At Qin Jianguo’s command, several soldiers stood ready, surrounding the Lin family completely.
Lin Huan and Zhang Landi’s faces were pale, their bodies trembling like a sieve.
“We… we were wrong!”
Lin Huan wailed and collapsed to the ground with a ‘thud.’
He kowtowed to Qin Jianguo. “Sir, please have mercy on us!”
“We won’t dare again!”
Zhang Landi squeezed out a few tears at just the right moment.
Zhang Gou Dan cowered in the corner, still silent.
Qin Jianguo’s eyes flashed cold. “What ‘sir’? Stop spouting nonsense!”
“I see your thinking is flawed! You need serious education!”
Lin Huan felt all his strength drain from his body.
He slumped onto the ground.
If the soldiers publicly criticized him in front of the villagers, how could he ever live in the village again?
The villagers he saw every day might ridicule him endlessly!
Lin Huan looked at Lin Fengxia pleadingly.
If she spoke up, Qin Jianguo surely wouldn’t take them to the village for ideological education.
But Lin Fengxia ignored his plea.
The soldiers lifted Lin Huan and Zhang Landi, waiting for Qin Jianguo’s next order.
Qin Jianguo looked at Lin Fengxia. “As the victim, do you want to come with us?”
Lin Fengxia nodded.
It was rare for Lin Huan and Zhang Landi to be put in such a humiliating position.
She wasn’t about to let such a golden opportunity slip by!
The group headed to the Lin family’s village.
As soon as the soldiers led by Qin Jianguo appeared, they immediately drew the attention of many villagers.
Seeing the Lin family being escorted, the villagers exchanged glances.
The village chief, having heard the news, hurriedly came with his cane.
Though elderly and frail, his steps quickened upon seeing Qin Jianguo.
“Comrade, what… what are the Lin family people…”
The chief first glanced at Lin Fengxia standing beside Qin Jianguo.
Her face was unreadable, but the Lin family’s expressions were each more shameful than the last.
The chief felt a jolt of unease.
Before long, Wang Dazhuang was also brought in by the soldiers.
Qin Jianguo instructed the chief to take them to the village’s most open space with the best visibility and to gather all the villagers for ideological education.
The chief agreed hastily.
Soon, the villagers had gathered in the village square.
This open space was usually used for drying rice, large and with a clear view.
Qin Jianguo had the Lin family and Wang Dazhuang stand in the center.
“Today, we’re here to give these comrades ideological education.”
“Now it’s a new society, yet you’re still clinging to old feudal ideas!”
The villagers were shocked, and even the chief only partially understood.
But everyone knew the seriousness of the matter.
It was a new society, and flawed thinking was no small issue.
“Comrades, how is this possible?”
Qin Jianguo straightened his face and pointed at the Lin family and Wang Dazhuang.
“You dare to violate women’s will and force arranged marriages!”
“One dares to pay a high bride price, the other dares to accept it! How is this any different from buying and selling women?!”
“This is wrong behavior in a new society!”
“If I ever find this happening in the village again, I will not tolerate it!”
His words, backed by the authority of a soldier, left everyone completely unnerved.
Previously, the village was remote and untouched by war; life was lived according to tradition, and the old ways were deeply ingrained.
If not for Qin Jianguo coming to the village to educate them, no one would have realized it was wrong.
Lin Huan and Zhang Landi stood in the center, being watched by the villagers like monkeys, wishing they could die.
Zhang Gou Dan stood beside them, head lowered, wishing he could crawl into a hole.
Never in his life had he felt such shame.
Qin Jianguo began giving the villagers ideological education.
The villagers listened attentively, even if they didn’t fully understand, they dared not be lax.
Half an hour later, as some villagers were starting to doze off, Qin Jianguo concluded the session.
The soldiers released the Lin family and Wang Dazhuang.
Wang Dazhuang turned to leave, but the soldiers stopped him again.
He looked at Qin Jianguo. “Commander Qin, isn’t the education over?”
“Why won’t you let me go!”
His face twisted like a bitter melon, looking extremely unhappy.
Qin Jianguo pointed at Lin Fengxia. “Apologize.”
Wang Dazhuang’s face contorted.
He was the one who had been detained and educated, and he had suffered financial losses — and yet he still had to apologize?
Faced with Qin Jianguo’s sharp gaze, he apologized to Lin Fengxia.
Next were Lin Huan and Zhang Landi.
Zhang Landi’s apology was faint like a mosquito’s whisper. Qin Jianguo wasn’t satisfied and demanded she apologize loudly.
Her face turned red, and she finally managed to choke out, “Sorry.”
Lin Fengxia clenched her fists.
In her life, this was the first time she had heard Zhang Landi apologize.
Even if the apology wasn’t sincere.
When it was Lin Huan’s turn, he mumbled and took a long time to speak.
As Lin Fengxia’s father, he had always been waited on — how could he apologize to a younger generation?
But he dared not defy Qin Jianguo and stammered out his apology.
Finally, Zhang Gou Dan, seeing Qin Jianguo’s icy gaze, shivered and instinctively shrank back.
“Apologize!”
Qin Jianguo shouted angrily. He trembled all over, tears streaming down his face.
He cried and apologized to Lin Fengxia at the same time.
Qin Jianguo looked at Lin Fengxia.
“Is that okay?”
Lin Fengxia nodded. “Thank you.”
If she hadn’t wanted to avoid wasting Qin Jianguo’s time, she would have made the Lin family and Wang Dazhuang apologize repeatedly.
Qin Jianguo’s tense face finally relaxed into a faint smile.
Then he looked at the Lin family and Wang Dazhuang. “Comrades, you’ve heard their apologies. You may leave now!”
With permission granted, the Lin family and Wang Dazhuang bolted like lightning.
Qin Jianguo was about to leave when the village chief stopped him.
The chief wanted to discuss something with Qin Jianguo in detail and invited him to his house.
Lin Fengxia took this chance to go home and pack her things.
Half a month had passed, and when she returned to the Lin household, her room was already piled with clutter.
Lin Fengxia coldly swept her gaze over Lin Huan. “Where are my things?”
Lin Huan, now afraid to provoke her, pointed to the woodshed. “They’re… they’re all there.”
She kicked open the woodshed door and saw her clothes and bedding.
Zhang Landi cried out, “We… we thought you didn’t want your things, so we were going to burn them as firewood.”
Fortunately, the fire hadn’t started.
Lin Fengxia ignored her and quickly packed up her important belongings.
As she reached the door, she paused and looked back at Lin Huan and Zhang Landi.
“I will never come back to this home again.”
She intended to sever ties decisively and live independently.
With such family members, it was better not to have them.
Having lived a lifetime already, Lin Fengxia only wanted freedom in this life.