The moment Ling Huanwu was taken away by the red armband, the entire village erupted in commotion.
"She deserved to be arrested!" someone in the crowd shouted. "Who told her to cause us to lose our loved ones!"
"Exactly, if it weren't for her, our lives wouldn't be like this!"
The crowd echoed, their faces filled with anger and accusation.
Aunt Liu and her second aunt stood aside, watching this scene, and couldn't bear to look at it any longer.
Aunt Liu exclaimed, "How can you say that? The village is able to develop tourism, and everyone can rebuild their houses without having to move away from the island. It's all thanks to her!"
"And she stayed up all night writing plans, proposals, and doing publicity so that we could live a good life. Is this how you repay her kindness?"
The second aunt nodded in agreement: "Yes, without her, we wouldn't be where we are today."
However, the public did not buy it.
Someone sneered, "She killed our loved ones; she's doing all this just to atone for her sins."
Aunt Liu was trembling with anger. "How could you be so heartless! Have you forgotten that storm surge back then? If she hadn't told me in advance and asked me to warn everyone to evacuate to the mountains, we would have died in that disaster long ago!"
"You're talking nonsense!" someone immediately retorted. "Didn't you say before that it was the goddess Mazu who manifested herself? How come you're saying it's her doing now?"
Everyone accused Aunt Liu of lying, and the scene descended into chaos.
At this moment, Political Commissar Hao stepped forward and said loudly, "Everyone, quiet down! What Aunt Liu said is true. She foresaw the storm surge and organized everyone to cope with it, thus avoiding disaster. She has also been working hard to develop the tourism industry over the years; I was just helping out a little."
Commissar Hao paused, then continued with increasing grief and indignation, "That explosion was man-made, it had nothing to do with her. Her husband also perished in that disaster, and she suffered no less pain than you."
"But what about you? Not only are you not grateful to her, but you also push all the responsibility onto her. How can you face her?"
Everyone was stunned by Political Commissar Hao's words. The pale and ashen expressions on their faces gradually turned into anger, and then into shock and regret.
They lowered their heads, their eyes reddened, and their hearts were filled with guilt.
It turns out they had all misunderstood her, and she had silently endured so much.
*
The air inside the iron bars was heavy and stuffy, like cotton wool soaked in water.
Ling Huanwu huddled in the corner, watching the former textile factory girl on the opposite bunk being dragged out by two people with red armbands.
That was the fifth person to be dragged away for criticism and denunciation this week.
The prison was crowded with "capitalist remnants" like her, as well as a few pale-faced educated youths who had been sent to the countryside and wore thick glasses.
Everyone's eyes were clouded with a layer of gray, and even their breathing was done with extreme caution.
Every morning, the sound of chains dragging in the corridor would instantly silence the entire cell.
No one knows who will be taken away next, and no one knows if those taken away will be able to return unharmed.
Finally, the sound of those cold iron chains stopped at the door of their cell.
"Ling Huanwu, come out!"
The red-armbanded man's roar slammed to the ground. Ling Huanwu slowly got up, and the wounds on her wrists from the iron shackles began to ache again.
She took one last look at the silent crowd in the cell, and the light in her eyes gradually dimmed.
She knew this day would come.
The truck carrying the prisoners bumped and jolted as it drove into the city, the sounds of people on the long street growing ever closer.
When Ling Huanwu was pushed out of the car, the glaring sunlight made her squint.
She saw a dense crowd of people crammed on both sides of the street, their murky eyes like countless needles, making her skin feel tight.
The wooden plaque around his neck was pressed down hard; the six black characters, "Su Wan, remnant of capitalists," shone so brightly in the sunlight that they made one's eyes dizzy.
Ling Huanwu gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, her fingertips turning slightly white.
To escape this catastrophe, she took off her silk cheongsam, put on coarse cloth clothes, and married Zhou Jiuzhen, who was stationed on the island, thinking that the sea breeze could blow away all the storms.
In the end, Zhou Jiuzhen was gone in that inexplicable explosion.
She was dragged back from the island and placed on the land she feared most.
"Down with the remnants of capitalists!" someone shouted first.
Immediately afterwards, a piece of rotten vegetable leaf, reeking of decay, hit her shoulder, and sticky juice slid down her collar.
She knew this was just the beginning; what followed would be rotten eggs, spoiled rice porridge, and insults and shoving that could crush a person's self-esteem.
Ling Huanwu closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and waited for the humiliation to befall her.
The expected cold filth did not fall on my face.
"Don't hit my daughter!"
A hoarse cry suddenly rang out, and Ling Huanwu opened her eyes abruptly, only to see two familiar figures rushing out from the crowd.
It's Ling's father and Ling's mother!
They had repeatedly torn her heart apart and pushed her into hell for the sake of their adopted daughter.
But at this moment, the elderly couple, who had long lost their former dignity, opened their arms and tightly protected her behind them.
The spoiled porridge was spilled all over Ling's father's back, and rice bits dripped down his faded white shirt.
Rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs were smashed on Ling's mother's head. The egg whites flowed down her gray hair and onto her face, mixing with her tears to form an indescribable filth.
They were covered in disgusting things, yet they were still desperately trying to block it, their voices hoarse from shouting: "She didn't do anything wrong! Don't bully her!"
Red-armbanded people rushed up quickly, hitting the old men on the back with thick, hard wooden sticks and dragging them to the side of the street.
As Ling's mother was being pulled by the hair, she turned back to look at Ling Huanwu, her lips trembling as she cried out, "Don't be afraid," her voice as broken as paper scraps in the wind.
Ling Huanwu stared blankly as the two were dragged into the depths of the crowd until they could no longer be seen.
"Continue the criticism and struggle sessions!"
No sooner had the red-armbanded man's shout fallen than a fist-sized rock came hurtling toward Ling Huanwu's head.
She closed her eyes, her heart filled with desolation.
Her nine tribulations are gone, so who can come?
"Bang!"
The dull thud of the stone hitting someone was heard, but the pain did not fall on her.
Ling Huanwu suddenly opened her eyes and saw a group of people with dark skin wearing patched fisher pants rushing out from the crowd.
They stood densely packed in front of her, like a wall that had suddenly appeared.
It's the people from the island!
Several villagers had blood drawn from their foreheads from being hit by stones, yet they still desperately protected the people in front of them.
Aunt Liu was still clutching the unfinished fishing net in her hand, and was using her body to block the rotten vegetables flying towards her.
Even Gou Sheng, the most timid person in the village, stood at the front with his neck stiffened, holding a rolled-up piece of paper in his hand.
"We can't hit her!" The old Party Secretary, who was leading the group, stretched out the scroll of paper, his voice booming and drowning out the noise of the crowd. "This is a petition from thousands of people on our island!"
“The names on the list are all marked with our red handprints. She helped us build a breeding farm, a cooperative, a school, and develop tourism, ensuring we never went hungry. She's a good person!”
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