Gu Shuyan spotted He Xiaoman at a glance. When his gaze swept over the two children beside her, his expression changed drastically and his pupils contracted sharply.
This woman actually hadn't sold the children?
He rushed forward in a few quick strides, grabbed He Xiaoman's arm, and pulled her aside. Lowering his voice, he demanded, "What's going on with you? Why are the kids still here? You didn't sell them?"
Those words were like lighting a powder keg. The fury in He Xiaoman's heart exploded instantly.
She wrenched her arm free from his grip and, without another word, raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face several times. "Sell your father! You heartless bastard, how dare you scheme against me!"
"Smack! Smack!" The two resounding slaps echoed across the threshing ground. Clear five-finger marks immediately appeared on both of Gu Shuyan's cheeks, and everyone was stunned into silence.
Usually, He Xiaoman treated Gu Shuyan quite well—secretly sneaking him food, giving him fabric and clothes, and so on. How could she be so heavy-handed with him today?
The two little ones were shocked. Wasn't Mom supposed to like this uncle the most? Why was she hitting him?
Gu Shuyan was completely dumbfounded, half his face burning with pain.
Was this woman crazy?
Clutching his face, he nearly jumped up, his voice trembling. "He Xiaoman, are you insane? What right do you have to hit me?"
He Xiaoman crossed her arms and stared at him with a cold laugh, raising her voice so everyone present could hear. "What right? Don't you have any idea? You owe money and won't pay it back, and now you think you're in the right?"
This scumbag had always looked down on the original owner deep down, yet he'd tricked her into circling around him just to freeload off her food and drink, ultimately causing her family to be destroyed. Two slaps were getting off easy!
At these words, the educated youths nearby gathered around in surprise.
A bespectacled educated youth couldn't help but interject, "Comrade Shuyan, you borrowed money from Comrade He too?"
"Aren't you from a compound family?" Your family's so well-off—why would you need to borrow money?" Another educated youth chimed in teasingly, with a hint of enjoying the spectacle.
The burning gazes of the crowd made Gu Shuyan feel as humiliated as if he'd been stripped naked in public. He hadn't expected He Xiaoman to suddenly bring up the loan. What was she trying to do?
But he couldn't admit it—otherwise his reputation would be ruined. "What money? I never borrowed your money. Don't slander me here!"
"You're still trying to deny it?" He Xiaoman was almost laughingly furious. She immediately pulled a piece of paper from her cloth bag, unfolded it, and waved it at him. "I have the IOU you wrote two days ago right here in my hand. There are a dozen more at home. Want me to read this one out loud for everyone right now?"
Gu Shuyan's face instantly turned as pale as paper. Back then, he'd written that IOU just to fool this woman, thinking that since she liked him so much, she'd never use it against him. He never imagined it would become his fatal weakness.
He rushed forward in a panic to snatch the IOU. "Impossible! That must be fake!"
"Don't touch me!" He Xiaoman took a sharp step back. Seeing him still closing in, she raised her leg and kicked him hard right in the crotch!
"Ow…" Gu Shuyan let out a miserable cry and staggered backward, clutching his groin.
Thinking of the original owner's fate in the novel, He Xiaoman still wasn't satisfied. She grabbed a wooden stick from nearby and started whaling on him with it. "Harassing women, are you? Owing money and not paying, and still trying to get handsy? I'll teach you to harass! I'll teach you not to pay your debts! You scum!"
The stick cracked against his body. Gu Shuyan covered his head with one hand while dodging backward and cursing, "He Xiaoman, you crazy woman! Can't we just talk this out…"
Seeing this, the educated youths and commune members nearby quickly gathered around to mediate. "Comrade He, stop hitting him! You'll beat him to death at this rate!"
Only then did He Xiaoman stop while she was ahead, tossing down the stick and pointing at Gu Shuyan as she addressed the crowd. "Everyone, be the judge! He owes money and won't pay it back, and just now he tried to snatch the IOU and took the chance to grope my chest! Isn't such hooligan behavior worth a beating?"
The crowd immediately erupted in murmurs. Though no one had actually seen it, everyone had indeed noticed Gu Shuyan reaching toward her chest just now. In that moment, the way they looked at him changed.
Gu Shuyan was about to explode with rage, but his whole body hurt so much he could barely speak. He hadn't been groping her chest at all—he'd only been trying to snatch the IOU!
"I really didn't!" He looked at the crowd, utterly unable to defend himself.
He Xiaoman snorted coldly and looked at the man. "Now I'm asking you: when are you going to pay the money back?"
Gu Shuyan gritted his teeth and took a few steps closer to her, lowering his voice. "Didn't you say before that you were willingly supporting me with that money? The IOU was just a formality…"
"I never agreed to that." He Xiaoman cut him off coldly. "A debt must be repaid—that's only natural. I have the IOU, so there's no way you can weasel out of it!"
Gu Shuyan nearly ground his molars to dust. "I really don't have the money right now. Wait until I go back to the city…"
"Wait until you go back to the city?" He Xiaoman let out a derisive laugh. "By then you'll have run off—who am I supposed to collect from? Tomorrow! You must pay it all back by tomorrow at the latest!"
"Where am I supposed to get that much money by tomorrow!" Gu Shuyan finally lost his composure, his voice trembling. "He Xiaoman, what exactly do you want? Are you trying to drive me to death?"
"Pay you back!" He Xiaoman's voice was firm, her gaze immediately landing on the red string around his neck—the object dangling from it was precisely her target.
She raised her hand and pointed: "Also, give me back my jade pendant. A faithless, treacherous little man like you doesn't deserve to keep my things."
Having been humiliated by her again and again, Gu Shuyan had long been stewing in anger. He yanked off the jade pendant and hurled it at her fiercely: "Here! He Xiaoman, don't you dare regret this. Once I'm back in the city, even if you kneel and beg for my forgiveness, I won't spare you a single glance!"
He Xiaoman caught the pendant steadily, and as her fingertips touched the smooth, warm surface of the jade, the stone in her heart finally settled.
Good. Her treasure was finally back in her hands.
"You'd better worry about how you're going to pay me back tomorrow." She clutched the pendant carefully, casting him a cold glance. "If you can't, I'll go to the commune and report you for defaulting on your debts and deceiving a female comrade. Then you can forget about returning to the city."
With that, she pulled the two children along and turned to leave, walking away under the man's gnashing teeth.
Jiang Xingheng and Jiang Xingci were still in shock, stumbling forward as she dragged them along. They didn't dare speak the whole way, only stealing glances at her as she carefully tucked the pendant away.
He Xiaoman could feel the faint coolness radiating from the jade, and a strange sense of familiarity surged within her.
If not for the two children present, she would have wanted to find a secluded spot right away to properly study this Spatial Dimension treasure.
But there was no rush—once she returned to the Jiang family, she would have all the time in the world.
She looked up at the tiled-roof house of the Jiang family not far ahead, her gaze gradually turning cold.
The original owner had slaved away for the Jiang family all these years. It was time to settle that score with them properly.