Before the morning mist had completely dissipated, Zi Xi was awakened by a noisy commotion.
She pushed open the mottled wooden door and saw a crowd gathered in front of the dilapidated earthen courtyard next door.
Ji Yanchen was pinned to the ground in the mud by two burly farmers, his cheekbones bearing fresh bruises and blood seeping from the corners of his mouth.
He tensed his back like a trapped beast, yet stubbornly gritted his teeth and remained silent.
"Stealing collective grain again!"
"You didn't behave when we locked you up in the cowshed last time, did you?"
Wang Tiezhu, whose face was covered in pockmarks, kicked him hard.
Zi Xi's gaze fell on Wang Tiezhu's bulging trouser pocket, where half a grain sack was sticking out, stained with the same red paint as the lock on the collective granary door.
How could such an obvious flaw go unnoticed? Was this a plot device?
"Same old rule, three days' work points deducted."
“Lin Zhiqing, this is Ji Yanchen, a villager receiving the five guarantees (a government-provided social welfare program). If he…”
Captain Li Youcai sighed, and his expression froze when he turned around and saw Zi Xi.
"He didn't steal it."
A clear voice interrupted him.
Everyone was stunned, including Ji Yanchen, who was pinned to the ground.
He suddenly looked up, a hint of excitement flashing in his dark eyes. The little fairy actually believed him!
The atmosphere at the scene froze instantly.
The pockmarks on Wang Tiezhu's face contorted into a horrifying pattern as his facial muscles twitched, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
He instinctively covered his bulging pockets, but under the intense gazes of the crowd, he had nowhere to hide.
"I, I'm..."
Wang Tiezhu stuttered and backed away, his lower back bumping into a stone millstone on the threshing ground.
Ji Yanchen reacted faster than anyone else.
This usually taciturn young man suddenly sprang to his senses, his sun-darkened arms bulging with veins, and slammed Wang Tiezhu against the wooden door of the granary.
The accumulated dust fell in rustling sounds, mingling with Wang Tiezhu's pig-like screams.
"You son of a bitch, let me go! I'm a representative of the poor peasants!"
Wang Tiezhu struggled desperately, but Ji Yanchen ripped open his trouser pocket, and what fell out was not only a grain bag, but also three rusty grain warehouse keys.
The villagers who were watching immediately erupted in uproar.
"Isn't this the spare key that was lost the year before last?"
"No wonder we can't find the person who lost the grain every time!"
"You bastard Wang Mazi, last time you even instigated us to criticize Ji boy!"
Li Youcai's face turned ashen.
He snatched the keys, his fingers trembling: "Wang Tiezhu! What else do you have to say?!"
Ji Yanchen then let go of her hand and silently retreated to the edge of the crowd. He looked down at his worn-out cloth shoes, his thin ankles peeking out from under his mud-splattered trousers.
Until the little fairy's clear voice was heard: "Captain, what about Comrade Ji's work points..."
"Fix it! Fix it all!"
"Add five more work points as compensation!"
Li Youcai wiped his sweat.
After the crowd dispersed, Zi Xi found that Ji Yanchen was still standing in the same spot.
The morning light shone through his tattered clothes, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
His lips moved, but he said nothing in the end, and turned to walk towards the dilapidated mud house.
The morning mist had not yet dissipated when Zixi walked along the ridge of the field carrying a hoe, her neck burning from the sun.
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