According to the original novel’s records, there were ten people in the second production team who had already passed away several years ago.
Yet they were still earning work points under their names.
There were also children as young as seven or eight who were credited with full work points.
Some adult men, after exhausting days of labor, could only earn five work points.
Women were in even worse conditions—earning two or three points was normal.
It wasn’t that young strong laborers were lazy or unwilling to work.
It was that the work point records had been tampered with by Qin Aiguo.
All the extra or missing points were funneled into his own pocket.
After obtaining the work point ledger, Su Yun went to find the strong laborers in the second team.
She tried to persuade them to stand up for their own interests and testify against Qin Aiguo.
But these people had been oppressed for so long that they had already lost the courage to resist.
As soon as they heard her purpose, their first reaction was to tell her to leave immediately.
Stop talking nonsense in front of them.
If the team leader found out and refused to let them work or earn work points, what would they do?
“You girl, just because you’ve fallen out with the team leader, don’t try to ruin our livelihood.”
“We still have families and children to feed.”
“That’s right. Don’t ruin our way of living. Leave quickly. Go now. We’ll pretend we never saw you. Otherwise don’t blame us for reporting you to the team leader.”
Not only were they unwilling to expose Qin Aiguo, they even considered reporting Su Yun to him.
Su Yun was so angered by their stupidity that she almost laughed.
“Are you really willing to be oppressed by him your whole life?”
“Have you never thought about fighting for your own rights?”
Even after she said this, she could not awaken their sense of resistance.
They waved her off, urging her to leave as far as possible.
“If you don’t leave now, we really will report you.”
“If you can’t survive in this team, that’s your own fault—it has nothing to do with us.”
Su Yun looked at them and laughed.
“Fine.”
You cannot wake someone pretending to sleep, nor pull up those who willingly lie in the mud.
She turned and left, planning to think of another way.
“Su Yun… Su Yun…”
Just as she was about to leave the second team, someone called her from behind.
She stopped and turned around.
It was an elderly woman with white hair and only one functioning eye.
“What is it?” Su Yun asked.
“I heard everything you said to Lao Wu and the others,” the old woman said, leaning on her cane as she stepped forward.
“If everyone really stands up bravely, can Qin Aiguo truly be sent to prison?”
“Yes.”
Su Yun looked at her with slight suspicion. “Do you need something?”
“I do! I do!” the old woman suddenly burst into tears.
Her deeply wrinkled face was covered in tear tracks as she sobbed uncontrollably.
“I’m willing to testify. I’m willing to report him. I want to report Qin Aiguo—he stole work points and drove my child to death.”
Su Yun’s expression darkened.
“How should I address you?”
“They all call me the Blind Old Woman. Ten years ago, I actually had both eyes… I lost my sight from crying too much…”
The woman—Luo Chunhua—tearfully told her story.
She had three daughters and one son.
Ten years ago, her son was in his prime.
He earned full work points every day working in the fields.
More work points meant more grain and money at the end of the year.
The family had been happy, and Luo Chunhua had even arranged a good marriage for him.
After his wife married into the family, things were still decent at first.
But later, her son’s work points kept decreasing, and so did the family’s grain allocation.
His wife constantly caused trouble at home because she was not getting enough food.
To support his family, her son worked harder and harder.
He left before dawn every morning and returned after dark.
He worked 365 days a year without rest.
He did every dirty and exhausting job just to earn a little more grain and money.
But even so, by the end of the year, they still barely had enough to survive.
Not a single extra coin remained.
Her son could not accept it and went to confront the record keeper.
The record keeper said there was no mistake—that was all he had earned.
Unconvinced, he went to Qin Aiguo to demand justice.
“But he… he… after he went… he came back and… hanged himself from the tree at the entrance of our home…”
Luo Chunhua’s tears fell like broken beads.
Even Su Yun felt her eyes sting as she listened.
She reached into her pocket, only to remember this was not an era where tissues were always available.
She was too poor—she didn’t even have a handkerchief.
“Auntie… please don’t be too sad…”
That was all she could manage to say.
Luo Chunhua wiped her tears and continued.
“Later… later I found out… my son saw his wife and Qin Aiguo… together…”
Already burdened with injustice, the humiliation pushed him completely over the edge.
Su Yun imagined the scene and understood how unbearable it must have been.
“That woman, Ma Chunlian, had long been involved with Qin Aiguo. Even now, they are still messing around…”
“Ma Chunlian?” Su Yun suddenly recalled that the novel mentioned Qin Aiguo had a mistress called Widow Ma.
“Is that Widow Ma?” she confirmed.
“Yes, it’s her.”
“After my son died, she returned to her family. Over the years she has lived comfortably by pleasing men.”
There was deep hatred in Luo Chunhua’s voice.
“If it weren’t for her getting involved with Qin Aiguo, my son wouldn’t have died.”
Su Yun nodded.
“But Auntie, this alone only proves Qin Aiguo’s improper relations. To prove he stole work points, we need more evidence.”
“I have it. I do.”
Luo Chunhua turned and walked home, asking Su Yun to follow.
“I have a letter my son wrote back then. He said to keep it and hand it to higher officials when the world changes.”
She had waited for years.
But now, although Qin Aiguo still held power in the team, she had finally met someone willing to bring him down.
She was getting older and weaker.
She could not wait any longer.
So she placed her hope entirely on Su Yun.
Su Yun took the yellowed envelope from her hands.
After Luo Chunhua agreed, she opened it.
Inside were records of how his work points had been stolen, and what he overheard when Qin Aiguo spoke with Ma Chunlian.
Qin Aiguo had said that in this team, he could control anyone he wanted.
Ma Chunlian followed him and lived in comfort, far better than staying with Luo Dahua—a useless man who didn’t even know how many work points he had earned.
“Xiao Su… my son… what does my son write inside?”