Chapter 16 Report Letter

Once she reached a place where no one was around, Ji Tangtang put the bicycle and the basketful of goods into her Qiankun pouch. She had been busy all morning and was already hungry, so she postponed buying other things at the supply and marketing cooperative and instead went to a state-owned restaurant to eat.

In this era, eating at a state-owned restaurant required not only money but also ration tickets. When she had sold the ginseng earlier, she had only thought about asking for money and seeds, and had forgotten to ask for tickets. Fortunately, she had taken a look at the metal box Lin Xinming had given her, and there were quite a lot of tickets inside. Aside from grain and fabric tickets, there were also quite a few industrial coupons.

As she ate, she mulled over her next steps. Beyond acquiring daily necessities, the most important thing now was to build a house. Those few shabby mud huts the Ji family lived in—she couldn’t bear to stay in them even a moment longer.

While Ji Tangtang was happily eating braised spare ribs and twice-cooked pork at the state-owned restaurant and planning for the future, Ji Tingting and Fang Juan were wandering around with empty stomachs, holding back their hunger. That morning, when they had tried to treat Ji Tangtang as they usually did, not only did they fail, but they had been pelted with stones like rats in the street. Both of them were seething with anger.

After fleeing the scene, they didn’t immediately return to the village. Fang Juan rubbed the swollen bump on her forehead where a stone had hit her, cursing Ji Tangtang nonstop and swearing she’d make her pay. Ji Tingting spoke gently beside her, seemingly trying to explain things for Ji Tangtang and persuade Fang Juan not to blame her, but in reality, she was only fanning the flames. The more she “persuaded,” the angrier Fang Juan became, and her hatred toward Ji Tangtang grew deeper.

“Tingting, you’re just too kind-hearted. We can’t let this go.” Fang Juan grabbed Ji Tingting’s hand, recalling what she had just overheard from passersby. A flash of jealousy crossed her eyes. When she saw Ji Tangtang selling medicinal herbs, she had already guessed they would fetch a high price—but she hadn’t expected them to be worth that much. Over 400 yuan! That shameless tramp Ji Tangtang—what right did she have to get so much money?

“I don’t believe for a second she’ll spend that money on medicine for her father! I bet she’ll buy pretty clothes instead and strut around to seduce people. Tingting, you need to wake up!”

“Just look at her face—it’s like a fox spirit’s. Once she puts on pretty clothes and tries to seduce your Hongwen, you’ll have nowhere to cry. That nonsense about taking in that cripple as a live-in son-in-law? That’s just a smoke screen to lower your guard. Once you’re careless, she’ll seize the chance to lure Hongwen, then use dirty tricks to marry him. Once the rice is cooked, what can you do about it?”

“That… shouldn’t happen, right?” Ji Tingting bit her lip deliberately, feigning disbelief and fear, her stance unsteady, like she could barely keep standing.

Seeing her pale face, Fang Juan fanned the flames even more: “We have to stop her, make sure she has no chance to do such filthy things.”

“How do we stop her?” Ji Tingting leaned against Fang Juan, playing the part of weak and helpless.

Fang Juan said matter-of-factly, “Of course we have to find her first, take her money away. Without money, she won’t be able to do anything bad.”

Ji Tingting lowered her gaze, hiding the emotion in her eyes, and gently argued, “But that money came from selling her herbs. Even the buyer at the collection station defended her, saying it wasn’t considered damaging state property. What reason do we have to take her money?”

Fang Juan grew angrier at Ji Tingting’s “timid” attitude and cursed, “Who knows if she and that buyer are having an affair? I bet they’ve already hooked up. That’s why he covered for her.”

Thinking about how that buyer had spoken up for Ji Tangtang, which led to her being stoned, and how the bump on her head still hurt, Fang Juan’s hatred deepened. “If you ask me, that buyer’s just abusing his position for personal gain. What kind of herbs could be worth that much? I’ve never heard of it before! Probably just an excuse to hand over the state’s money to her.”

Ji Tingting deliberately glanced around nervously and whispered, “Juanzi, those are baseless accusations. Don’t say such things. If someone reports you, it won’t end well.”

The word report suddenly lit a fire in Fang Juan’s mind. Enraged, she pulled Ji Tingting toward the Revolutionary Committee. “Report? Exactly—I’m going to report them. Come on, Tingting, let’s write a report letter accusing the two of them of improper relations and abusing public funds, and hand it over to the committee.”

Ji Tingting grabbed her arm, pretending to be frightened. “Juanzi, forget it! If cousin really is having an affair with that man… she’ll be sent to the labor farm. I’ve heard that people sent there either die or suffer miserably. No matter how improper her behavior is, she’s still my cousin…”

“Being sent to the labor farm is perfect! A tramp like her deserves to be tormented there, so she can’t go around seducing people with that vixen face of hers.” Fang Juan cursed as she forcefully dragged Ji Tingting to the Revolutionary Committee.

Once there, Ji Tingting craned her neck like a scared little bird, continuously urging Fang Juan to let it go and not write the letter. But Fang Juan, consumed with rage, refused to back down. Seeing Ji Tingting’s frightened demeanor, she decided to shoulder everything herself. “If you’re scared, wait here. I’ll go in and write the letter myself and hand it directly to the leaders.”

With that, she marched inside full of fighting spirit.

Watching her carry out the plan exactly as intended, Ji Tingting couldn’t help but let a trace of smugness show in her expression. Fang Juan really was as stupid as ever. But when she thought of Ji Tangtang’s face, more delicate than a flower, the smugness faded, replaced by irritation and anxiety.

She had to get things back on track. Ji Tangtang’s reputation must be ruined. Not only ruined—she had to be utterly miserable, weighed down with resentment. Even if she hadn’t actually had an affair with that buyer, Ji Tingting was determined to make her into a disgraceful woman everyone despised.

Clenching her palm, hatred surging in her eyes, Ji Tingting quickly formed a flawless plan in her mind.

“Tingting.” Fang Juan came running out of the Revolutionary Committee, cheerful after submitting the report letter, and grabbed Ji Tingting’s wrist. “Let’s go!”

“Go where? Are we still going to find cousin?” Ji Tingting asked timidly. “Juanzi, maybe we should just let it go. Even if that money was given to her because the buyer abused his position, it should be up to the state to recover it. We shouldn’t meddle. After all, that money isn’t ours.”

Having vented her anger by submitting the letter, Fang Juan had nearly forgotten about the large sum Ji Tangtang had just gotten. But hearing Ji Tingting’s words suddenly brought it back to mind. Her heart felt like it was being roasted over a volcano, restless and uncomfortable.

So much money—if it were hers…

She couldn’t help imagining. If it were hers, she could finally buy that skirt she had been eyeing for so long. And the wristwatch she had been dreaming of. She could even find someone to get her a watch coupon… Since it wasn’t honest money anyway, why couldn’t it be hers?

Ji Tingting secretly watched her expression, noting how her face shifted through different emotions before settling into one of firm resolve. She pressed on softly: “Let’s just go back now. Otherwise, if she holds a grudge and finds someone to take revenge on us, we’ll be in trouble.”