Huang Yan secretly pinched Cheng Hongmei's waist with her fingers.
Cheng Hongmei squinted in pain.
She knew Huang Yan wanted her to come out and testify, but... but she didn't want to.
Jinlong is good-looking and has a nice voice. Although everyone says he's a hooligan, she thinks he's different from other hooligans. She doesn't want him to get involved with that brat Fang Qiao.
But her words carried no weight at home; no one listened to her.
While she hesitated, Huang Yan pinched her hard twice more, hitting her very hard.
Cheng Hongmei gritted her teeth unwillingly, and under Huang Yan's urging gaze, slowly raised her hand: "I, I saw it! I saw you and Brother Jinlong kissing in the reeds behind the village."
"Brother Jinlong? You call him that so intimately?" Fang Qiao seized on the loophole in Cheng Hongmei's address and struck back: "Since you two are so close, I'll tell everyone that the day before yesterday evening, you and your Brother Jinlong were drilling through straw stacks on the farm. I'll provide the time, place, and people. I think some people will believe me, right?"
Cheng Hongmei's eyes widened in shock, her lips trembling: "You! You're talking nonsense, I didn't!"
Fang Qiao's sharp gaze pierced Cheng Hongmei's eyes as she angrily questioned, "You can spout nonsense and smear me, so why can't I throw mud back at you?"
"I, I..." Cheng Hongmei felt guilty for a moment and unconsciously took a step back, but Huang Yan held her back and wouldn't let her back down.
Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and her voice faltered as she opened her mouth: "I... I didn't lie, I really saw it."
"You? What you say means nothing." Fang Qiao scoffed coldly, "Your whole family is in cahoots, I don't believe it."
At the crucial moment, Cheng Hongmei performed poorly, and Cheng Guihe stood in the middle of the crowd, his gaze gradually darkening.
Cheng Yajun tried to step forward, but Cheng Guihe grabbed his arm.
Cheng Guihe subtly shook his head at him, then pointed to Fang Qiao's house next door.
Cheng Yajun immediately understood and quietly withdrew.
Fang Qiao noticed and suddenly raised her voice: "If you want to kick me out and take my house, just say so! Do it openly! There's no point in hiding behind my back and ruining my reputation! Cheng Bodong is a real man, and as his own father, brother, and sister, I'm ashamed of how you've acted!
Seeing Cheng Yajun still walking towards her front door, Fang Qiao immediately called out to him: "I'm talking about you, Cheng Yajun. What are you doing sneaking into my house?"
"What for? To catch them in the act of adultery, of course!" Cheng Yajun smiled sinisterly. "To catch a thief red-handed, to catch an adulterer in the act! It's fine if you don't admit it, but once I drag your lover out of your house, let's see how you try to deny it then!"
After saying that, he bent down, picked up a brick from the ground, and smashed it hard against the lock on Fang Qiao's outer door.
The sturdy lock was easily opened with two blows of bricks. Just a second before Cheng Yajun barged in, Fang Qiao shouted, "Arrest my ass! So what if you drag someone out of my house? What does that prove? My wall is so low, who knows if you bunch of cowards had someone climb over and hide inside beforehand?"
"You're in cahoots, I don't accept that!"
Fang Qiao held her ground fiercely.
We can't back down, or we'll lose!
Cheng Guihe smiled sinisterly, thinking to himself: "Stubborn as a mule!"
Cheng Hongmei twisted her fingers, thinking of Li Jinlong, and felt a surge of bitterness in her heart: What kind of shoes and what kind of attitude is this? He's spouting nonsense about culture, I can't understand a word he says.
The next second, Cheng Yajun indeed dragged a thug-looking man out of the house.
Seeing Li Jinlong being dragged out of her house by Cheng Yajun, Fang Qiao's anger was almost palpable, as if it were spitting fire!
That's him!
In his past life, he conspired with the Cheng family to nail himself to the pillar of shame!
Years later, the impoverished man, who only knew how to boast at the dinner table, finally couldn't hold back any longer and started talking about his glorious past. Only then did Fang Qiao realize that he had received fifty yuan from the Cheng family as a reward.
Fifty yuan in 1970 was equivalent to two or three months' wages for an urban worker, but in the countryside, it was the amount an average family could save in two years.
It was this fifty dollars that ruined her life!
Fang Qiao gritted her teeth and suppressed her anger. As Cheng Yajun dragged him to the ground and pretended to hit him a few times, she couldn't wait to say the words she had already discussed.
"Xiao Qiao, it's all my fault. I couldn't control myself after drinking two bottles of wine and leaked our secret. Don't blame me, I'm just so frustrated. You're clearly carrying my child, but I can't tell anyone, and she has to call a dead man 'Dad.' I'm heartbroken. We've wronged Brother Cheng. He's gone now. You, just admit it and stop being stubborn."
As soon as Li Jinlong finished speaking, Cheng Yajun immediately sprang to his feet: "You filthy bitch, you dare to cuckold my brother! I'll kill this bastard!" With that, he kicked Fang Qiao.
Fang Qiao's pupils constricted, and she subconsciously stepped back. Just then, a small, thin figure struggled to squeeze out from the crowd and spread her arms to block Fang Qiao's way.
"You bastard, if you want to kill my great-grandson, kill me first!"
"grandmother!"
"grandmother!"
The previous sound was Cheng Yajun's complaining.
The next voice was Fang Qiao's, filled with tears.
"Don't be afraid, Grandma is here." Wang Chunhua was a petite woman, not tall, with gray hair and a faltering gait, but at this moment, she seemed like a goddess in Fang Qiao's eyes.
Fang Qiao, who had been tense all night, suddenly relaxed and called out "Grandma" again, moved by the moment.
Meanwhile, Cheng Yajun was furious: "Grandma, don't cause trouble for the family at a time like this. There are some things you don't know. The child that this bitch is carrying is not my brother's at all."
"Bullshit! I don't believe it!"
The old woman, her voice booming, pointed at Cheng Yajun's nose and yelled, "Who do you think your father and mother are? Do you think I don't know? To covet what Bai Dong left behind, your whole family has no shame. Bai Dong's body is barely cold, and you're already bullying his wife and trying to harm his child. Aren't you afraid that Bai Dong will come back as a ghost to haunt you?"
Cheng Yajun felt a chill run down his spine: "Grandma, don't talk nonsense. Ghosts and spirits are old news. You can't talk about those things now."
Having been condemned by his own mother for his poor character, Cheng Guihe finally couldn't sit still any longer. He stepped forward, his eyes lowered, and said sadly, "Mother, what you're saying is truly heartbreaking. Bai Dong is my son, and of course I want him to leave in peace. But this woman has cheated on me and is carrying another man's child. Mother, don't be fooled by this woman. Her lover has already admitted that this is an illegitimate child, not Bai Dong's. It would be a disservice to Bai Dong to accept it without his knowledge."
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