“You shameless thing! Doing nothing useful all day, using that face of yours to seduce people—seducing people would be enough, but now you even dare to steal Xiao Rou’s things? Ugh! You’re nothing but a lowly wench and should be paraded through the village!” Gu Aimin, seeing that Dali had messed up and fearing that Gu Rou would blame him, immediately started cursing.
“Uncle, it seems cousin isn’t exactly blameless either,” Gu Rou said expressionlessly from the side. Just because someone wants to shrug off responsibility doesn’t mean she has to agree.
Gu Aimin’s mouth twitched at her words—this girl was far too petty. They were all family, why so calculative? But for now, he decided to focus on Gu Dali. To protect his son’s reputation, Gu Aimin went full force against Zhang Nian, practically dragging out the sins of her entire Zhang family.
“She’s just a girl, hasn’t dated or gotten engaged, and yet she’s so close to a boy—what’s the difference between that and working the streets?”
“Spending our money, using our people, and now even trying to pin this crime on our Dali—you’ve got some nerve!”
“I see you as nothing but a tramp! Even if you’re sent to school, you won’t understand anything! Not satisfied selling yourself in the village, now you want to sell yourself at school?”
“The students there are the nation’s future talents. The country’s stability and development rely on them. How could a lowly person like you be allowed to ruin such a sacred place?!”
“Such a shameless girl deserves to be beaten mercilessly.”
Gu Aimin’s words were sharp, and his tongue skillful, deliberately stirring the villagers’ emotions to divert attention from his own son.
The team leader, seeing that the truth had been revealed, told the crowd to disperse: “Those who need to eat, go eat. Don’t just stand here watching—are you skipping work for this?”
The villagers were reluctant to leave; such an exciting scene didn’t happen every day.
Before anyone could react, Gu Rou charged forward and slapped Zhang Nian several times. “You stole from me! Without this, I can’t go to school!”
Not satisfied, Gu Rou grabbed Zhang Nian’s arm, twisted it, and broke her hand. Seeing Zhang Nian sweating and crying from the pain, Gu Rou scorned her and kicked her back several steps until she fell near Gu Dali. Pitifully, Zhang Nian looked up at him.
Gu Aimin’s wife, Hu Guihua, had been keeping an eye on her own son. Seeing this flirt trying to use her son, she kicked Zhang Nian. Then, sitting on top of her, she unleashed her full force, pinching her and hurling verbal abuse even harsher than Li Xiufang’s. Normally, the two women didn’t get along well, but facing a common enemy, they were unusually united.
The villagers, influenced by Gu Rou’s words, agreed that someone harming the interests of Xiangyang Village deserved punishment. Some eager aunties even joined in with extra blows.
Seeing Zhang Nian completely defenseless, her face scratched and her body bruised, Gu Rou spoke up: “The truth is out. No need to involve the police. Compensate me fifty yuan, and the Zhang family in the village give me an explanation. Once I’m satisfied with the explanation, I won’t call the police.”
Li Xiufang, seeing money involved, immediately shook Zhang Nian’s shoulders like a little swallow shaking the Fifth Master: “Compensate! You shameless thing, fifty yuan, now!”
“I’ll… I’ll pay, just stop hitting me!” Zhang Nian, burning all over from the pain, knew she might be crippled if it continued, and immediately agreed. But she had almost no money on her.
“Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, can you give them the money first?” Gu Li looked at her cousin, speaking as if it were reasonable. She was furious—because of her, she had been beaten for no reason, and now this idiot still wanted to extort fifty yuan. Purely delusional.
Gu Li was upset seeing her home in chaos. How could things have turned out like this? Just a few days ago, they had taken advantage of Gu Rou, but after Gu Rou escaped the wild boar, everything had changed.
She didn’t think stealing Gu Rou’s admission notice was wrong—she just thought Zhang Nian was foolish for carrying it herself. It should have been with them. Whether the notice was for her or Gu Yaozu, Gu Rou would not have found it easily. If a family member got to attend school, their reputation in the village would instantly improve, and the city’s Pei Jing would definitely be hers, not looking at Gu Rou. In the future, she had to get that notice—she absolutely could not let Gu Rou attend vocational school.
Zhang Cuizhu was reluctant to hand over the money but couldn’t just watch her brother’s child get beaten to death. Otherwise, her maternal family wouldn’t let it go. In pain, she handed over fifty yuan. Seeing Hu Guihua try to take it, Gu Rou’s hand was faster, quickly stuffing the bills into her pocket and saying to Hu Guihua:
“Aunt, this money is ours.”
“Or is it that you feel cousin wronged me and want to give some compensation?”