Xiao Mandong was certain she hadn’t mistaken them—these two were Fan Wenhai and Chen Yulan.
Two stark-naked bodies tangled together, a sight that truly stung the eyes.
This Fan Wenhai, just an hour ago about to marry Hu Guizhen, was now entangled with this woman—he certainly played fast and loose.
Xiao Mandong used a branch to hook the clothes the pair had strewn everywhere to her feet, stashing them in her space. The two were completely absorbed in themselves.
Chen Yulan kept her eyes shut, mouth agape, her moans ear-splitting, her voice growing hoarse from the effort—she was putting on quite a show.
Fan Wenhai’s gaze never left her body, and his stamina… well, he was fairly enduring; it took a good while before a muffled grunt escaped him.
Xiao Mandong couldn’t hear what Chen Yulan whispered in Fan Wenhai’s ear, but he let loose a string of vulgar words before shifting positions to continue their romp…
No denying it, Chen Yulan’s figure was indeed much better than Hu Guizhen’s.
Xiao Mandong glanced at the trail leading up the mountain. A crowd of people was hurrying uphill.
Footsteps grew closer, and the two at the mouth of the air-raid shelter seemed to hear them too, a note of panic setting in. But no matter how they looked, their clothes were nowhere to be found. With no choice, they scrambled frantically deeper into the shelter to hide.
Not long after, the Brigade Leader arrived near the shelter’s entrance with a dozen or so people.
“Xiao Manxue…”
Before the Brigade Leader could finish, Xiao Mandong cut in, pointing at the shelter and lowering her voice:
“Brigade Leader, it sounds like there’s a… wild man in the cave, a naked wild man!”
The Brigade Leader frowned. “Farmers are always in these hills—where would a wild man come from?”
Xiao Mandong added another line, her tone laced with caution:
“Could it be spies hiding out in our village’s mountains? With fewer people coming up here now, they might dare to show themselves?”
The Brigade Leader’s face turned serious. He didn’t think Xiao Mandong was the type to spout nonsense—she had proven shrewd in her dealings these past couple of days.
He immediately had the others take cover and sent a young man to fetch the Militia Captain, ordering him to bring guns for backup.
Not long passed before Fan Wenhai, unable to stay still any longer, cautiously poked his head out to look around.
The Brigade Leader spotted him at once, but with his furtive behavior, he was taken for a spy’s accomplice. No one dared to act rashly.
After a few more moments, seeing no movement, Fan Wenhai stepped out completely naked, searching for something on the ground. The watching men gaped in astonishment, while the women reddened and turned away, baffled at what this educated youth was up to. Then a woman’s voice rang out:
“Brother Wenhai, where did you take it off? Did you find it?”
The Brigade Leader suddenly understood everything. There was no mystery to it—this was clearly a case of adulterers who had lost their clothes, making a spectacle of themselves.
His face flushed beet red with fury. He rose from the bushes and barked angrily:
“Fan Wenhai! You bastard, you’ve disgraced our Red Flag Brigade!”
Inside the shelter, Chen Yulan trembled in fear, not daring to breathe. Fan Wenhai froze, cold sweat instantly breaking out all over. He turned to bolt back into the cave.
But it was too late. The villagers behind the Brigade Leader surged forward, pinning Fan Wenhai to the ground. Those women who had just averted their blushing faces now stood on tiptoes to get a look, their murmurs spreading:
“Isn’t that Comrade Fan? Wasn’t he dating Hu Guizhen? What’s he doing up here doing this?”
“Who’s that in the cave? Sounds a lot like Comrade Chen?”
Xiao Mandong stood at the edge of the crowd, a faint smirk curling at her lips.
Before Fan Wenhai could defend himself, Chen Yulan’s tearful, frightened voice drifted out of the cave:
“Don’t come in here!”
That plea sealed the scandal beyond doubt. Just then, the Militia Captain arrived with his men, instantly spotting Fan Wenhai crouching stark naked on the ground.
The Brigade Leader had already sent someone to the educated youth settlement to fetch clothes. Word of the affair spread through the village like wildfire.
Hu Guizhen rushed over as soon as she heard, nearly fainting at the scene before her.
She tried to charge into the cave to attack Chen Yulan, but Dong Huimin held her back. With so many people present, dragging Chen Yulan out half-dressed would cause a major disaster.
When Chen Yulan emerged clothed, she was faced with a sea of onlookers. She wished she could die of shame—why were there so many people? Her voice trembled:
“B-Brigade Leader, Fan Wenhai and I… we were about to get married. We just couldn’t hold back—it’s not improper relations between men and women.”
At that moment, Fan Wenhai had no choice. Denying it would mean a charge of hooliganism, public criticism, and possibly even a bullet. He had no option but to go along with Chen Yulan:
“That’s right, Brigade Leader. We’re getting married very soon.”
Hu Guizhen broke free from Dong Huimin and rushed forward, slapping Chen Yulan across the face with a sharp cry:
“You’re getting married, so what am I supposed to be?”
Chen Yulan held her red, swollen cheek, looking hurt and defiant—a pitiable sight indeed. Fan Wenhai stepped in front of her, irritation flickering inside him. Why make a scene now? Couldn’t she wait until everyone left to sort this out? He gave a veiled warning:
“Hu Guizhen, think carefully before you speak. Don’t push me.”
Hu Guizhen felt a lump tighten in her throat, her nails digging deeply into her palms. Fan Wenhai was threatening her—if his punishment came from her outburst, he might drag her down too. In the end, she choked back her impulse, fixing her hateful stare on Fan Wenhai.
The Brigade Leader was so furious his breath quickened. What a mess this was! If word got out, could they still keep the title of Model Brigade? At least the two claimed they were planning to marry—if it was for marriage, such actions could be overlooked.
“I’ll give you both tomorrow off. If you haven’t come back with a marriage certificate by then, I’m sending you to the commune.”
He turned and left without another look. To avoid further trouble, he ordered Hu Guizhen to be taken back to the settlement.
Xiao Mandong took her sister’s hand and followed the crowd out. One arrow, three targets—she was in good spirits.
Back home, the Brigade Leader only later realized he had been played by Xiao Mandong. That girl had really schemed…
“Uncle Brigade Leader, are you home?”
Ha, speak of the devil. What was she plotting now?
“Spit it out, what do you want now?”
Ever since she arrived, the village hadn’t had a moment’s peace.
“I’ve come to apologize. I know I used a little trick today to tie Fan Wenhai and Chen Yulan together. But they were the ones who made the mistake first—that gave me the opening. Even if I hadn’t exposed it now, it couldn’t have been hidden forever.
“Besides, I had no other choice. You know Fan Wenhai has been harassing my sister. I was afraid that if I let my guard down, he’d target her again. The only way to make my sister safer was to get Fan Wenhai to marry someone else, and that would also stop Hu Guizhen from picking on her. Uncle, you do understand, don’t you?”
The Brigade Leader was so exasperated he almost laughed. She comes confessing her mistake, but she’s been outsmarted—and today’s incident was still the truth.
Xiao Mandong took out a bottle of Maotai from her bamboo basket and placed it on the table:
"Uncle Brigade Leader, I went to see the stone house today. Wow, the work is really fast. You really found the right people. You're truly a good leader who serves the people."
A smiling face is hard to resist with a strike. The Brigade Leader didn't particularly care about the bottle of liquor, but he did appreciate Xiao Mandong's way of handling people and situations.
"This is to apologize to you. I'm leaving now. Don't be angry, okay?"
Before the Brigade Leader could say anything, Xiao Mandong dashed out of the yard. Her younger sister, Xiao Manxue, was still waiting for her at the gate.
Xiao Manxue hadn't dared to go inside because she was the one who had claimed her sister got lost in the mountains, tricking the Brigade Leader into organizing a search party. If she had gone in, she feared the Brigade Leader would scold her.
When she saw her sister come out, the two girls burst into laughter, feeling a mischievous thrill like when they were kids pulling pranks.
