“Exactly! I knew my Baocai would never do something like this for no reason. So someone was deliberately stirring up trouble.” At that moment, Wang Baocai’s mother, Aunt Wang, arrived after hearing the news.
She pulled Wang Baocai behind her protectively while glaring furiously at Gao Lanying.
Pointing at Gao Lanying, she said, “For years, the Educated Youths and the villagers have gotten along just fine. But the moment your batch arrives, all you’ve done is stir up trouble. I think you’re nothing but a scourge!”
With that single remark, Aunt Wang dragged all of the newly arrived Educated Youths into the matter.
Lin Baiyu thought that Aunt Wang’s words were far too severe. Once such a label was attached to someone, Gao Lanying’s future in the village would become very difficult.
Seeing this, Gao Lanying was no longer willing to stay silent. Regardless of what she had intended to do, and regardless of whether she had actually done it, the behavior of this mother and son pair disgusted her.
She immediately shot back, “The innocent remain innocent, and the guilty remain guilty. What grudge do you have against me that you would try to frame me without any evidence?”
“Evidence? What more evidence do we need? My Baocai already testified. He’s a witness.”
Aunt Wang put on a dramatic performance. “Everyone, judge for yourselves. My Baocai has always been such an honest and obedient child.”
The way she acted left many people stunned.
“I think this little vixen is nothing but a fox spirit. Who knows how many men she’s seduced behind the scenes to help her do bad things?”
As soon as those words came out, even though many people felt Aunt Wang had gone too far, some still found themselves wavering.
After all, the people of that era held fairly traditional and conservative views. In their eyes, many of Gao Lanying’s actions were already considered inappropriate.
The moment Gao Lanying heard those words, her face turned pale.
No matter how scheming she might be, she was still only a nineteen-year-old girl. The greatest hardship she had experienced in her life was being “abandoned” by her family.
Yet before that abandonment, her family had treated her reasonably well. At school, boys who liked her often helped her with things. Even if some girls disliked her, she had never heard such blunt and vicious insults directed at her face.
For a moment, Gao Lanying stood frozen.
“Aunt Wang, that’s going too far.”
Seeing Aunt Wang’s words becoming increasingly vicious, Sister Ma stepped forward and spoke on Gao Lanying’s behalf.
Standing beside her, Zheng Peizhen had remained silent ever since Team Leader Lin arrived. Everyone had assumed her silence meant she was tacitly agreeing with the accusations.
Unexpectedly, Zheng Peizhen spoke up.
“As the person supposedly involved in all this, I haven’t even said anything yet. So how exactly has Gao Lanying become some kind of scourge?”
“My son said she wanted to stop you from taking the exam, and you’re still defending her? Are you out of your mind?” Aunt Wang stared at Zheng Peizhen in disbelief.
Zheng Peizhen was not afraid of her in the slightest and immediately retorted.
“Aunt Wang, you just said it yourself. Your son said she wanted to harm me.”
“But I heard their entire conversation. Gao Lanying never once said she had such intentions.”
“How does asking Wang Baocai for a favor automatically become proof that she wanted to hurt someone?”
“First of all, nothing happened to me. I took the exam perfectly fine.”
“Secondly, since when can Wang Baocai file accusations based solely on his own assumptions? Can people just make claims without any factual basis?”
“Lastly, I don’t know whether Gao Lanying ever intended to harm me.”
At this point, Zheng Peizhen paused.
Her sharp gaze swept over Aunt Wang and Wang Baocai.
“But we are both respectable young women. I don’t know how we’ve offended you enough to deserve such harsh accusations. I only hope you’ll watch your words more carefully in the future.”
Gao Lanying had never expected Zheng Peizhen to step forward and defend her.
For a moment, her emotions became incredibly complicated.
After hearing Zheng Peizhen’s words, Aunt Wang ended up harboring resentment toward her as well.
“Well now, who would’ve thought such a little girl would have such a sharp tongue? My son was trying to stand up for you, and now you’re accusing us of trying to harm you?”
“Oh heavens! How am I supposed to live like this? At my age, I’m being bullied by two little girls!”
“Team Leader, you have to stand up for us!”
…
Watching Aunt Wang’s fiercely protective behavior and listening to her endless wailing, Lin Baiyu could not help admiring her shameless ability to play the victim.
She felt as though her horizons had truly been broadened today.
Glancing around at the surrounding villagers, she noticed that everyone looked completely unsurprised.
From their reactions, she immediately understood that Aunt Wang was probably a repeat offender.
Team Leader Lin was equally helpless in the face of Aunt Wang’s antics. Seeing the astonished expressions of the new Educated Youths only made him feel even more embarrassed.
“Enough!”
His shout abruptly cut off Aunt Wang’s crying.
Hearing him speak, Aunt Wang was delighted.
She assumed the Team Leader would naturally side with the villagers.
Once he upheld justice for her, she would make sure those two little girls learned their lesson. She, Wang Dahua, was not someone to be trifled with.
Unfortunately for her, the Team Leader’s next words were nothing like what she had hoped for.
“Wang Baocai,” he said, “you claim Educated Youth Gao intended to harm Educated Youth Zheng. What evidence do you actually have?”
“Team Leader, Baocai he…”
Before Wang Baocai could answer, Aunt Wang once again tried to speak for him.
But Team Leader Lin cut her off.
“I asked Wang Baocai. If you interrupt again, you can leave.”
Aunt Wang immediately fell silent.
Only then did Wang Baocai emerge from behind his mother as though he had nothing to fear.
“Evidence… the evidence is that she asked me to get croton powder for her. Isn’t that enough to show she wanted to hurt someone?”
“And how do you know she intended to harm Educated Youth Zheng?”
“She said it was for a friend. But she doesn’t have any close friends, so it must have been for an enemy. Everyone knows she and Zheng Peizhen don’t get along.”
After questioning Wang Baocai, Team Leader Lin turned toward Gao Lanying.
“Educated Youth Gao, things have reached this point. Tell us, what exactly did you want it for?”
The moment those words were spoken, every eye turned toward Gao Lanying.
By now, she had regained her composure.
Quietly clenching her fists, she looked directly at the Team Leader.
“The person suffering from constipation was actually me,” she said. “I was too embarrassed to admit it, so I made up the story about a friend.”
The instant she finished speaking, her face flushed bright red with humiliation.
“Wang Baocai, you heard that,” Team Leader Lin said. “Educated Youth Gao has already given her explanation. Do you have anything else to say?”
“How is that possible? She clearly… I… I…”
Wang Baocai’s voice became increasingly panicked.
Before he could finish, Gao Lanying interrupted him.
“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve being slandered like this. Not only did you falsely accuse me, but Aunt Wang humiliated me as well. You even dragged the other new Educated Youths into it.”
Tears welled in her eyes, making her look thoroughly wronged.
Turning to Team Leader Lin, she said, “Team Leader, I want an explanation too.”
“Oh dear, it’s all a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding.”
Aunt Wang instantly changed her attitude and smacked Wang Baocai on the back.
“Educated Youth Gao, you’re an educated person. This old woman doesn’t know how to speak properly. Please don’t take offense.”
Then she slapped Wang Baocai again.
“My son simply has too strong a sense of justice. He didn’t mean any harm. It’s all a misunderstanding. Team Leader, you’ve watched Baocai grow up. You know what a kind-hearted child he is.”
As expected of Aunt Wang, her ability to twist black into white was truly impressive.
In the end, Team Leader Lin severely criticized both Wang Baocai and his mother.
The pair’s faces alternated between green and white with anger, but they no longer dared to cause trouble and could only leave dejectedly.
Afterward, Team Leader Lin warned everyone not to spread rumors or make accusations based on speculation, lest they create unnecessary consequences.
He stopped there, but everyone understood what he truly feared: a repeat of the chaos from those turbulent years.
Remembering those disorderly times, the villagers still felt lingering fear.
As a result, everyone quickly voiced their agreement and support.
Team Leader Lin also sternly admonished both Gao Lanying and Zheng Peizhen, reminding them to pay attention to their conduct and behavior in the future.
Both women accepted the warning.
Thus, the entire incident finally came to an end.