Zhao Guoshi heard that there was finally a result. Instinctively, she grabbed Jiang Lai’s arm, her cloudy triangular eyes fixed on the veteran officer.
“Officer… my Lai Lai would never do something so disgraceful!”
Jiang Lai had already known the outcome since yesterday.
The fact that the veteran officer had allowed her to return home last night meant she had successfully stepped over the trap Song Tian had dug for the original Jiang Lai.
As long as she could avoid the original owner’s tragic fate, everything else could be dealt with.
She patted Zhao Guoshi’s arm reassuringly.
“Grandma, the police will give us justice.”
Supporting her grandmother, she entered the brigade office and casually found a seat, quietly waiting for the announcement.
The veteran officer straightened his cap and sat across from her, his expression solemn.
“Lai Zi and Mingyuan have confessed.”
“They admitted Song Tian paid each of them two yuan to act as false witnesses.”
“Lai Zi accepted money to provide false testimony. He will be sent to a labor reform farm for three months.”
“Mingyuan is still underage and cannot be prosecuted. I’ve given both her and her parents a formal warning.”
As he spoke, he took two crumpled one-yuan bills from his pocket.
They had clearly been pieced together from worn, wrinkled notes.
The moment Lai Zi heard that Mingyuan only had to return the two yuan while he himself would be sent to labor reform, he panicked.
“Officer!”
“I’m willing to hand over the two yuan too!”
“Can you please not send me to labor reform?”
Back when they still earned work points, he’d hated working, content to scrape by on the minimum three points a day.
Now that land had been contracted to individual households, he’d rented out all his fields and had only just begun enjoying the carefree life of a landlord.
The thought of being forced to work every day under supervision—and worse, without any liquor to drink—terrified him.
His wrists were bound with straw rope.
He twisted desperately, trying to stand, but another officer immediately shoved him back down.
“Behave yourself!”
Lai Zi looked up pitifully.
“Officer…”
“Jiang Lai is perfectly fine.”
“I only said a couple of insignificant words.”
“Why should I be sent to labor reform?”
The veteran officer’s face darkened.
He slammed the table with a loud bang.
“Those ‘couple of insignificant words’ concern a young woman’s entire future!”
Lai Zi shrank his neck, still unwilling to accept it.
“But… she’s fine, isn’t she…”
The instant the words left his mouth—
A shoe came flying across the room and landed squarely on his nose.
Everyone instinctively turned toward its owner.
With the police present, Zhao Guoshi restrained much of her usual fierceness, but barely managed to suppress her rage.
“It would’ve been better if we’d died!”
“You black-hearted bastards!”
Jiang Lai looked toward the veteran officer.
“What about Educated Youth Qin and Educated Youth Song?”
“I’m deeply disappointed.”
“They’re both educated youths like me, yet they schemed against me.”
She was quite satisfied with Lai Zi’s punishment.
Three months of labor reform for giving false testimony was already considered severe.
What she really wanted to know was what fate awaited Song Tian—the woman who, in the original novel, had stolen the original Jiang Lai’s chance to return to the city.
The veteran officer briefly explained,
“Qin Chengyuan admitted he was the mastermind.”
“Song Tian also confessed.”
“In recent years many educated youths have been returning to the cities.”
“They both failed the college entrance examination, and neither of their families had a job assignment available.”
“Recently, Song Tian discovered she was pregnant and desperately wanted to return to the city.”
“Qin Chengyuan came up with this plan.”
Zhao Guoshi’s legs instantly weakened.
She pounded her thigh angrily several times.
Thinking back, she’d once told her granddaughter that Educated Youth Qin was a decent young man.
She had even believed that if Jiang Lai married him, she herself could continue helping them for a few more years.
She had come terrifyingly close to pushing her own granddaughter into a pit of fire.
The realization made her head buzz, her vision repeatedly fading in and out.
Noticing something was wrong, Jiang Lai hurried over to support her.
In recent years, many educated youths had married local villagers.
Since the return-to-city movement began, there had also been plenty who abandoned their spouses and children to return home.
She had never imagined something like that would happen so close to home.
Zhao Guoshi trembled uncontrollably with rage.
“I demand they receive the heaviest punishment!”
“How can people be this vicious?”
“If you wanted to return to the city, you should’ve relied on your own abilities!”
“How could you ruin someone else’s life?”
“What did our Lai Lai ever do to you?”
“What right did you have to scheme against her?”
Jiang Lai was slightly surprised.
The original novel had never mentioned Song Tian being pregnant.
It had only said that after returning to the city, Song Tian became seriously ill. Because she temporarily couldn’t receive free factory medical care, she borrowed her sister-in-law’s identity card to receive treatment at the provincial hospital.
The veteran officer continued,
“Their case also involves attempted rape.”
“It must be reported to the provincial public security bureau before sentencing.”
“As for the brigade leader and the women’s director…”
“They handled the matter carelessly and nearly caused irreversible consequences.”
“I had them write self-criticisms all night.”
“From now on, everyone should supervise one another.”
“If Wang Quan continues to neglect his duties as brigade leader…”
“…come to the county and report it to us.”
The brigade leader had written so many self-criticisms he nearly vomited.
Hearing himself called out, he nodded repeatedly.
“I’ll definitely do my job properly from now on.”
“I won’t bring trouble upon the organization.”
“I’ll sincerely solve the villagers’ problems.”
The veteran officer nodded in satisfaction.
“That’s how a brigade leader should behave.”
“Yes, yes.”
“My work was negligent.”
“I deserve criticism.”
Looking at the time, he stood.
“It’s getting late.”
“We’re returning to the commune.”
“When the final judgment comes down, I’ll notify the brigade leader.”
Then he turned to Jiang Lai.
“Once you’ve returned to the city…”
“…work hard at your new job.”
Jiang Lai bowed deeply to all five officers.
“Thank you, Officers.”
“When this is all over, I’ll bring you a commendation banner.”
“If you hadn’t cleared my name…”
“…my entire life would’ve been ruined.”
The veteran officer smiled faintly.
“No need to thank us.”
“It’s simply our duty.”
Hearing footsteps approaching, the neighbors who had been eavesdropping from behind the walls scattered instantly.
None of them had expected the truth to be so shocking.
They couldn’t decide whether to gossip first or keep listening.
After all, the brigade leader himself was implicated.
If he caught them lurking around, who knew what kind of trouble he’d make for them later?
Jiang Lai lingered behind.
She looked at the officer guarding Song Tian and Qin Chengyuan.
“Officer…”
“May I speak to the two of them for a moment?”
The officer tugged lightly on the hemp rope binding their wrists and nodded.
“You may.”
He didn’t go far, remaining at the open doorway while keeping watch.
Jiang Lai looked directly at Song Tian.
“You never expected things to end like this, did you?”
Without waiting for an answer, she turned to Qin Chengyuan.
“If Song Tian had really taken my job assignment…”
“…what would’ve happened to us?”
“Would you actually have married me?”
“Or would you simply have trapped me in a de facto marriage…”
“…before running off to reunite with Song Tian?”
“Given what you know about her…”
“…once she returned to the city, would she still acknowledge your relationship?”
“I’ve already confessed!”
“There’s no point talking about this anymore.”
Qin Chengyuan stepped forward, shielding Song Tian behind him as he glared coldly at Jiang Lai.
His gaze was icy.
His voice, however, lacked conviction.
After all…
Would Song Tian really acknowledge him after returning to the city?
Jiang Lai gave a cold laugh.
“Heh…”
“I wish you two pieces of trash stay together for the rest of your lives.”
She wasn’t truly seeking an answer.
Whether in the novel or in reality, she’d already gotten it.
She simply wanted, as the reader who had been frustrated by their actions, to disgust them a little and vent her anger.
“Oh, and don’t forget to get legally married.”
“Otherwise…”
“…when your wife returns to the city and marries someone else while carrying your child…”
“…you’ll have plenty of tears left to cry.”
She turned and walked out of the brigade office.
Outside, Zhao Guoshi and Jiang Minghai were surrounded by curious neighbors.
Zhao Guoshi sobbed as she explained everything that had happened.
Inside the office, only Qin Chengyuan and Song Tian remained.
Qin Chengyuan tightly grasped Song Tian’s hand.
“Don’t worry.”
“I’ll definitely find a way to get you back to the city.”
“Take care of yourself.”
“And take good care of our child.”
Song Tian violently shook off his hand.
“You said you’d already had your way with her!”
“You lied to me!”
“You’re useless!”
“If you’d actually done it back then…”
“…none of this would’ve happened!”
“What ability do you have to send me back to the city?”
“I don’t want to stay here another day!”
“I don’t want to spend the rest of my life working endlessly in these fields!”