Chapter 73 Huang Zhaodi Apologizes in Public
Huang Zhaodi's arrogant words were still echoing in the office when, a second later, Lu Zheng's large hand gripped her neck tightly like an iron clamp.
Huang Zhaodi felt a wave of suffocation wash over her. Her eyes widened in horror; it was the first time she had ever felt that Lu Zheng was so terrifying.
At this moment, Lu Zheng exuded a chilling aura, like a demon god returning from hell. His face was as hard as if it had been carved by a knife, and every glance was like a sharp blade, as if he could take a life with just a look.
Lu Zheng gripped Huang Zhaodi tightly, his heart filled with remorse, as if a thousand ants were gnawing at his soul.
He should have expected that Huang Zhaodi, that crazy woman, would stop at nothing to sabotage Xia Qianqian once she produced the evidence.
How could I have been so careless as not to stop the production team leader from showing her the newspaper?
He was filled with self-reproach, and his fingers unconsciously tightened even more, as if he wanted to vent all his anger towards himself on Huang Zhaodi.
The production team leader stood there dumbfounded, only recovering after a long while. He looked at Xia Qianqian with a face full of guilt and said, "Comrade Xia, what... what are we going to do? I really didn't expect her to go so crazy, tearing up the newspaper!"
This newspaper looks like it's been out for a while. Where can I find an exact copy?
Without this crucial evidence, how could I explain the situation to the city leaders and seek justice for Xia Qianqian?
Lu Zheng held Huang Zhaodi tightly, but occasionally stole a glance at Xia Qianqian, fearing that Xia Qianqian could not withstand this sudden blow.
He tried to soften his voice and comforted her, "Qianqian, don't worry, let's think of another way."
Xia Qianqian raised her head slightly, a confident smile appearing on her lips, and said with certainty, "Don't worry, I have a way."
"What can you possibly do? Cough cough... Stop spouting nonsense, Xia Qianqian, you're dead this time!"
Huang Zhaodi's face turned bright red from being choked by Lu Zheng, and the veins on her neck bulged. She managed to squeeze out these few words with great difficulty.
Xia Qianqian glanced at her coldly, her eyes full of disdain: "You think that by tearing up this newspaper, I'll have no other evidence?"
Hearing Xia Qianqian say this, a glimmer of hope welled up in Lu Zheng's heart: Could it be that she really has other methods?
Xia Qianqian calmly reached into her pocket, pulled out a newspaper, and waved it gently in front of Huang Zhaodi.
He chuckled teasingly, "If you like tearing things up, feel free to do it. I have plenty more."
"you!"
Huang Zhaodi never expected that Xia Qianqian had more than one newspaper in her hand. Her lips trembled with anger, and she couldn't say a word.
Lu Zheng quickly clutched the newspaper tightly in his hand, protecting it carefully.
As he looked at the words on the newspaper, his brows gradually relaxed. He hadn't expected that Qianqian actually had a spare.
The production team leader said, "Lu Zheng, you can keep this newspaper. Tomorrow we'll go to the city together and explain things to the leaders."
"I don't believe this newspaper is real. You're all lying to me, aren't you?" Huang Zhaodi shouted at the top of her lungs as soon as Lu Zheng let go of her hand.
This time, the production team leader could no longer tolerate her unreasonable behavior and shouted, "Huang Zhaodi, you better behave yourself! Don't force me to kick you out of the village! You've made such a big mistake, you must pay the price for your actions. Tonight at the production team meeting, you will publicly apologize to Comrade Xia Qianqian!"
"You! You're all on this vixen's side!" Huang Zhaodi screamed upon hearing the production team leader's words.
Apologize to Xia Qianqian in public? How will she ever have the face to stand in the village again?
She stared intently at Xia Qianqian, her eyes filled with venom, her mind consumed by a single, insane thought—she wanted Xia Qianqian dead!
However, the production team leader didn't care whether she wanted to or not.
He said sternly, his tone leaving no room for argument: "If you don't want to, fine! Fine, then you can forget about getting any work points this month! And you can forget about staying in Xiangyang Village either; go back to where you came from!"
Upon hearing this, Huang Zhaodi's face turned pale instantly. The work points earned in a month were no small amount; they would be enough for her to live on for quite some time.
Moreover, her mother hadn't yet established herself in Willow Tree Village, so she couldn't go there to seek refuge. Thinking of this, she could only bite her lip tightly, remaining silent, her eyes brimming with humiliation and resentment.
Xia Qianqian and Lu Zheng ignored Huang Zhaodi and headed home.
When he got home, his mother had already prepared dinner.
After listening to Lu Zheng and Xia Qianqian recount what had just happened, Lu's mother slammed the spatula heavily on the edge of the pot and angrily said, "That shrew Huang Zhaodi is utterly despicable! How dare someone like her want to become a daughter-in-law in our Lu family?"
Seeing her mother-in-law's face flushed with anger, Xia Qianqian was afraid she might do something rash, so she quickly stepped forward to soothe her and gently advised, "Mom, calm down, don't get angry with that kind of person. There's a meeting in the team tonight, and the team leader asked her to give a self-criticism in person."
Tonight is the production team's regular meeting.
Usually, these meetings were mostly where the production team leader and the commune secretary would convey instructions from higher authorities, talk about the current revolutionary situation, and occasionally lead everyone in singing a few revolutionary songs, or hold a simple literacy class to teach everyone to recognize a few words. Although the atmosphere was serious, it was still relatively peaceful.
But today, as soon as the villagers entered the office courtyard, they sensed that something was wrong.
Huang Zhaodi stood silently in the corner, her head down, her eyes red and swollen like walnuts, while the production team leader and the commune secretary sat side by side behind the table, their expressions more serious than ever before.
"Is everyone here? Let's start the meeting!" The production team leader cleared his throat and banged heavily on the table.
Once the courtyard had quieted down, he said in a deep voice, "Today, an extremely serious incident occurred in our commune!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the villagers below immediately perked up their ears.
The commune secretary immediately stood up and recounted to the villagers Huang Zhaodi's actions of falsely accusing Xia Qianqian and tearing up revolutionary certificates.
Upon hearing this, the villagers immediately erupted in discussion, whispering amongst themselves and creating a buzzing murmur.
Huang Zhaodi was criticized by everyone, and her face turned red and purple with embarrassment, as if she had been slapped hard several times. She wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Seeing that the time was right, the production team leader said to her in a stern voice, "Huang Zhaodi, now apologize to Comrade Xia Qianqian and make a public apology!"
Huang Zhaodi raised her head and met Xia Qianqian's ambiguous smile. The mockery in her eyes felt like needles piercing her heart.
She bit her lip until it bled, filled with resentment and humiliation. She took two hesitant steps forward and reluctantly squeezed out three words: "I'm sorry."
The sound was so faint, like a mosquito's hum, that people standing a little further away couldn't hear it at all.
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