Chapter 67.2

With Wu Chunxia’s cry, more cries began to emerge, one after another. These cries came from other Wu family members. However, their crying was not for the death of Wu Weimin, but for the fate that awaited them.

Just a moment ago, Zheng Anguo had made it very clear. Not only had the crowd heard it, but the Wu family also understood.

They had used Wu Yuanming’s power during his tenure to seek personal gain, bullied others under false pretenses, and even caused some people to lose their jobs or sabotaged others. These accumulated deeds meant that anyone among them who had committed a crime would certainly be taken away by the police and dealt with severely according to the law. Those who hadn’t committed major crimes but had done wrong would certainly face punishment.

When they realized this, many of the Wu family members truly began to cry in earnest.

She cried heartbrokenly.

Zheng Anguo didn’t want to listen to a crowd of people crying, so he quickly waved his hand.

The people from Kaoshan Village dragged the crying individuals away and hastened them toward the canteen. They were now acting as the militia.

“Please accept my condolences.” Zheng Xuesong saw that Wu Chunxia was crying so hard she was nearly losing consciousness. He glanced at the sky and had to remind her.

“My son, Weimin, was the victim! Why does our Wu family have to suffer such injustice? We didn’t cause any harm to you, so why are you so heartless, trying to wipe out our entire Wu family?”

Wu Chunxia wiped the tears from her face and glared at Zheng Anguo with bloodshot eyes.

She hated Zheng Anguo. If it weren’t for his appearance, that woman named Qin would have long been beaten to death by them.

Thinking of this, Wu Chunxia glared fiercely at Qin Qingman.

Zheng Anguo, looking at Wu Chunxia, who still didn’t understand her mistakes or where she had gone wrong, grew impatient and said, “Your son was a victim, but no one else is a victim? You only see that your son is dead, but do you not see the tears in the eyes of those your son bullied?”

Wu Chunxia was taken aback. It took a while before she managed to say, “I only know my son is dead, while others are still living well.”

“Your son was really noble, wasn’t he? When your son bullied others, you thought it was deserved, but now that your son was bullied and killed, you start pleading for sympathy. No wonder you raised such a disaster. When the upper beams are crooked, the lower beams will be skewed too. You can’t blame anyone for his death.”

Qin Qingman, who was utterly disgusted by the Wu family, couldn’t help but retort to Wu Chunxia.

Wu Weimin was the type to approach attractive girls, push them, threaten them, and behind their backs, he surely harassed other girls too. Qin Qingman didn’t even need to gather evidence to know that Wu Weimin was scum.

Scum should be treated as such, without courtesy.

Otherwise, some people might take kindness as a given.

“Who do you say deserves to die?” Wu Chunxia glared at Qin Qingman with her bloodshot eyes, furious. She had long wanted to devour Qin Qingman alive, and now that Qin Qingman dared to talk back, she was utterly enraged.

“Wu Weimin deserved to die. Don’t worry, the police will find out exactly what crimes Wu Weimin committed and make it public. His death will not be in vain.”

Qin Qingman had not lived through such a special era, but having heard about it from the older generation in later years, she understood.

During that time, many female Educated Youths from distant places were harassed by local…

“You poisonous woman, filthy creature, why don’t you go die!” Wu Chunxia could no longer tolerate Qin Qingman’s words. Every word from Qin Qingman felt like a knife to her heart, each one attacking her with words.

Wu Chunxia, who had long wished for Qin Qingman’s death, quickly got to her feet and lunged at Qin Qingman.

In her hand, she held a small but sharp knife.

Wu Chunxia only had one son, and now her only child was dead. Her husband might also be shot, and her family was already destroyed. She had long given up on life. Now, she finally had an opportunity to get close to Qin Qingman.

She couldn’t wait to strike.

As Wu Chunxia lunged at her, everyone on the scene remained calm.

Whether it was Zheng Xuesong, the police officers, or the people of Kaoshan Village, or even Zheng Meiqin and her husband who were already standing next to Qin Qingman, they all anticipated the possibility of this happening.

The first to act was Zheng Xuesong.

With a quick movement, he used a joint-lock technique to easily disarm Wu Chunxia, while at the same time, she committed the crime of attempted murder.

“Let go of me, let go of me! You filthy creature, you should die! If it weren’t for you, my son Weimin…” Wu Chunxia was still cursing at Qin Qingman, her hands restrained by several villagers from Kaoshan Village.

“Bang—”

A clear sound of impact rang out, and Wu Chunxia’s voice immediately stopped.

At the same time, she fainted.

“You’re such a bad person! Your evil son caused trouble and got his punishment, and now you’re blaming my sister. How shameless! I warn you, if you keep insulting my sister, I’ll knock you out!” Chuchu’s voice was crisp and clear.

Wu Chunxia, who had been relentlessly nagging, nearly had a heart attack from the anger.

Unable to bear it any longer, Chuchu took out a lunchbox from his pocket and slammed it directly on Wu Chunxia’s head.

Chuchu, perched on Qin Qingman’s back and looking down from above, struck her forehead, knocking her out cold.

“Bad upbringing leads to bad consequences. You deserve it, your family deserves it!”

Chuchu, still angry, added a final remark.

Everyone looked at Chuchu’s half-swollen face and then at Wu Chunxia, who had fainted in the hands of a Kaoshan Village villager. Without a word, they turned around in unspoken agreement, pretending they hadn’t seen anything. The shoulders of these people even shook with suppressed laughter.

If it weren’t for the police being present, they might have actually clapped and cheered for Chuchu.

The child had done something they dared not do.

Qin Qingman hadn’t expected the child to be so angry. She hurriedly set him down and tried to comfort him.

Zheng Xuesong, maintaining his calm, flipped open Wu Chunxia’s eyelids and checked the artery in her neck. Then, ignoring Wu Chunxia’s rapidly swelling forehead, he announced, “She’s fine. Take her to the cafeteria, we’ll deal with it later.”

After saying that, he glanced at Qin Qingman and her brother before leading his team to the farm’s cafeteria.

With so many witnesses and statements to make, they were going to be busy until dark. They probably wouldn’t finish today and would likely need to work through the night. Luckily, they had known the case was serious and that there were plenty of witnesses, so they had brought their own food coupons. Otherwise, even eating would have been a problem.

“Chuchu, don’t be mad anymore. It’s not worth getting angry at those bad people.”

Qin Qingman squatted down to meet Chuchu at eye level.

“Sis, they insulted you. I’m angry, really angry.” Chuchu waved the lunchbox in his hand with a bit of regret.

His strength was small, and if only he were stronger, hitting them would have been even more satisfying.

Qin Qingman could tell that Chuchu was defending her, and of course, she couldn’t scold him for hitting people. Education for children was different in different times. “I’m angry too. If they dare insult me again, we’ll hit them together.”

Self-defense was entirely within the law.

“Mm.”

Chuchu had been a bit anxious before, worried that Qin Qingman would blame him for hitting people, but to his surprise, not only did she not scold him, but she also agreed to fight with him. The child’s spirit was instantly filled with determination.

“Let’s go. We’ll go watch them get scolded.” 

Qin Qingman smiled and prepared to carry Chuchu again, but before she could, Bao Shengli silently picked Chuchu up and carried him on his arm. With a deep voice, he said, “I’ll carry Chuchu.” He was quite fond of Chuchu and liked children with such a unique personality.

Chuchu was already familiar with Bao Shengli and wasn’t afraid. He quickly stuffed the lunchbox into his arms and wrapped his hands around Bao Shengli’s neck.

The child knew that although his weight wasn’t heavy, it still took a lot of effort for Big Sister to carry him. Now, with free labor available, of course, he didn’t want to let Big Sister suffer anymore.

Qin Qingman could tell immediately what the child was thinking. Seeing that Bao Shengli was genuinely carrying Chuchu, she said a quick thank you before standing up.

“Qingman, are we going to the cafeteria too?” Zheng Meiqin, along with Bao Shengli, had already given their statements at the county police station. In fact, they didn’t really need to follow Zheng Xuesong and the others to the cafeteria, but Zheng Meiqin wanted to go.

She wanted to see the final outcome for the Wu family.

“Meiqin, let’s go see. Chuchu and I still haven’t made our statements, and the secretary and the others are still there. Everyone made a special trip for my sake, so of course, we should stick together,” Qin Qingman explained to Zheng Meiqin.

“Qingman, don’t say that. This matter also involves my mother. Everyone is helping because of her too. Come on, let’s go see.”

As soon as Zheng Meiqin heard she could watch the drama unfold, she immediately became excited and helped Aunt Guiying towards the cafeteria.

Qin Qingman also supported Aunt Guiying with her other arm. “Auntie are you feeling better?”

“Mm, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Upon hearing Qin Qingman’s concern, Aunt Guiying told her about the trip to the county. Previously, her side had hurt terribly, but now, aside from some scratches on her hand, her waist didn’t hurt at all.

Qin Qingman understood right away.

She guessed that the stone might have shifted its position or been shattered, which was why the pain had eased. “Auntie when you have time, I’ll go with you to the county hospital for a thorough check-up. We should do a full exam just to be safe.”

Aunt Guiying’s fall had been caused by her, so of course, she felt responsible.

“Qingman, there’s no need for you to go with me. When Shengli has time, he can take me to the hospital for a check-up. It’s fine.” Aunt Guiying was too shy to trouble Qin Qingman to accompany her; right now, she wasn’t feeling any pain at all.

If she hadn’t insisted on carrying Chuchu earlier, Chuchu wouldn’t have fallen off her back.

She still needed to apologize to Qin Qingman and her brother.

Qin Qingman could tell from Aunt Guiying’s expression, so she smiled and said, “Auntie it was an unexpected accident. This has nothing to do with you. Some people are just too bad. We can’t take on the blame for their wrongdoing.”

She didn’t think it was her fault that Wu Weimin had noticed her because of her appearance.

Nor did she believe that today’s mishap was caused by her.

Following this logic, if a person’s good looks attract bad people who then cause harm, and the consequences are all blamed on the person for their appearance, then how is this any different from the “victim-blaming” theory often seen on the internet by some keyboard warriors?

Should someone who is good-looking stay home? Should they cover their face with a cloth just because they look good?

What nonsense thinking.

Qin Qingman thought that people with this kind of mindset were seriously misguided.

Aunt Guiying had originally felt guilty about Chuchu getting hurt, but upon hearing Qin Qingman’s words, she immediately understood the reasoning. Everyone was a victim, and there was no need for apologies or to cover for each other anymore.

“Qingman, you’re so clear-headed. I’ve always felt something was off, but I couldn’t express it properly. But what you said is absolutely right, it’s the bad people who are at fault. Luckily, heaven saw what happened, and they’ve gotten their comeuppance…”

When it came to Wu Weimin’s evil deeds, both Aunt Guiying and Zheng Meiqin had plenty to say.

They shared with Qin Qingman the disgusting things Wu Weimin had done at the farm, and it was a story that could fill three days and nights without end.

There were probably many people who would be thanking the heavens when they got home tonight.

Qin Qingman listened carefully as Aunt Guiying and Zheng Meiqin recounted Wu Weimin’s wrongdoings. It became clear that the man’s death was completely deserved.

At the same time, she believed this was just the tip of the iceberg of the evil he had committed.

Wu Weimin had undoubtedly done many more bad things behind the scenes.

When Qin Qingman and the others arrived at the cafeteria, it was even more crowded. In fact, the number of people was so great that no one could sit down, and everyone had to stand. Only by standing could the cafeteria accommodate so many people, and the coal-burning stoves had been stoked to provide extra warmth.

The four stoves in the four corners of the room were all burning brightly.

As soon as they entered, Qin Qingman felt that the warmth in the room wasn’t as high as it was at home, but it was much warmer than outside.

At that moment, Zheng Xuesong and the other police officers were busy taking statements from the witnesses.

Since the majority of people had already given their testimonies in front of a crowd earlier, Zheng Xuesong didn’t require any private rooms. Instead, he pushed some tables together in the cafeteria and set up a makeshift podium.

The police officers sat on top while taking statements from the witnesses.

The four of them would be able to complete the necessary recordings much faster if they worked separately.

Zheng Anguo and Zhou Jingguo, two colleagues who usually disagreed on many things, sat down together amicably. They were quietly conversing while waiting for the arrival of the commune leader, Fang Mingjie, and others.

Once the commune leaders arrived, the official criticism session of the Wu family would begin.

As soon as Qin Qingman stepped inside, Zheng Anguo waved at her.

Qin Qingman took Chuchu from Bao Shengli and walked over to Zheng Anguo. At this moment, Zheng Anguo and Zhou Jingguo were sitting near the stove, where the temperature was higher and warmer. Qin Qingman thought this would be a better spot for her and Chuchu.

“Comrade Qin, sit here,” Zheng Anguo said, gesturing to the space next to him.

Qin Qingman didn’t hesitate, holding Chuchu in her arms as she sat down. She understood that Zheng Anguo was not only allowing her to participate in political matters but was also helping her acclimate, as she might be working in the town after the New Year.

Hongqi Town was a large town, and the commune was located there.

Zhou Jingguo didn’t raise any objections or express any dissatisfaction with Qin Qingman sitting down.

“Secretary, Director,” Qin Qingman politely greeted Zheng Anguo and Zhou Jingguo as she settled in.

Both men nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

In that moment, everyone in the room who had any sense could tell that, if not on equal footing, Qin Qingman at least wasn’t far below Zheng Anguo and Zhou Jingguo.

“Comrade Qin, the leaders are almost here. We need to prepare some guidelines,” Zheng Anguo said. He understood that the scope of the criticism session had to be carefully controlled; opening it up too much could lead to trouble. However, finding the right balance was tricky.

They had to publicly criticize the Wu family but avoid getting too involved in the politics of the situation. It was a delicate matter.

Zhou Jingguo also looked at Qin Qingman. He, too, was concerned. He knew the consequences of the movement and understood how many people would want to speak out. 

He was worried about people speaking out of turn. If things went wrong, even though he was the revolutionary committee director, he might not be able to cover up the mess.

Qin Qingman had already considered this issue. Looking at both of them, she said, “Tell everyone to focus on the public matters and leave the private matters aside. That way, everyone will know what can be said and what cannot. They are more capable of measuring that than we are.”

In the face of the larger situation, she trusted that everyone knew how to protect themselves wisely.