Gu Qiu waved her hand, "As sisters, let's not talk about such things."
He Jianping frowned; the Advanced Team evaluation was imminent.
They couldn't report it to the Public Security Bureau.
He glared at Zhou Xiaoyan, "Don't talk nonsense. How can you report to the Public Security Bureau at the drop of a hat? Educated Youth Shen... how about..."
"No, they wanted to rob me of my money and ruin my reputation. If you don't report it, I will," Shen Zhao said with a cold laugh.
Ji Bai glanced at her and turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Everyone turned their heads and saw the Village Party Secretary rushing over, still wearing his clothes, his face flushed.
Ji Bai stopped and looked at Shen Zhao.
He Jianping swept a look of unknown meaning at the Village Party Secretary.
It was difficult for this old man, running a fever and still coming out to deal with the mess his wife and son had caused.
The Village Party Secretary looked back, "Fine, who doesn't have a couple of unfilial descendants? Those two lying on the ground are surnamed He, and they still have to call you Uncle and Grandfather."
The Village Party Secretary looked at Shen Zhao, "Educated Youth Shen, reporting to the Public Security Bureau won't benefit anyone. You also threw all that dung on us, and you hit my son and wife.
Our family is magnanimous and doesn't want to argue with a young girl like you. If you compensate us twenty yuan, this matter will be settled, and all grievances will be cleared. Is that acceptable?"
"And us!" The other two families immediately chimed in, "Pay us twenty yuan, and this matter will be over."
Aunt Gui Hua's eyes darted around. Tan Xiuping was always gossiping about how generous Educated Youth Shen was, secretly guessing how much money she had.
Now, if Educated Youth Shen could afford this money, could she also ask her son to...
Shen Zhao was best at observing people's expressions and instantly sensed the greedy glint in the eyes of those around her.
That old scoundrel, the Village Party Secretary, was truly malicious.
He seemed to be thinking of her, but in reality, if she paid the money, she would be admitting to those charges, and her reputation in the village would be ruined.
Furthermore, everyone would know she had money and a reputation for being promiscuous.
The idle hoodlums in the village would surely swarm around her like flies, giving her no peace.
In the few days she had been here, she had also gathered quite a bit of information.
There were old bachelors who were too poor to afford a wife, and they would set their sights on young and beautiful educated youths.
Marrying them required no betrothal gifts, and no one would help them if they were mistreated.
It was simply a highly profitable venture.
In the past few years, persecuting educated youths was common. Only in the last year or two, with the introduction of relevant policies, had things improved slightly.
Shen Zhao surveyed the crowd.
She saw Gu Qiu and the other three looking worried, and the hypocritical smile in the Village Party Secretary's eyes.
For the first time, she felt a murderous intent.
Her gaze fell on the three people on the ground, staring at them intently, her entire aura erupting.
"Tell me, why did I hit you?"
Tan Xiaowen froze instantly, feeling like he was being stared at by a fierce beast. Goosebumps rose all over his body, and his heart pounded uncontrollably.
Her gaze... was too terrifying.
After all, she had once been an Empress who ruled the country; her innate aura of superiority was something ordinary people couldn't withstand.
Those eyes seemed to pierce through flesh and bone, seeing the most vulnerable parts of a person's heart.
"Think carefully before you speak, or else..." Her gaze suddenly changed, chillingly fixing on the area between their legs.
The three men felt a chill in their lower bodies and instinctively clamped their legs together. The places where she had hit them began to burn again.
"Yes, my mother told me to teach you a lesson, and preferably ruin your reputation!" Tan Xiaowen trembled like a sieve, closing his eyes and shouting it all out.
"Xiaowen! Shut up!" Liu Xiu shouted.
Shen Zhao then looked at the Village Party Secretary and sneered, "So it was a case of the thief crying 'stop thief'."
The Village Party Secretary's face turned as dark as water. He looked at his son with an expression of disappointment, wishing he had never given birth to him.
Aunt Gui Hua: "Oh~ So you wanted to ruin her reputation, but ended up getting beaten instead. That's truly deserved."
She held a grudge against Liu Xiu and naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to kick her while she was down.
Gu Qiu said indignantly, "Then Educated Youth Shen was acting in self-defense. She's not afraid of reporting to the Public Security Bureau, unlike some people who commit hooliganism." She glanced coldly at the three men.
She felt her sister hadn't hit them hard enough.
Ji Bai clenched his fist, walked over, and kicked the three men, his eyes seeming to want to devour them alive.
"Team Leader, they've already admitted their crimes. If you don't give us an explanation for this, I'll send a telegram back to my Grandfather."
In this era, reporting to one's parents when encountering trouble was not something to be ashamed of.
He Jianping's face twitched. He spread his hands and looked at the Village Party Secretary.
"They are your wife and son, what do you say?"
What else could he say?
The Village Party Secretary could no longer maintain his amiable facade and looked coldly at Shen Zhao, "You're forcing a confession."
"Tch! I've only been in the Production Brigade for three days, and I don't even know everyone's names. Why would I hit your son for no reason?"
"You want to say it's because I splashed dung on you?"
"But I also want to ask, out of all the educated youths in the entire Production Brigade, only the five of us went to carry dung. As novices, we couldn't control our speed well, and accidentally splashed some on you. Is that a crime?"
"If that's the case, then it's truly terrifying. Just because I accidentally splashed some on you, you sent your son to ruin my reputation and rob me of my money.
Good heavens! If someone angers your family in the future, will you smash their homes and ruin their daughters too?"
Shen Zhao covered her mouth, looking frightened, but her eyes were full of provocation.
The onlookers who had come to watch the excitement could no longer laugh. They looked at the Village Party Secretary's family with wary eyes.
Living in the same village, sometimes over an egg, a scallion, or a few radishes, who hadn't argued or bickered?
In those days, families had many children, and who didn't have a daughter?
Even if their daughters were considered worthless, they didn't care.
But if their reputation was ruined, it would affect the future marriages of their siblings and would lead to them being gossiped about for their entire lives.
"Nonsense! Our family is not like that," the Village Party Secretary said, his chest heaving with anger, his eyes filled with threats. "Educated Youth Shen, don't forget you still have to live in the village."
"Oh my, what a scary threat~" Shen Zhao said with a frightened expression. "Then let's report it to the Public Security Bureau."
Village Party Secretary: .....
He glared fiercely at his wife and son.
They were useless, incapable of accomplishing anything but ruining things. If they were going to do something bad, why admit it themselves?
Tan Xiaowen shrunk his neck. He really couldn't stand that kind of gaze.
Seeing that the situation was almost under control, He Jianping stepped forward to mediate.
In any case, they couldn't report it to the Public Security Bureau.
"How about this: you each compensate Educated Youth Shen for some of her losses, and this matter will be over."
"Why!" Liu Xiu was extremely unwilling.
Why should she be beaten and still have to pay money?
"Shut up!" the Village Party Secretary glared at her. "My family will compensate you twenty yuan. Don't mention this matter again."
This twenty yuan was quite a sum for them.
With the money in hand, Shen Zhao didn't find it too little. "Alright, but if there's a next time, I can't guarantee I'll go easy on you."
He Jianping then looked at the other two families. "They are accomplices. I will allocate two yuan worth of Work Points from the Production Brigade's account to each of you."
Shen Zhao nodded. "Okay, but I want to receive that twenty yuan now. What if they don't honor their word later?"
The Village Party Secretary gritted his teeth. That was indeed his plan.
"Wait here, I'll go get it."
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