Chapter 7: Someone Fell into the Water

Is my ideological awareness too poor?

Jiang Manman looked at the middle-aged man and said:

“I want to report this comrade of yours for shielding a thief, and possibly even being an accomplice.”

The young train officer frowned and looked at Jiang Manman.

“I warn you not to speak nonsense. You’re making false accusations!”

“That’s right, I never stole her stuff. She’s just falsely accusing me!”

The middle-aged male officer frowned tightly as he looked at Jiang Manman.

“Young comrade, do you have any evidence for what you’re saying?”

Jiang Manman had no intention of reasoning with them. She acted directly.

She stepped forward and reached into the old woman’s pocket, pulling out a bill with her name on it that she had just retrieved from her space.

She handed the money to the middle-aged officer and said:

“This is my money. My name is written on it.”

She seemed to remember there was another one in her pocket.

The old woman panicked—she only intended to scam her for money, she hadn’t actually stolen anything!

Even the young officer was stunned. Why would his third aunt steal money?

Writing one’s name on a “Great Unity” bill to avoid losing it was a common precaution, so no one found it strange.

The middle-aged officer took the bill Jiang Manman handed over and looked at it.

He then looked at the letter proving she was headed to the countryside, then turned to look at the middle-aged woman and the young officer.

The old woman hurriedly waved her hand.

“I didn’t! I’m being wronged! I—”

As she spoke, she fished out another “Great Unity” bill from her pocket. When she unfolded it in surprise, Jiang Manman’s name was indeed written on it.

“W-what is going on? I didn’t steal anything!”

Jiang Manman sneered coldly.

“You have no manners. Just because I didn’t give you my seat, I deserve to go to jail? I deserve to be shot? And what about your actions?

Comrade officer, I believe such a social tumor should be eradicated.

If anyone deserves to go to jail or be shot, it’s her. Don’t you think so?”

She finished addressing the middle-aged officer, then turned to the young one.

“The fact that this comrade shielded her suggests they might be part of a group.

Comrade, your recruitment standards seem quite low!

Just now, they even said that if I gave them ten yuan, they’d settle the matter privately.

And now—”

“And now what? I didn’t take it means I didn’t take it! You’re falsely accusing me! I’d rather die than admit it!”

“You didn’t take it, but the money just magically walked into your pocket?”

The old woman was left speechless for a moment, then retorted:

“You framed me! Yes, you! It’s not my fault. I didn’t take your money.”

Jiang Manman ignored her and directly asked the middle-aged officer:

“Comrade, what now?

My stop is coming up soon, so I need a satisfactory resolution, and fast!”

The middle-aged officer looked at the bill pulled from the old woman’s pocket—with Jiang Manman’s name on it.

“Caught red-handed. We’ll give you a satisfactory resolution.”

As he spoke, he pulled two “Great Unity” bills from his own pocket and handed them to Jiang Manman.

“We’ll be using these two marked bills for the case, so here are two replacements for you. But I also need you to come to the police office to give a statement.”

“Alright!”

Jiang Manman agreed without hesitation.

She took her belongings and followed them to the police office. A girl nearby looked at her with concern.

“Comrade, do you need me to testify for you?”

Jiang Manman hadn’t expected the girl to be so enthusiastic. She shook her head and spoke loudly:

“Thank you, comrade, but no need. I don’t believe every black crow under the sky is the same!”

The middle-aged officer twitched his mouth and glared at the young comrade who had only been on the job for two days.

Jiang Manman gave her statement simply:

“I just don’t understand why she tried to sit on my leg. Thinking about it now, maybe it was to make stealing easier!”

“I didn’t! I just wanted to scam you out of some money. I didn’t steal it!”

The middle-aged woman grew anxious after being taken to the office.

Jiang Manman truly laughed this time.

“Comrade, stealing money means you took my money without my knowledge or consent.
If I hadn’t discovered it, I might have stayed calm and only gotten angry when I found out.

Scamming, on the other hand, is what you just did—creating a scene and bringing disaster upon me for no reason.”

“It filled me with anger and put me in a terrible mood.

So, do you think I would let you off?

And if she got away with it this time, she’d do it again next time—scam others, maybe even steal.

Social tumors like this should either be shot or locked up.

And the protectors who shield them should be punished too.”

The middle-aged officer nodded and relayed the situation to the train staff.

After Jiang Manman finished her statement, he said:

“Young comrade, don’t be agitated. Rest assured, we will handle this fairly and not cover up for anyone!”

Jiang Manman returned to her seat. She believed in using evil to fight evil—people with skewed moral compasses and shameless behaviors shouldn’t be dealt with in a conventional manner.

The girl in the neighboring seat was visibly happy when Jiang Manman returned.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Some people are just shameless—what they deserve is to have their faces ripped off.

You must fight for what is rightfully yours.

Why is it so cramped here?

Aunties, did you both buy seated tickets? Show me your tickets, or I’ll call the officer again.”

The two aunties had seen Jiang Manman’s fighting power earlier.

One had a seated ticket, the other had a standing one. They thought they’d both sit regardless, but now being questioned, the one with the standing ticket awkwardly stood up.

“Oh, I’m almost there. I’ll stand for a bit—sitting too long makes me tired. Hehe.”

Jiang Manman, weighing over 200 pounds, already took up extra space. She’d initially tolerated it to avoid trouble, but when she returned and saw the girl comrade pushed to the outer seat—her seat—she had nowhere to sit.

There was no way she’d keep quiet. If she did, she’d have to either stand or force her way into her own seat.

Taking the train was truly exhausting.

They finally reached their stop. The girl comrade named Tang Xiaomin got off with her.

“Comrade Jiang, which commune and brigade are you going to?

I’m from Red Flag Commune, 38th Brigade, Xujiazhuang Forestry Field. How about you?”

Jiang Manman was momentarily stunned, then smiled.

“Same as you—38th Brigade, Xujiazhuang Forestry Field.”

“That’s great! Let’s go together!”

The two exited the station and took a ride to Red Flag Commune.

By the time they arrived, many educated youth were already there.

Someone saw them coming and asked:

“Which brigade are you going to?”

When they replied “38th Brigade,” the person pointed in that direction.

In the corner stood three people—two young men and an older man with greying hair.

The older man waved at them.

“I’m the brigade leader of the 38th Brigade. Last name Zhang. You two came just in time—we can head back now.”

He was picking up four educated youth this trip, and didn’t expect one of them to be so plump.

They briefly greeted the two male youth.

The four of them got their documents stamped at the commune and followed Brigade Leader Zhang back to Xujiazhuang Forestry Field.

They sat on an ox cart, bumping along toward the village. As they neared the village entrance, they saw a wide river.

A girl stood at the riverside crying, shouting toward the water:

“Brother Zhou, don’t do anything rash! Come up and let me explain!

Brother Zhou! Brother Zhou, come up!

Help! Brother Zhou hasn’t come up yet—he’s sinking! What do I do?

Somebody help!”

Hearing this, the people on the cart exchanged glances.

The two male youth spoke anxiously:

“What do we do?

I can’t swim.”

“Me neither.”

Jiang Manman was speechless. She could swim. Without hesitation, she jumped off the ox cart and dove straight into the river.

Zhou Ye, who was underwater, had just come up for air when he saw a dark shadow plummeting straight at him.