Xu Youcai couldn’t understand how Jiang Le had suddenly become so sharp-tongued. In his impression, Jiang Le was completely brainless.  

If wrongly accused, the guy wouldn’t be able to explain himself clearly—he’d just fly into a rage out of humiliation and might even impulsively lash out at him.  

And if Jiang Le resorted to violence? Perfect. That would only prove his guilt.  

Xu Youcai wasn’t afraid of Jiang Le attacking him. It was the current situation that made him uneasy.  

The shock on Xu Youcai’s face was impossible to hide. Jiang Le sneered. If it were the original host here, things would indeed have unfolded exactly as Xu Youcai had envisioned.  

Based on the original novel’s plot and what had happened to him, Jiang Le guessed that Xu Youcai had knocked out the original host to stage a “caught red-handed” scene before calling over the villagers.  

In the book, the original host never woke up during the process, so when the villagers arrived, they all saw him “stealing” Sun Yulan’s eggs.  

By the time the original host came to and tried to explain, it was already too late. His reputation in the village had never been good to begin with, and now, with Xu Youcai’s “irrefutable evidence,” the villagers’ trust in him plummeted even further.  

Furious that no one believed him no matter how he explained, the original host ended up beating Xu Youcai. The latter didn’t fight back at all, letting himself get punched until it was too late for the original host to backtrack.  

Everyone assumed the original host had stolen the eggs, been exposed by Xu Youcai, and then flown into a violent rage out of humiliation.  

Meanwhile, Xu Youcai became the innocent whistleblower—the brave soul who stood up to expose the original host’s wrongdoing and even took a beating for it. A veritable “little hero”!  

In the end, the original host was branded a “thieving brat” with no way to clear his name. He nearly got sent off for labor reform.  

Recalling this plot, Jiang Le: “…”  

When he’d read this book, he hadn’t paid much attention. The parts about the original host had just made him chuckle, and he hadn’t noticed the problems in the narrative.  

Some of the novel’s descriptions were based on the perspectives of the male and female leads, naturally skewed in their favor and not entirely fair or objective.  

For instance, certain details didn’t match the original host’s memories.  

Back then, as a reader, he hadn’t cared. But now that he’d transmigrated into the book and become a minor cannon-fodder character, he couldn’t just blindly trust everything from the original novel.  

“Y’know, that Jiang kid looks kinda pitiful… Maybe he didn’t actually steal the eggs?”  

“But didn’t Xu see it with his own eyes?”  

Jiang Le overheard their whispers. In the original novel, whether it was the village officials, Sun Yulan, or the onlookers, everyone had firmly believed the original host was the thief.  

But now, their attitudes were wavering. Did that mean the original plot wasn’t set in stone?

This realization made Jiang Le breathe a sigh of relief. He had read transmigration novels before and had been worried that certain plot points might be immutable. But now, things seemed much more manageable.  

By now, Xu Youcai had also snapped out of his daze. Realizing he couldn’t afford to show any more weakness—or else today’s scheme would fail—he immediately put on a righteous front.  

“I saw you stealing Aunt Sun’s eggs with my own eyes. How could that be fake?” he declared, pointing at Jiang Le. “The fact that you’re making excuses just proves your guilt!”  

Jiang Le inwardly shook his head. Tsk tsk, is this really the best you’ve got? 

Outwardly, he sighed and furrowed his brows slightly. “Xu Zhiqing (Educated Youth), I actually had a pretty good impression of you. I never believed the things people said about you. But now… it seems they were right.”  

His words were vague but suggestive enough to sow doubt in anyone with a weak resolve. And Xu Youcai—narrow-minded, hot-tempered, and already disliked by his fellow educated youths—was far from unshakable.  

Jiang Le’s insinuations completely derailed Xu Youcai’s original plan to frame him. Instead, Xu Youcai’s face twisted in anger as he snapped, “Who’s been talking to you about me?! Huh? Was it Zhang Ming? That bastard’s full of crap! I never stole his stuff! Those rotten apples of his weren’t even fit for pigs—why the hell would I take them?!”  

Only after the outburst did Xu Youcai notice the strange looks the villagers—including Zhao Mancang—were giving him.  

In these times of scarcity, fruit was a rare luxury. And here was Xu Youcai, dismissing apples (which even the villagers treasured) as “not even fit for pigs.” Wasn’t that basically calling them worse than swine?  

“Xu Zhiqing,” Zhao Mancang said sternly, his tone carrying the weight of his authority as village Chief, “you came to Kanzi Village to be re-educated by the poor and lower-middle peasants. Your background may be flawed, but as long as you reform, you can still be a good comrade. But look at the way you’re talking now—this is pure capitalist behavior!”  

He piled accusation after accusation onto Xu Youcai, whose face instantly paled. “I—I didn’t mean it like that—”  

Jiang Le watched with silent amusement. This Xu Youcai is really bad at this. Can’t even defend himself properly—just keeps repeating the same weak excuses.

But then again… what did that have to do with him?  

Jiang Le suspected that the reason he’d transmigrated into this book was that the original host had been killed by Xu Youcai’s blow to the head.  

Regardless of the original host’s character, he hadn’t stolen those eggs. Now that Jiang Le had taken over his body, it was only right to avenge him.  

Since he was alive and well now, he couldn’t prove Xu Youcai had committed murder—that would have to wait.  

But at the very least, he could make Xu Youcai experience what it felt like to be unable to clear his name.

“Xu Zhiqing,” Jiang Le interrupted Xu Youcai’s stammering excuses, locking eyes with him. “You said you saw me stealing Aunt Sun’s eggs with your own eyes. Where exactly did you see me?”  

Xu Youcai’s mind was in complete disarray, leaving him no room to think. He could only follow Jiang Le’s lead. “I—I saw you right here! Holding Aunt Sun’s eggs—”  

The moment the words left his mouth, Jiang Le sighed, and Xu Youcai’s stomach dropped. A terrible premonition crept over him.  

Sure enough, Jiang Le continued, “Comrade Xu, if I’m not mistaken, all the educated youths live on the other side of the village. After work, everyone returns to the educated youth dormitory to rest. So why would you be passing through here? It’s almost dark—what exactly were you planning to do?”  

Educated youths were sent to the countryside to be re-educated by the peasants. In this era, where hardship and hard work were virtues, they weren’t exactly given luxurious accommodations.  

The male educated youths’ dormitory was a repurposed cowshed—and since no one wanted the stench of livestock in the middle of the village, it had been built dozens of meters away from the entrance.  

Every day, the educated youths toiled in the fields alongside the villagers. Right now, during the busy farming season, even the locals were exhausted after a full day’s labor—let alone the coddled city youths.  

No reasonable person, after working all day, would trek from one end of the village to the other. So when Jiang Le pointed this out, everyone immediately sensed something off.  

Xu Youcai broke out in a cold sweat, scrambling to explain. “I—I don’t get along well with the others, so I didn’t want to stay at the educated youth dormitory. I just wanted to take a walk to clear my head!”

The excuse made some sense, but in this era that emphasized unity, not getting along with others was itself a problem.  

Everyone thought: If one or two people dislike you, that’s understandable. But if everyone dislikes you, then you’re the problem. 

With that in mind, Xu Youcai’s words seemed even less trustworthy.  

And then there was Jiang Le’s line about them all being “proletarian brothers”—when you really thought about it, wasn’t that exactly what he meant?  

Wow, who knew this Jiang kid could talk like that? Now that Jiang Le had put it that way, they almost felt bad for doubting him.  

Though no one said it out loud, the villagers’ hearts were already leaning toward Jiang Le.  

But that still wasn’t enough. Jiang Le nodded slowly. “Alright, let’s say you really did come here to clear your head—”  

Someone nearby muttered, “This Jiang kid’s too naive. Who ‘takes a walk’ at dusk? Only an idiot would believe that. Only the village troublemakers wander around at night.”  

Jiang Le’s lip twitched, but he pressed on. “Comrade Xu, are you close with Aunt Sun’s family?”  

Before Xu Youcai could answer, Sun Yulan frantically waved her hands. “Close? I don’t even know this Xu guy’s name!”  

Xu Youcai’s face darkened. How dare these country bumpkins look down on me! 

Jiang Le nodded. “If you’re not familiar with her, then how could you be so sure these were Aunt Sun’s eggs? Do the eggs have her name written on them?”  

Aunt Sun shook her head. “I don’t write my name on eggs.”  

Xu Youcai panicked. “I—I’ve seen Aunt Sun carry this basket before—”  

This time, Jiang Le didn’t even need to expose him. Aunt Sun cut in first. “I got this basket from the bamboo weaver in the next village—traded it for an egg. Plenty of folks in our village have the same one. Zhang family, don’t you have one too?”  

The middle-aged woman from the Zhang family nodded eagerly. “Yeah, ours is identical! If we hadn’t run out of eggs, I’d have thought this was ours!”  

Xu Youcai’s lips trembled. He was completely flustered now, with no idea how to defend himself.  

Jiang Le didn’t plan to give him the chance. He lowered his head, forcing tears to well up in his eyes—glistening but not falling, a heartbreaking sight.  

“I’ve always admired the educated youths. They’re so smart and knowledgeable…” His voice wavered. “But I never thought Comrade Xu would go so far as to frame me like this.”  

“I know I’m not well-liked, but I’m still part of Kanzi Village. Did you ever think about what your actions would mean for our uncles and aunties here?”  

“If my reputation gets ruined, so be it. But if other villages start thinking our village tolerates dishonesty, how can Kanzi Village ever hold its head up again?”  

The moment he said this, the villagers nodded in agreement. In these times, a village’s reputation was collective—if their village was shamed, they were shamed.  

How would our sons and daughters ever find spouses if people think our village is full of liars?! Instantly, the crowd’s gazes turned furious.  

But before anyone could speak, Zhao Meilian suddenly gasped. “Aiyo!”  

The villagers turned just in time to see the brave young boy—who had stood his ground moments earlier—collapse, his face deathly pale.  

Even those who had disliked Jiang Le before now shouted in alarm:  

“Jiang Le fainted from anger because of Xu Youcai.”