On the way back, the two sisters stopped by the carpenter’s place. They bought a wardrobe, two wooden buckets, a wooden table, stools, a wooden washstand, and even custom-ordered a wooden bathtub. Instead of using work points, she paid in cash, spending a total of 17 yuan. Once the house repairs were finished, Uncle Changgui promised to find someone to help deliver everything.
As soon as the two sisters stepped into the courtyard of the educated youth settlement, they heard curses coming from inside.
“Chen Yulan, you shameless little slut! How dare you seduce my boyfriend and do such a disgusting thing? After all the kindness I showed you when I first came to the countryside!”
Hu Guizhen was genuinely heartbroken. She and Chen Yulan had been among the same batch of educated youth sent down. Chen Yulan had a stepfather in charge at home and hadn’t had a single cent when she first arrived. Back then, Hu Guizhen had helped her a lot. Later, when Wang Yuanyuan showed up, Chen Yulan grew close to her instead. Though it stung, the two had never had any real conflict. Hu Guizhen never imagined that after guarding against everyone else, she had been keeping an eye on the wrong person.
Just now, Brother Wenhai had explained that he went up the mountain to gather some wild goods to sell for money to fix up their wedding home—but then he ran into Chen Yulan. He claimed Chen Yulan had thrown herself into his arms, and he lost control, leading to what happened.
“Hu Guizhen, watch your mouth! You’re the only one going around calling Fan Wenhai your boyfriend. Has anyone ever actually heard him admit it?” Chen Yulan shot back without flinching. On the mountain, she hadn’t dared to argue because she didn’t want to stir up trouble, but now that she was back, she wasn’t afraid of Hu Guizhen.
Hu Guizhen always bossed her around. Sure, she had helped her out financially when they first arrived, but Chen Yulan had repaid her by washing her clothes and cooking meals, doing plenty of work for her. What gave Hu Guizhen the right to keep talking to her like that?
But honestly, getting caught today might not be such a bad thing. Given her situation, remarrying wouldn’t be easy. She had only signed up to come to the countryside in secret; otherwise, that stepfather of hers would never have let her go. There was no way she was going back to that house—it was her nightmare.
The others exchanged glances at Chen Yulan’s words. Come to think of it, it was true. Fan Wenhai had never once acknowledged being in a relationship with Hu Guizhen; it had always been Hu Guizhen talking it up on her own.
Hu Guizhen now felt utterly wronged. She had already slept with Fan Wenhai, and Chen Yulan knew it. Why was Chen Yulan doing this to her?
Given the current situation, Fan Wenhai would almost certainly have to get a marriage certificate with Chen Yulan. So where did that leave Hu Guizhen? She didn’t dare tell anyone, but she couldn’t swallow the bitter pill either.
Remembering that she had arranged to meet Fan Wenhai later, she stopped bickering with Chen Yulan. She had to make Fan Wenhai give her some kind of promise.
Hu Guizhen rushed out of the settlement and ran straight into Xiao Mandong and Xiao Manxue, who had just returned from outside. She had heard that it was Xiao Manxue who led the team leader up the mountain to catch Fan Wenhai and Chen Yulan. If it weren’t for them, things never would have come to this.
Hu Guizhen gritted her teeth in hatred. “Xiao Manxue, how could you be so vicious? Since you couldn’t have Brother Wenhai yourself, you decided to ruin him. How can such an evil woman exist in this world? You’ll get what’s coming to you!”
Xiao Mandong couldn’t help but laugh. This was like trying to take a shit and blaming the toilet for not being attractive enough.
“Hu Guizhen, I’ve already warned you—don’t drag someone like Fan Wenhai into matters involving my sister. If you dare spout nonsense again, and word gets out that Fan Wenhai is enjoying the company of two women, you’ll be the one left with a ruined reputation. Don’t come crying to me later.”
“You… What nonsense are you talking?”
Hu Guizhen’s face flushed bright red. How did Xiao Mandong know about this? She realized there was no point in arguing with her—she wouldn’t win. “Pah!” she spat hard on the ground, then quickly scurried away.
By the time Hu Guizhen returned to the sent-down youth point, it was already two hours later. Xiao Mandong took one look at her disheveled hair and flushed cheeks and knew exactly what had just happened. The relationships among these three people were… rather interesting, indeed.
The next day was Xiao Mandong’s official first day of work. To avoid ending up with rough, tanned skin like she had in her previous life, she wrapped her head tightly in a scarf, sparking quite a bit of gossip. But perhaps because people remembered her sharp tongue, the whispers didn’t reach her ears.
Just before the midday break, she saw a group of Red Armband officials approaching from a distance, their faces grim. They shouted at the people working in the fields.
“Who is Xiao Mandong?”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over. Sun Hu Guizhen was stunned for a moment, then a flash of wild joy crossed her face. She pointed straight at Xiao Mandong and craned her neck to shout.
“Comrade leader, that’s Xiao Mandong! What did she do? Are you going to arrest her? Yes, you should! She’s a capitalist!”
The Red Armband officials paid no attention to Sun Hu Guizhen. They walked straight toward Xiao Mandong.
The moment Xiao Mandong saw the Red Armbands, the sickle in her hand clattered to the ground. She stumbled forward and used her body to shield her sister. Xiao Mandong pulled Xiao Manxue behind her, signaling her to stay quiet.
“What do you want?”
Director Huang of the Revolutionary Committee squinted at Xiao Mandong. “We’ve received a report: you have disregarded collective discipline. As a sent-down youth, you’re supposed to root yourself in the collective and help one another. Instead, you’ve focused all your efforts on building a little household of your own, constructing a private residence without permission, with unclear sources of funding. This disrupts collective order and amounts to profiteering. You’re coming with us to the Revolutionary Committee for investigation.”
Director Huang’s words sent a chill through the people who had been planning to build houses of their own—they were afraid of being implicated.
Those who couldn’t afford to build houses, on the other hand, were gleeful. After all, if they couldn’t enjoy better living conditions, why should anyone else? Why should Xiao Mandong get to live comfortably in a new house while they suffered?
Xiao Mandong remembered this Director Huang. In her previous life, after reform and opening up, he was arrested for accepting bribes and embezzling collective assets. From an old house that the Revolutionary Committee had confiscated, the police recovered piles of cash and gold. Even if she was taken away by the Revolutionary Committee today, she could still get Director Huang to release her.
“Does the Revolutionary Committee need evidence to detain someone, Director Huang? What proof do you have?”
He scoffed. Evidence? What he said was evidence.
“Take her away. You’ll find out soon enough,” he said. Once she was in his hands, she would be guilty of whatever he decided.
As soon as the Revolutionary Committee members entered the village, someone rushed off to inform the village leaders. The production brigade captain and the village secretary hurried over.
Seeing the village leaders, the Revolutionary Committee members had to show at least a little respect.
“Director Huang, what brings you here? Please, come to the brigade office for some tea and rest,” one of them said.
“Secretary Liu, we’re here on official business. We’ve received a report that Xiao Mandong from your village has been exhibiting bourgeois tendencies, disrupting collective order, and handling money from unknown sources under suspicion of speculation. We’re taking her in for investigation.”
Secretary Liu maintained his smile, but his voice had cooled several degrees: “How is that possible? Just yesterday I reported to the commune that the educated youth, in order to lighten the burden on the village, voluntarily moved out of the youth hostel and repaired collapsed houses to help solve the village’s difficulties.”
Director Huang’s expression shifted. “What did you say?”
“Our village has a large number of educated youth, but the village lacks the financial means to provide sufficient housing. The youths repaired the collapsed houses themselves and even pay rent to the village. Isn’t that a good thing? Our village has also reported this to the commune. Do the affairs of our village now need to be reported not only to the commune, but also to the Revolutionary Committee?”
