People who eat melon are in 70 - Chapter 49

Xu Baozhu’s face changed dramatically, and both Xu Accountant and Liu Manzhu looked over.

Old Woman swung her hand as if to strike, but this time, Manqiu stepped aside on her own.

“I’ve been observing you for ten years, did you know that?” Xu Manqiu’s demeanor now was completely different from how she had been before. This was the first time Jiang Yutao and Gu Nianwei saw Xu Manqiu show any sharp edges, and it was the first time the people of Liushu Village saw this side of her.

Xu Manqiu hadn’t planned to say these things before because she knew that Luo Xuemin, Su Changshan, and Xu Accountant, just like Xu Baozhu, were all on the same side; the three of them were all in cahoots.

To prevent the villagers from revealing the truth that Xu Baozhu was the lucky star, Luo Xuemin would emphasize this point in half of the ten meetings they held. Xu Manqiu, as a person, had lived for 15 years without ever going to the commune.

Luo Xuemin and Su Changshan were afraid she would go to the commune and expose their involvement in superstitious activities.

After Luo Xuemin and Su Changshan fell from power, Xu Manqiu had watched Liu Manzhu and the others for a long time. They had never been like Luo Xuemin and the others, keeping the villagers’ mouths shut.

It hadn’t been long, but even the young intellectuals knew by now that Xu Baozhu was the lucky star and Xu Manqiu was the disaster star.

Li Yunying had been sent to the commune in Liushu Village for eight years, but she had learned more about Xu Baozhu and their situation in the past period than she had during all those years.

There was another important point: Xu Manqiu couldn’t stand it anymore.

Before anyone treated her well, she could live quietly in the boundless darkness. But after experiencing the kindness of Jiang Yutao and Gu Nianwei, she couldn’t bear it anymore.

This time, when Xu Baozhu gave her the clothes, it became the catalyst for her to speak out. She wanted to see how Liu Manzhu would handle this matter.

Would he muddle through like Luo Xuemin, or would he argue for her based on reason?

Liu Manzhu didn’t disappoint her.

Xu Baozhu barely steadied herself: “What have you been observing me for?”

Xu Manqiu took a step forward: “Are you really a lucky star? All these years, has your good luck really been all yours?”

Xu Baozhu was forced to take a step back: “What exactly are you trying to say?”

Xu Manqiu looked around and saw several of Xu Baozhu’s close friends. She said to them, “Don’t you find it strange? Xu Baozhu’s luck is so good, and you all get along so well with her, yet you haven’t gained any benefits. The better her luck, the more you all will end up with some bad luck, even if just a little.”

The few people who were particularly close to Xu Baozhu immediately changed their expressions, and their parents quickly pulled them aside for questioning.

Liu Xiaoyan and Xu Baozhu were classmates. They had been in the same class since school started, and later they were even desk mates for two years.

Liu Xiaoyan’s grandmother hurriedly asked her, “Is what Manqiu said true? When you’re with Baozhu, does your luck really get worse?”

Liu Xiaoyan was confused. She looked at her grandmother and said, “Grandma, when have I ever had good luck? I’ve never had luck, to begin with.”

Liu Xiaoyan’s grandmother asked again, “So, have you been unlucky?”

Liu Xiaoyan became even more puzzled. “What counts as bad luck? Cutting a pencil and frequently cutting my hand, losing things all the time? Or walking along and suddenly ruining a perfectly good pair of shoes, or even just tripping and falling flat on my face?”

Liu Xiaoyan was carefree. With Xu Manqiu taking the brunt of things in front, she never really felt unlucky.

Other parents asked as well and received the same answer as Liu Xiaoyan.

These were all small issues that didn’t really matter. In fact, if it weren’t for Xu Manqiu pointing them out, no one would have noticed them.

“You’re talking nonsense!”

Xu Baozhu hurriedly tried to explain to the others, “Don’t listen to Xu Manqiu, she’s gone mad.”

Accountant Xu quickly stepped forward to pull Xu Manqiu away. “Qiu’er, I know your grandmother isn’t good to you and you’ve been wronged at home. But there are some things we just can’t say recklessly. If you say things like this, how are your sister and your parents supposed to face people in the village?”

Xu Manqiu shook off Accountant Xu’s hand. “Am I talking nonsense? Isn’t it the truth? If you think I’m talking nonsense, why are you so eager to interrupt me?”

“Your whole family is harsh and cruel. Grandpa, since you know my grandmother isn’t good to me, why didn’t you stop her? Why have you never once stood up for me?”

“Oh, because I’m the bad luck star, and I bring disaster to your family, while Xu Baozhu is the lucky star, bringing good fortune to your family, right?”

Jiang Yutao, who had been listening, furrowed her brows tightly: ‘Is there a part like this in the book?’

Jiang Yutao had finished reading the book, and she clearly remembered that there was no such part.

The “Melon-Eating System,” which had been monitoring the situation, also sensed something was wrong when it heard Xu Manqiu’s words. It had already begun checking when Jiang Yutao asked her question: ‘Please wait a moment, the system is inquiring…’

The “Melon-Eating System,” still inexperienced, took some time to search.

The scene fell silent, except for Xu Manqiu’s accusations: “You’re all so afraid I’ll bring disaster to you. Why not just strangle me or send me away? Why not do that?”

“Is it because I’m the source of Xu Baozhu’s good luck?” Xu Manqiu pointed at Grandmother Xu. “You beat me, scold me, and mistreat me. Is it because the worse I have it, the better Xu Baozhu’s luck gets? You’re so focused on her, haven’t you noticed that since she turned ten, her good luck hasn’t been enough?”

“You must have noticed, otherwise, why would you always force me to accept Xu Baozhu’s personal belongings when she gives them to me? Why do you always force me to wash Xu Baozhu’s clothes in the cold weather?”

Most of the clothes Xu Manqiu washed throughout the year were Xu Baozhu’s, and every time she finished washing Xu Baozhu’s clothes, Xu Manqiu would feel unwell for a while. The most absurd time was when Xu Baozhu was seriously ill, so much so that after being sent to the hospital for a long time, she still didn’t get better.

Later, when Xu Baozhu returned, the first thing Grandmother Xu did was put the clothes Xu Baozhu had worn in the hospital for a long time onto Xu Manqiu.

Xu Baozhu slowly recovered, but Xu Manqiu fell ill instead. Her symptoms were exactly the same as Xu Baozhu’s. At the time, Xu Manqiu was only six years old, and she even thought she might die. But she survived in the end.

In a half-awake state, she overheard Grandmother Xu say that she was truly a disaster because she didn’t die from such a serious illness.

“You can’t say anything now, can you? Of course, how could you dare to speak about such an absurd thing in front of others? Xu Baozhu noticed it, so how could you not notice it yourself?”

“Xu Baozhu can only have continuous good luck when she is close to me. If I’m not around, when I use her things or take her things, her good luck will continue.”

“When she was six and fell seriously ill, it was because she was too far away from me. You know that, don’t you?”

Grandmother Xu looked at Xu Manqiu with a shocked expression, as if she was seeing her for the first time.

She couldn’t utter a word in response to Xu Manqiu’s accusations.

What Xu Manqiu said was the truth.

She had indeed noticed that whenever Xu Baozhu was far from Xu Manqiu, her good luck would disappear. Only when Xu Manqiu continued to suffer and kept touching Xu Baozhu’s personal belongings would Xu Baozhu’s good luck be maintained.

But Grandmother Xu had never doubted the identification of the good fortune star. After all, the Taoist priest had said that the two granddaughters had a relationship where one’s fortune waxes while the other’s wanes. If one of them was to be blessed, the other would surely suffer.

Xu Baozhu loudly rebutted, “You’re talking nonsense! You’re making things up!”

But aside from these two sentences, she couldn’t say anything else.

Xu Manqiu felt it was really meaningless. She had originally thought that the Xu family was an insurmountable chasm in her life, a lingering mental demon she could never shake off. But when she actually confronted them, she realized that the mountains she thought she could never overcome were nothing but paper tigers.

“Uncle Manzhu, can you help me? I want to go to the commune.”

Xu Manqiu rarely spoke to the villagers, and this was the first time she had asked Liu Manzhu for help.

Liu Manzhu glanced at her and agreed, “Okay, I’ll take you there.”

Just as Liu Manzhu’s words fell, Xu Accountant’s voice rang out, “Manqiu can’t go, she can’t go!”

Xu Accountant’s objection instantly reminded Liu Manzhu of all the times Xu Accountant had opposed him in meetings, and the disgust was almost visible on his face.

He had never realized how annoying Xu Accountant was, someone who normally kept to himself. “Why can’t she go?” he asked.

Xu Accountant looked panicked, “Do you remember 1959? There was a nationwide drought, but only our Liushu Village had a rainfall. That rain made our wheat harvest abundant, and that year, no one in our village starved to death.”

“Meanwhile, in other villages, there were plenty of people who died from hunger. Manzhu, we must have a conscience. We can’t be ungrateful! Everything was brought by Baozhu!”

Xu Accountant’s words caused a stir in the crowd, and people began discussing the matter among themselves.

The older people said that indeed, they shouldn’t go. After all, they had received Xu Baozhu’s favor, and if the feudal superstition matter was exposed, the entire village might face consequences.

Some of the younger ones, however, thought it was just a coincidence and dismissed it.

Xu Manqiu said nothing, quietly waiting for Liu Manzhu’s final decision.

She glanced at Jiang Yutao and Gu Nianwei, giving them a faint smile.

Jiang Yutao kept calling out to the system, but all she got in response was the system’s ongoing search.

Furious, Jiang Yutao mentally gave a “friendly greeting” to the ancestors of the melon-eating system for the eighteenth generation.

Liu Manzhu said, “Old man, the village has repaid Baozhu’s kindness, no matter how much she has done for us. Over the years, our team has had a specific budget set aside for Baozhu. It’s been fifteen years, and the village has never wronged her.”

“You say that the village has prospered thanks to Baozhu, but you’ve forgotten. Not only our village, but other villages have also had good weather and good harvests. The yearly accounts of the village were done by you, so you should know that our grain output is almost the same as other teams.”

“And over the years, Baozhu’s title of ‘lucky star’ hasn’t brought much benefit to the team. The only thing that’s prospered is your Xu family. Don’t drag the whole village down just for your family’s benefit.”

“For all these years, we haven’t said anything about how you’ve treated Manqiu, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know.”

“Manqiu, it’s getting late. If you go to the commune now, they’ll be off work. You can stay at my house tonight, and I’ll take you to the commune tomorrow morning.”

By this time, it was already dark.

Jiang Yutao, hearing this, interjected, “Uncle Manzhu, let Manqiu stay with us. We have an empty spot.”

Liu Manzhu’s family was large, so adding Xu Manqiu wouldn’t be impossible, but it would be a bit cramped. After Jiang Yutao spoke, he looked at Xu Manqiu, “Manqiu, what do you think?”

“I’ll go back with Educated youth Jiang,” Xu Manqiu said.

Liu Manzhu nodded, “Then let’s go.”

Xu Manqiu followed him as they walked out. After just a couple of steps, she heard Grandpa Xu calling her: “Qiu’er, come back, okay? Grandpa promises that he will treat you better from now on. Can you? Just pity Grandpa, okay?”

Grandpa Xu stared at Xu Manqiu intensely. He frequently attended meetings at the commune, and the leaders had repeatedly said during meetings that they should oppose feudal superstitions. Why did Grandmother Wang from Linjiadian die? Wasn’t it because she was reported for fortune-telling and inviting a spirit?

Grandpa Xu didn’t invite spirits, but his family’s problems were serious. The fact that Xu Baozhu was considered the village’s lucky star and had comfortably accepted the village’s support for fifteen years was undeniable.

Grandpa Xu wasn’t a fool. He understood that the key to the situation was Xu Manqiu. If she didn’t report them, they would get away with it. The worst outcome would be that he, as the village accountant, would lose his position.

He looked at Xu Manqiu with pleading eyes: “Qiu’er, please. Just for Grandpa’s sake, let this one go. Can you?”

Xu Manqiu finally turned around: “Grandpa, the only reason you’ve been kind to me is because you’ve been planning for this day, right? You’ve thought really far ahead.”

“But how kind have you really been to me? Occasionally giving me a sweet potato, a handful of peanuts, or an egg? Or is it the melted candy and stale cookies you got from Xu Baozhu’s side?”

“Such kindness, I really can’t bear it.”

After speaking, Xu Manqiu linked arms with Jiang Yutao and strode forward.

The crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed, but their discussions about the matter didn’t stop.

Xu Baozhu was so scared she was almost dumbfounded. She looked at Xu Grandma and Grandpa Xu: “Grandpa, Grandma, what should we do? I don’t want to get arrested. Grandpa, Grandma, please think of something!”

Xu Baozhu had always been an enthusiastic participant in everything, and when she lived in the county with her parents, she often followed the Red Guards to raid other people’s homes.

Xu Baozhu had often raided homes of those who practiced feudal superstitions, and the Red Guards were incredibly ruthless. They loved giving people “Yin-Yang haircuts.”

Xu Baozhu, with a terrified look on her face, touched her own hair.

Since childhood, she had been particularly protective of her long, black hair. Every week, she would have Xu Grandma use fragrant soap and herbs she picked from the mountains to carefully maintain it.

She treated her hair as if it were her life. She couldn’t even imagine what she would look like if it were shaved into a “Yin-Yang” style.

Just the thought of it terrified her.

Grandpa Xu shook his head in despair. What could he do? He had no way of handling it!

“I’ve already told you not to go too far. Look what you’ve done, you’ve pushed Manqiu to her limit!”

Xu Grandma was also scared. She had once given a speech at the commune, alongside the person who had reported Wang Laopo for practicing feudal superstitions. She still vividly remembered the scene of Grandmother Wang being ‘blanked’ back then.

“What’s the use of saying this now? Why didn’t you stop me back then?” Xu Grandma didn’t spare Grandpa Xu at all.

When she was first sold to the Xu family, she used to coax Grandpa Xu, but after they got together and she had Eldest son Xu, she became more dominant. She only listened to the parts of Grandpa Xu’s words that she liked.

“This little b1tch, she’s really getting bold! Who gave her the courage to try and report us? She’d better be able to leave the village!” Xu Grandma was emboldened by the fact that she had done the feudal superstitions so openly, knowing that Xu Baozhu had done a great favor to the village when she was born.

Now, although some people no longer wanted to acknowledge it, the old folks were still alive! Every family had a few elderly people!

Xu Baozhu’s uncle, Xu Song, immediately jumped up from the ground: “That educated youth who’s meddling in things, I’ll burn their house down tonight.”

Xu Song was eighteen this year. He hadn’t studied and didn’t like working. He spent his days wandering around the village. He was very bold, and in his eyes, killing or arson was as simple as drinking water.

As soon as he finished speaking, his brother Xu Bai echoed, “Yes, we’ll go too. If they dare to make things difficult for Baozhu, we can’t let them get away with it. It would be best if we burn Xu Manqiu along with them. Let’s see if Xu Manqiu dares to go to the commune and report us.”

When Xu Manqiu and Xu Baozhu were born, Xu Song and Xu Bai were only two or three years old. At that time, children were the best at reading the room. They knew the adults favored Xu Baozhu, so they treated her especially well, while completely ignoring Xu Manqiu.

As they got older, and after they had bullied Xu Manqiu without getting punished, Xu Manqiu became their target for teasing.

Over the years, their care for Xu Baozhu had become instinctive.

Xu Baozhu was beautiful, cheerful, and lively, and she had the halo of a lucky star. Whenever she went out, she was admired. On the other hand, Xu Manqiu was always dull and gloomy, rarely saying anything nice to anyone.

Eldest son’s Wife Xu slapped Xu Song on the back of his head, “You’ve grown some guts, huh? You think killing and committing arson is so easy? Tonight, you’re staying at home and not going anywhere.”

Third Son’s Wife Xu, who was standing by, looked at her sister-in-law’s behavior and smirked sarcastically.

Their family wasn’t liked by Xu Baozhu, and even Third Son’s Wife Xu’s status in the Xu family was just a little bit higher than Xu Manqiu’s.

When Xu Baozhu faced misfortune, Third Son’s Wife Xu felt a great sense of satisfaction.

Especially when her pretentious, self-righteous sister-in-law was having a bad time, She felt even more pleased.

Over the years, with the support of her mother-in-law and Xu Baozhu, the third branch had secretly suffered many losses to the first branch.

—

Jiang Yutao and the others knew nothing of what had been happening with the Xu family. Before they even arrived at the educated youth station, Xu Manqiu had decided not to go with them.

“Tao Tao Jie, Wei Wei Jie, I’m not going with you. Xu Song and Xu Bai are Xu Baozhu’s loyal lackeys. They know I’m staying with you tonight, and they’ll definitely come looking for trouble. I’ll stay in the back mountains tonight, and when they come, I’ll catch them in the act.”

Xu Manqiu had lived with Xu Song and Xu Bai for more than ten years and knew their characters very well.

The reason she hadn’t gone back with Liu Manzhu was because she didn’t want to drag his family into it. Liu’s family lived in the center of the village, and if anything went wrong, it wouldn’t just affect their family.

She hadn’t planned to go back with Jiang Yutao and the others either, but for a moment, her mouth ran ahead of her brain.

Jiang Yutao and Gu Nianwei exchanged a glance, and Gu Nianwei said, “We’ll go with you.”

Xu Manqiu repeatedly refused, but her objections were ineffective. After they arrived at the educated youth station, Wang Shanxi and the others were already waiting in the yard. They knew something would happen tonight, and they all decided not to sleep but to keep watch in secret.

No one criticized Jiang Yutao and Gu Nianwei for meddling.

They were all in their teens or twenties, and the youthful passion of young people was evident in them.

Wang Shanxi had made a detailed plan for surveillance and capture. As night fell, everyone quietly followed the plan. To prevent anyone from falling asleep, Gu Nianwei contributed a few packs of mint candy to keep them alert.

Time passed minute by minute, the moon hung high in the night sky, and the last light in the village went out. By 11 p.m., Xu Song and Xu Bai arrived, sneaking through the dark.

They circled around the back of the educated youth station and approached the firewood shed, lighting torches and preparing to throw them inside.

At that moment, a bright light shone on them, and a loud shout pierced the night sky: “Help! Someone is setting a fire!!”

At the same time, the system that had been stuck on “querying” for so long finally finished its search: [Host, I found it. The part of Xu Manqiu’s consciousness from the book merged with Xu Manqiu’s mind at a certain moment today.]

Jiang Yutao was confused. What did this mean?