Chapter 13: Rumors and slander must be compensated
"Don't worry, I will help you find out about this matter and will not let you suffer any injustice."
Secretary Chen is a fair man and he is very influential in the brigade, otherwise Su Heng would not have come to him.
"Secretary, I know you're the most fair, but if this matter isn't made clear, I'll be saddled with a reputation like this, and I'll never be able to clear it in my lifetime. How will others view me? How will they view the Lu family?"
The branch secretary also understood this. He frowned and nodded, asking Su Heng to wait a moment.
Then I asked people around me about the situation and found out that it was spread by the group of people who often gossip at the village entrance.
Secretary Chen knew the people in the team well, and he knew who spread the rumor as soon as he heard it, so he asked Su Heng to go to the village entrance to look for that person.
People who wanted to watch the fun also followed. There were so many people that passers-by came over to join in the fun when they saw them.
When we arrived under the big tree at the entrance of the village, we saw a huge group of people who had not been to work today. Almost half of the team was alarmed.
The old lady who was still sitting there chatting was confused and a little surprised to see Su Heng, but there was no guilt on her face.
"Secretary, what are you doing?"
Secretary Chen looked at the old lady Zhang who was asking the question with a dark face: "What? I want to ask you what you want to do?"
Old Lady Zhang: "What are we doing? We're just sitting here chatting. What do you mean by that, Secretary?"
Secretary Chen: "Let me ask you, who spread the rumor yesterday that the Lu family's daughter-in-law ran away with someone?"
The old men and women looked at each other in confusion when they heard this. Old Lady Li asked, "Secretary, why are you asking this? We were just chatting casually."
When the other old ladies saw that the situation was not right, and that the person involved was right next to the branch secretary, they were afraid that he was here to cause trouble, so they immediately moved away from the two ladies.
Sure enough, the branch secretary flew into a rage upon hearing this: "Just talking nonsense? You're spreading rumors! You're so full every day that you do such a wicked thing, bullying Su Heng, a newly married young wife. Do you still want to save the reputation of our brigade?"
The old lady was still stubborn: "We were just saying it casually, why are you taking it so seriously? It won't hurt you to say a few words to her."
Su Heng sneered, "Just saying it casually, but I'm saying your son is a mistress and is living off his wife all day long, stealing and cheating. If you don't practice good manners at your age, you'll end up in hell with your tongue pulled out sooner or later."
She smiled innocently after she finished speaking: "Don't take it seriously, I just said it casually."
The two old ladies pointed at Su Heng and cursed as if their lungs were stabbed.
Whoever started the rumor immediately revealed it without even asking.
The branch secretary suddenly shouted in a deep voice: "That's enough, shut up!"
"Since this rumor originated from you two, you should apologize to Su Heng and never talk about other people's family affairs again!"
The two old ladies were already dissatisfied with being scolded in public by the branch secretary at their old age, and when they heard that they had to apologize, they immediately refused to accept it and started to make a scene.
"My family is so poor, and you're asking me to pay you for just a few words. It's so unfair! You're bullying me!"
"That's right, there's no way I can survive!"
Su Heng watched them rolling on the ground with cold eyes and stopped Secretary Chen who was about to speak.
He said slowly: "It's okay if you don't want to pay, but I won't accept a private settlement. I'll report it to the police, and we can talk to them.
"You've spread rumors and slandered the families of heroes, insulted soldiers, and have incorrect thoughts. Should you be criticized or educated? Let the public security comrades make the arrangements."
The two old ladies stopped crying immediately after hearing this and became scared when they heard the police.
These days, people who are severely criticized for their ideological education will be sent to labor camps! They are all old.
There were many happy people among the onlookers. These old ladies gossiped about other people every day.
Especially the young girls and young wives have suffered for a long time and they wish they could really go to labor camps.
Wang Xiaocui, who was hiding in the crowd, was shocked when she saw Su Heng killing everyone, but she was secretly glad at the same time.
Suddenly I felt that Su Heng was still merciful to me that day.
Old Lady Li: "This... this shouldn't be the case. I didn't do it on purpose."
"As for that, of course not." Su Heng said coldly: "Rumors can kill without bloodshed. You should have thought about the consequences when you spread rumors."
She looked at Old Lady Li and said, "I remember you have a grandson who works as a scorekeeper. You have serious ideological problems. Can your grandson still apply to the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University?"
Old Mrs. Li suddenly became anxious. If she really went to jail, her grandson's future would definitely be ruined. That was the hope of the Li family.
"It has nothing to do with my grandson! I was fooled by Mrs. Zhang. I apologize to you, okay? My grandson is completely unaware of this!"
Old Mrs. Zhang also became anxious, and the two of them started to quarrel among themselves.
Su Heng clapped her hands and signaled them to stop: "I don't have time to watch your performance. Come with me to explain to the police."
"No, I won't go. Secretary, please try to persuade them. Let's settle this privately. Let's do it privately, okay? We apologize!"
Old Mrs. Li was so anxious that she wanted to rush over and kneel down to Su Heng, but Su Heng quickly moved away because she couldn't bear it.
The branch secretary did not dodge. Looking at the old lady who was older than himself kneeling in front of him, he felt that his life was shortened and his face became even darker.
The secretary's wife quickly called on her daughters-in-law to go and pull the man up.
The branch secretary looked at Su Heng and said, "Since we're all from the same brigade, it's not a good idea to be too harsh. This is your first offense, so let's settle it privately and ask the family to compensate you. What do you think?"
Su Heng had no intention of actually sending the two old ladies in, as they had a large family behind them.
If she did something too ruthless, she would inevitably be retaliated against in the village.
People can't help but be afraid of her. Although she is not isolated, I'm afraid no one is willing to deal with her anymore.
Thinking of this, Su Heng nodded: "The branch secretary is the most fair, I will listen to him."
Secretary Chen felt a little relieved after being praised. After all, he didn't want to make a real scene in front of the police, as that would really ruin the reputation of their Red Star Brigade.
I’m afraid it will be difficult for the young men in the team to get married in the future.
Secretary Chen: "Since Su Heng is willing to let you go for the sake of the brigade, you should each pay her two yuan as a lesson."
"What? Two dollars! This is too much. Where can I, an old woman, get these two dollars?" Old Mrs. Zhang cried again. How much food would this cost to buy?
The branch secretary knew what was going on. Given the circumstances of these two families, they could afford the two dollars. Since they had to pay compensation, he would let them learn a lesson.
He lost his patience: "Either each of you pay two yuan, or report it to the police. I'm not negotiating with you!"
The two old ladies fell silent.
Su Heng added: "I won't accept IOUs."
Secretary Chen urged: "Hurry up, go back and get it now, otherwise I won't be able to take care of it anymore."
The two old ladies had no choice. They had met a tough guy today. They could only look like the sky had fallen and go back with their people to get the money with sad faces.
The onlookers watched a great show, and those who had been rumored also followed Su Heng and others to watch the show at home with great interest.
The remaining old men and women under the tree were so frightened that they broke out in cold sweats and no longer wanted to come here to chat in the short term.
It’s all Old Lady Zhang’s fault. Why are you spreading such nonsense?
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