The threshing ground was packed with people, every villager from Wang Family Village had gathered.
Where Wang Jianguo had stood speaking earlier, now stood Father Pei, Liu Huaiyi, Zhang Qingfeng, and Zheng Tongwei’s family of four.
All seven had signs hung around their necks.
Wang Jianguo stood to the side, his face dark with anger, yet powerless to intervene.
Pei Yunxi and Pei Yunzhou supported Pei's Mother, while Grandma Pei and Grandpa Pei stood nearby, their expressions heavy with sorrow.
Feng Kangping stood triumphantly on the raised platform, clutching a loudspeaker, spittle flying as he shouted,
"Fellow villagers! Today, we must thoroughly expose these monsters and demons! They corrupt socialism and sabotage the revolution! They must be denounced and crushed!"
The red armbands below echoed his slogans,
"Down with the monsters and demons!"
"Resolutely uphold the revolution!"
"They must be reformed!"
The villagers of Wang Family Village exchanged uneasy glances, their eyes eventually settling on their village head, Wang Jianguo.
Wang Jianguo swept them with a stern look.
Those who had already decided to stay silent now sealed their lips even tighter.
The more restless villagers, after catching Wang Jianguo’s warning glare, quickly shut their mouths as well.
Except for Wang Dazhi’s family, who chanted in unison,
"Down with the monsters and demons!"
"Teach them a lesson they won’t forget!"
Displeased by the villagers’ lack of enthusiasm, Feng Kangping shot a glance at one of his underlings, who immediately understood.
Father Pei was shoved to the front, a sign reading "Monster and Demon" hanging from his neck.
Sweat beaded on Father Pei’s forehead, but his back remained straight, his eyes burning with defiance.
Feng Kangping smirked. He had deliberately chosen a day when Shen Nanchu was away, just to avoid that sharp-tongued woman interfering.
"Fellow villagers!" Feng Kangping bellowed,
"Today, we must resolutely carry out the directives from above and eradicate these feudal remnants!"
A few red armbands immediately began clapping, joined enthusiastically by Wang Dazhi’s family.
The scattered applause was punctuated by half-hearted cheers.
Feng Kangping, satisfied, continued his incitement,
"Especially the Pei family! Relying on their son’s military rank, they’ve acted arrogantly and tyrannically! Today, they must be taught a lesson!"
With a wave of his hand, several red armbands shoved a tall, paper hat onto Father Pei’s head, the words "Counterrevolutionary" scrawled crookedly across it.
"Bow your head! Confess your crimes!" a red armband barked.
Father Pei let out a cold laugh, standing firm.
"Stubborn fool!" Feng Kangping roared. "Beat him!"
The red armbands raised their clubs, ready to strike—
Suddenly—
"Captain Feng!"
A clear, sharp voice cut through the crowd from behind.
"Such a lively event, and no one invited me?"
The crowd fell silent.
"BOOM—!"
A bolt of lightning split the sky, making everyone shudder.
"Feng Kangping, you’ve got some nerve, huh? Bullying my father while I’m away?"
Every head turned.
Shen Nanchu stood at the entrance of the threshing ground, the wind tugging at her clothes. A smirk played on her lips, but her eyes were cold as blades.
"S-Shen Nanchu?!" Feng Kangping’s face paled. "Aren’t you supposed to be at the military base?"
Shen Nanchu strolled forward leisurely. "Oh? Captain Feng keeps such close tabs on my schedule?"
Feng Kangping forced composure. "Shen Nanchu, don’t interfere with revolutionary work! This struggle session was ordered from above! If you obstruct it, you’re opposing the Party!"
Shen Nanchu scoffed. "Orders from above? Fine. Show me the document."
Feng Kangping choked. There was no document—just a phone call from a higher-up.
Her gaze swept over Father Pei on the platform before locking onto Feng Kangping.
"Feng Kangping, did you really think you could push my family around the moment I left?"
Feng Kangping’s skin prickled under her stare, but he blustered,
"Shen Nanchu! Don’t get too cocky! This meeting has leadership approval! If you dare interfere, we’ll denounce you too!"
He signaled to a few new red armbands, who immediately surrounded Shen Nanchu.
She didn’t flinch, didn’t even glance at them.
Instead, she looked up at the sky.
The clouds darkened, thunder rumbling closer.
She smiled.
"Captain Feng," Shen Nanchu said slowly, "do you know why it’s so dark and thundering today?"
Feng Kangping blinked. "W-why?"
Shen Nanchu pointed upward. "Because even the heavens can’t stand to watch."
Another lightning bolt tore through the sky, followed by an earth-shaking "CRACK!"
Feng Kangping jumped, but quickly steadied himself. "Shen Nanchu! Stop with your superstitious nonsense!"
"Feng Kangping," Shen Nanchu mused, "do you know how it feels to be struck by lightning?"
Feng Kangping froze. "What?"
She wrenched a long, loose nail from the nearby bulletin board, weighing it in her hand.
"I suggest you run. While you still can."
Before Feng Kangping could react, Shen Nanchu grabbed a spool of thin wire—left by Wang Jianguo for building rabbit cages.
Perfect timing.
She tied one end of the wire to the nail and drove it into the ground.
The other end, she fastened to a shovel.
Holding the shovel, Shen Nanchu gave Feng Kangping a slow, knowing smile.
His instincts screamed danger. He stumbled back—right under a tree.
Shen Nanchu’s eyes gleamed.
Idiot.
With a heave, she hurled the shovel into the branches, where it lodged upright.
"CRACK—BOOM!"
Lightning struck the shovel. Current surged down the wire, sparks exploding in all directions!
"AHHH—!"
The red armbands scattered in terror.
Feng Kangping, at the center of the sparks, collapsed, his pants soaked.
"The Thunder God is angry!" a villager wailed.
Shen Nanchu stood calmly, watching Feng Kangping with icy amusement.
"Captain Feng, shall we continue the struggle session?"
Feng Kangping’s face was sheet-white. He scrambled toward a tractor, shrieking,
"Retreat! Go, go!"
The red armbands fled in chaos, some even leaping into ditches in their panic.
Terrified villagers bolted for their homes.
The once-crowded threshing ground emptied in moments.
Once the lightning stopped, Feng Kangping, still stammering, tried to salvage his dignity from a distance,
"S-Shen Nanchu! Y-you’ll pay for this! This is feudal superstition! I’ll report you!"
Shen Nanchu picked up a stick and hurled it. It smacked into Feng Kangping’s back with a thud.
"Go ahead and report!"
"Next time, the lightning won’t miss your head!"
The only reply was the tractor’s frantic sputtering as Feng Kangping fled in disgrace.
...
