Director Huang’s expression froze instantly, his face alternating between green and red, the corners of his mouth twitching. He never imagined that the Village Secretary had already reported the matter to the commune; the Secretary’s words left him without any leverage.
After a long pause, he suddenly thought of something and said, “We still need to investigate the source of her money. How could a female comrade have so much money?”
Xiao Mandong reached into her pocket, retrieved the work transfer certificate issued by the cotton mill from her storage space, and handed it to Director Huang.
“Director Huang, I was a statistician at the cotton mill. I sold my position just a few days ago. My money is perfectly legitimate. You can verify this with the cotton mill. I’d like to know who slandered me and ruined my reputation.”
Director Huang stared at the work transfer certificate Xiao Mandong handed him, cursing Accountant Sun in his heart for not investigating thoroughly before making an accusation. Now, how was he supposed to save face?
In the crowd, Zhang Yanhong watched nervously, her palms slick with sweat. She never expected Xiao Mandong’s money to come from selling a job. Even if she had saved every penny, it would be hard to justify, but selling a job was different—there was proof.
And that Village Secretary was a sly old fox. He hadn’t been seen riding an oxcart into town, yet he still managed to report to the commune. What now? Would Director Huang reveal that her father-in-law had sent her to file the complaint?
Director Huang cleared his throat. “Since things have been clarified, we’ll be on our way. The Revolutionary Committee will never wrong a good comrade.” With that, he prepared to leave.
“Director Huang, leaving like that isn’t quite right, is it? I want to report the person who slandered me. Someone who, without investigation or evidence, accuses me like this. If this keeps happening, I’ll never have a moment’s peace.”
Director Huang hadn’t expected this young girl to be so bold. Most people would be trembling in fear at the sight of the Revolutionary Committee, but she had stood her ground and even wanted to seek justice.
The Village Secretary also wanted to know who had lodged the complaint. Just yesterday, his wife had been craving meat, but they had no meat coupons. He had gone to the black market before dawn, failed to buy any meat, and on the way back stopped by the commune to report the house-building matter. Otherwise, not just Xiao Mandong but also he and the Brigade Leader would have been in trouble today.
This person had to be exposed, or there would be endless trouble ahead.
Director Huang narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly, “It was an anonymous complaint. How would I know who it was? Even if your money came from a legitimate source, don’t forget your duty as an educated youth. Always remember that you are here to take root in the collective and struggle hard. The brigade should give more ideological education classes and thoroughly instill the spirit of collectivism.”
The Village Secretary was fuming. Trying to pin an ideological label on someone when there was no solid evidence—how could he tolerate that?
“Director Huang is right. I will report today’s events to the commune tomorrow and apply to the higher-level Revolutionary Committee to investigate this anonymous complainant thoroughly. This person maliciously slandered a comrade, undermined collective unity, and disrupted the brigade’s order. We must get to the bottom of it and deal with it seriously—no leniency.”
Director Huang’s heart skipped a beat. If they really applied to the higher-level Revolutionary Committee to investigate the complainant, it might trace back to him. If other matters were uncovered, he would be in deep trouble.
He couldn’t let that happen. It was clear this Village Secretary was determined to find out who had made the report.
His eyes darted around and suddenly landed on Zhang Yanhong in the crowd. “It was this comrade who submitted the complaint letter. Take any issues up with her. We have official business to attend to and are leaving now.”
With that, he and the Revolutionary Committee members slunk away disgracefully.
Hu Guizhen stamped her feet in agitation. “How could they leave? Shouldn’t they have taken Xiao Mandong away for investigation?”
The Village Secretary looked at Zhang Yanhong in the crowd and instantly understood—this was all Accountant Sun’s doing. To cover his tracks, he had sent his daughter-in-law to file the complaint in town.
Accountant Sun was trying to use this incident to remove him from his position as Village Secretary. If that was the case, then don’t blame him for being ruthless.
“Comrade Zhang Yanhong, first you secretly swapped work points for the educated youths, and now you maliciously report them, damaging the unity between the educated youths and the villagers. A production team members’ meeting will be convened immediately to decide on your punishment.”
Only then did Zhang Yanhong feel fear. What would happen now? Would she lose her job?
“I didn’t…”
She turned and ran home, needing her father-in-law to come up with a plan.
Before she reached home, the brigade’s gong sounded. Accountant Sun hurried out of the house, and upon seeing Zhang Yanhong, asked urgently, “What happened?”
Zhang Yanhong quickly recounted the recent visit from the Revolutionary Committee.
Accountant Sun also panicked. He hadn’t expected the Village Secretary to have already reported the matter, and Xiao Mandong had proof for her money.
Soon, all the villagers gathered at the threshing ground. The evidence was laid out clearly. The educated youths who had been cheated out of work points collectively condemned the actions. Apart from Accountant Sun’s relatives and friends, the rest of the villagers cursed angrily. Eventually, a vote was passed to dismiss Zhang Yanhong from her position as scorekeeper, and she was stripped of the job on the spot.
Xiao Mandong was speaking with the Brigade Leader, who had learned she used to be a statistician at the cotton mill and wanted her to temporarily fill in as scorekeeper. Suddenly, Zhang Yanhong’s mother-in-law burst through the crowd like a madwoman, rushed up, and slapped Xiao Mandong across the face, cursing nonstop.
“Bourgeois tramp! You come to our village and still can’t behave? Just wait, if I let you leave this village safely, I’ll change my surname to yours.”
Five red finger marks immediately appeared on Xiao Mandong’s face.
By the time Xiao Mandong reacted and tried to hit back, she was already grabbed by others.
This was the first time Xiao Mandong had suffered a loss since her rebirth. She hadn’t originally planned to fight Accountant Sun’s family to the death.
But hearing the words of Zhang Yanhong’s mother-in-law, she suddenly understood: unless she crushed Accountant Sun, his family would never stop causing trouble.
The Sun family wanted to drive her and her sister to their deaths. She had initially thought of dealing with things one by one and hadn’t planned to reveal Zhang Yanhong’s pregnancy. But now that they dared to hit her and threaten her, she would go all out.
She wondered if the Sun family could withstand such an explosive revelation.
“Your daughter-in-law is a widow who is pregnant—how shameless! The whole Red Flag Brigade’s face is ruined by your family. You’re despicable, carrying a bastard in your belly, and her mother-in-law treats her like a treasure. You’re so ‘generous’—but what will that child call you when it’s born?”
When Zhang Yanhong heard Xiao Mandong’s words, she nearly stopped breathing. How did she know about the pregnancy? Only she and the child’s father knew. And from the young educated woman’s tone, she not only knew about the pregnancy but also who the father was—how was that possible?
She had planned to wait until the busy farming season was over in two months, find an excuse to rent a place in town, give birth secretly, and then bring the child back under some pretense to raise it herself.
But now that this damned educated youth had exposed her in public, what was she going to do?
