Chapter 12: Slandering People Comes with a Price

Secretary Zhang was truly regretful.

He regretted his negligence. If he had shown more concern earlier, this mother and son wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.

But…

“Mingchuan, what do you think?”

“Although you’re a national official, this is your family matter. Do you need the brigade to step in?”

“If you need it, Uncle will definitely not refuse.”

There was a reason why Chen Mingchuan hadn’t returned in five years. For the first two years, he didn’t want to come back.

Because whenever he thought about being forced into marriage and raped, his heart would ache.

He had been forced into so many things since he was a child, and what he hated most was being forced and oppressed.

Later, he went on a mission.

This mission had just ended a month ago. After arranging his work, his superiors allowed him to return home for a month’s rest.

Over the years, he had grown up and matured, and his views on many things had changed.

Thinking that he had things to resolve, he decided to come back and take a look.

Only to find that upon entering his home, he saw this scene…

He never imagined that he already had a four-year-old son!

He could ignore Li Xinyue, after all, this was her own doing.

But his child, his flesh and blood, his parents treated his son the same way they treated him!

His heart, in an instant, was numb with pain!

Chen Mingchuan’s face was cold, he looked up at Old Man Chen, his eyes filled with sorrow.

“Dad, why did you treat them like this?”

“No matter what Xinyue did to wrong me, she is still Grandpa Li’s niece!”

“If it wasn’t for Grandpa Li saving you, you would have been the one in trouble.”

“How can you treat your benefactor’s granddaughter like this? Does your conscience allow it?”

“Besides, I send twenty-five yuan back every month!”

“Why, why didn’t you even give my son money for medical treatment?”

“Is he not your grandson?”

The Chen family’s commotion attracted quite a few neighbors.

The neighbors looked at him with strange eyes, and Old Man Chen, feeling guilty, blushed under the questioning…

“Chuanzi, it’s not like that…”

But how could Li Xinyue allow this ungrateful Old Man Chen to explain?

Not like that?

It was clearly like that!

She sneered: “Not like that?”

“Let’s not even talk about how the Chen family treated me, let’s talk about the child!”

“For the past few years, I’ve been asking my mother-in-law for money to treat the child, and you, father-in-law, would say you didn’t know, because no one could testify for me.”

“But this morning when I asked my mother-in-law for money, you were in the room!”

“You heard my mother-in-law scolding me and the child!”

“Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you stand up for your grandson?”

“Is it because you’ve already decided that this grandson is dispensable?”

“Or, is he not your real grandson?”

“I…”

Old Man Chen wanted to say that he was afraid, that if he spoke up, his wife would make a scene.

He was truly afraid of trouble… Of course, he didn’t consider the two of them as members of the Chen family at all…

Seeing her daughter-in-law pressuring her old man, Old Lady Chen became furious.

She raised her other uninjured hand and was about to slap Li Xinyue…

“You shameless bitch, if you talk nonsense again, I’ll deal with you!”

“In this house, you have no right to speak! Shut your mouth, or don’t blame me for being impolite!”

Secretary Zhang’s face darkened!

This old woman, she dared to bully her daughter-in-law in front of him?

He was furious!

“Wang Aqiu! This is a new society, everyone is equal, hitting and scolding people are illegal, don’t you know?”

“It seems like you’re still stuck in the old ways!”

“You think a mother-in-law is the ultimate authority, and your daughter-in-law doesn’t even have the right to speak!”

“Starting tonight, you go to the brigade headquarters to receive ideological reform!”

“When you’re reformed, then you can leave!”

These words stunned Old Lady Chen!

The secretary said she should go to the brigade headquarters to receive ideological education tonight?

Thinking of those people with bad backgrounds who were kneeling and being criticized every day, Old Lady Chen’s legs went weak instantly!

“I… I… I… Chuanzi ah…”

“Uncle Zhang, my mother is illiterate, just forgive her this time. She won’t dare to do it again.”

“Third brother, things are not entirely like that.”

“Mom got hurt, it’s true, it’s not that she deliberately fabricated it, you help to plead for her, she’s old.”

Everyone was stunned, but Chen Lifang reacted quickly.

After all, she had read two more years of books. Seeing her old mother so scared that she couldn’t speak, she immediately stepped forward to explain.

But could Chen Lifang cover up the truth?

That depends on whether she’s willing!

Seeing more and more neighbors coming in, Li Xinyue cried again. She emphasized once more: “Secretary, they got hurt, it has nothing to do with me, I can swear!”

“It was the two of them who rushed forward to beat me, and accidentally slipped and fell!”

“It’s really not my fault!”

This Wang Aqiu is really ruthless, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law both went to beat one person!

Sure enough, the people who just came in to watch the excitement all changed their expressions!

Old Lady Chen was both angry and anxious: “You’re lying, you’re lying!”

Seeing that her mother-in-law only said this one sentence over and over, Ye Juan spoke up: “Third sister-in-law, if you hadn’t been stealing food, they wouldn’t have fallen.”

“It’s because you stole the duck to eat that they beat you!”

She stole food?

This charge of stealing is not light!

Li Xinyue looked at Ye Juan coldly.

“Fourth sister-in-law, don’t talk nonsense! I can’t bear this ‘stealing’ word!”

“Let me ask you first: If a cow is trampled to death by a single blade of grass, should we blame the grass?”

“Let me ask you again: What is stealing?”

“The duck is raised by me, I eat one of my own ducks, is that stealing?”

“Secretary Zhang, Comrade Ye Juan arbitrarily puts the ‘theft’ hat on me, a military family. I think she is dissatisfied with the country and the people’s government.”

“Such a person should receive deeper ideological reform! Otherwise, she will rebel against the party and society in the future!”

Ye Juan was so angry that she felt dizzy!

She couldn’t wear this hat!

It seems she underestimated this old cow of the Chen family!

She thought she was an honest person, but she didn’t know she was a cunning and sly woman!

“You! You’re lying, I didn’t!”

“You didn’t? Everyone heard it just now, you slandered me!”

“Are you saying everyone is deaf or that I’m not a military family?”

Ye Juan: “…”

At this time, someone walked in: “That’s right, in broad daylight, you slander Xinyue with your mouth. Such a person deserves to be educated!”

“Chuanzi, you don’t know, all these years, your relatives have treated your son like a dog!”

“Old secretary, you must be fair and just!”

It was Zhao Guihua, she’s everywhere!

However, Li Xinyue really liked her performance this time!

Ah, there are no permanent enemies, it’s true!

The courtyard was quiet, everyone seemed to want to know if the secretary would support Li Xinyue…

However, at this moment, Chen Mingchuan spoke.

“Secretary Zhang, Comrade Li Xinye is right, she is a military family!”

“Slandering a military family is a reactionary act, I propose that Comrade Ye Juan go to the brigade headquarters to receive ideological reform!”

“Such a person must be reformed, absolutely not tolerated.”