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Chapter 7
Xie Yanzhao wasn’t just here for Wu Gang’s wedding. He also came because of the soldier who died on the battlefield in the neighboring county.
That soldier was someone he personally trained.
Xu Zhu looked at his expressionless face and felt a headache coming on, “How’s the situation over there?”
They had agreed to check it out and come back, but it had been three days. If it weren’t for knowing how skilled he was, Xu Zhu would have been worried sick.
Xie Yanzhao’s expression was far from pleasant. “The situation isn’t good.”
“What’s going on?”
The military has policies in place for soldiers who died on mission. Their families receive a monthly allowance. It’s not much, but it helps them get by. Besides, Xie Yanzhao had given them a thousand yuan at the time, though no one knew about this except for Xu Zhu.
Xie Yanzhao gestured with his head, indicating they should talk while walking.
“They returned home six months ago. The child’s mother took all the family’s money and remarried, leaving the old couple to care for Huzi. The monthly allowance has been taken by Huzi’s uncle and never reached their hands.”
What he didn’t mention was that when he saw Huzi, the boy was nothing but skin and bones, a seven-year-old who looked more like a four-year-old.
“The old and young—how are they supposed to survive?” Xu Zhu frowned. “Did they take the compensation money and the money you gave them as well?”
Xie Yanzhao remained silent.
Xu Zhu understood the answer.
As a political commissar, he had seen many similar cases. He was almost numb to it. But for the mother to take all the money and abandon her child with his grandparents—that was heartless.
“Did you get the money back?”
Xie Yanzhao nodded. “I made sure they were settled before I came back.”
“That’s good,” Xu Zhu finally felt some relief.
When this ruthless man handled matters, Xu Zhu could relax.
Being a soldier isn’t easy, and Xu Zhu had seen many situations where people had no choice. Huzi’s case was not an exception, nor was it the end.
This was their harsh reality.
Xu Zhu, his mood darkening, took a few steps forward, intending to speak with Xie Yanzhao, only to find that the man had fallen behind. He turned around to see him standing still, puzzled. “What’s wrong?”
Xie Yanzhao pressed a long finger to his thin lips, signaling for silence.
Xu Zhu: “…”
He walked over, and soon he heard voices not far away.
“…Really? You actually got a taste of that woman?”
“Why would I lie to you?” The speaker sounded proud. “That woman is wild in bed, clinging to me like a vine. But she’s a city girl after all, that skin of hers… heh heh heh.”
The rest of the conversation was lewd.
“Brother Hou, I wish I could get a taste of Educated Youth Ruan myself.”
Hearing this, Xu Zhu instinctively looked at Xie Yanzhao. As expected, the man’s face had turned dark as iron, and his eyes were filled with a murderous light.
The man called Brother Hou thumped his chest loudly. “What’s so hard about that? Tonight, I’ll take you over there…”
This is bad!
Before Xu Zhu could react, Xie Yanzhao had already dashed out like a gust of wind. Xu Zhu removed the straw he had been chewing on from his mouth. The next thing he heard were cries of pain. Just try telling me you don’t have feelings for her.
Tsk, such a hypocritical man.
Brother Hou and his gang of four or five were quickly overpowered by Xie Yanzhao alone. They were beaten to the point of wailing, and it wasn’t long before blood was drawn.
Xie Yanzhao’s face was filled with fury, his expression so fierce and brutal that even Xu Zhu, who had fought alongside him for years, was startled.
The last time this guy got this angry, he had taken down all twelve of them in one go.
The memory of that beating made Xu Zhu’s body ache in phantom pain.
He forced himself to step forward and grabbed Xie Yanzhao in a bear hug. “Old Xie! You’re a soldier, you can’t make a mistake! If you keep hitting them, you’ll kill someone. Let me handle the questioning, you step aside.”
Brother Hou, who was now a special case in need of care, had been beaten beyond recognition.
He lay on the ground like a pile of mud, tears streaming down his face as he tried to speak. “What… Why are you hitting me?”
Brother Hou had been hit so hard he lost a tooth, making his speech slurred.
The other lackeys, terrified of this killer god, huddled together, trembling.
Xie Yanzhao panted heavily, his gaze fierce as a wolf as he stared down at the men on the ground. The aura he exuded was even more intimidating. From beating them up, his military-green shirt sleeves were rolled up, exposing a strong and powerful forearm.
The gangsters were so scared they were about to wet themselves.
Woo woo woo, they should never have gone out today, or they wouldn’t have run into this demon.
“Leave it to you.”
After calming down for a moment, Xie Yanzhao walked to the side.
“If you don’t want to die, you’d better start talking,” Xu Zhu said, glancing at their injuries and then quickly looking away.
Tsk tsk, they were in a worse state than he had been back then.
“We’ll talk! We’ll tell you everything, just don’t hit us anymore…”
The early summer breeze was still cool, brushing against Xie Yanzhao and calming the anger in his heart… and was there a hint of fear?
As Xie Yanzhao tried to steady himself, his thoughts turned to Ruan Mingfu, who had been on his mind frequently in recent days. Just as his anger subsided, his heart began to beat again.
He took a deep breath, forcing down the desire threatening to surface.
He heard footsteps behind him but didn’t turn around.
Xu Zhu walked over. “Brother Hou was lying. He was just trying to brag in front of his lackeys. Educated Youth Ruan probably doesn’t even know he exists.”
Xie Yanzhao turned around and looked at them.
Brother Hou hurriedly begged for mercy:
“I was wrong. Even if I had the guts, I’d never actually do it. Blame my big mouth, please, just spare us.”
“Yes, yes.”
“We were wrong…”
Brother Hou’s face was full of regret. “I was just talking nonsense, but that guy named Xie who’s staying with Gangzi has already had relations with that educated youth. If you want to find the adulterer, go to him. Ask them if you don’t believe me—they know too.”
Lackeys: “…” If you want to die, don’t drag us down with you.
The adulterer, Xie Yanzhao: “…”
Xu Zhu widened his eyes and looked at him.
Xie Yanzhao, realizing something, blushed slightly. “That’s not true!”
His reaction was more of an angry denial.
“Have you all heard about it?”
The lackeys quickly nodded.
“Yes, the rumors are spreading like wildfire.”
“Exactly…”
“I have no idea, really no idea.”
Xie Yanzhao’s frown deepened. “Where did you all hear this from? Speak up!”
Terrified, they didn’t dare to hide anything and spilled the details like a broken dam.
Xu Zhu also realized something was wrong and looked at Xie Yanzhao.
*
The local tyrant helped her request leave. Ruan Mingfu originally didn’t want to accept it. But when she thought about the endless fields of grass, the increasingly scorching sun, and the miserable day she had spent pulling weeds with barely any work points earned…
Waaa, I’m sorry. I’m going to be a spineless person today.
Bored at the educated youth camp, Ruan Mingfu went to the county town early in the morning.
She was carrying her things as she walked back to the educated youth camp.
The villagers she passed by gave her strange looks, making her feel very uncomfortable.
When she walked into the camp, the other educated youths also looked at her oddly. Zhu Hong looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated, unsure of how to start.
Xu Pandi’s eyes were filled with blatant schadenfreude, and when Ruan Mingfu glanced her way, she even gave her a mocking smile.
Something’s off.
Something’s definitely off.
But Ruan Mingfu didn’t ask any questions. She simply took her things and went inside.
Xu Pandi sneered, raising her voice on purpose. “Some people should enjoy these last few days while they can. After all, a lowlife is always a lowlife!”
“Pandi, that’s enough,” one of the educated youths who was close to her quickly pulled her back, glancing toward Ruan Mingfu’s room.
But Xu Pandi wasn’t the type to stop when she had the upper hand.
She had deep-seated issues with Ruan Mingfu.
The moment she saw Ruan Mingfu, she was consumed with jealousy.
They were both girls, so why was Ruan Mingfu living so well? She didn’t lack money and had so many people flattering her. But as for Xu Pandi, she had to leave early and come back late every day, counting every penny, working herself to the bone just to fill her stomach.
Ruan Mingfu was pampered and spoiled by her family, growing up like a delicate young lady. But Xu Pandi had always been the least valued in her family. After moving to the countryside, she even had to send half of her rations back home to her parents.
Xu Pandi couldn’t stand the sight of Ruan Mingfu.
“I’m going to say it,” Xu Pandi finally saw Ruan Mingfu in trouble and had no intention of letting it go. With a look of satisfaction, she added, “You did those filthy things, and now you don’t want people to talk about it?”
Hu Lihong stayed silent on the side.
Another female educated youth chimed in, “Honestly, if I were her, I would’ve hanged myself by now. You have no idea how people looked at me when I went out today.”
“Me too, it’s so humiliating.”
“Exactly…”
Xu Pandi said, “How can she be so shameless? The moment she sees a man, she can’t move, dragging our reputations down with her.”
“Right, I’m too embarrassed to go out anymore.”
“The impact is terrible. We can’t let one person drag down the entire group…”
Before she could finish, she was interrupted by a splash of water from above.
The same familiar tactic, the same familiar feeling.
Xu Pandi was drenched from head to toe, water dripping from her clothes and forming a small puddle at her feet.
Hu Lihong felt relieved, grateful she had kept quiet, otherwise, she would’ve been caught in the mess as well.
Xu Pandi was trembling with rage. “Ruan Mingfu, I’m going to kill you!”
Ruan Mingfu stood there with the basin in hand, her face as bright as ever, chin held high. “Whether I die or not, who knows? But you’re certainly done for today!”
The other educated youths who got splashed looked at Ruan Mingfu with resentment.
“Educated Youth Ruan, you’ve gone too far!”
Ruan Mingfu didn’t even spare her a glance. “And who are you?”
The female educated youth was furious. “We weren’t wrong. You’re the one who’s been improper, messing around with men and dragging us all down with you.”
Ruan Mingfu frowned in confusion for a moment. Then she looked at the others, who clearly knew about this rumor too.
She put down the basin, her expression turning serious.
“What do you mean? Who did I mess around with?”
Xu Pandi sneered, “Stop pretending. The whole village knows about your scandal now.”
Ruan Mingfu was livid.
In these times, being accused of messing around with men could lead to severe consequences, even death. Whoever spread this rumor was clearly out to get her, wanting her dead.
“Explain yourself. Who exactly did I mess around with?”
“You know what you did,” Xu Pandi continued, “A lowlife is a lowlife. You did something dirty and now you’re pretending to be clueless, trying to drag us down—”
Before she could finish, there was a loud slap as Xu Pandi’s face was hit.
She held her face, glaring fiercely at Ruan Mingfu. “How dare you hit me?”
**
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Ayalee[Translator]
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