin to relax slightly.
"Everyone, look closely!" Xia Wenwen suddenly grabbed the microphone. "That's Xia Qianqian! The one who stole gold bars from home to fund counter-revolutionaries—"
Before she could finish speaking, a small commotion suddenly arose in the audience.
Previously, the affair between the real and fake heiresses of the Xia family had caused quite a stir in the city. Now that both of them were on stage, whispers could be heard from all around.
Xia Wenwen saw all of this and couldn't help but feel resentful. Even at this point, these idiots were still sympathizing with Xia Qianqian!
She turned abruptly and shouted at the crowd, "Look carefully! This is her true face! She pretends to be kind on the surface, but behind the scenes she's up to undermine the revolution!"
As she spoke, she winked at the crowd.
Several men dressed in shorts immediately jumped out from the crowd, clutching rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs in their hands; they were the "mass representatives" she had arranged in advance.
"Kill Xia Qianqian!" the triangular-eyed man shouted, and the others immediately joined in the commotion. Eggs, rotten vegetable leaves, and sour-smelling cornbread rained down on Xia Qianqian, but she still stood tall and straight.
Xia Wenwen was trembling with rage—she didn't want silence, she wanted her to break down! She wanted to see Xia Qianqian kneeling on the ground, crying and begging for mercy!
"Confess your crimes right now!" Xia Wenwen shouted.
"Confess your crimes! Confess your crimes!" Several "plants" she had arranged beforehand immediately shouted, and the surrounding crowd, unaware of the truth, were also swayed by this commotion and joined in the shouting.
Xia Qianqian suddenly smiled.
"You want me to confess?" Her voice wasn't loud, but it drowned out the surrounding slogans. "Confess how your Xia family trafficked arms? Or confess how your father secretly smuggled factory machinery to the Japanese?"
Xia Wenwen's expression changed drastically: "What nonsense are you spouting!"
In her eagerness to convict Xia Qianqian, she forgot to keep her distance and rushed forward two steps, almost touching Xia Qianqian's face. "You still dare to spout nonsense at a time like this? I think you won't shed tears until you see the coffin!"
Xia Qianqian had been waiting for this moment. She gathered all her strength and slapped him across the face.
Xia Wenwen was knocked to the side by the blow, and the megaphone in her hand fell to the ground, still playing slogans intermittently, which looked particularly comical.
Xia Wenwen was stunned. It took her a full three seconds to react before she screamed and lunged at Xia Qianqian: "Xia Qianqian, I'll kill you!"
But before she could get close, Xia Qianqian suddenly felt a churning in her stomach, and with a "whoosh," she vomited up the sour and rotten stuff in her stomach!
"Ugh—!" Xia Wenwen's scream came to an abrupt halt.
She watched helplessly as yellowish-green vomit splattered onto her blue overalls, with a few drops even getting on her face. The sour, foul smell assaulted her nostrils, making her dizzy and lightheaded.
"You...you..." She pointed at Xia Qianqian but couldn't say a word. The pungent smell made her bend over and gag.
The originally serious atmosphere of the conference was ruined by this scene, turning it into a joke. The crowd couldn't help but cover their noses and quietly left.
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