Chapter 26 Fang Juan is punished

Her crying, however, made the villagers who had been speaking up for Gu Shiyu seem a bit overbearing. After all, she was his birth mother… By reason, a mother would never harm her own child. The villagers who had just accused Shen Meifang began to doubt themselves—perhaps they had overthought it. Maybe it really was, as Shen Meifang said, simply that his body hadn’t recovered yet?

“Did you not give him food, or is it just that his injuries haven’t healed? Why not just ask Gu Shiyu? He may be paralyzed, but he’s not mute!”

Ji Tangtang gently comforted, “Auntie, don’t cry. Let’s go find Shiyu and have him explain it in front of everyone. If anyone has misunderstood you, we’ll make sure they apologize.” Then she turned to the villagers and said loudly, “Also, let’s invite a doctor to come examine him. We’ll ask whether his poor health is due to unhealed injuries, or from long-term lack of food. This way, everyone won’t have to worry that, out of filial piety, Shiyu won’t speak the truth.”

Shen Meifang instantly stopped crying. She nearly wished she could stuff a handful of cow dung into Ji Tangtang’s mouth. Was this girl helping her? No—this was clearly tearing her down. Shen Meifang was seething with hatred inside, but had no choice but to endure it. She said through gritted teeth, “No need to call a doctor… It’s nearly dark now. How could we trouble the doctor at this hour?”

“I have a bicycle,” Ji Tangtang said with the look of someone only thinking of his well-being. “If I ride fast, I can go to the county and back in half an hour. It’s no trouble at all. We should clarify this, so no one wrongly suspects you, right, Auntie?”

Shen Meifang’s face stiffened. “No… it’s not all a misunderstanding. We’ve been a bit busy lately, maybe we’ve been somewhat neglectful. That’s my fault. From now on, I’ll take better care of him… Aren’t you and Shiyu going to get your marriage certificate tomorrow? You should go back and prepare early, and go early tomorrow.” At this point, she didn’t dare mention a bride price anymore. If she kept on, she’d be stripped bare. “I’ll just head back and take care of things at home.” Without waiting to see if anyone else had more to say, she bolted.

By now, did anyone still not see what was going on? This was clearly a guilty conscience, afraid of being exposed. Many people sighed.

Sun Lijuan pouted, “See, I said I wasn’t wrong!” She spoke up for Gu Shiyu. “The eldest Gu joined the army at sixteen, served for ten years, and sent plenty of money home, didn’t he? I heard that Gu’s second son’s job was bought with the money he sent back. And yet his family treats him like this?”

“Exactly! What kind of mother is that? Even a stepmother wouldn’t be that vicious!”

“Good thing the Ji family wants to take Gu Shiyu in as a son-in-law. Comrade Ji Tangtang is kind-hearted—she’ll definitely take good care of a soldier who’s brought honor to the country.”

Very quickly, the villagers’ attention shifted back to Ji Tangtang. At this point, no one doubted her character anymore. The Ji family had many options if they wanted a live-in son-in-law. They could have easily chosen a healthy man who would benefit them. But Ji Tangtang, in order to care for an injured national soldier, was sacrificing herself for the greater good—truly noble.

And some thought even further. Perhaps the Ji family hadn’t originally intended to take a son-in-law, but after seeing Shen Meifang’s cruelty and Gu Shiyu’s suffering, they had decided to rescue him from his misery by bringing him in as a son-in-law. When they sold medicinal herbs, they immediately used the money to buy medicine for Gu Shiyu…

And yet Fang Juan had slandered her, trying to ruin her reputation. That girl might be young, but she was already vicious. Having someone like that in their production team—who knew if one day, when they weren’t paying attention, this snake would bite them? People’s gazes at Fang Juan grew more and more filled with disgust.

“Captain, Fang Juan spread lies to ruin Comrade Ji’s reputation. Even if we don’t report her to the Public Security Bureau, she should be severely punished.”

“Yes, without punishment, if she does it again, who knows what damage she’ll cause?”

“If she keeps slandering people so casually, who’ll still be in the mood to focus on production?”

…The villagers unanimously demanded Liu Daocheng punish Fang Juan, and he was of the same mind.

“Fang Juan maliciously slandered Comrade Ji, ruining her reputation, and caused a very bad influence in the production team. I’ll deduct 30 work points from her. Also, after work every day, she’ll clean the pigsty.”

After speaking, Liu Daocheng looked at Fang Juan, who was kneeling on the ground like a dead dog, and asked, “Fang Juan, do you accept this? If not, we’ll just report it to the Public Security Bureau and let them handle it.”

Hearing that 30 work points were being deducted, Ran Shufen’s heart ached. She furiously kicked Fang Juan a few times and scolded, “Hurry up and thank the captain! Answer him! Do you want to cause even more trouble for the family?”

Numbly, Fang Juan answered, “Thank you, Captain. I know I was wrong. I’ll change and never do it again.”

Liu Daocheng said, “Comrade Fang Juan, I hope you reflect well and contribute more to the country in the future.”

“Of course, I’ll definitely educate this child properly so she won’t make mistakes again…” Ran Shufen said a few flattering words, then dragged Fang Juan away.

The evening glow faded, and darkness fell. Some villagers, their stomachs already growling, started heading home. But seeing Ji Tangtang and her bicycle, some people were still reluctant to leave. Someone tried to cozy up to Ji Tangtang and asked about the medicinal herbs.

Ji Tangtang knew this was the question everyone had been wanting to ask. Even if they didn’t ask today, they would find a chance tomorrow. After all, with money-making opportunities right in front of them, who would be willing to let it slip by?

And Ji Tangtang had already anticipated what might happen later when she went to the supply and marketing cooperative to sell medicinal herbs, as well as thought out possible solutions.

Instead of answering everyone’s question directly, she said, “Captain, actually, on my way back today I thought a lot about things, and there are some words I’d like to share with everyone.”

The remaining villagers all looked at Ji Tangtang in confusion, not knowing what she meant to say.

Liu Daocheng also asked, “What is it?”

Ji Tangtang knew this era was different from the cultivation world, and that it was a special time. So she carefully chose her words and said, “First, I want to make it clear—I’m still young, and this is just my personal idea. I don’t know if it’s right or wrong. If I’m wrong, I hope everyone can forgive me and help me improve.”

Liu Daocheng said, “Go ahead, say it. It doesn’t matter if it’s wrong. At the meetings above, they’ve already said that as cadres, we need to listen to the voice of the masses—encourage what’s right, and point out and guide what’s wrong. No one dares make an issue of this.”

After getting Liu Daocheng’s assurance, Ji Tangtang continued, “I imagine everyone is very curious about where I gathered those herbs, and whether we can keep gathering them to exchange for money. I also hope everyone in the village can live better lives. To tell the truth, this wasn’t my first time going up the mountain after work to look for wild food to fill my belly.

But I think relying on digging wild herbs from the mountain to let the entire village live good lives won’t be easy. However, I have an idea—maybe it can let our whole village live better.”

The villagers’ eyes all lit up with excitement.

Liu Daocheng couldn’t hide his own eagerness either. “Tell us quickly, what idea?”

Ji Tangtang said, “I suggest that our production team submit an application to the commune, asking to be allowed to develop extra sources of income. From the way the purchasing station is collecting medicinal herbs, it’s clear that our country needs them very much right now. If we complete our grain production tasks as required, and then plant some medicinal herbs on top of that, it will not only improve the lives of our villagers, but also contribute to the country.”