Ever since Li Xinru met Xiang Zhennan and Wen Xiya, she has felt suffocated.
After lunch, everyone rushed off to rest.
She pulled Liu Aiguo aside and whispered:
"Comrade Liu Aiguo, I saw that big capitalist Xiang Zhennan is perfectly fine in the village."
Liu Aiguo said nonchalantly:
“They’ll definitely be released after the criticism session. They can’t keep criticizing him forever; they have to make him do labor reform.”
Li Xinru looked at Liu Aiguo with hope and said:
"Why don't you go to the Revolutionary Committee and ask them what's going on?"
Liu Aiguo waved his hand and said:
“I don’t have time to go. I have to go to work and earn work points. Secretary Bai said that if I don’t work hard, I won’t get any grain after the autumn harvest.”
After he finished speaking, he strode back to his room to rest.
Unable to find any allies, Li Xinru was extremely frustrated and temporarily abandoned her plan to go to the Revolutionary Committee.
After working in the fields for several more days, I only earned 3 work points a day despite working myself to the bone.
She looked at the blisters on her hands and then thought of Wen Xiya's nonchalant demeanor.
My dissatisfaction reached its peak instantly.
She found the squad leader, Bai Wenli:
"Captain, I have a terrible headache and would like to ask for a day off to go to the hospital."
Bai Wenli thought that this Li Zhiqing was very difficult to deal with. Anyway, she couldn't do much work in a day, so he readily issued her a certificate.
The next morning, Li Xinru ate breakfast and then took an oxcart to the city.
She was lucky; as soon as she arrived at the gate of the Revolutionary Committee, she saw Zeng Daming leading Zeng Daqing out.
She had seen this man the day Xiang Zhennan was arrested; she stepped forward and stopped Zeng Daming.
Zeng Daqing immediately pushed her away: "Are you looking for death!"
Li Xinru almost fell, but she steadied herself and loudly told Zeng Daming, "I want to report this."
Zeng Daqing asked her, "What do you want to report?"
Li Xinru quickly said, "Report the capitalists."
Zeng Daming glanced at Li Xinru, a fair-skinned and fresh-faced young woman.
He twitched his eyebrows and said to Li Xinru:
"I have something to do now, let's talk as we walk."
Then he said to Zeng Daqing, "Let's go to Pear Blossom Lane first."
Zeng Daqing glanced at Li Xinru and followed behind the two in a good mood.
Zeng Daming walks rather slowly now, so he and Li Xinru chat as they walk.
Along the way, Zeng Daming had already learned a lot about Li Xinru.
The family is a working-class family in Beijing. The father is an ordinary worker, and the mother is unemployed.
Upon arriving at Pear Blossom Lane and entering the courtyard, Zeng Daqing poured hot water for the two of them and then left the room.
Zeng Daming sat down leisurely before asking Li Xinru:
"You should report that capitalist."
Li Xinru said excitedly, "They are Xiang Zhennan and Wen Xiya, whom you arrested last time."
Zeng Daming nearly knocked over his cup, staring at Li Xinru and asking:
How do you know he's a capitalist?
Li Xinru said, "I said that day that I am his neighbor. His family used to live in a big house, had a factory, and even hired maids."
Zeng Daming touched his knee and asked again:
"Did you write that whistleblower letter last time?"
Li Xinru nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes, I wrote it."
Zeng Daming can no longer run or jump, and he has to walk slowly, which makes him extremely distressed.
He didn't dare to cause trouble for Xiang Zhennan, for fear of losing his life.
This anger was trapped in my heart, with nowhere to vent it.
Li Xinru came to the door and admitted that she was the one who wrote the accusation letter that had harmed her.
Since her looks don't even meet the boss's standards, he can't blame me for taking it out on her.
Seeing Zeng Daming's strange smile, Li Xinru sensed something was wrong and got up to leave.
She walked to the door, but it was locked tight, and she couldn't get out at all, which made her afraid.
She roared, her voice trembling with fear:
"What do you want to do? I'm a former educated youth from Beijing."
Zeng Daming walked over, touched her face, and whispered:
"If you behave well, you'll suffer less."
Li Xinru, who considered herself superior, couldn't possibly be interested in Zeng Daming, who had an ordinary appearance. She kept backing away, not letting Zeng Daming get close.
Her actions angered Zeng Daming.
Zeng Daming stepped forward, grabbed her hair, dragged her into the inner room, lifted her onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and pressed down on her.
Li Xinru struggled desperately, scratching wildly with both hands, leaving a bloody scratch on Zeng Daming's face.
Zeng Daming got angry, slapped her across the face, and tied her hands with a strip of cloth.
He said fiercely, "If you won't listen to reason, you'll have to suffer the consequences."
Then, he slowly and deliberately unbuttoned Li Xinru's clothes and pants.
One person spent a long time commenting on it before finally touching it.
Li Xinru, filled with shame and indignation, her eyes brimming with tears, said with unwavering determination:
"Please, let me go. There's a pretty girl in our educated youth compound. I'll trick her into coming to you, okay?"
Zeng Daming marveled:
"Your heart is a perfect match for mine. Don't struggle anymore. Satisfy me, and I'll let you go, otherwise..."
After saying that, he pressed his body down hard, and when he encountered resistance, his eyes widened.
Li Xinru screamed in pain, but Zeng Daming was not one to show mercy to women, and he went all the way to the end.
Zeng Daqing, standing outside the door, seemed oblivious to Li Xinru's screams, leisurely smoking a cigarette.
After a long while, Zeng Daming, dressed neatly, came out and said to Zeng Daqing:
"I'm sending Changxing with me on this business. You stay here and keep watch."
After Zeng Daming left, Li Xinru scrambled to the door and begged Zeng Daqing to let her go.
Zeng Daqing is so loyal to Zeng Daming, how could he possibly let her leave?
No matter how much she screamed and begged, he didn't even glance at her.
Knowing there was no hope of leaving, Li Xinru stopped shouting and sat back down on the kang (a heated brick bed), resigned to her fate.
She told herself to stay calm and that she had to find a way back; she couldn't be trapped here.
At that moment, she realized that coming to the city alone today had been far too hasty.
If she doesn't go back, no one will ever know she's been locked up here.
She sat there, lost in thought, unaware of how much time had passed.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Zeng Daming returned.
She cried and begged Zeng Daming, hoping he would have compassion and let her go back.
Zeng Daming said in a good mood:
"Oh, oh, oh, how did you become a little wife? Want to leave? Make me happy and I'll let you go."
Seeing his expression, Li Xinru bit her lip, moved closer to Zeng Daming, and offered her lips.
This time, she was incredibly cooperative and even seemed to enjoy the performance.
Afterwards, Zeng Daming asked Zeng Daqing to buy some food, and the two ate together.
Zeng Daqing saw her off, and when they reached the city gate, he whispered to her:
"We arrested a woman who was having an affair a couple of days ago. Guess what happened to her now?"
Li Xinru recalled that back in Beijing, if someone reported someone for having an affair, they would immediately be arrested by the Red Guards.
Without saying a word, he first cut the woman's hair left and right, making her head look like it had been chewed by a dog.
Hang up a big white sign, and then hang up a pair of worn-out shoes.
First they were criticized and denounced, then they were paraded through the streets as a public spectacle.
Thinking of this, she trembled all over, hurriedly climbed onto the oxcart, hugged her legs tightly with both hands, and buried her head in her knees.
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