resentment
After Zhao Xiaofeng was locked up at home and given a lecture by Zhao Jianguo, she indeed behaved herself for two days.
But jealousy and resentment, like poisonous ivy, took root and spread in her heart. How could a few scoldings eradicate them? She felt that her father didn't help her, but instead favored outsiders. Especially when she saw Song Zhiyuan actually coming to her house to "threaten" her for Lin Xueyin, she was so angry that she almost gnashed her teeth.
After Song Zhiyuan cleaned up the graffiti on the wall that day, Zhao Xiaofeng didn't dare to vandalize it openly anymore. But she began using more covert methods. She took advantage of her work point recorder and her influence among the young women in the village to spread rumors about Lin Xueyin even more vigorously.
"I heard that her silk scarf is from a capitalist country!"
"She even hides bourgeois novels under her pillow when she goes to bed at night!"
"She and Song Zhiyuan must be unclear, otherwise how could Song Zhiyuan protect her so much?"
"She's just messing around with her teaching. She teaches useless things all day long and delays our children's education!"
These rumors were like the autumn rain, continuous and pervasive, gradually forming an atmosphere of public opinion in the village that was unfavorable to Lin Xueyin.
Some villagers, whose initial impressions of Lin Xueyin had changed because their children liked her, began to look at her with strange eyes again. Even outside of school, the children would sometimes be admonished by their elders to "stop listening to Teacher Lin's nonsense."
Lin Xueyin felt this invisible pressure. When she went to the well to fetch water, the women who had gathered there chatting and laughing would instantly quiet down, only to resume whispering as soon as she left. When she went to the commune to collect chalk, the clerk's attitude also became much colder. This pervasive exclusion and isolation was more painful than direct conflict.
Song Zhiyuan saw all of this, his eyes growing darker. He privately approached Zhao Jianguo once, his tone even colder than before: "Captain Zhao, rumors hurt people. I hope you can control your family and maintain stability in the brigade."
Zhao Jianguo remained submissive, thinking it was just a woman's gossip, and Song Zhiyuan was making a big deal out of nothing. He even complained to his wife privately, "Xiaofeng is just saying a few things out of frustration. If Lin Zhiqing is truly upright, why would she be afraid of rumors? With Song Zhiyuan protecting her so much, maybe there really is something..."
Somehow these words reached Zhao Xiaofeng's ears, and she became even more fearless. She felt that her father was on her side after all, but he couldn't support her openly for the sake of Song Zhiyuan's face.
Her behavior became more and more bold, and she even began to instigate a few girls who were close to her to go to the elementary school window and deliberately shout some sarcastic words to disrupt the class.
Song Zhiyuan's patience was exhausted.
He no longer went to look for Zhao Jianguo. Instead, one night, he went to the commune alone and knocked on the door of the office of the deputy director of the commune's revolutionary committee.
This deputy director, surnamed Zheng, had previously served in a military district in Beijing. He had some connections to Song Zhiyuan's family and knew part of the real reason for Song Zhiyuan's visit—not just to the countryside, but also to secretly monitor several professors who had been relegated to the "cowshed." This was a secret known only to a select few.
The next day, Deputy Director Zheng came directly to the brigade headquarters of Hongqi Commune and called Zhao Jianguo in with a serious face and talked to him for more than an hour.
No one knew what they had discussed specifically. All they knew was that when Zhao Jianguo emerged from his office, his face pale and his forehead covered in sweat, he looked at Song Zhiyuan with a look of unprecedented awe and fear, his waist unconsciously bent slightly.
That afternoon, Zhao Jianguo returned home with a grim face. Regardless of his wife's cries and attempts to stop her, he slapped Zhao Xiaofeng twice in the face, making her see stars.
"You're such a fool! You almost killed me!" Zhao Jianguo was so angry that he was shaking all over. "Listen to me! Tomorrow there will be a general meeting of all members. You must go on stage and sincerely apologize to Comrade Lin Xueyin in front of everyone! If you dare to play tricks, I will break your legs!"
Zhao Xiaofeng was stunned and terrified. She had never seen her father so furious and... so frightened. She couldn't understand what kind of powerful background Song Zhiyuan had that could frighten her father, who had the final say in Hongqi Commune, so much?
The next day, a general meeting of all members was held in the threshing ground. The atmosphere was solemn. Zhao Jianguo took the stage first and delivered a bitter self-criticism, saying that his lax management of his household and his inability to discipline his daughter had led to Comrade Zhao Xiaofeng spreading false rumors, damaging the reputation of Comrade Lin Xueyin, an educated youth, and undermining the unity between the educated youth and the members.
Then, amidst the shocked, bewildered, and onlookers, Zhao Xiaofeng was shoved onto the stage by Zhao Jianguo, who harshly scolded her. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes were red and swollen, and her face was covered in fingerprints. She no longer had her usual arrogance.
She lowered her head and mechanically recited the self-criticism that Zhao Jianguo had forced her to memorize in a voice as soft as a mosquito. She admitted that she had deliberately fabricated rumors and slandered Teacher Lin Xueyin out of jealousy, and promised that she would never do it again. She asked for forgiveness from Teacher Lin and everyone else.
The audience fell into complete silence, stunned by this sudden turn of events. Everyone's gaze turned to Lin Xueyin, standing at the front of the group of educated youth, and to Song Zhiyuan, who stood beside her with a stern, emotionless expression.
Lin Xueyin looked at the disheveled Zhao Xiaofeng on the stage, feeling no pleasure. She simply felt a chill. She vaguely suspected that Song Zhiyuan had orchestrated this, a highly effective tactic Zhao Jianguo couldn't resist. Song Zhiyuan... who was he?
Zhao Xiaofeng stood on the stage, feeling the gazes from all sides—some sympathetic, some contemptuous, and even more gloating. She had never experienced such humiliation in her life, especially admitting her fault in front of the entire village to the person she hated the most! Every second felt like simmering in a frying pan. Her hatred for Lin Xueyin reached its peak at this moment, seeping through her entire being like venom.
After she finished her apology, she almost staggered off the stage and disappeared into the crowd.
After the meeting, the rumors died down. The villagers even treated Lin Xueyin with a cautious deference. Everyone could see that this seemingly delicate city girl had someone they couldn't afford to offend.
However, beneath the calm surface, the undercurrent is even more turbulent.
Zhao Xiaofeng locked herself in her house and didn't go out for several days. She no longer cried or complained, but her eyes grew gloomier day by day. When she occasionally went out, the look in her eyes towards the elementary school and Lin Xueyin was like a poisoned knife, cold and crazy.
"Lin Xueyin... Song Zhiyuan... You've embarrassed me... I will never let you go..." She swore over and over in her heart, a more sinister plan slowly taking shape in her dark heart. She didn't dare to provoke her openly, but as long as she did it cleanly, who could trace her back to her?
She must make Lin Xueyin pay back a hundredfold for the face she lost and the humiliation she endured!
Although Song Zhiyuan warned Zhao Jianguo and suppressed the rumors, he keenly realized that Zhao Xiaofeng had not truly repented, and the resentment behind the silence was even more dangerous.
He secretly increased his attention to Lin Xueyin, and at the same time was thinking about how to fundamentally solve this hidden danger so that Lin Xueyin could truly live and work here with peace of mind.
Lin Xueyin's life seemed to have returned to normal. Her teaching work was running smoothly, and the villagers were polite to her. But she knew in her heart that Zhao Xiaofeng's apology was not sincere. The suppressed hatred was like a landmine buried in the ground, ready to explode again at any moment. The mystery surrounding Song Zhiyuan also gave her a complex and inexplicable feeling of dependence and gratitude.
The sky over Hongqi Commune seemed clear, but it seemed as if a greater storm was brewing.
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