The whole village was astonished when Yu Youqing was criticized and denounced. This boy was usually quiet and reserved, rarely spoke loudly in front of others, and was always timid. How could he possibly hit Zhao Jinyun? It must have been Zhao Jinyun who had pushed him to his breaking point. However, the reasons behind this were left for everyone to speculate about.
Zhao Minglang asked his sister, "What exactly did Youqing do to offend Zhao Jinyun? She was even taken to the commune for criticism and struggle sessions."
Zhao Mingyue shrugged and said, "How would I know?" She planned to keep this a secret from Yu Youfen, not even from her own brother. It wasn't that she was afraid her brother would be prejudiced against Yu Youfen, but she worried that if Zhao Minglang knew the truth, he wouldn't be able to resist breaking up Zhao Jinyun, and then things would get really serious. Zhao Minglang's temper was much worse than Yu Youqing's.
Zhao Mingyue knew that although Yu Youqing had already been retaliated against by Zhao Jinyun, this matter was definitely not over yet, and Zhao Jinyun would not let her off the hook. She was waiting patiently for this blow to come.
That evening, the brigade held another meeting to continue discussing the fate of the tea garden, and Zhao Mingyue, of course, wanted to see what was going on. Shen Xuyue analyzed the pros and cons of keeping or discarding the tea garden in detail, mentioning water conservation and soil erosion issues. He emphasized that "it takes ten years to grow a tree," and cultivating a tea forest is not easy; it requires a long time. Cutting down trees is easy, but replanting them is difficult. After speaking, he asked everyone to vote by secret ballot.
The members of the cooperative were generally uneducated and had limited perspectives. They were like weather vanes, always thinking that everyone had their own version of events, and that both sides had a point. But after Shen Xuyue analyzed the problem, everyone felt that the tea garden should be kept.
In fact, the brigade cadres had already held a meeting, and most of them agreed to preserve the tea garden. Only Zhao Jinyun insisted on destroying the tea garden.
The secret ballot of the cooperative members showed that 80% supported preserving the tea plantation, and it was successfully preserved. Zhao Mingyue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and felt even more grateful and admiring towards Shen Xuyue. He really was a very talented orator, and his words were very persuasive and engaging.
As the meeting adjourned and everyone was preparing to leave, Zhao Jinyun suddenly said, "Comrade Zhao Mingyue, please stay. There's a question that needs to be investigated. Please cooperate."
Zhao Mingyue stopped and looked at Zhao Jinyun. Many people also stopped and looked at Zhao Mingyue.
Zhao Jinyun took out a piece of paper and said slowly, "I recently received a letter of accusation like this. Secretary Shen, please take a look."
Shen Xuyue took the letter of accusation and was both amused and exasperated by the clumsy and childish handwriting on it: "Director Zhao, this is just a prank, how can you believe such a letter of accusation? Any problems can be resolved privately, there's no need to bring them up in the meeting. That's all for everyone, go back now, Zhao Mingyue, you can stay."
Zhao Jinyun took a sip of tea and said unhurriedly, "We are leading cadres. When the masses write to us, it means they trust us, so naturally they want to verify it. Having illicit relationships isn't that serious. On a small scale, it's a private matter; on a larger scale, it affects social morals."
The voices were quite loud, especially the words "incestuous relationships," which were emphasized so heavily that almost everyone present heard them. Everyone stopped. Zhao Shunsheng and his sons, who were all present for the meeting, immediately changed their expressions. Zhao Mingyue, however, gave a cold smile, stepped forward, and prepared to speak. Zhao Shunsheng quickly stopped his daughter: "Mingyue." He turned to Zhao Jinyun, "Director, you can't just say things like that. This concerns my daughter's reputation. She's only a teenager; she would never do such a thing."
Zhao Jinyun took another sip of tea and said with a smile, "This is not what I said; someone reported it."
Shen Xuyue frowned and said seriously, "Director Zhao, this kind of thing concerns the reputation of an unmarried woman. How can you just talk about it in public?"
Zhao Jinyun said, "I haven't drawn a conclusion yet, whether or not it's promiscuity. I'm here to ask the parties involved for verification, aren't I?" He emphasized this point again.
Zhao Mingyue's brothers were furious. This was outrageous! Who did Zhao Jinyun think she was, blatantly disrespecting them and insulting their unmarried sister like that? The three brothers rolled up their sleeves, ready to rush forward and tear Zhao Jinyun's mouth apart. Zhao Minglang roared, "Zhao Jinyun, you're spouting nonsense! If you dare to talk back, I'll beat you to death!" He then lunged forward to teach Zhao Jinyun a lesson.
Zhao Mingyue quickly grabbed her third brother's arm: "Third brother, don't be impulsive, listen to me. Brother, don't act rashly. This is a society that values reason. I don't believe anyone can just spout nonsense and distort the truth, saying the earth is flat." Zhao Mingyue stepped forward, "Director Zhao said someone reported me for having illicit relationships? Is there any evidence or witnesses?"
Zhao Jinyun looked at Zhao Mingyue: "Here is a letter of accusation, saying that you played around with Cheng Moumou from Chengjia Village, and had close ties with Yu Moumou from our village, and even—" He clenched his fist, coughed, and glanced at Shen Xuyue, "and had a very close relationship with our Secretary Shen."
Everyone present was in an uproar.
Shen Xuyue's face was as black as the bottom of a pot: "Director Zhao, words have two sides, and the tongue can kill. You are a leading cadre, and you can't just believe everything you hear. I don't know about others, and I can't be sure about others, but I can guarantee that my interactions with Comrade Zhao Mingyue are all normal work-related. I have never done anything improper; it's purely a friendship between comrades. Just from this point of view, this accusation letter is completely fabricated, and its credibility is laughable."
Zhao Mingyue said, "I don't know any Cheng Moumou from Chengjia Village at all. A while ago, a man surnamed Cheng came to my house to propose marriage, but I felt I was too young and refused. Aunt Luo can testify to this. As for Yu Moumou, I don't know who you're talking about. Is he my classmate Yu Youqing? I have almost no private contact with him, except for one time. Director Zhao and Secretary Shen both know clearly what happened that time, so I don't need to elaborate. Director Zhao, as a leading cadre, you are a public servant. The people trusted you and elected you. Is this how you uphold justice for the people?"
Zhao Jinyun chuckled and said, "I'm just doing my job. I also want to seek justice for you, which is why I asked you to come and verify." He was simply making excuses. In this kind of situation, even if someone knows it's completely fabricated, no one would bring it up openly. To say that Zhao Mingyue was having affairs in front of almost the entire group, even if it wasn't true, would still be incredibly embarrassing. Zhao Jinyun's goal, of course, was to embarrass Zhao Mingyue and ruin her reputation.
Zhao Minglang, with his neck straight, shouted, "Zhao Jinyun, I curse your ancestors for eighteen generations! Don't think that being a director is anything special. Haven't you done enough disgusting things yourself? What right do you have to insult my sister?"
Zhao Shunsheng roared, "Minglang, shut up! What's all this fuss about? Mingyue didn't do this, that's already made clear. It's obvious someone is jealous of her and is trying to smear her. The innocent are innocent, what's there to say? Go back!"
Zhao Mingyue took a deep breath: "May I see that letter of accusation, Secretary Shen?"
Shen Xuyue looked at the girl with some sympathy and handed her the letter: "I'm sorry, Comrade Zhao Mingyue, this is due to our village committee's improper handling of the problem, and you have been wronged." Even if such a thing were true, let alone fabricated, no one would bring it up in a public setting, let alone from the mouth of a brigade director. This is clearly settling a personal score.
Zhao Mingyue glanced down at the pencil-written letter of accusation. It contained several typos, and the handwriting was crooked and messy, like a primary school student's. After a quick look, she understood the situation. Then she handed it back to Shen Xuyue: "I hope Secretary Shen can keep this letter, is that alright?"
Shen Xuyue looked at her, and her composure surprised him. Most girls would be too ashamed to show their faces in such a situation, but she was calmly and collectedly handling these issues. She was really composed. He nodded and said, "Okay."
Zhao Mingyue glanced at Zhao Jinyun, who was grinning smugly. Clearly, he knew there was no evidence, but his goal was to embarrass her in front of everyone and smear her reputation. Even if the whole thing was fabricated, it would take on a completely different meaning depending on who heard it and how it spread. Rumors become rumors precisely because they eventually become distorted beyond recognition. Public opinion can be devastating; Zhao Jinyun had played his trick brilliantly.
Zhao Mingyue gritted her teeth. She was determined to remember this debt and pay it back slowly in the future. Zhao Jinyun, let's see how long you can keep up this smugness.
Zhao Mingyue's older brother, Zhao Mingliang, was unaware of the feud between Zhao Jinyun and Zhao Mingyue. He also believed that his sister would never have provoked Zhao Jinyun, so he was quite indignant about the matter: "Director Zhao, as a brigade director, how could you publicly accuse my sister of having inappropriate relationships? You're clearly bullying an underage girl. This is utterly despicable. How can you expect people to respect you in the future? Since this matter is untrue, shouldn't you apologize to my sister?"
Zhao Mingliang meant to force Zhao Jinyun to apologize to Zhao Mingyue, but Zhao Jinyun had finally found an opportunity to vent his anger, so how could he easily admit his mistake? He said, "If it happened, it happened; if it didn't, then forget it. Who's going to bother arguing with you about it?"
Zhao Minglang suddenly broke free from the restraints of Zhao Shunsheng and his second brother Zhao Minghui, rushed forward, and kicked the table in front of Zhao Jinyun. Startled, Zhao Jinyun jumped back, tripped over the stool he was sitting on, and fell flat on his backside. Shen Xuyue, quick-witted and agile, caught the table, preventing it from hitting Zhao Jinyun. Zhao Minglang roared, "You bastard, what do you mean by 'if it's true, it's true'? I'll curse your ancestors! This is slander!"
Zhao Mingyue quickly hugged her third brother around the waist: "Third brother, calm down. Things have come to this, stop making a scene. I know what's going on in my heart, and reasonable people will understand. I said let's forget it, let's go home!" As Zhao Mingyue said this, tears welled up in her eyes. Half of these tears were for her third brother standing up for her, and the other half were to cry for the people in the room to see. If she didn't show weakness at this moment, how could others sympathize with her, and how could public opinion be on her side?
She didn't want to make a big fuss. If Zhao Jinyun got hurt, she would have to pay compensation and face lawsuits, which would be a huge loss. Anyway, Zhao Jinyun wouldn't be able to gloat for long, so she would settle the score later.
The brigade accountant helped Zhao Jinyun up, and Shen Xuyue said, "Both of you calm down. We can talk about it tomorrow. Comrade Zhao Mingyue, did you hear that? Go back first, and we will definitely give you justice."
Zhao Mingyue said, "Yes, Secretary Shen."
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