Everyone at the educated youth point knew about Deng Minghao and Li Ruolan being a couple, but no one knew when they had obtained their marriage certificate.
Li Ruolan sneered twice: “I was wondering why, when the three of us returned, your gazes were so off. So this is what you were talking about? Now that you know, Deng Minghao and I have long had our marriage certificate, and Qin Wan knows about it too. Qin Wan is a good friend of mine. I went up the mountain to pick mushrooms with my hubby and my good friend. How does that end up sounding so nasty when it comes out of your mouths? Spreading rumors like this, aren’t you just trying to throw dirt on us? I’m going to see the brigade director, and if he doesn’t deal with this, I’ll report it to the public security.”
Seeing the marriage certificate in Deng Minghao’s hands, everyone at the educated youth froze.
Wang Mingzhu and Zhang Bao’er were so stunned that they didn’t even cry—they just froze.
At first, it was Li Yingying who brought up the topic, asking why the three of them hadn’t returned by mealtime.
“Usually Li Ruolan and Qin Wan are close to Deng Minghao, but these three disappeared as soon as they went up the mountain. Who knows what they were doing?” Li Yingying said while eating stir-fried eggs with chili, talking through her mouthful.
“Deng Minghao and Li Ruolan are a couple, so it’s normal for them to be together. Li Ruolan is also close to Qin Wan. Besides, Qin Wan found some wild eggs, so they probably had lunch up the mountain and didn’t come back. Don’t talk nonsense,” an older educated youth spoke up.
Wang Mingzhu snorted: “Who knows what the three of them were doing? They always stick together, all secretive. Now, in the middle of the wilderness, one man and two women—who knows what they might be doing?”
Zhang Bao’er nodded in agreement: “Exactly, probably messing around with relationships.”
Li Yingying said: “Only two people messing around counts as messing around. The three of them together, that’s just being promiscuous.”
Although Guo Xiaoya had always been wary of Qin Wan approaching Xu Tao, ever since Xu Tao said he wanted to marry her and even register their marriage, her malice toward Qin Wan had lessened.
Qin Wan was indeed not a good person. She had chosen the wrong path in her previous life. This time, she really wanted to make things right. She wasn’t perfect, but at least she was openly bad.
But these three people were innocent, and yet their mouths were filthy. Just listening to them made one feel sick.
Guo Xiaoya slammed her chopsticks down: “Did you see this with your own eyes, and yet you talk nonsense? Deng Minghao and Li Ruolan are a couple, Li Ruolan and Qin Wan are close friends, and the three of them went up the mountain to pick mushrooms. How does that become something dirty in your mouths? First, you snatch someone else’s wild eggs, and now while eating those eggs, you still talk filthily. You really are shameless.”
Li Yingying and the others got angry at this, but seeing Xu Tao staring at them coldly, they snorted twice and fell silent, hugging their bowls.
They thought the matter would be over, but unexpectedly, it got exposed today. Even more shocking, Deng Minghao and Li Ruolan had already registered their marriage.
Li Baozong stepped forward to mediate: “It’s a misunderstanding! All a misunderstanding! At lunch, the three of them were just playing a little joke.”
Qin Wan sneered: “So ‘messing around’ and ‘being promiscuous’ were just jokes. Li Ruolan, since you defend them so much, does that mean you also have some improper relationship with them?”
Li Baozong immediately flared up: “What are you saying? If this spreads, what will people think of me?”
Seeing that returning to the city was far off and not wanting to keep working the fields all year, he knew he’d have enough to eat. But aside from fieldwork, being a teacher or a scorekeeper—easy work was not for an outsider like him.
Unless he could turn an outsider into an insider.
So he had found another way. He was now involved with the accountant’s daughter and was about to marry her. At such a crucial time, he could not afford a mishap.
Everyone at the educated youth point knew about Li Baozong’s situation.
Qin Wan looked at Li Baozong: “So you still think it was just a joke? If it was a joke, why didn’t you laugh? Why do I get angry when you joke, but when I joke, you get upset first?”
Li Baozong was speechless and stepped back two paces.
Seeing Li Baozong silent, Qin Wan turned to Li Yingying and the other two: “Your joke wasn’t funny to us at all. So now, should we go see the brigade director, or report it directly to public security?”
Wang Mingzhu immediately said: “It was Li Yingying who first brought up this topic. She deliberately led us, asking what you were doing up the mountain. I never said you were messing around or promiscuous. This has nothing to do with me.”
“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have deliberately said you were messing around. I know I was wrong. But aside from that, I didn’t say anything else. ‘Promiscuous’ and such—that was her. She is really bad. Ever since she arrived, she has looked down on you, deliberately trying to ruin your reputation.”
Zhang Bao’er pointed directly at Li Yingying. She had spoken the truth. Privately, Li Yingying had never had a good word for Li Ruolan and the others.
Li Yingying looked at Deng Minghao, Li Ruolan, Qin Wan, and the other educated youth with sullen faces, her tears dropping.
“Now that things have blown up, you know you’re wrong. If we three didn’t know who spread this, we might have been publicly criticized without even realizing what we had done. So you need to learn a lesson. If you don’t want us to make this public, fine. Each of you can pay five yuan as compensation for mental distress, and this matter will be over. Otherwise, we’ll go see the brigade director, and if he doesn’t act, we’ll report to public security. I also said you were messing around and promiscuous.”
Qin Wan, already full of anger at these three, finally found an outlet. She would not let them off easily.
Li Ruolan immediately agreed: “Exactly. You must pay, or we’ll report it to public security. If you’re willing to spend a few days inside, we’ll waive the money. Spreading rumors—if public security takes you away, I don’t think you’ll have a good reputation in the Shengli Brigade either. Consider your mouths silenced.”
Shen Yi looked at the tearful Li Yingying and others: “You spread rumors yourselves. If public security comes, we can all be witnesses to prove that you spoke falsely.”
“Exactly, I can also testify,” Ji Hongjun said.
Xu Tao and Liu Kunming also stepped forward, and Guo Xiaoya, though silent, stood firmly beside Xu Tao.
Li Baozong jumped in panic. If public security actually came, the brigade director would tear their hearts apart, and they would have no hope of a good life in the village afterward.