Chapter 11 Raise your hand and slap

At the same time, Ji Tingting and Fang Juan also arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative. Just as they reached the entrance, they spotted Ji Tangtang carrying a basket on her back.

The moment Fang Juan saw Ji Tangtang, her eyes flashed with disgust. She cursed angrily:

“I don’t believe for a second she didn’t have something going on with that cripple. If she really didn’t, then why didn’t your uncle think of marrying that cripple into the family earlier? Why only after that incident did he suddenly want him as a son-in-law? I’ll bet you anything that the night she snuck into his room, she did indecent things with him.”

Ji Tingting believed the same in her heart, but on the surface, she pretended to disapprove.

“Juanzi, there’s no proof for that. You can’t say such things again. Talking like that will ruin Cousin’s reputation.”

Fang Juan rolled her eyes at her.
“You’re too soft-hearted, always covering for her. But look at her—has she ever thought of you? I heard she picked a whole bunch of mushrooms somewhere, and that old hag Lin Yulan has been bragging everywhere about how delicious they were. Did she bring even half a mushroom to your family?”

Hearing Fang Juan mention the mushrooms, Ji Tingting’s chest tightened with suppressed anger. She had clearly set her up so perfectly that night, yet somehow, not only had she failed to catch Ji Tangtang in the act with Gu Shiyu, she had ended up making a fool of herself in front of the villagers. Worse still, Ji Tangtang had mysteriously produced a basket of mushrooms that cleared her name completely.

Because of one careless comment Ji Tingting made that night, when the villagers later learned how delicious the mushrooms Ji Tangtang gave Lin Yulan were, those who hadn’t received any began secretly resenting her. Now her reputation in the village was on the brink of collapse.

This left her frustrated and uneasy, with a gnawing feeling that everything was drifting off its intended track. The unease made her panic, and she desperately wanted to do something to force things back to “normal.”

She had never told anyone this before, but since childhood she had possessed an extraordinary ability—a kind of heightened intuition. With this sense, she could always instinctively make choices that benefited her.

That was why she had disliked Ji Tangtang from the very first moment she remembered seeing her. Instinct told her Tangtang was a threat. So she had pretended to be friendly, tricking Tangtang into doing foolish things with her words. Over time, Tangtang’s reputation worsened, while her own grew brighter.

She also noticed a pattern: whenever Tangtang suffered misfortune, she herself gained good luck. And even Tangtang’s beauty—the face she hated most—would seem to dim.

She had a hunch: if Tangtang’s reputation were completely destroyed and she was forced to marry that cripple, then Tangtang’s beauty would somehow transfer to her. It sounded absurd, but she had tested it many times before, and every trial had proven her instincts right.

Suppressing her panic, she put on a false expression of sympathy and said:

“Juanzi, my uncle’s family isn’t well-off. She probably just doesn’t have a choice.”

The more Ji Tingting tried to excuse her, the angrier Fang Juan became. She grabbed her hand and hissed:

“Come on, let’s go see what she’s doing here at the cooperative.”

Meanwhile, Ji Tangtang had already asked around and found the exact location of the procurement office. Carrying her basket, she went straight there.

“Comrade, do you purchase medicinal herbs here?”

At this time, employees of supply and marketing cooperatives were notoriously arrogant, and procurement officers—holding real power—were the worst. Nie Guohao had his eyes practically on the top of his head, ready to dismiss her curtly as usual.

But when his gaze landed on Ji Tangtang’s face, his eyes lit up with surprise. His tone instantly turned warm:

“Yes, comrade, we do. What herbs do you have? Let me see.”

Ji Tangtang set her basket down and showed him.
“Besides codonopsis and gastrodia, I also have two lingzhi mushrooms, as well as some motherwort. Please take a look.”

Only then did Nie Guohao tear his eyes away from her face and look into the basket. He froze.

Two lingzhi—one large, one small—both of exceptional quality, the kind rarely seen. If he could acquire these and report them upward, he would surely be commended.

And the gastrodia and codonopsis inside were equally surprising. It wasn’t even the right season for harvesting these, yet the higher-ups had just ordered more of them. The station chief had been fretting about the shortage—and here they were, delivered right to him.

He was so focused on the herbs that he forgot to keep stealing glances at Ji Tangtang. He carefully inspected each root and tuber, astonished at their quality.

Then he looked at her and asked cautiously:
“Codonopsis, 1 yuan 20 cents per jin. Gastrodia, 2 yuan 30 cents per jin. Motherwort, 8 cents per jin. Do these prices work for you? As for the lingzhi, wait a moment—I’ll need to get approval from my superior. But don’t worry, lingzhi fetches a very good price, and yours are excellent specimens.”

Just then, Ji Tingting and Fang Juan caught up and overheard his words. Ji Tingting’s fingers dug into her palm, her eyes flashing with fury—quickly concealed. Fang Juan, however, rushed out immediately and shouted:

“Ji Tangtang! You’re undermining socialism!”

Ji Tangtang turned her head, and without a word, raised her hand and slapped Fang Juan across the face.

Fang Juan’s cheek swelled instantly. She covered it in shock, glaring at Ji Tangtang in disbelief.
“You dare hit me?!”

Ji Tangtang smiled coldly.
“And what if I did? Who told you to be so cheap, throwing baseless accusations at me?”

Ji Tingting stared at her face, a flash of shock passing through her eyes, and her heart grew even more flustered. How had just a single day passed, and yet she had become several degrees more beautiful? Clearly, Ji Tangtang’s skin had already been growing dull and lifeless because she had schemed in every way possible to step on her. But now, after just one day, her face was glowing white, like porcelain, flawless and without a single blemish. It had to be because her own plan had failed and backfired on her!

Forcing down the panic in her chest, she gently stepped forward and said softly:

“Cousin, even if Juanzi was wrong, you still shouldn’t hit her!”

Fang Juan, seeing Ji Tingting stand on her side, immediately puffed up like a triumphant rooster. Lifting her chin proudly, her eyes burned with fury as she glared at Ji Tangtang and snapped:

“That’s right, hitting people makes you the one in the wrong. And besides, what did I say that wasn’t true? Where did you get these medicinal herbs? Who allowed you to sell them privately? If that’s not undermining socialism, then what is?”

Ji Tangtang raised her hand and slapped her again.

“If you don’t understand, then keep your mouth shut. Don’t go around spewing filth and making a fool of yourself.”

Then she turned her gaze toward the crowd that had gathered to watch the commotion and spoke loudly:

“These herbs—I went deep into the mountains at night to dig them up. The reason I did it was to exchange them for money so I could buy medicine to treat my father’s illness. The herbs I gathered from the mountains were sent to the supply and marketing cooperative for purchase, and these particular herbs are all listed on the official bulletin, permitted for villagers to collect and sell. Tell me, in which part of this am I breaking the law or going against regulations?”

She had studied this carefully. In this era, while private trading was not allowed, farmers were indeed permitted to gather common medicinal herbs and sell them to the purchasing stations. That counted as normal economic activity, and no one could use that as leverage against her.

The onlookers also felt Ji Tangtang’s explanation was reasonable. Instead, Fang Juan, who had slapped such a big label on her right from the start, looked like the real troublemaker.

The crowd began pointing at Fang Juan and whispering. Some said she was vicious-minded even at such a young age, and deserved the slap. Others said Ji Tangtang was truly filial—braving the deep mountains at night to gather herbs just so she could treat her father’s illness—and her filial piety was commendable.

…