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……
Wang Jianguo never expected Shen Nanchu to tie up Old Lady Yu along with Wang Ergou.
Yu Lanhua, however, thought Shen Nanchu had done an excellent job.
She had long been fed up with Old Lady Yu’s behavior—acting entitled just because of her age, shamelessly exploiting others' respect for elders.
The villagers of Wang Family Village who had gathered to watch the scene also found the newly arrived educated youth, Shen Nanchu, utterly unreasonable.
Wang Ergou was the one who had done wrong—what did Old Lady Yu have to do with it?
The constant chime of notifications rang in Shen Nanchu’s ears, but she ignored them completely.
Old Lady Yu glared at Shen Nanchu furiously before suddenly plopping onto the ground, wailing loudly.
"Dasheng, why did you leave so early? Leaving me and Ergou all alone in this world..."
Wang Jianguo felt a throbbing pain in his temples. He knew Old Lady Yu would drag out this old grievance again.
Sure enough—
"Dasheng, open your eyes and see! These are the very villagers you risked your life to save!"
Tears and snot streamed down Old Lady Yu’s face as she lamented,
"And now they just stand by, watching as outsiders bully me and Ergou!"
Many villagers lowered their heads in shame. Years ago, if not for Wang Ergou’s father, Wang Dasheng, who had rushed into a fire to save the village’s grain reserves, countless lives in Wang Family Village would have been lost.
From the crowd emerged a white-haired elder—the most senior in the village, Uncle Wang.
"Jianguo, one must never forget their roots."
Wang Xiumei’s grandfather chimed in,
"That’s right. Family should always stand by family."
Wang Xiumei’s uncle, Wang Daming, also stepped forward.
"Village Chief, you can’t just favor whoever offers you the most benefits, can you?"
Other villagers began to murmur in agreement.
"Chief, we can’t side with outsiders over our own!"
"Chief, it was Wang Ergou who did wrong, not Old Lady Yu!"
"Exactly! How can you let an old woman like her be tied up by this educated youth?"
……
Oh?
So they were descendants of a village hero?
Shen Nanchu raised an eyebrow.
"I tied her up. What are you going to do about it?"
The villagers erupted in outrage.
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……
Jiang Shuyi had initially planned to stay out of the commotion, but Shen Nanchu’s arrogance had provoked the entire crowd.
Besides, protagonists and villains were natural enemies. Jiang Shuyi had a gut feeling that Shen Nanchu would cause trouble for her in the future.
Now was the perfect opportunity to drive Shen Nanchu out of Wang Family Village.
After all, Pei Zhengnian would be arriving soon, and Shen Nanchu’s face was far too pretty—better safe than sorry.
"Crimes shouldn’t implicate family members. As an educated youth of Wang Family Village, I cannot condone Shen Nanchu’s actions."
Jiang Shuyi’s words earned nods of agreement from all the other educated youths.
Not a single villager or educated youth stood on Shen Nanchu’s side.
Wang Xiumei wanted to speak up but was pinched sharply by her grandmother.
Wang Jianguo was torn, the situation too thorny to handle.
Yu Lanhua, however, had no such reservations. She had long wanted her husband to step down as village chief.
No benefits, just endless headaches—and he even dipped into their savings to cover village expenses sometimes.
If anyone wanted this thankless job, they were welcome to it.
Yu Lanhua strode forward, hands on her hips.
"Are you all blind? Can’t you see Wang Ergou was the one who messed up?"
"His granny protecting him makes her an accomplice!"
"So what if she’s tied up too?"
"Or would you rather let them run wild in your homes next?"
Yu Lanhua held her ground against the crowd, her sharp tongue silencing them all.
Wang Xiumei finally mustered the courage to shout,
"Aunt Lanhua is right! Sister Nanchu didn’t do anything wrong—you’re the ones in the wrong!"
Her grandmother raised a hand to slap her, but Wang Dazhi, Wang Xiumei’s father, stopped her.
Wang Xiumei hid behind her mother.
"Sister Nanchu, I support you!"
Shen Nanchu remained perfectly composed, not a trace of fear or panic on her face.
"Anyone else have something to say?"
If not, then it was her turn.
She hadn’t tied up Old Lady Yu without a plan.
Seeing Shen Nanchu about to face consequences, Li Mei seized the chance to kick her while she was down.
"Shen Nanchu, did your family never teach you to respect your elders?"
Shen Nanchu’s lips twitched. After all this waiting, her opponent turned out to be this incompetent?
"My mother only taught me to distinguish right from wrong—not to enable wrongdoing."
Well, it seemed no greater challenge was coming.
Fine.
Time to wrap this up.
Shen Nanchu pointed delicately toward the direction Old Lady Yu had emerged from earlier.
"Is that the way to Wang Ergou’s house?"
The villagers, confused by the question, shook their heads.
Old Lady Yu’s wailing stopped abruptly, her beady eyes flashing with panic.
A few kind-hearted villagers even explained,
"That’s the west side. Wang Ergou’s house is on the east."
That was exactly what Shen Nanchu wanted to hear.
"The only way to reach my place from the village is across the stone bridge, right?"
"So why did Old Lady Yu come from the west?"
The stone bridge was east of the house, and so was Old Lady Yu’s home. Logically, she should have appeared from the east.
Some quick-witted villagers immediately caught on.
"Unless she was already hiding on the west side."
Exactly.
When Shen Nanchu had caught Wang Ergou, she hadn’t noticed Old Lady Yu lurking outside.
Come to think of it, even when Wang Ergou was howling in pain, Old Lady Yu hadn’t shown herself—only appearing once the villagers arrived.
Their grandparent-grandchild bond was as flimsy as plastic.
Cornered, Old Lady Yu stubbornly denied it.
"Young lady, your heart is as black as your tongue is sharp!"
"First you tie up an old woman, now you’re smearing my name?"
Shen Nanchu ignored her and turned to Wang Jianguo.
"It rained last night. The mud in the grass is still wet."
"Village Chief, check the grass west of the house. You’ll find footprints there."
An eager villager rushed to investigate.
"Chief! Shen Nanchu’s right—there are two footprints!"
Wang Jianguo’s face darkened, then flushed red.
"Shen Nanchu, my apologies. I failed to keep them in line."
Shen Nanchu shook her head.
"If a dog wants to eat dirt, can you really stop it?"
She swept her gaze over the villagers and educated youths who had criticized her, her tone sincere.
"I suggest you all get your eyes checked. Wouldn’t want you mistaking right for wrong."
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Any lingering guilt among the villagers vanished instantly.
Wang Jianguo’s mouth twitched.
This educated youth’s tongue was truly vicious.
