The next afternoon.
The threshing ground of the forest farm was cleaned up and surrounded by villagers and educated youth.
Zhang Qiang wants to hold a denunciation meeting here to punish the educated youth who poisoned the youth.
A series of hurried footsteps approached.
Zhang Qiang personally dragged the educated youth out of the woodshed.
The other person had disheveled hair, clothes covered in straw, and a face as pale as paper. Zhang Qiang pushed him to the open space in the center of the threshing ground, where he stumbled and almost fell.
"Everyone, look carefully!" Zhang Qiang picked up a tin megaphone and spoke loudly, his voice carrying throughout the entire area. "This man is Sun Hao. It was him who put rat poison in the water tank in the female educated youth dormitory yesterday, trying to kill them! If the old doctor hadn't arrived in time, and if the female educated youth hadn't discovered it early, someone might already be dead!"
The crowd erupted in chaos, with villagers pointing at Sun Hao and hurling insults.
"How could he do such a despicable thing!"
"This is too vicious! This is going to kill someone!"
"I never expected there to be such a person. He's a menace and can't be allowed to stay in the forest farm!"
Just then, the crowd parted to make way.
Several female educated youths walked out, supporting each other.
They were the educated youth who were poisoned yesterday, along with Zhao Xiaoyan and Xu Xinghe.
Although they were still a little pale and their bodies had not fully recovered, their attitude was very firm. They were determined to see Sun Hao pay the price with their own eyes!
"Captain Zhang, this kind of person cannot be let off lightly!" Lin Hong supported the female educated youth beside her. "He tried to kill us; he must be punished!"
Zhang Qiang nodded to Lin Hong, picked up the tin megaphone and continued, "The commune has sent word that, in response to Sun Hao's poisoning, they have decided to first parade him through the streets of the forest farm and nearby villages to publicly criticize him, so that everyone can see his evil deeds, and then send him to the police station to be sentenced and imprisoned according to the law!"
"No! Captain Zhang, I was wrong! I'll never do it again!" Upon hearing that he was going to jail, Sun Hao panicked instantly. He knelt down with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly to Zhang Qiang, leaving red marks on his forehead. "Please give me another chance. I'm willing to do the hardest and most tiring work. I don't want to be paraded through the streets, I don't want to go to jail!"
Zhang Qiang stared at him coldly, unmoved. "Now you're scared? Didn't you think about the consequences when you poisoned him? Too late!"
Seeing that pleading with Zhang Qiang was useless, Sun Hao turned around and crawled towards the female educated youths, kowtowing as he crawled, tears and snot streaming down his face. "I was wrong! I shouldn't have poisoned you. Please forgive me. Please beg Captain Zhang to plead for me and not make me parade through the streets or go to jail, okay?"
"Don't come any closer!" A female educated youth who had been poisoned yesterday immediately took a step back and shouted angrily, "When you wanted to kill us, why didn't you think about us? It's too late to say this now!"
The other female educated youth echoed his sentiments, and not one of them was willing to plead for him.
There are limits to repaying evil with kindness.
This person tried to kill them; they absolutely cannot be let off lightly!
Undeterred, Sun Hao crawled towards Xu Xinghe again, grabbed her clothes, and kowtowed repeatedly, pleading, "Li Juan, I know you're kind-hearted, please beg for my life! I promise I'll change and never do bad things again!"
Xu Xinghe jerked back, shaking off his hand, and said with disgust, "Don't touch me. I don't want to be touched by someone like you, lest it shorten my lifespan. You have to bear the consequences of your own evil deeds; no one can help you."
Sun Hao's hand froze in mid-air. Looking at Xu Xinghe's indifferent eyes and the angry gazes of everyone around him, he finally realized that he had no more chances.
He slumped to the ground, muttering that it was all over, but no one paid any attention to him.
"Pull him up!" Zhang Qiang shouted to the two villagers. "Publicly punish him first, then take him to the police station!"
The villagers immediately rushed forward, helped Sun Hao, who was slumped on the ground, and carried him out of the threshing ground.
As Sun Hao was dragged away, he cried out that he was wrong, his voice growing fainter and fainter until it disappeared into the murmurs of the crowd.
Seeing this, the female educated youth finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
They surrounded Xu Xinghe and Zhao Xiaoyan, thanking them profusely, "Li Juan, Xiaoyan, it's all thanks to you, otherwise we would have been in real trouble this time!"
"If you hadn't discovered the poison in the water tank and hadn't called a doctor in time, we might not have survived!"
As they spoke, several female educated youths took things out of their pockets.
Some took out a piece of brown sugar they were reluctant to eat, some took out a small bag of biscuits, and some took out the bills they had saved for a long time and stuffed them into Xu Xinghe's hand.
"Take these things; they're a small token of our appreciation. Also, you must take a copy to Li Guowei for us. We heard from Doctor Wang that yesterday Li Guowei carried Doctor Wang back to the educated youth settlement. If Doctor Wang's legs were any better, by the time he walked back on his own, we would probably be doomed!"
Xu Xinghe looked at the things in her hands and felt a warmth in her heart. "Don't be shy, keep these things for yourselves to help your health. I'll talk to my cousin about it; he just did what he was supposed to do."
...
After Sun Hao was sent away, the forest farm gradually returned to its former tranquility.
Several more days passed, and the long-awaited Naadam Festival finally drew near.
There were only two days left until the event.
The weather has been exceptionally hot these past few days. The midday sun is like a giant fireball, baking the ground until it's scorching hot, and even the air feels sweltering.
After finishing their morning work, no one was too lazy to go back to the dormitory, so they all found a big tree next to the threshing ground to cool off and rest.
Some were dozing against tree trunks, some were sitting on the ground with a cloth spread out and fanning themselves with straw hats, and some were taking small sips of water from their water bottles. No one wanted to say a word, and they felt that even their breath was hot.
Just then, a familiar buzzing sound rang out; it was Zhang Qiang's loudspeaker activating. "Attention everyone! Attention everyone! Assemble immediately in the brigade headquarters courtyard for a meeting! There's something important to announce!"
The sound from the loudspeaker carried static, yet it clearly resonated throughout the entire forest farm.
Upon hearing that a meeting was to be held, although everyone was reluctant, they dared not delay. They slowly stood up, picked up their belongings, and moved towards the brigade headquarters.
Xu Xinghe also got up, put on his straw hat, and pulled the brim down low in an attempt to block out the glaring sunlight.
After walking only a few steps, sweat began to stream down my face, dripping onto my clothes and quickly spreading into a small wet patch.
"This weather is unbearable. It's so hot and we still have to work. I can't stand it," she muttered to herself, feeling a pang of frustration.
I used to think that summers in the north were cooler than in the south, but after coming to the forest farm, I realized that midday in the north can be so hot that it's hard to breathe. However, there is a big temperature difference between morning and evening. The wind blowing in the early morning and evening is cool, not the sticky heat of the south. It's very refreshing, which is much more comfortable than Shanghai.
She strolled slowly to the brigade headquarters courtyard, where a large number of people had already gathered.
Everyone was looking around, searching for a cool place. Some squeezed under the eaves, some squatted in the shade of the corner, and some simply sat on the stone slabs in the courtyard.
The stone slabs were scorching hot from the sun, but it was still better than standing in the sun.
Xu Xinghe found a spot near the eaves and sat down. Soon, several female educated youths gathered around her.
Since the male educated youth were sent away, the female educated youth have become much more active and are no longer as reserved as before.
They huddled together, chatting in hushed tones, creating a relaxed and lively atmosphere.
As they were talking, Zhang Qiang came out of the house with a megaphone, and the courtyard instantly fell silent.
He cleared his throat. "I have something to tell you all. The Naadam Festival is in two days. Our forest farm participates every year, and this year is no exception. We'll set off early tomorrow morning to stay on the grassland for a few days and have a good time."
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