Chapter 61.2

At the entrance of the farm, Wu Weimin clung to Wu Yuanming, crying loudly. Meanwhile, the Educated Youth in the crowd were practically glowing with joy, as if they had just downed a bowl of honey.  

Wu Weimin, that punk, had always used his father’s position as the farm director to bully them—those who were far from home and completely helpless in the area.  

The male Educated Youth were often subjected to all kinds of suppression and nitpicking, and those with less favorable backgrounds were regularly assigned the hardest and most grueling tasks.  

The female Educated Youth fared no better.  

Those with plain looks could get by if they worked diligently, but the prettier ones suffered constant harassment. And even after being harassed, they had to endure it. What else could they do if they didn’t?  

From the moment their household registration was transferred to the farm, the female Educated Youth had lost their freedom.  

If they wanted a chance to return to the city, their work evaluations and quotas were in the hands of the director. Under such circumstances, they had no choice but to bow their heads.  

In this unique era, many Educated Youth had set out with fiery passion to the frontiers, but the reality they encountered was far from the beautiful vision they had imagined. There was a stark gap between ideals and reality—even the strong and capable often found themselves bullied by local tyrants.  

The longer they were oppressed, the deeper the resentment in their hearts grew.  

Watching Wu Yuanming and his son struggle without anyone stepping in to help, the Educated Youth felt immense satisfaction. Though they didn’t have the power to stand up against the father and son themselves, they were more than happy to see someone else do it.  

“Weimin, what’s going on? Explain this clearly to me! If anyone dares to blackmail you, we’ll go straight to the public security bureau to get to the bottom of it and arrest whoever needs to be arrested!” Wu Yuanming barked, his tone sharp and angry.  

He had been repeatedly shut down by Qin Qingman’s retorts, leaving him fuming with frustration.  

He wanted to slap a big accusation on Qin Qingman and use his position to suppress her, but he found he couldn’t. Her composure and sharpness left him realizing that she was not someone easily dealt with.  

Dealing with someone like her required a different approach than the usual tactics.  

The only way was to address the root cause.  

As long as Wu Weimin hadn’t actually pushed anyone, the fault wouldn’t lie with them—it would shift to Qin Qingman and the two others with her.  

Wu Yuanming’s mind was racing, calculating his plan. He even hinted at his intentions while comforting Wu Weimin. If his son had any sense, he’d follow his lead and push the blame onto Qin Qingman.  

Wu Weimin, being his father’s son, had always been cunning and vindictive, with no shortage of scheming experience.  

As soon as he heard his father’s suggestion, he understood. Pointing a trembling finger at Qin Qingman, he immediately started fabricating a story, accusing her: “It was her! She was the one who pushed them! She framed me for it, trying to pin this on me just so she could extort money and grain from our family!”  

Compared to preserving his reputation and future, the fleeting admiration he had recently developed for Qin Qingman was meaningless.  

By now, Wu Weimin’s feelings toward Qin Qingman had turned into outright hatred. Any trace of earlier fondness had been completely obliterated during the beating she gave him.  

Deep in his heart, he was already plotting ways to exact his revenge on her.  

He wanted Qin Qingman thrown in jail, sentenced to hard labor, and, if the opportunity arose, forced to kneel at his feet and beg for mercy. He wanted to crush her, to make her pay a heavy price.  

With Wu Yuanming backing him up, Wu Weimin suddenly felt a surge of courage and arrogance.  

His gaze toward Qin Qingman was now laced with both smugness and malice. He barked out an order: “Grab her! Arrest this woman! She’s the one who pushed the person—she’s the criminal! We’ll take her to the Public Security Bureau!”  

Wu Weimin, thinking he had solid support, now even dared to involve the authorities.  

There were things Wu Weimin didn’t understand, but his father, Wu Yuanming, did. Based on how Qin Qingman had countered him earlier, it was clear that this young woman knew the law. And with someone who understood the law, it was a grave mistake to try using the law as leverage. Instead, the only effective strategy was to rely on power and authority.  

While Wu Yuanming was carefully weighing his options on how to proceed, a heart-wrenching cry suddenly erupted, growing louder as it approached.  

It was Aunt Guiying’s daughter, Zheng Meiqin, who had heard the news and rushed over.  

“Mother! Mother! Oh, my dear mother!” Zheng Meiqin wailed, dragging her voice out as she charged over in a panic. From afar, she could already see her mother lying on the ground.  

Had it not been for the cotton-padded jacket laid beneath Aunt Guiying and the people helping to support her, Zheng Meiqin might have thought her mother was gone.  

Aunt Guiying had kept her eyes closed, quietly listening as Qin Qingman confronted Wu Yuanming head-on. She herself didn’t understand the law and had been hesitant to speak up, partly because her son-in-law was a farm worker. But now, hearing her daughter Zheng Meiqin’s voice, she couldn’t help but open her eyes.  

“Meiqin…” Aunt Guiying’s voice trembled with pain and cold as she called out to her daughter.  

“Mother! Oh, Mother!”  

Zheng Meiqin rushed to her mother’s side, throwing herself to the ground.  

Though Zheng Meiqin had been married for many years, her bond with her natal family remained strong. Her concern for Aunt Guiying was genuine. Seeing her mother lying on the ground, unable to move, Zheng Meiqin’s tears flowed uncontrollably.  

“Mother, where does it hurt?”  

Her face turned pale as she stared at her mother, noticing how unwell Aunt Guiying looked.  

She could tell immediately—her mother was injured.  

“Here… it hurts here,” Aunt Guiying said, clutching her daughter’s hand and guiding it to the spot where she felt the most pain. She didn’t know the exact name of the body part, but the pain was sharp and throbbing, making her unbearably uncomfortable.  

“Oh, my poor mother!”  

Zheng Meiqin’s hands trembled as she gently touched the injured area, only to burst into even louder sobs.  

To onlookers unfamiliar with the situation, it might have seemed like Aunt Guiying had already passed away. This misunderstanding only made Bao Shengli, who had just arrived in a hurry on a tractor, even more frantic.  

“Mother!”  

Bao Shengli was a Northeastern man, both tall and broad, with a booming voice that echoed across the crowd.  

He called out “Mother!” in a voice so loud it was like a thunderclap on a clear day, shaking the ears of those nearby. Even the puttering sound of the tractor seemed to become a mere background accompaniment.  

Seeing Bao Shengli and his wife arrive, no one dared to make a move against Qin Qingman anymore.  

Qin Qingman was from Kaoshan Village. The headquarters of the Hongqi Brigade (essentially their local office) was located in the town, and not only was the Brigade Secretary, Zheng Anguo, a fellow villager from Kaoshan, but even the Brigade Security Officer hailed from there as well.  

Kaoshan Village had produced several individuals who held authority over the entire brigade.  

From an administrative perspective, Zheng Anguo and Qian Xiangyang’s authority surpassed that of Wu Yuanming, the farm manager. If it weren’t for the larger population in the Hongqi Farm, which warranted its own jurisdiction, this area would have originally fallen under the direct management of the Hongqi Brigade.  

This was why people generally chose to yield when dealing with someone from Kaoshan Village.  

It was also the reason Qin Qingman had made a point of stating her identity right from the start.  

For those living on this land, the name “Kaoshan Village” carried a natural sense of security. That was why Qin Qingman dared to hit Wu Weimin.  

“Lao Bao, that little punk Wu Weimin dared to push our mother! She’s so injured she can’t even stand up. Her whole body hurts!” Zheng Meiqin, unafraid of Wu Weimin, immediately started complaining the moment her husband arrived. She exaggerated the severity of the injuries for effect.  

“No… it wasn’t me who pushed her. It was her! She pushed her!”  

Wu Weimin had been waiting for the workers to grab Qin Qingman, but not a single person stepped forward to help. Instead, Zheng Meiqin outright accused him of pushing her mother. Seeing Bao Shengli arrive in his puttering tractor, Wu Weimin dared not admit to anything even if he had done it. He quickly shifted the blame back onto Qin Qingman.  

Zheng Meiqin followed Wu Weimin’s pointing finger and saw Qin Qingman standing there, calm and composed.  

She immediately turned her head and spat in Wu Weimin’s direction. “You little brat! Even if you want to shirk responsibility, could you at least pick someone credible? You’re saying Qin Qingman from the Qin family pushed my mother? What a ridiculous joke! We’re from the same village—she would never push my mother!”  

“Why wouldn’t someone from the same village push her?”  

Wu Weimin was dumbfounded.  

Wu Yuanming was equally baffled by Zheng Meiqin’s logic.  

Zheng Meiqin stood up, hands on her hips, and spat at the Wu father and son. “Our Kaoshan Village is united. No matter what internal conflicts we have, once we leave the village, we are absolutely united against the outside. This is the rule set by our brigade secretary. No one in the village dares to break it.”  

The Wu father and son: … What kind of nonsense rule is this?!

The Wu father and son’s plan to frame someone had fallen apart, and the onlookers’ gaze toward them was now filled with contempt.  

Everyone was clear about the situation. If it weren’t for Wu Yuanming’s position, they would have long since helped Qin Qingman cause a scene. No one would still be standing around waiting in this cold weather.  

“Lao Bao, teach that little punk Wu Weimin a lesson!”  

Although Zheng Meiqin didn’t work at the farm, she was a force to be reckoned with in the family quarters. With a husband who listened to her, her confidence was unshakable. She wasn’t afraid of the Wu father and son at all.  

Wu Weimin dared to hurt her mother, so she was determined to give him a beating.  

“Got it, Wife.”  

Bao Shengli was skilled—not only did he know how to drive a tractor, but he could also repair them. He was highly sought after wherever he went. Hearing his wife’s order, he pressed down the accelerator and drove the tractor straight toward the Wu father and son.  

If he ran them over, not only would they not die, but they’d at least end up severely injured.  

“Bao Shengli, I’m the farm manager of Hongqi Farm! Stop! Stop the tractor right now, or you can forget about your Wife’s job!”  

Wu Yuanming’s legs went weak from fear.  

He threatened Bao Shengli loudly while rolling away as fast as he could.  

The beaten Wu Weimin quickly scrambled and rolled out of the way of the tractor’s path.  

In that moment, both father and son moved at the same time, but strangely, they moved in opposite directions. In the face of death, it seemed that the bond between father and son wasn’t as solid as they thought. Each one fled in their own way.  

The tractor came to a halt, barely a foot from Wu Yuanming.  

The tractor had stopped, but the hem of Wu Yuanming’s clothes had been caught under the wheel, leaving him unable to stand up straight.  

“What do you mean by this?” Bao Shengli looked down at Wu Yuanming from above, his expression as thick and honest as ever.

Bao Shengli had never intended to run over the Wu father and son; he was just trying to scare them. He didn’t expect to provoke a remark about his wife’s job in the process.  

“Back the car up, back it up,” Wu Yuanming, who couldn’t get up, was so furious that his face turned red and his neck bulged.  

His cotton-padded coat hem was stuck under the wheel, and no matter how much he tugged, it wouldn’t come free. He had to bend over, which was a huge blow to his pride as the farm manager. In front of all the workers, Wu Yuanming felt utterly humiliated.  

Deep inside, he swore he would make sure Bao Shengli and his family were kicked off the farm.  

This thought was very similar to Wu Weimin’s, no surprise since they were father and son.  

“What do you mean by ‘my Wife’s work’?” Bao Shengli asked curiously, not intending to move the tractor until his wife had given her orders.  

“You… you idiot!”  

Wu Yuanming’s face turned even redder, and his neatly combed hair was now in disarray.  

He was furious at Bao Shengli, this stubborn fool. What had been a covert deal was now being openly mentioned in front of so many people. Bao Shengli dared to speak about it, but Wu Yuanming couldn’t admit to it. In that moment, Wu Yuanming thought Bao Shengli had taken the benefit but was denying it.  

He was so angry he almost wanted to spit in Bao Shengli’s face.  

“Ha, Sis, does this guy look like the pufferfish you were talking about, with his cheeks puffed out like a ball?”  

Just as Wu Yuanming was about to explode with anger, Chuchu’s clear, crisp voice rang out.  

In Big Sister’s arms, the child was completely unafraid.  

Qin Qingman glanced at the child’s face and, seeing that the swelling wasn’t too severe, let out a sigh of relief and dismissed the idea. “No, no, he doesn’t look like a pufferfish. Pufferfish are cute. His face looks more like a toad.”  

“A toad with bumps all over it?” Chuchu was sharp as ever.  

“Ha, hahahaha—”  

The crowd could no longer hold in their laughter, and one after another, peals of laughter broke out.

Wu Yuanming was so furious that his entire body tensed up.  

“Lao Bao, hurry up! Help our mother into the car! We’re taking her to the hospital!” Zheng Meiqin, ever the devoted daughter-in-law, was most concerned about Aunt Guiying’s injury. For the moment, she didn’t think about how to deal with Wu Weimin and decided to take her mother-in-law to the hospital for treatment first.  

“Got it.”  

Bao Shengli, seeing his wife speak, no longer paid any attention to Wu Yuanming. He quickly jumped off the tractor and called over a few close friends to help carry Aunt Guiying.  

As soon as he had learned that Aunt Guiying had been pushed and injured, he had already laid out a few thick cotton quilts in the back of the tractor. It was faster and more convenient to drive her to the hospital rather than carrying her on a stretcher.  

Qin Qingman glanced at the back of the tractor and then at Aunt Guiying, who was holding her waist, but didn’t stop the process.  

Bao Shengli and his friends were strong, and in just a few minutes, they had placed Aunt Guiying in the back of the tractor. There was no wind today, and since the tractor was moving slowly, the back wasn’t cold.  

Zheng Meiqin stayed with Aunt Guiying, planning to accompany her to the hospital.  

“Qin Qingman, get in the car. Chuchu’s hurt too. Let’s go to the hospital together.” Zheng Meiqin, being from Kaoshan Village, knew Qin Qingman. When she saw the swelling on Chuchu’s face, she immediately called for them.  

“Okay.”  

Qin Qingman took one last look at the wild herbs and dried vegetables that had been trampled into a mess on the ground and decided to leave with Zheng Meiqin and the others.  

After everything that had happened today, Wu Yuanming knew that the Wan family was closely connected to his own. He realized that the entire Wan family would never have it easy from now on.  

With that thought in mind, Qin Qingman helped Chuchu into the car, then settled down and covered herself with a quilt.  

It felt much warmer now.  

“Thud, thud, thud—” The sound of the tractor’s engine starting up echoed. Thick black smoke poured out of the exhaust pipe, hitting Wu Yuanming square in the face, choking him so badly that he nearly coughed up his lungs.  

“What’s going on? Who called the police?”  

Just as Qin Qingman and the others were about to leave, a loud voice rang out from a distance. At the same time, two people in green police uniforms, riding bicycles, rushed over.  

On the tractor, Qin Qingman looked at the fully green police uniforms and broke into a smile.