People who eat melon are in 70 - Chapter 26

Wang Shanxi remained silent this time.

The victim was not him, so it wasn’t his decision to make.

Gu Nianwei did not intend to seek compensation; her demands were quite simple: “I hope that the rumor-monger Lin Weihong makes a self-criticism in front of the whole village, and that Lin Jianzhong apologizes for threatening me.”

To be fair, Gu Nianwei’s two demands were not excessive. The team leader thought Gu Nianwei, a young intellectual, was reasonable. His gaze scanned the crowd of onlookers, finally resting on Lin Weihong in the corner.

“Manzhu’s wife, what do you think?”

What did Lin Weihong think? Lin Weihong was unwilling!

It had been twenty or thirty years since the founding of New China. Which woman in Liushu Gou had ever made a self-criticism in front of the entire village? How was this different from the criticisms and struggles that were popular a few years ago?

“I’m unwilling. Why should I make a self-criticism? I introduced her to a potential partner with good intentions. If she’s not interested, that’s fine. Why bring up all this nonsense? What did I do wrong?” Lin Weihong felt very wronged.

She felt that all her good intentions were being treated as if they were worthless!

Why was she so eager to introduce a partner to Gu Nianwei? It was because she saw that Gu Nianwei was a lonely girl, wasn’t it? She was trying to find her a family! Wasn’t Lin Jianzhong good enough? A thirty-something military officer who, after retiring, became the director of a supply and marketing cooperative, with a bright future ahead. Many girls wanted to marry him. If it weren’t for her genuine liking for Gu Nianwei, would such a good thing have fallen to a young intellectual from out of town with no connections?

“My son Jianzhong became a battalion commander at thirty. Now that he’s retired and back, he’s the director of the local supply and marketing cooperative. Introducing him to her is an injustice?”

The more Lin Weihong thought about it, the angrier she became. All the good things she had once thought of Gu Nianwei vanished in an instant, and Gu Nianwei became the most disliked person to her, even surpassing Zhao Chunhua.

“Ungrateful wretch.”

Lin Weihong’s voice was sharp and unpleasant. After she finished speaking, Jiang Yutao asked, “Who is this ungrateful wretch you’re talking about?”

“You’re the one I’m talking about. So what if I am?”

As soon as Lin Weihong finished speaking, some of the women started to laugh. Lin Weihong’s face turned from green to white, as she realized she had ended up insulting herself.

Li Yunying and the other young intellectuals, who had not received any formal training, could not hold back and also laughed.

Jiang Yutao smiled and nodded, “Oh, so you know that you’re the ungrateful one? How very self-aware of you.”

Li Yunying quietly gave Jiang Youtao a thumbs-up.

Wang Shanxi looked at Jiang Yutao with a hint of approval in his eyes. Zhou Zhenfeng moved his feet slightly, distancing himself from Jiang Yutao, while Zhao Rongguang applauded, praising Jiang Yutao’s argument.

Jiang Yutao tilted her chin slightly, indicating that humility is important and that these are just the wisdom of the predecessors, not a big deal.

Gu Nianwei had a smile on her lips but forcibly held it back. “Captain, my demands are here. Whether they are met or not is up to you.”

The captain looked at Lin Jianzhong, who took a deep breath and took a couple of steps toward Gu Nianwei. “I’m sorry.”

The tone was stiff and the voice sounded gruff, with a palpable sense of unwillingness that even Xu Dashan, known for his bluntness, could detect.

Since Lin Jianzhong had already been offended today, Gu Nianwei didn’t think it was wrong to make things worse. “Sister Yunying, did you hear what Director Lin said? I didn’t catch it clearly.”

“I didn’t hear clearly; maybe it’s because the wind is too strong.” By evening, the wind had picked up, much like it is now. The coolness of the late summer breeze felt even stronger than in recent days.

Lin Jianzhong knew that Gu Nianwei was making things difficult for him, but he had no other choice. Once he issued this apology, it was like admitting he had threatened Gu Nianwei. He was in a difficult position.

As long as he couldn’t find evidence for Gu Nianwei’s alleged misdeeds, he couldn’t speak out about it; otherwise, he would truly be accused of slander.

“I’m sorry.” This time, Lin Jianzhong’s voice was much louder, even those watching from his own family’s side could hear it.

The brigade leader nodded and made a final decision: “On the Monday meeting the day after tomorrow, Lin Weihong will make a public apology. That’s settled. Everyone can go home now. It’s getting dark, so go have your meals or get some rest. That’s all for today.”

The brigade leader still held significant respect in the village, and his words were well-regarded. As the crowd dispersed, Jiang Yutao and the others also went home.

The brigade leader pointed at Lin Jianzhong and said, “Come with me.”

He took Lin Jianzhong to the brigade office. As soon as the door closed, the brigade leader’s anger couldn’t be contained: “Jianzhong, what’s wrong with you? Don’t you understand how serious the consequences could be if this isn’t handled properly?”

The relationship between the educated youths and the villagers was already delicate, and a misstep could have extremely adverse effects: “You’ve been a soldier for so many years, I don’t believe you don’t understand the gravity of this. Do you know if this matter blows up, your position as the supply and marketing cooperative director could be at risk?”

In this era, positions in the supply and marketing cooperative were highly sought after. Many people wanted to take Lin Jianzhong’s place as he hadn’t even settled into the position yet.

“I didn’t expect things to develop to this point.” Faced with the brigade leader, Lin Jianzhong was surprisingly compliant.

The brigade leader’s hand was shaking as he pointed at Lin Jianzhong: “I’ve told you long ago that you need to change your attitude towards women. After all these years, you’re still treating my words as if they’re just idle talk.”

Lin Jianzhong didn’t refute the brigade leader. They talked for a long time in the brigade office.

When the educated youths returned to their quarters, Jiang Yutao and the others arrived at the dormitory, and everyone’s expression was grim.

Zhang Huihui was extremely angry: “Is this matter just being brushed aside so lightly?”

Zhang Huihui was young and passionate, with a black-and-white view of right and wrong, unable to tolerate any darkness in the world.

Gu Nianwei, however, was more open-minded: “A strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. If we push our demands too far, life in the village will become difficult. We don’t even know how long we’ll be staying here.”

In this era, villagers are united, and the same goes for Liu Shu Gou. If their demands are too excessive, those who used to be kind to them can quickly change their attitude.

The reasoning is clear, and Zhang Huihui understands it, but she just can’t swallow this frustration: “So we’re just going to let him get away with bullying us?”

Zhang Huihui appeared even more distressed than Gu Nianwei, who was directly involved.

Gu Nianwei was in relatively good spirits because she realized that the feeling of losing control when facing Lin Jianzhong was not as pronounced as before. In fact, if she didn’t consciously focus on it, she could almost ignore it.

“Of course not. Just because we’re not pursuing it doesn’t mean others won’t.” Jiang Yutao said while pouring water, “Lin Jianzhong was transferred to the rural supply and marketing cooperative as a director, an outsider parachuted in. Don’t you think the person whose promotion opportunity he took away would resent him? If it were you, wouldn’t you pay extra attention to this newcomer?”

Jiang Yutao put the water to her lips, blew on it, and took a sip.

Gu Nianwei put the dagger she had taken out today back into the box. “Tao Tao is right. Lin Jianzhong will probably face more trouble going forward.”

Li Yunying also nodded in agreement with Jiang Yutao’s words. “Yes, and there’s no need to worry about Lin Weihong’s family. Their influence in the village isn’t that strong yet.”

Zhang Huihui had just needed a moment to think it through. With Jiang Yutao’s prompt and a bit of reflection, she understood. But she still felt it wasn’t enough. “He got off too easily.”

Zhao Yonglan returned at this moment; she had not been present during the earlier confrontation. She mingled with the crowd, watching the commotion with the Su family.

Zhao Yonglan was in a bad mood. Seeing the seemingly unaffected people and recalling the things she had heard at the Su family’s place, she couldn’t help but feel angry. “You guys were really too impulsive. By causing a scene like this, aren’t you making enemies with the village? What good does it do us to make enemies with the villagers?”

“Gossip, no matter how insignificant, will spread. Just ignore it, right? Was it really necessary to make such a fuss?” Zhao Yonglan was a self-interested person. If it didn’t affect her own interests, she’d just watch the show from the sidelines. But if it did touch her interests, she would be particularly upset and angry.

Jiang Yutao found Zhao Yonglan quite remarkable in her way. Zhao Yonglan had all the traits she disliked. “Well said. Tomorrow, I’ll make up some of your ‘insignificant’ gossip and spread it around. When that happens, don’t get angry or make a fuss, okay?”

Gu Nianwei looked at Zhao Yonglan and said, “Is it that my lesson for you a few days ago wasn’t severe enough? Have you forgotten the pain now?”

Gu Nianwei’s words made Zhao Yonglan feel the places where she had been struck by Gu Nianwei starting to ache again. She gasped.

Li Yunying was quite critical of Zhao Yonglan’s absence today. “Zhao Yonglan, let me remind you again: We intellectual youths are a united group. No matter what internal disputes we have, we must present a united front to the outside. We must face things together. Only by standing together will others not look down on us or bully us.”

Zhao Yonglan did not pay much attention to Li Yunying’s words. She thought Li Yunying was exaggerating. What could possibly happen to her? After being in the countryside for so long, she had gotten along well with the local villagers, unlike her relations with the intellectual youths, which were particularly unpleasant.

Gu Nianwei knew that Zhao Yonglan was more pleased than anyone else about the rumors spreading about her. Seeing Gu Nianwei confronting Lin Jianzhong and thoroughly offending Lin Weihong’s family today, Zhao Yonglan nearly jumped up to applaud. There was no way she would help Gu Nianwei!

After all, they had just had a fight recently!

Zhao Yonglan thought Zhang Huihui and Liu Yingjun were fools. Not only did they not avoid such situations, but they even pushed themselves into them. It was simply crazy.

Li Yunying noticed Zhao Yonglan’s indifference but didn’t say anything more. Matters like these are about willingness—if Zhao Yonglan really didn’t want to cooperate, they couldn’t force her.

However, mutual support is key. When they had difficulties, Zhao Yonglan only cared about herself. When she got into trouble, she couldn’t blame others for not helping her.

After being put in her place by Jiang Yutao and the others, Zhao Yonglan turned to take out her frustrations on Zhang Huihui.

She first lectured Zhang Huihui and then asked, “Can you lend me five yuan?”

Zhang Huihui’s eyes widened in surprise, “Have you used up all the money you brought?”

Zhao Yonglan’s parents, though they favored sons over daughters, were not unkind to her. Among the rural youth, Zhao Yonglan brought the most money, with over two hundred yuan just in cash.

Zhang Huihui’s family was not as well-off as Zhao Yonglan’s; she had only brought eighty yuan. After arriving in the countryside, she didn’t have many places to spend money, so she still had sixty or seventy yuan left.

Zhang Huihui couldn’t understand how Zhao Yonglan managed to spend over two hundred yuan.

“Not really. Aunt Yue Mei said her family was preparing for a celebration and needed some money. She borrowed from me first and promised to repay it after the autumn harvest, counting it as work points,” Zhao Yonglan explained. Aunt Yue Mei was the wife of the village’s former party secretary.

Zhang Huihui was momentarily speechless. “You’ve already lent it all out?”

“Yeah, otherwise why would I borrow money from you? Don’t talk about other things. Just lend me the money quickly. I’ll write a letter to my mother asking her to send more funds. Once she sends the money, I’ll repay you,” Zhao Yonglan thought nothing of lending money to Zhu Yue Mei, but the thought of repaying Zhang Huihui five yuan made her feel uneasy.

“I don’t have any money,” Zhang Huihui knew Zhao Yonglan’s character well. Whenever they lent money to Zhao Yonglan, she never paid them back happily. Even the two yuan she borrowed from Liu Yingjun in fourth grade had never been returned.

Zhao Yonglan, irritated, said, “If you have money, why won’t you lend it to me? If you keep this up, I’ll write a letter to my mother and tell her about it.”

Threatening to tell her parents was Zhao Yonglan’s go-to tactic.

Zhang Huihui remained unfazed: “Go ahead and tell them. You might as well mention to your parents how you’ve been lending money to others.”

Zhang Huihui didn’t believe that Zhao Yonglan, who was so generous with her money outside, wouldn’t make her parents anxious if they knew.

Of course, Zhao Yonglan wouldn’t dare say anything. If she had the courage to speak out, she wouldn’t be borrowing money from Zhang Huihui in the first place.

Seeing Zhao Yonglan’s face made Zhang Huihui feel repulsed. She went outside to fetch water, washed her head and face, and then went to bed.

The others also finished their washing and went to bed.

At this point, Jiang Yutao finally had time to check the task panel.

The task of preventing the main characters from matchmaking was completed, and the reward was sent to Jiang Yutao’s system backpack.

Jiang Youtao then checked Gu Nianwei’s awakening progress. After tonight’s events, her awakening progress had increased from twenty-five percent to fifty percent.

Jiang Youtao was a bit surprised: [System, why did the awakening progress increase so much this time?] Last time, when she prevented Lin Jianzhong from meeting Gu Nianwei, the progress bar only increased by five percent.

Why has it suddenly increased by 24.5 percent now? Is this reasonable? It doesn’t seem reasonable at all.

The “Melon-eating System” replied: [According to system detection, Lin Wenping and Lin Wen’an’s favorability towards the main female character has decreased to 30 percent, and their desire for her to become their stepmother has been completely eliminated.]

Jiang Yutao suddenly understood.

It was written in the book that the Lin Wenping brothers greatly admired Lin Jianzhong. In their eyes, Lin Jianzhong was invincible. When Gu Nianwei publicly refused to marry Lin Jianzhong, they saw it as ungrateful. Moreover, Gu Nianwei made Lin Jianzhong apologize twice, which was unforgivable in the eyes of the Lin Wenping brothers.

They had unilaterally declared that Gu Nianwei was no longer qualified to be their stepmother.

Jiang Youtao finally relaxed: [System, you can still detect favorability? I didn’t know this before.]

Melon-eating System: [You never asked.]

Jiang Yutao clicked her tongue and stopped talking.

[ Ding~~~ Melon Coin balance has reached 100 coins. Would the host like to upgrade the system?] The electronic voice of the Gossip System was filled with joy.

Jiang Yutao opened the upgrade agreement and, without hesitation, agreed to the first point.

The upgraded Melon-eating System not only rewards for gossiping about main characters but also provides rewards for gossiping about ordinary people. Anyone who doesn’t upgrade is a fool. As for spending 100 Melon Coins, Jiang Yutao chose to ignore it.

As long as she pretended not to know, it was as if she never had that money.

The system quietly went offline to upgrade, and as night deepened, Jiang Yutao fell asleep.

The next morning, Jiang Yutao and the others went to work as usual. The villagers’ attitudes towards them hadn’t changed. Xu Dazui even came over to ask Jiang Yutao for details about the situation.

Even though they already knew most of what had happened, Xu Dazui and the others were still very interested when Jiang Yutao recounted the story.

After Jiang Yutao finished, she asked them, “With such a big commotion last night, why hasn’t Lin Jianzhong’s family shown up?”

Jiang Yutao found it increasingly strange. Although many villagers had watched the commotion yesterday, she hadn’t seen any other members of the Lin family, not even Zhao Chunhua.

Xu Dazui looked around and lowered her voice to the minimum: “There’s a rumor in the village that Lin Jianzhong isn’t really the child of Lin Lao Zhuang. It’s said that Zhao Chunhua and the team leader borrowed him!”