People who eat melon are in 70 - Chapter 50

The shouting from Zhao Rongguang startled those who were sleeping. When they heard about the fire, everyone quickly put on their clothes and grabbed their tools, rushing out.

Xu Song and Xu Bai were terrified.

They had come to set the fire at the educated youth station on a sudden impulse, never thinking about the consequences. They had never considered the possibility of being discovered. They had always been close to Xu Baozhu and had committed countless wrongdoings since childhood, but they had never been caught.

They thought this time would be no different, and they wouldn’t get caught, so they didn’t even bother to hide their actions. They just rushed in.

When Wang Shanxi and the others rushed out and bound them up, Xu Song and Xu Bai were dumbfounded and couldn’t believe it.

Zhao Yonglan was furious. She had never seen such lawless people. Taking advantage of the chaos, she gave Xu Song and Xu Bai each a slap. Afterward, she turned to leave but accidentally bumped into Zhao Rongguang.

“Sorry,” Zhao Yonglan quickly apologized, stepping back from Zhao Rongguang.

Zhao Rongguang hurriedly shook his head. “It’s fine, it’s fine.”

This small incident went unnoticed by the growing crowd, but both of them felt a ripple inside.

Zhao Rongguang had never been so close to a female comrade before, and his ears were so red they almost seemed to bleed.

Jiang Yutao pressed Xu Manqiu down on the bed. “Stay in the room. Don’t go out.”

Gu Nianwei also said, “Stay here, we’ll be back soon.”

The two of them left together, and Xu Manqiu, hearing their instructions, stayed in the room. She moved a stool and sat in the hallway, looking out.

Liu Manzhu had just arrived, and Xu Accountant, Xu Uncle, and Xu Third Uncle also ran over, panting. When they saw Xu Song and Xu Bai bound up, they were stunned, feeling as if everything went dark before their eyes.

Liu Manzhu glared at them, furious. The houses in every family now were made of wood and mud. In poorer households, the roofs were even thatched. Every household had a firewood shed to survive the winter.

If a fire broke out at the educated youth station, the sparks would blow in the wind, and the entire Liushu village could be in danger.

Xu Accountant stepped forward, slapping Xu Song so hard that his head jerked to the side. Before he could react, Xu Accountant swiftly slapped Xu Bai across the face. “You two are seeking death, huh? Who gave you the courage to go set a fire!”

In the evening, Xu Accountant had overheard Xu Song and Xu Bai talking about setting a fire at the educated youth station, but he hadn’t taken it seriously.

Who would believe the angry words of young people?

As the eldest grandson of the family, Xu Song had never been hit by anyone. Xu Accountant’s favorite was him. Before he was three, he had never even sat at a table to eat a meal; Xu Accountant had always carried him and fed him.

From childhood to adulthood, Xu Accountant had never laid a finger on him. “Grandpa, why are you hitting me? They bullied Baozhu, so I’m getting revenge for her!”

Xu Bai loudly echoed his brother from the side.

Now, everything was clear. Just moments ago, people were confused as to why Xu Song and Xu Bai had come to burn the educated youth station, but now everyone knew the reason.

Looking at Xu Song and Xu Bai, who didn’t seem to realize they had done anything wrong, no one felt the siblings’ deep bond. Instead, they felt a chill.

What did the educated youth at the station do to Xu Baozhu? Wasn’t it just that they didn’t buy her snow flower cream? What else?

Jiang Yutao had simply allowed Xu Manqiu to stay at the educated youth station for the night. Was that really considered bullying?

What about them? They all live in the same village—who says they must always be obedient to Xu Baozhu? Who can guarantee that they won’t refuse Xu Baozhu in the future? If one day they refuse her, will Xu Song and Xu Bai come to their house and set it on fire?

When it comes to their own interests, they were all outraged and demanded that Liu Manzhu take Xu Song and Xu Bai to the police.

Living in the same village with such lawless people, they were afraid.

How could such an uproar be complete without Xu Dazui? She remembered that in the afternoon, Liu Manzhu had planned to let Xu Manqiu stay at his house. If Jiang Yutao hadn’t spoken up at that moment, Xu Manqiu would have stayed at their house, and the house that would have been set on fire would have been hers.

“Manzhu, take them to the police. You may not care about our family, but you should think about the rest of the villagers.”

Liu Manzhu had already intended to send them to the police.

This was the first major event since he took office as village head, and it was a life-threatening one. If he handled it poorly, he would lose all authority in the village.

Seeing that the villagers were demanding he take Xu Song and Xu Bai to the police, Liu Manzhu finally nodded.

Xu Accountant’s eyes instantly dimmed, and his straightened back bent down. Eldest Son Xu had three sons, and now two of them, who were already adults, were about to be taken away. He couldn’t bear it. “Manzhu, Manzhu, please let them go. I’ll educate them well when we get home, and this won’t happen again. Please, can you forgive them?”

His face was full of pleading.

Before Liu Manzhu could speak, someone else interrupted: “You talk as if you can teach them. If you could really teach them, would they have the guts to say they were going to set a fire?”

“Exactly, if it were a matter of deep hatred, that would be one thing, but what’s their reason? To stand up for Xu Baozhu? What did the educated youths do to her? Did they beat her or scold her?”

Before the educated youths could say anything, the villagers had already silenced Eldest son Xu. Xu Song and Xu Bai had gone too far, offending everyone. Even if Eldest son Xu knelt and begged, it wouldn’t make the villagers change their stance.

When Xu Song and Xu Bai realized Liu Manzhu was really going to send them to the police, they finally got scared. Before they were taken away, they shouted at Xu Dabo: “Dad, hurry and find Baozhu, tell her to come and save us!”

Xu Song and his brother often hung around the streets, and it was not uncommon for their troublemaking friends to be arrested and taken to the police station. Whenever that happened, they would take Xu Baozhu along to the station, and somehow they always managed to escape serious trouble. So, after the initial brief period of fear, they relaxed again.

As the victims, Wang Shanxi, Zhao Rongguang, and Liu Yingjun went to the police station.

The officer on duty was still Officer Hu. After taking their statements, he looked at the three of them, speechless: “Tell me, why do all the criminals seem to find their way to your youth commune to cause trouble?”

Wang Shanxi and the others were also embarrassed: “Maybe it’s just bad luck for our youth commune?”

Officer Hu could only guess like that.

He felt that the unluckiest place wasn’t the youth commune, but the village of Liushu Village. Last time, when they were questioning Xia Heyu, they had discovered a lot. Now, with the arrival of Xu Baozhu, who was said to be incredibly lucky, Officer Hu felt he needed to conduct a thorough investigation into the village of Liushu Village.

By the time Wang Shanxi and the others returned, it was already midnight. They learned that Xu Song and Xu Bai had been detained, and everyone at the youth commune breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Yonglan couldn’t understand what was going on in their heads: “Do they really care that much about Xu Baozhu?”

Xu Manqiu had already come out. Just then, Xu Dazui had pulled her hand, comforting her, and then grabbed Jiang Yutao’s hand, thanking her.

From Xu Song and Xu Bai’s behavior today, it was clear that Xu Manqiu had suffered a lot of hardship in the Xu family.

Everyone wasn’t a completely evil person, and they all sympathized greatly with Xu Manqiu.

When Wang Shanxi and the others returned, Xu Dazui and the others dispersed.

After hearing Zhao Yonglan’s words, Xu Manqiu said, “It’s not just that they care about her, it’s mainly because they got close to Xu Baozhu and benefited from it.”

Just like when they were kids, they would try to please Xu Baozhu, and Xu Laopozi and Xu Zhiqiang would buy things for Xu Baozhu, who would always share some of it with them.

If they made her happy by bullying her, Xu Baozhu would reward them too.

In this way, wasn’t it natural for them to treat Xu Baozhu with affection?

Xu Manqiu was just curious about how long this affection would last after Xu Baozhu lost her good luck.

Xu Manzhu glanced towards the direction of the commune. However, perhaps she would never get the answer to this question.

Everyone returned to their respective rooms, and Xu Manqiu slept with Jiang Yutao.

Xu Manqiu was very tired today. She lay on Jiang Yutao’s bed, inhaling the comforting scent that made her feel at ease, and quickly fell asleep.

Now, Jiang Yutao had time to open the system. She hadn’t paid much attention to the rewards from watching the gossip, and she thought Xu Manqiu’s situation was similar to Wang Yuan’s — both were difficult and bitter, with no joy in the gossip.

She opened the system’s query results.

After reading it, she glanced at Xu Manqiu beside her and let out a heavy sigh.

The query report said that Xu Manqiu had been a virtuous person in her past lives, and because of this, her fate was extremely strong in her current life. Her good luck had also attracted the attention of some spirits and creatures. But, being spirits, they couldn’t harm Xu Manqiu in the slightest, and any attempt would only backfire on them because of Xu Manqiu’s powerful luck.

Xu Manqiu’s previous life was that of a kind and charitable old woman, who did countless good deeds. Xu Baozhu was a koi fish raised in her house, and before being fished out, she had gained consciousness. While in the old woman’s room, Xu Baozhu bathed in the aura of goodness, growing stronger and more skilled.

However, the old woman was old and was soon approaching her death. Xu Baozhu, accustomed to gaining without effort, did not want to toil in cultivation.

So, before the old woman passed away, Xu Baozhu, using her only koi abilities, predicted Xu Manqiu’s next life and reincarnated alongside her.

When Xu Baozhu reincarnated into the Xu family, she still retained her memories. The Taoist who came to the Xu family spouting nonsense was actually a catfish spirit who had been forced by her to cultivate deep in the mountains near Liushu Village.

Long before he had successfully deceived Grandmother Xu, Xu Baozhu had dealt with the catfish spirit, and now his grave probably had grass growing two feet tall.

Grandmother Xu trusted the words of the catfish spirit completely. When Xu Baozhu was born, she fought hard for the firstborn position. With the help of the Xu family, Xu Baozhu stole all of Xu Manqiu’s luck.

When Xu Manqiu was sixteen and sold to the mountains, it was Xu Baozhu’s final move in following her inner desires. Before Xu Manqiu was sent into the mountains, Xu Baozhu forced her to drink a bowl of her own bl00d while she was unconscious. They shared luck, and as long as Xu Manqiu suffered more, Xu Baozhu would live more comfortably.

But in the end, a person of great luck was still a person of great luck. She would eventually backstab Xu Baozhu, the one who stole her luck. Even after dying in her past life, the lingering obsession did not disappear.

Yesterday, when Xu Manqiu returned from the youth commune, Xu Baozhu forced her to wear her clothes in an attempt to borrow her luck. Xu Manqiu’s reluctance and the unresolved obsession resonated with each other. The emotions and consciousness in that obsession had a huge influence on the present Xu Manqiu.

“Is the current Manqiu reincarnated or awakened?” Jiang Yutao asked.

The Melon-Eating System replied: “Neither. Reincarnation means returning to the past, and awakening means knowing what will happen in the future. In her case, it’s neither. She doesn’t have memories of the future, at most, her personality now has a bit more decisiveness from the character in the book.”

Jiang Yutao let out a sigh of relief.

The previous life of Manqiu in the book was so bitter. She hoped that this life would be happier, more joyful, and filled with sweetness for the rest of her days.

The Melon-Eating system added: “Before the obsession dissipates, she wanted to say thank you to you and Wei Wei. She felt the warmth you gave her.”

Jiang Yutao’s eyes welled up with tears.