“You… you… What… Sigh! How could you be so impulsive?” The brigade captain was so shocked that he stumbled over his words, rubbing his thighs anxiously with both hands.
He had expected Zhao Guoshi to make a scene several times and had prepared himself to spend a lot of time persuading her. What he hadn’t expected was for Jiang Lai to take such a direct approach.
Instead of asking the commune leaders to mediate, she had gone straight to reporting the matter to the Public Security Bureau. If the police actually came, he’d have to write reports for both sides. What a headache.
With that thought, the brigade captain craned his neck toward the doorway, hoping to call Jiang Minghai back.
But Jiang Minghai was already nowhere to be seen.
The Women’s Director wore a troubled expression as she stood beside Jiang Lai.
“Lailai, you’ve acted too rashly. You can’t let your emotions get the better of you in matters like this. You’re still young and don’t understand how serious this is. Just wait for your grandmother and your parents to make the decisions for you.”
An inexplicable irritation welled up inside Jiang Lai.
She remembered how, in the original novel, the brigade captain and the Women’s Director had suppressed the matter without even conducting an investigation. These two village officials had become accomplices in ruining the original Jiang Lai’s life.
She let out a cold laugh.
“My parents are in the provincial capital. My grandmother is old, and a few words of intimidation from you are enough to scare her out of her wits. How exactly is she supposed to stand up for me? Have either of you even asked what really happened before pinning these accusations on me? Or did those two people give you some kind of benefit?”
The Women’s Director hadn’t expected Jiang Lai to be so sharp-tongued and completely unconcerned about saving face. The smile on her face stiffened.
“We’re only doing this for your own good.
“We know you’re a young girl who’s too embarrassed to admit what happened. That’s why we discussed an appropriate solution with your grandmother and your eldest uncle—for the sake of protecting your reputation. But if you insist on calling the police, the entire production brigade will know about it. You’ll only end up humiliating yourself.”
“If I’ve done nothing wrong, I have nothing to fear. Since I’m afraid you’ll convict an innocent person, I won’t trouble you any further.”
After standing for a while, cold sweat began trickling down Jiang Lai’s back. It was probably because the original owner of this body hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for the past two days.
Too lazy to deal with everyone in the room, she casually pulled over a stool and sat down.
“How can you be so heartless!” Second Aunt cried, on the verge of breaking down. “If the whole commune hears about this, have you thought about how your two sisters are supposed to find husbands? How will your brothers and sisters ever hold their heads up in the village again?”
Second Aunt had always been someone who crumbled under pressure. Even dropping an egg could throw her into a panic, much less something this serious. She was already on the verge of collapse.
In the original story, her eldest daughter, Fenfen, really had lost a marriage prospect because of this incident, and Second Aunt had blamed the original Jiang Lai for nearly half her life. But in truth, the family Fenfen had been considering wasn’t worth marrying into in the first place.
Eldest Aunt was afraid Second Aunt might lose control and hit Jiang Lai, so she desperately stood between them.
Jiang Lai looked at Second Aunt, her voice calm and almost weightless.
“Second Aunt, don’t you know what Changzi’s wife and Laizi are like? Do you really think that if I keep quiet and accept this accusation, everything will simply disappear? Even if I swallowed my pride for Fenfen’s sake, the entire commune would still hear about it tomorrow.”
“You shameless little slut! Did you really have to do such a disgraceful thing?” Second Aunt shouted without thinking.
Jiang Lai had already been exercising every bit of patience she had while talking to her, but apparently nothing decent would ever come out of the woman’s mouth.
Just then, Zhao Guoshi walked in carrying a bowl of brown sugar egg soup. Holding the bowl in one hand, she slipped off one of her shoes with the other and hurled it straight at Second Aunt.
“You’re her own aunt! If someone called Fenfen those names, how would you feel?”
The shoe hadn’t been washed in an entire spring and autumn. Needless to say, the smell was overpowering.
The moment Eldest Aunt saw the shoe flying through the air, she abandoned her sister-in-law without hesitation and jumped aside.
Back in the day, Grandma’s specialty had been throwing grenades.
This shoe flew just as accurately, landing squarely on Second Aunt’s face.
The stench left her frozen for several seconds. Though much of her arrogance had vanished, she still muttered indignantly,
“My Fenfen is an honest girl. She’d never do something so shameless.”
Zhao Guoshi glared fiercely at her.
“I raised both Fenfen and Lailai with my own hands. They’re both daughters of the Wang family. If Fenfen is honest, are you saying Lailai isn’t?”
“Flies don’t buzz around an uncracked egg,” Second Aunt grumbled under her breath. She didn’t dare challenge her mother-in-law openly, so she shrank back to the edge of the kang bed and sulked.
Eldest Aunt glanced first at her mother-in-law, then at Jiang Lai, sighed softly, and lowered her head to continue comforting Second Aunt.
Zhao Guoshi shot another fierce glare at her second daughter-in-law before instantly changing into a warm, loving smile. She walked over to Jiang Lai, handed her the bowl of brown sugar eggs, and coaxed gently,
“Lailai, at least eat something. Look how thin you’ve gotten. Grandma’s heart aches just looking at you.”
After such an incident, the original Jiang Lai—a young girl who had never experienced anything major—had completely lost her bearings. She had locked herself in her room for two days without eating or drinking, ignoring everyone’s attempts to persuade her.
But in Jiang Lai’s opinion, as long as she refused to admit to something she hadn’t done, things wouldn’t end with the tragic fate described in the novel.
She was so hungry that stars were dancing before her eyes. Before Zhao Guoshi could say another word, she took the bowl and gulped down several mouthfuls of the sweet brown sugar soup.
Four poached eggs floated in the bowl. The soup was rich with the fragrance of brown sugar, carrying just a hint of salt that enhanced the sweetness.
After finishing all four eggs and the entire bowl of soup, warmth finally spread through her body. With food in her stomach, some color returned to her face.
She looked at Zhao Guoshi.
“Grandma, I’ve already asked Uncle to report this to the police. I didn’t do it, and even if someone held a knife to my throat, I wouldn’t confess to something I never did.”
While Jiang Lai had been eating, the brigade captain and the Women’s Director had taken turns trying to convince her grandmother to back down.
Hearing Jiang Lai’s words, Zhao Guoshi felt torn.
She believed her granddaughter.
But in the countryside, a single rumor or careless remark was enough to drown a person.
She comforted Jiang Lai.
“Grandma believes you. We’ll let the police settle this.”
Before they knew it, the sun had set, and darkness gradually fell.
The once-quiet alley outside filled with noisy voices.
Jiang Lai glanced at the pendulum clock on the table. It was just after seven o’clock. Jiang Minghai had probably returned from the commune.
Before anyone could react, Jiang Minghai burst through the gate, panting heavily.
“Lailai!” he shouted, pointing behind him. “I brought the police!”
Most of the people present had never dealt with police officers before. Every face in the room tensed with nervousness.
As soon as he finished speaking, four or five uniformed officers walked through the gate one after another, their presence imposing.
The older officer leading the group stepped into the courtyard and asked,
“Who reported the case?”
The brigade captain hurried forward with a flattering smile, offering him a cigarette.
“It’s nothing, really. Just a family matter. Sorry to trouble you.”
The veteran officer pushed the cigarette away, his expression cold.
“Falsely reporting a case is against the law.”
Jiang Lai slowly stood up and moved to the doorway of the main hall. Her gaze swept toward the entrance, where numerous heads could be seen peeking over the courtyard wall.
The neighbors had clearly gathered to watch the excitement.
This was a major turning point in the original story. There was no point trying to hide it.
Clearing her throat, she said,
“Officer, I was the one who reported it.”
The older officer walked toward the main hall, and Jiang Lai turned around and led the way inside.
Two officers stepped into the room. Seeing it packed with people, one frowned.
“Everyone not directly involved, leave.”
The commune police station might not have been busy, but that didn’t mean the police lacked authority.
The room quickly emptied.
Still worried about Jiang Lai, Zhao Guoshi asked,
“Comrade Officer, may I stay here with my granddaughter?”
The older officer nodded without making things difficult for her.
The sun had already gone down, leaving the room dim. Zhao Guoshi hurried to light the kerosene lamp.
The two officers sat down, took out small notebooks from their pockets, and began questioning her.
“What is the reason for your report?”
Jiang Lai answered calmly,
“Someone is trying to ruin my reputation and force me to give up my return-to-the-city quota.”
Her voice remained remarkably steady.
The original Jiang Lai had grown up in the countryside under Zhao Guoshi’s care. Later, when the educated youth movement required every urban household to send at least one person to the countryside, the neighborhood committee pressured families to comply. Zhao Guoshi had her daughter register the original Jiang Lai instead.
Technically, she was an educated youth sent down from the city, though she rarely associated with the other sent-down youths.
Her parents worked at a textile factory in the provincial capital.
Years earlier, Zhao Guoshi had sent Jiang Jianshe to serve in the provincial militia. Because he loved tinkering with vehicles and was an excellent driver, he caught the attention of the textile factory’s leadership and was transferred there as a driver. He later moved into the factory’s technical department, married Jiang Lai’s mother, and became the most successful member of the Jiang family.