Chapter 1: Ten Thousand People Suspect Ye Sanqiu

In 1975, Western Province, Fierce Bull Commune, Trumpet Flower Brigade, at Old Ye’s house at the end of the village.

Captain Li Weimin walked up to Old Ye’s house with a face longer than a donkey’s, his expression full of anger. He knocked on the door fiercely.

Old Ye opened the door and, seeing the angry captain, instinctively wanted to shut it again.

You could already guess why the captain had come.

It must be because of his lawless, troublemaking niece, the demoness, whose reckless behavior had caused trouble again.

Before Old Ye could close the door, the captain spoke up, “Is your wife at home?”

Old Ye was about to shut the door but quickly replied, “She… she’s lying down inside, I’ll go call her.”

The captain grunted coldly, took a deep breath, and stepped into the yard.

When Mrs. Ye heard the captain’s voice inside the house, she knew she couldn’t avoid this visit.

With a resigned sigh, she got up from the kang (a heated bed platform).

“Captain, is there something you’re looking for me about?” Mrs. Ye asked, acting as if she knew nothing.

The captain scanned the courtyard with a cold stare and asked, “Where’s your Ye Sanqiu?”

Mrs. Ye’s heart sank, as she knew every time the captain came, it meant her granddaughter, the troublemaking “demoness,” had caused chaos again.

She wasn’t sure who had provoked her this time, but she knew it was impossible to hide.

She stopped pretending and decided it was better to face it head-on, knowing that in the end, she would have to clean up the mess caused by her granddaughter’s wild behavior.

Mrs. Ye sighed deeply and asked in an unloving tone, “Captain, what did Sanqiu do this time? You tell me, and I’ll deal with it.”

Li Weimin sneered, “What did she do? Hmph, your Ye Sanqiu is getting more and more daring. She actually knocked out Wang Zhiqing’s teeth, and now Wang Zhiqing is demanding justice from the commune!”

Mrs. Ye opened her mouth to say something but sighed instead, looking at the captain’s heaving chest, knowing it was better to stay quiet.

The fact that the captain was this angry probably meant her granddaughter, the demoness, was being unreasonable again.

At this point, she didn’t want to block the captain. After all, the one who had done the hitting would be held responsible.

Li Weimin also felt embarrassed and said, “Auntie, you know, our brigade hasn’t won the ‘Advanced Brigade’ title for two years. If we don’t win it again this year, I, as captain, will lose face.”

“In the past two years, because of your Ye Sanqiu’s troublemaking and fighting, the ‘Advanced Brigade’ title was snatched away by the neighboring brigade.”

“This year, we can’t let it be taken from us again.”

When the topic of the Advanced Brigade came up, Mrs. Ye felt guilty and stood quietly, not daring to speak.

Li Weimin sighed, “Now Wang Zhiqing is lying at the youth dormitory, demanding I give her an explanation. Auntie, it was your Ye Sanqiu who beat her up. So it’s up to your family to give her an explanation, right?”

Li Weimin was also frustrated by Wang Zhiqing’s behavior. If it weren’t for the ‘Advanced Brigade’ title this year, he would’ve already been wishing for Wang Zhiqing to go to the commune and report Ye Sanqiu, that troublemaker.

Ye Sanqiu, this demoness, over the past three years, had relied on her strength to cause havoc across the brigade, even attacking stray dogs she encountered.

The situation had gotten so bad that even the pigs didn’t want her around, and he, the brigade captain, had spent more time dealing with Ye Sanqiu’s messes than managing the work of the brigade.

Ye Sanqiu was truly reckless—she would fight at the drop of a hat.

In the past three years, the threshold of his house had been worn down by villagers coming to complain.

Li Weimin had been working like a dog, handling the endless problems caused by Ye Sanqiu.

As for the person who actually did the hitting—well, she was carefree, and no matter what you said, she had ten responses ready for you.

And her responses were often quite reasonable.

Ye Sanqiu was like a block of tough meat that no one could tame!

Li Weimin was losing his hair over the situation.

Li Weimin was so stressed that his hair seemed to be turning white.

Mrs. Ye was equally troubled, and her hair had already turned white from worry.

She understood what the captain meant, and without shirking responsibility, she looked guilty and said, “Captain, don’t worry, I’ll go find Wang Zhiqing and apologize. I won’t let this matter escalate to the commune.” No matter the reason her granddaughter hit someone, hitting was wrong, and knocking out someone’s teeth was even worse.

Wang Zhiqing was a woman!

A woman without her front teeth…

Mrs. Ye’s head was buzzing.

Li Weimin looked at Mrs. Ye, who was speaking humbly, and felt somewhat guilty. But his sympathy for the Ye family only meant cruelty to himself.

Well, never mind, he should just focus on sympathizing with himself.

But when he saw the white hairs at the side of Mrs. Ye’s head, he couldn’t help but offer some advice, “Auntie, your Sanqiu is getting older. If you don’t discipline her and let her keep causing trouble, it’ll be hard to find someone to marry her in the future.”

Ye Sanqiu was already twenty years old. The girls in the village her age were already married, some even with children running around.

But Ye Sanqiu, at twenty, still didn’t have any suitors.

Actually, there had been a matchmaker who came three years ago, but Ye Sanqiu, in one of her fits, chased the matchmaker away.

Since then, no matchmakers had come to the Ye family, and it affected the marriage prospects of the other girls in the family.

But Ye Sanqiu was a selfish, carefree girl. She didn’t care if the other girls in the family ever got married.

She continued to make enemies in the village as if she had something against the whole Ye family.

When Ye Oldest heard this, he twitched his mouth.

Was the captain talking nonsense? Who would dare to discipline Ye Sanqiu, the wild girl who didn’t recognize anyone?

He used to think the same way as the captain—that if the child was disobedient, just give them a good beating.

He had tried it himself when Ye Sanqiu went crazy.

But the result? He never even got close to her; he ended up on the ground, and even broke his tailbone. He had to lie in bed for an entire month.

It wasn’t just him. Everyone in the family, except for the old lady, had been taught a lesson by Ye Sanqiu—uncles, aunts, even the toddlers—none were spared.

Ask them to discipline Ye Sanqiu? That’s just a fantasy.

If the captain’s advice reached Ye Sanqiu’s ears, she’d likely challenge him to a fight.

Ye Sanqiu wasn’t the type to give face to anyone, not even the captain.

Except for the old lady, no one else got any respect from her.

Just as Ye Oldest thought this, a careless voice came from the gate: “Since when did the captain care so much about the lifelong matters of the villagers? If you’re really concerned about my marriage, I think your son, Li Hongjun, would be a good match for me. He hasn’t married yet and doesn’t have a girlfriend. How about letting him pair up with me?”

“Although your Li Hongjun isn’t exactly what I pictured for a husband, I’ll settle for him to spare the captain some face.”

Ye Sanqiu leaned lazily against the doorframe, arms crossed, a mischievous grin on her face, as she made a provocative remark.

Hearing her voice, the three people in the yard all turned to look at her.

Li Weimin’s face turned from green to purple to red. He was about to scold her but, knowing Ye Sanqiu’s rebellious nature, his temples throbbed, and he swallowed the words he had been about to say.

Ye Sanqiu always liked to argue. If he scolded her, she would dig her heels in and might even set her sights on his son, Li Hongjun.

The Li family couldn’t afford to provoke her.

It was better for her to stay with her own family and cause trouble there.

Li Weimin pretended not to hear Ye Sanqiu’s words and, with a stern face, said to Mrs. Ye, “Auntie, I still have things to attend to, so I’ll be leaving now.”

Mrs. Ye forced a smile and nodded, then turned to Ye Oldest, “Oldest, see the captain off.”

Ye Oldest couldn’t help but sneer inwardly at Li Weimin. As the captain, he let a girl like Ye Sanqiu intimidate him? He was embarrassed for him.

But he smiled outwardly and said, “Captain, let me see you out.”