20
Unexpectedly Fell for a Lowly Trick
Sun Xiaoyue pulled Chen Shuangyan outside to a quiet spot, tears streaming down her face.
Chen Shuangyan was startled: “What’s wrong? Don’t cry first.”
Sun Xiaoyue rubbed her eyes and said pitifully: “Actually, I know that Jiang Zhizhi. She’s my parents’ adopted daughter…”
Then she distorted the truth, describing how Jiang Zhizhi had usurped her place, bullied her at home, curried favor with their parents, and secretly took her things. Afraid Chen Shuangyan wouldn’t believe her, she took out a family photo taken during her first year back at the Jiang family.
She and Jiang Zhizhi stood in the back, while Jiang Zhenhua and Song Wanying sat in front – they looked like a perfect, happy family.
After seeing the photo, Chen Shuangyan instantly believed Sun Xiaoyue’s story because in the picture, Sun Xiaoyue looked exactly like Song Wanying – clearly biological mother and daughter – whereas the bright-eyed Jiang Zhizhi didn’t look like she belonged to the Jiang family at all.
Thinking about Sun Xiaoyue’s suffering, Chen Shuangyan couldn’t help but sympathize: “Don’t be sad. I really didn’t see how wicked this person is. She looks pretty and speaks gently – how could she be so malicious? Then why is she also in Qingquan Village, working as a technician?”
Sun Xiaoyue rubbed her eyes: “Originally, I was supposed to be the technician while she went to the countryside as an educated youth. But she refused, crying and making scenes at home, even attempting suicide. The scar on her wrist is from when she cut herself. Then she fell and broke her arm too. There was no other way – I gave up my position to her and came to the countryside instead.”
Chen Shuangyan’s eyes reddened with anger after hearing this: “She’s truly shameless! I must be blind to have thought she was a good person.”
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became: “Can you just swallow this injustice? Why don’t you report her?”
Sun Xiaoyue held Chen Shuangyan’s hand: “Dear sister, my parents dote on her so much, and their health isn’t good. If I report her and something happens to her, my parents will suffer. I can’t just watch my parents get sick.”
Chen Shuangyan sighed: “You’re too filial. Your parents have been deceived by her appearance too. But we can’t just let this go. We must at least teach her a small lesson.”
Sun Xiaoyue said with reddened eyes: “What lesson can we teach her? If it’s too harsh, she’ll definitely complain to my parents. Also, please don’t tell anyone about my relationship with her. I don’t want to see her recently either.”
Chen Shuangyan nodded vigorously: “You told me about your family matters, which means you consider me a friend. I would never betray you.”
Moreover, she had just seen that Sun Xiaoyue’s father appeared to hold a high position, and her mother looked very young – clearly their family circumstances were excellent.
Therefore, she needed to firmly cling to Sun Xiaoyue as her supporter.
Sun Xiaoyue rubbed her eyes: “Forget it, let’s not talk about this anymore. I just felt suffocated keeping it inside and wanted to share it with you. I’ve been having internal heat these past two days and took some medicine. Now I have a bit of stomach trouble – I need to use the restroom first.”
Chen Shuangyan’s eyes lit up as she grabbed Sun Xiaoyue’s hand: “I have an idea. Do you still have that medicine? I’ll give some to her too, make her run to the restroom with one hand – she’ll be humiliated by diarrhea.”
This was the perfect opportunity to show her loyalty to Sun Xiaoyue – she couldn’t waste it.
Seeing that Chen Shuangyan had taken the bait, Sun Xiaoyue secretly rejoiced but pretended to hesitate: “Is that really appropriate? What if she finds out…”
Chen Shuangyan patted her chest in assurance: “Don’t worry, if she finds out, I’ll say it was my own dislike for her and has nothing to do with you. I would never betray you.”
…
Old Liang went to the commune office, and as expected, the Party Secretary showed great interest in the blueprint. Most importantly, this year’s grain harvest was poor, and there were no other notable achievements in other work. When it came time for meetings, they wouldn’t know what to report.
If they included this project, it would be a beneficial undertaking for both the country and the people—a perfect opportunity to claim credit.
The Party Secretary told Old Liang to return home and said he would find time to personally visit Qingquan Village. He wanted to survey the terrain and meet Comrade Jiang Zhizhi to hear her ideas on-site.
Old Liang was also thrilled, never expecting the Party Secretary to give his approval.
On the way back, they passed by the supply and marketing cooperative. Old Liang had Liang Dazhuang stop the cart and went in to buy two jin of sorghum liquor to celebrate at home.
Jiang Zhizhi felt reassured. All she had to do now was wait for the commune Party Secretary to arrive. Moreover, Old Liang had promised that if the project succeeded, she would receive twenty jin of Food Stamps, ten yuan, along with oil coupons, sugar coupons, and cloth coupons each month—all according to the villagers’ standard.
Jiang Zhizhi calculated in her heart: with these, she could completely relax and wait for the spring breeze of reform to sweep across the land.
She waited for three days without feeling anxious, as Old Liang had mentioned that the commune was currently in meetings. Once the meetings concluded, the Party Secretary would surely come.
Old Liang had been very busy lately because Zhou Xiye and his team had already entered the mountains to blast rocks and build roads. Old Liang was responsible for patrols, worried that disobedient children might wander into the mountains or that desperate individuals would venture in to forage for wild goods to improve their livelihoods.
Jiang Zhizhi carefully reviewed the blueprint several more times, making necessary revisions.
At night, as she lay down, she began to feel hungry. Mainly because there hadn’t been heavy farm work the past couple of days. Yang Fengmei had cooked porridge with potatoes for lunch and again for dinner.
Jiang Zhizhi didn’t know if Old Liang and the others were hungry, but by this time every day, she was starving—her stomach and intestines growling in unison, leaving her feeling hollow and uncomfortable.
She felt too embarrassed to go to the kitchen to look for food, so she simply poured some of the malted milk powder Zhou Xiye had brought her. Groping in the dark, she fetched hot water from outside, mixed a cup of malted milk, and found its sweetness quite delightful.
After drinking it, Jiang Zhizhi felt a bit reluctant to waste any remnants. She poured a little water into the empty cup, swirled it around, and drank that too.
Only after consuming two cups of water did her stomach feel somewhat satisfied, allowing her to lie down contentedly.
As she drifted into a drowsy state, she began feeling increasingly hot, as if countless ants were gnawing at her heart. She wanted to tear off her clothes and scratch, yet it felt like something inside her was screaming—an uncontrollable craving.
Just as Jiang Zhizhi felt her consciousness beginning to fade, she realized she might have been drugged with that kind of substance. But who would do such a thing to her?
She couldn’t just lie in her room waiting for disaster!
Moreover, the dosage in her system seemed heavy. If she waited until she completely lost her senses, she might run outside naked, grabbing any man to satisfy the urge.
She’d rather die than let it come to that!
Biting the tip of her tongue to stay alert, Jiang Zhizhi struggled to put on her clothes and slipped quietly out the door.
All she needed was to soak in the river for a while—let the cold water shock her senses and forcefully suppress the effects of the drug.
Outside the gate, under the clear moonlight, she ran frantically toward the riverbank.
Zhou Xiye and his team had recently set up camp at the foot of the mountain for road construction convenience. Late at night, after the soldiers had fallen asleep, he emerged for another inspection round. Just as he was about to return to his tent, he heard footsteps in the distance. Then he saw a figure rushing madly toward the river before plunging into the water with a loud splash…