She stood up and quickly walked to the doorway of the brigade leader’s room.
The brigade leader’s house was right next to the brigade office. He usually handled official business from home. Since she couldn’t “wander” into the brigade office itself, she would have to try her luck here.
She gave the door a light push it wasn’t locked.
Her goal was clear: a letter of introduction.
In this era, no matter where you went, you needed a letter of introduction. Lin Xiulan had an affair with the brigade leader, and Lin Baogui had been flirting with the brigade leader’s daughter. Lin Yinyin needed to leave herself a way out.
After entering, she headed straight for the desk.
She pulled open the top drawer first. Inside were only a few notebooks and a fountain pen clearly not what she was looking for.
She grabbed the handle of the middle drawer and pulled. Several sheets of paper were neatly stacked inside.
The top one bore a striking red slogan: “Grasp Revolution, Promote Production, Promote Work, Promote Combat Readiness.”
Below it were three bold red characters: Letter of Introduction.
The center of the page was blank, and at the bottom the brigade’s official red seal was stamped clearly and vividly.
Lin Yinyin flipped through them there were three sheets!
Perfect.
Continuing to rummage, she unexpectedly found a folded marriage application at the bottom of the drawer.
When she opened it, it contained her name, age, and household registration details. At the bottom was the brigade’s official seal, and the applicant was clearly listed as Lin Dayong!
“Heh. Birds of a feather flock together,” Lin Yinyin sneered.
The brigade leader’s loyalties had long leaned toward Lin Xiulan’s family.
With that marriage application in hand, anyone could register a marriage with her. Even if she accused Lin Xiulan of human trafficking, she wouldn’t have much of a case.
“If this is how you want to play it, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
She reverted to her end-of-the-world scavenging instincts. The pen, the books she took everything.
Not only that, she also found some money, coupons, grain, and cloth, and swept them all up.
Of course, she couldn’t touch the livestock in the yard. That would be too outrageous and raise suspicion.
Afterward, she went to the kitchen, scooped the cooked rice out of the pot, and placed it on the table in the main room. That way, even if a fire broke out, there would be clear evidence that she had finished cooking.
She arranged small sticks of firewood with larger logs spaced between them, deliberately extending the burn path so the flames wouldn’t flare up immediately, buying herself more time.
Once everything was set, Lin Yinyin lit the firewood and left quickly.
What she didn’t know was that after she left, that man appeared again. He frowned slightly next to the brigade leader’s house was the brigade office. The brigade leader was still a village official after all…
The stick Lin Yinyin had lit was extinguished, and the ignition point was dealt with.
Meanwhile, Lin Yinyin cheerfully headed to Lin Dayong’s scumbag father Old Man Lin’s house.
Old Man Lin’s house wasn’t far from the brigade leader’s. Lin Yinyin didn’t go in right away but paused to eavesdrop.
“You heartless old bastard! How dare you take my white flour to give to that slut!”
Then came a smack the sound of a broom hitting someone.
“I’m ashamed for you! My face burns with embarrassment! And now look the family’s in chaos! Even your grandson’s fallen for that wretched woman!”
Hearing this, Lin Yinyin’s lips curled into a smile. Then she pretended to be hurrying past.
“Hey! You girl, rushing off to reincarnate or what?” Old Lady Lin shouted when she spotted her.
“Ah, Grandpa, Grandma! I’m in a hurry to get home.”
Old Man Lin eyed her suspiciously. “Why are you here at this hour?”
“I went to find Zhaodi to tell her about my brother. I’m just heading back.”
Old Man Lin remained doubtful, but Old Lady Lin was too worried about her precious grandson. Someone had just told her Lin Baogui and Widow Liu were caught together. She hurried off first.
Lin Yinyin followed leisurely behind them.
When they weren’t paying attention, she took out a match, flicked it with her finger, and tossed it toward the firewood pile.
Then she pretended to be anxious and ran even faster than Old Lady Lin.
Just like that, she was the first to return to Lin Dayong’s house.
By then, the farce there was nearing its end.
Lin Yinyin quietly slipped into the crowd and looked at Lin Dani, pointing at a few drops of blood on the ground.
Lin Dani immediately understood and explained, “That blood’s Lin Baogui’s. Who knows how much he drank he was like possessed, clinging to Widow Liu and refusing to let go.
Luckily the men in our village are strong; they pulled them apart. But Lin Baogui was still spewing filthy nonsense.
The brigade leader got fed up and tried to kick him to make him behave. But Lin Baogui’s legs went weak on their own… and then that part of him snapped.”
Lin Yinyin: “…”
That part, huh… not bad. An unexpected bonus.
Lin Dani, Wang Erhua’s daughter, was always sharp-tongued. She continued, “I’m telling you, that little thing of his… lots of people saw it…”
Lin Yinyin: …Well then. Quite the public display.
“In any case, the blood on the ground was from getting hurt during the scuffle. Nothing too serious.”
“Oh.” Lin Yinyin felt a bit regretful she hadn’t witnessed it herself.
“Where’s my dad?”
“He took Lin Baogui to the commune hospital. Whether it’s ruined or not, they have to try and treat it.”
As soon as those words fell, Old Lady Lin suddenly collapsed onto the ground.
She slapped her thigh and wailed, “My precious grandson! How did a fine young man end up ruined?!
What will we do in the future?! I might as well die!” Then she started beating Old Man Lin.
“It’s all your fault, you old fool! He learned your crooked ways! I’m going to skin that vixen alive!”
“Enough!” The brigade leader was getting a headache from the spectacle.
“Widow Liu and Lin Baogui were mutually willing. Passion got the better of them. They will get married. Everyone else, disperse.”
“What? Married?” Old Lady Lin felt as if struck by lightning, her body swaying.
“You’re letting a nineteen-year-old young man marry a widow in her forties?”
Lin Yinyin was also stunned by the brigade leader’s maneuver.
One of the women explained, “Widow Liu kept shouting she was forced. When we went in, the whole room reeked of alcohol. If Lin Baogui doesn’t marry her, he’ll be facing a firing squad!”
Lin Yinyin understood. Secret misdeeds could be tolerated but once exposed publicly, they couldn’t be ignored.
This society’s system was still very strict.
Still, she was satisfied with the outcome.
She had “fulfilled” the naked love story of a nineteen-year-old boy and a forty-year-old woman.
But Old Lady Lin refused to accept it. She jumped up. “I won’t agree! I won’t let my grandson marry a widow!”
Old Man Lin quickly grabbed her arm and whispered urgently, “Stop making a scene! Didn’t you hear the brigade leader? He’s trying to suppress this. Otherwise, do you want to see Baogui thrown in prison?”
“I… I…” Old Lady Lin’s words stuck in her throat.
It was a fact that her grandson had forced himself on Widow Liu. No matter how much she made a fuss, she couldn’t silence so many witnesses.
Prison was no small matter.
Seeing this, the brigade leader nodded to Old Man Lin. “Alright, everyone disperse. We still have work this afternoon.”
The villagers felt they’d seen enough excitement and began to leave.
But at that moment, Lin Yinyin asked softly, “Brigade Leader, shouldn’t we report to the Public Security Bureau?
My dad said our house was robbed. Wouldn’t the police help…? And my stepmother is missing too. We still haven’t found her.”
If it were reported, she could guide the police straight to her stepmother’s wedding.
Unfortunately, the brigade leader barked loudly, “Shut your mouth!”
Reporting to the police would affect the evaluation of their production brigade. That was one of the reasons he insisted Lin Baogui marry Widow Liu.