Chapter 37 Lu Zheng hooked her collar
"Captain, you have to believe me! I really didn't do it! Someone is trying to harm me!" Liu Xiao'e cried out, her eyes seeing stars from the beating.
"Bullshit!"
Someone in the crowd immediately started cursing: "Liu Xiao'e, I knew you weren't a good person! We've caught you red-handed, and you still dare to deny it!"
"Exactly, their skin is thicker than a city wall!"
"This kind of scourge should be arrested."
When she still refused to admit it, the villagers' anger was completely ignited, and they pointed at her and cursed her.
Liu Xiao'e was verbally abused and had no chance to retaliate. Her eyes darted around, and in the end, she could only cast a pleading look at Lao Wu, who was hiding in a corner of the crowd.
The fifth brother was also bewildered, unable to understand why things had turned out this way.
He clearly only took a small bag of grain and hid it in the woodpile in the Lu family's yard. How did it turn into several large bags of grain appearing all at once in Liu Xiao'e's yard?
This is absolutely bizarre!
Feeling Liu Xiao'e's pleading gaze, Lao Wu was startled and lowered his head even further.
The job of grain custodian was one of the most lucrative positions in the village. Every year, he could use this job to secretly embezzle some grain and exchange it for money to buy alcohol.
If he loses this lucrative job because of this, where will he find other ways to make money in the future?
Seeing that he was avoiding speaking up for her, Liu Xiao'e said directly to him, "Fifth Brother, tell everyone quickly, was the woman you saw really a woman with big waves? Tell me! Look at my hair, it's so short it almost reaches my neck, how could it be big waves? That thief is Xia Qianqian, she framed me!"
Seeing that she was still throwing a tantrum and denying it, Xia Qianqian's anger disappeared. She just glanced at her and said, "Everyone, come and take a look. Why does the rope used to tie the bag look so familiar?"
Upon hearing this, everyone crowded closer to take a look. What they saw was alarming: the bag wasn't tied with rope at all, but rather with a piece of old, faded cloth.
The edges of the cloth strip were patched; it was a menstrual belt commonly used by rural women!
Women of that era used cloth menstrual belts as their personal coverings, and they would secretly hang them in secluded places to dry them.
If there are many women in the family, they may be afraid of getting them mixed up, so they will embroider their names on the corners of the ribbons as a mark.
Someone picked up a corner of the belt, took a look by the firelight, and immediately exclaimed, "This is Liu Xiao'e's menstrual belt!"
"Good heavens! This Liu Xiao'e is so shameless, using this to bundle grain!"
The women, upon seeing what it was, burst into a tirade of curses. The men's expressions also turned strange, and they all looked away.
Xia Qianqian's mocking gaze swept over Lao Wu and Liu Xiao'e: "The sacks used to hold the grain are obviously from the granary, but the straps are made with your menstrual belt. What exactly is your relationship with Lao Wu?"
Upon hearing this, the villagers were all suddenly enlightened and filled with disdain.
They wondered why Lao Wu, a bachelor, would help Liu Xiao'e attack Xia Qianqian for no reason. It turns out the two of them had been hooking up for a long time!
Everyone in Xiangyang Village knows what kind of person Lao Wu is.
He was a notorious old bachelor who couldn't resist the sight of widows and young wives in the village. He often took advantage of his position as the grain custodian to secretly offer small favors and take advantage of people.
There have been rumors in the past that he and Liu Xiao'e had an affair, but there was no concrete evidence. Now that this menstrual pad has come out, what else is there to be confused about?!
"No wonder Lao Wu was working so hard! Turns out he was standing up for his lover!"
"Tsk tsk, these two are shameless! They even brought out such personal items just to harm someone!"
"No wonder Lao Wu insisted it was Qianqian; it turns out he was seduced by Liu Xiao'e and deliberately framed her!"
Liu Xiao'e and Lao Wu were so scolded that their heads hung down so low they almost buried themselves in their crotches. Now, it was like mud falling into their crotches—even if it wasn't excrement, it was still excrement!
He helped Liu Xiao'e steal grain and frame her; even a fool could see through this scheme.
The production team leader went up and kicked Lao Wu: "You good-for-nothing Lao Wu, I trusted you to be the grain storekeeper, but you dared to steal from us and even helped that wicked woman Liu Xiao'e frame our fellow villager!"
Lu Zheng looked at Xia Qianqian, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
At the time, he simply grabbed a "rope" from the fifth brother's woodshed and tied it haphazardly to the grain sack without even looking at what it was.
Unexpectedly, Xia Qianqian was able to recognize the menstrual belt at a glance, and she was able to follow the clues to unravel the mystery, connecting it to Liu Xiao'e, and guiding everyone step by step to find the real culprit.
He initially thought that Xia Qianqian was just a pampered young lady from the city, and that she would be helpless in the face of such a thing. He did not expect that she was not only meticulous, but also swift and decisive, and would not suffer any loss.
Thinking of this, Lu Zheng's eyes seemed to be ignited with fire, and he looked intently at Xia Qianqian with a hint of barely perceptible amazement and appreciation.
At this moment, the production team leader walked towards Xia Qianqian with a guilty expression: "Miss Xia, we are so sorry. We wronged you tonight. On behalf of everyone, I apologize to you!"
As he spoke, he actually bowed to Xia Qianqian.
The production team leader was an absolute authority in Xiangyang Village. Xia Qianqian quickly reached out to support him and said with a smile, "Team leader, you're too kind. How can this be your fault? It was clearly Liu Xiao'e and Lao Wu who were malicious and set a trap to harm people. You were deceived by them."
Seeing how reasonable Xia Qianqian was, the production team leader's gaze softened even more.
He said softly to Xia Qianqian, "Qianqian, you're a good girl. In a few days, the county will be holding a training course for barefoot doctors, and there happens to be a spot in our village. You should go then."
This is a great opportunity!
Xia Qianqian said gratefully, "Thank you, Captain. I will definitely study hard!"
Over here, Liu Xiao'e and Lao Wu had already been taken away by the villagers with their arms tied behind their backs and were temporarily locked in the woodshed of the village office.
The production team leader waved to the villagers who were still discussing: "Alright, alright, it's almost dawn, everyone go home and rest early, you still have to go to the fields to earn work points tomorrow morning! I'll have someone keep an eye on these two for now, and we'll have a meeting to discuss how to deal with them after we finish our work!"
The villagers, who were already exhausted and their eyelids were drooping, dispersed when they heard the team leader speak.
Xia Qianqian yawned widely, rubbed her sore eyes, and just wanted to go back to bed and catch up on sleep.
Xia Qianqian had only taken two steps when she suddenly stopped. Huh? Why can't I walk anymore?
She turned around and saw Lu Zheng's fingertips hooking around her collar.
Lu Zheng's deep eyes shone brightly in the night. He gazed at her for a long time before asking, "How did you guess?"
Xia Qianqian's heart skipped a beat, thinking: Could it be that he has discovered something? She was just going with the flow and hadn't done anything out of line.
The thought flashed through her mind, and she smiled. Instead of pulling away from the hand that was hooked around her collar, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her warm breath almost spraying onto his ear: "Want to know?"
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