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Liu Dapeng felt ashamed and humiliated, not because he thought he was wrong, but being publicly questioned made him feel like those who were publicly humiliated, embarrassed!
Xiao Xia’s mother couldn’t help but say, “Can a woman’s innocence be casually ruined? How will she marry in the future?”
Jiang Lin replied, “Did we ruin it? Wasn’t it you, as her parents, who ruined it?”
When Jiang Lin accused them, Liu Dapeng and his wife immediately blushed and became angry, “How could it be us? We didn’t know anything. It was those men who pulled her out and talked about it.”
They glared angrily at the three men.
But the men didn’t feel ashamed. “Well… we didn’t mean to look. She wasn’t wearing pants…”
They argued that compared to those who peeked at women’s backsides from behind toilets, they didn’t do anything wrong.
Xiao Bao, holding a thick stick, sneaked up and smacked their hands. “Even kids know not to peek at girls! How can grown men still look? Dirty hooligans!”
This made the three men hang their heads in shame.
Even the security head and the brigade secretary of Mopan Village felt embarrassed.
The Liu family was seen as peculiar in their village, rare in their emphasis on sons over daughters.
They treated their three daughters like pigs, only providing basic necessities.
They felt that every extra meal or piece of clothing for their daughters was a waste and it pained them greatly.
Since Xiao Xia was about 13 or 14, her parents began to consider marriage.
The dowry grew every year, and they hoped to earn their son’s dowry.
Secretary Liu scolded Liu Dapeng and Guo Minying, “Causing embarrassment in our village is bad enough, but bringing it to neighboring villages makes the whole village lose face. If people who don’t know us hear about this, they’ll think everyone in Mopan Village is like you two.”
Quickly, he turned to Jiang Lin, Cheng Yulian, and others, smiling, “Please don’t misunderstand. The vast majority of our village are good people, just like us. We’re grateful when helped and angry when mistreated. We absolutely wouldn’t do such things!”
Jiang Lin replied, “Then I’m curious. If we were clearly helping someone, why accuse us of mistreating you? If this gets labeled as thuggery, won’t we suffer?”
If they aren’t taught a lesson, they’ll think cheating people is okay.
Liu Xiaoxia’s wife turned to Guo Minying and said, “It was your bad idea.”
Guo Minying exploded, “How is it my fault? Weren’t you afraid your daughter would be touched and feel ashamed, asking me for ideas? I said money would solve it, but you thought marriage was better.”
They started arguing among themselves again.
Jiang Lin said loudly, “Enough. Either go to the police or pay compensation.”
“What compensation?” Liu Dapeng was anxious.
Their daughter had been taken advantage of, so why should they pay?
Cheng Ruhai exclaimed, “Of course, compensation! You want money, then pay!” He finally felt vindicated.
Cheng Yulian glanced at him and said, “You spoke the truth. You think you can demand as much compensation as you want, and then pay for it! Don’t accuse us, we don’t need your help.”
Guo Minying said, “We didn’t intend to extort money. We wanted to arrange a marriage. Isn’t it normal for men to take advantage of our daughter? Shouldn’t we marry them?”
Cheng Yulian replied, “Then why not skip the dowry and repay the debt of saving a life?”
Liu Xiaoxia’s wife became anxious, “Where is there a marriage without a dowry? Our daughter isn’t even 18 yet, and she’s talented and capable. Your son is so foolish. We’re not asking for much—just four pieces of cloth, twenty catties of cotton, two hundred dollars…”
This was all discussed at home.
She thought about halving it so the other side wouldn’t think it was too much.
Jiang Lin became impatient. “Okay, you guys stop dreaming. Your daughter may be pretty and clever, but we don’t want her. You keep her. As for being ungrateful after saving your life and trying to swindle us, you owe us four pieces of cloth, twenty catties of cotton, and two hundred dollars.”
“What?” The Liu family panicked and stared at Jiang Lin.
Jiang Lin smiled and said, “Isn’t that fair? If your daughter had drowned, you wouldn’t be getting any dowry at all. What we saved wasn’t your daughter, it was your dowry.”
“We… we haven’t asked for it yet!” Liu Xiaoxia’s wife hurriedly said.
Jiang Lin replied, “That’s not our concern. Either compensate us or meet us in court! Let’s see if you can still find a wife for your son in the future!”
People in the countryside fear encountering officials. If they’ve been caught before, it’s tough for them to find a bride.
Jiang Lin overheard them talking disrespectfully about his daughter, treating her like a money tree, only useful for exchanging money to marry off his son, without considering his daughter’s feelings.
Liu Dapeng and his wife immediately backed down, blaming Guo Minying for giving bad advice.
As a result, not only did they fail to get any money or arrange a marriage, they were also extorted.
Previously, they had only thought about taking advantage of their daughter, ruining her innocence and making it hard for her to marry and get a dowry to support their son.
They didn’t think about anything else.
Now that they saw Jiang Lin’s family was not easy to bully, they immediately backed down and started cursing their daughter, calling her an unlucky jinx who brought shame not only to herself but also to the family, ruining the marriages of her brothers.
Liu Dapeng sighed and hung his head low, while Liu Xiaoxia’s mother couldn’t help but hit her daughter, saying, “You stupid girl! You cause trouble even when washing clothes. What good are you alive for? Why didn’t you drown yourself!”
She hit her daughter repeatedly.
They appeared timid in front of others but acted like fierce tigers towards their own daughter, making Liu Xiaoxia cry as she hugged her head.
Cheng Yulian couldn’t bear it and pulled Liu’s mother away, saying, “Are you done yet? We’re talking about your extortion, not how you raise your daughter. If you want to hit someone, hit yourself.”
The officials discussed how to punish them.
Cheng Fujun asked Jiang Lin, “Director Jiang, what do you suggest?”
Jiang Lin replied, “Since they can’t pay up and seem so fond of our brick factory, let’s make them work there making bricks. They’ll work there afternoons until each person has made ten thousand bricks. If they don’t finish, I’ll report them to the police and make sure everyone hears about it!”
She pointed at Liu Dapeng and his wife, saying, “Neither of you should even think about running.”
Then she scolded the three men, “Don’t you have wives or daughters? Is it so comfortable to take advantage of others? You see someone in trouble and instead of helping, you throw stones to feel good about yourselves? What are you showing off? If you like seeing people naked so much, why not take off your pants and parade around the village with drums and gongs!”
“N-No, that’s not possible!” The three men’s faces turned pale and they quickly waved their hands.
“Not possible? Then why do you enjoy looking at other people’s backsides so much? Since they’re so nice, why not let others see yours?” Jiang Lin glanced at them, and the three men looked like they might wet themselves.
She coldly continued, “If not a public parade, then go to the brick factory and make bricks. Each of you needs to make twenty thousand bricks!”
If they didn’t face some hardship, how would they learn their lesson?
They thought extortion was just a matter of words without consequences.
The three men wanted to negotiate, but a fierce glare from their village secretary shut them down.
Jiang Lin glanced at Liu Xiaoxia, trembling in the corner, dressed in oversized, drab clothes.
Despite her decent appearance, she looked as though she couldn’t bear to be seen.
She said, “That day, you were wearing clothes. These men spread false rumors, so punish them by making bricks.”
Liu Xiaoxia thought she misheard, unable to believe it as she glanced up at Jiang Lin but dared not make eye contact.
Jiang Lin looked at the three men and asked, “Did you really see her naked?”
One man was about to admit it, but another nudged him, and they hurriedly said, “N-No, we were just… talking nonsense.”
The three men slapped themselves in the face, saying, “That serves us right.”
Da Bao quickly said, “No nudity, she was wearing pants!”
Wen Sheng and Xiao Bao also confirmed she was clothed.
Jiang Lin glanced at Liu Dapeng and his wife mockingly, saying, “You two are truly foolish, yet you call your daughter stupid. Back then, it was just our three children, Wen Sheng, Da Bao, and Xiao Bao, who were too young to understand. Besides, there weren’t many people around. Instead of hitting those three stinking men, you went home and hit your daughter. Utterly foolish! After hitting your daughter, you even listened to this immoral wife’s instigation to extort money from my family. You’re beyond foolish! If you had come to discuss how to protect your daughter’s innocence, I would have respected you as good parents, but I never expected this. Your daughter was born into your family, truly unfortunate for eight generations!”
Liu Dapeng and his wife dared not utter a word.
Jiang Lin continued, “If I find out you’ve hit your daughter over this matter, humiliating her, I won’t be lenient!”
“N-No, we wouldn’t dare,” the couple quickly pleaded.
Jiang Lin saw they were foolish but not intentionally setting a trap for Wen Sheng to extort money.
Otherwise, she would have sent them to keep Cheng Fu Gui company.
She turned to Guo Minying and said, “You’re a wicked woman. Your niece isn’t your daughter, yet you don’t fear causing trouble. What kind of heart do you have? Not only did you harm your niece, but you also wanted to extort from us.”
“I didn’t! I didn’t! I was helping my niece…”
“Really?” Jiang Lin sneered. “Wen Sheng acted in good faith, and three men watched. Your niece knows that. Are you sure these men will support you when you change your tune and extort us?”
Guo Minying wanted to argue with Jiang Lin, but she ignored her and turned to the village security director, saying, “Someone with such wicked intentions should be handed over to the police for a few years.”
Guo Minying panicked and shouted, “No, no! Why involve me? I was just helping my niece, so punish them!”
She pointed at Liu Dapeng and his wife.
Liu Dapeng’s wife was so angry she wanted to tear Guo Minying apart. “You insisted Xiaoxia was ruined and couldn’t marry…”
Though Jiang Lin disliked Liu Dapeng and his wife, they didn’t actively harm people.
Guo Minying, on the other hand, was only interested in taking advantage.
If things improved, she would get away with it!
So Jiang Lin insisted on sending Guo Minying to the police, determined to ensure she spent two years in labor reform.
Today, it was late, and everyone was hungry.
The cadres were annoyed, so they detained Guo Minying while others went home to eat and make a fuss.
That night, Zeng Hongjie followed to Jiang Lin’s house and asked Wen Sheng, “Will you still dare to help people in the future?”
Wen Sheng puzzled, “What’s wrong with helping people?”
Zeng Hongjie hesitated, “…Nothing.”
Wen Sheng said, “Then why not help? I can swim.”
Although Cheng Yunzhi was angry at the Liu family, she was also proud of Wen Sheng because he inherited his father’s integrity, rescuing people from danger.
Despite the unfavorable outcome, their character remained unchangeable.
Early the next morning, Guo Minying’s family came to plead, hoping Jiang Lin and Yang Hong Brigade would spare Guo Minying and not send her to the police station.
“We’ll make more bricks!” Guo Minying’s husband and sons had to bow their heads.
Finally, the two brigades negotiated.
They hoped Jiang Lin would compromise and let Guo Minying publicly apologize in Yang Hong Brigade, admitting her greed and attempt to extort money regarding Wen Sheng’s rescue.
Although the Liu family feared this would tarnish their sons’ reputation, they had no choice.
Making some noise locally was better than going to the police station.
Besides, nearby villages already knew about Guo Minying’s actions, so the embarrassment would stay local.
As for Liu Xiaoxia, Jiang Lin made the three men also publicly clarify in their village that she was innocent, and it was their slander.
They had to parade and clarify for three days.
This preserved Liu Xiaoxia’s reputation somewhat, as being slandered was better than being exposed.
Because Jiang Lin had threatened Liu Dapeng and his wife so much that they had to work during the day and make bricks at night, they had no time to interfere with her.
So Liu Xiaoxia’s life improved compared to before.
While Guo Minying wasn’t arrested, the brigade held a public meeting to criticize her, and she had to apologize publicly while also making bricks at the brick factory.
Jiang Lin took Wen Sheng, Da Bao, Xiao Bao, and Zeng Hongjie to the county seat, handed over the embroidered products to Tao Zhen, settled the accounts, bid farewell to Zeng Hongjie, and observed the situation in the county town.
Compared to last year, there were more people sneaking around outside the factory selling food, eggs, grain vouchers, and some daily necessities they had smuggled from the factory.
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