Chapter 23: Making an Idea

The people who had gone with Ji Tingting to the Ji household that day all nodded in agreement, confirming Lin Yulan’s words—they had all witnessed it themselves. Some even said Fang Juan deserved the beating; when she had slandered Ji Tangtang’s reputation so confidently that day, she should have been punished right then. The problem was that Xu Guifen was too weak. If it had been someone else, and their daughter had been slandered like that, they would have stormed over and made a scene long ago. Because Fang Juan had spread rumors about Ji Tangtang before without facing consequences, she had grown increasingly brazen, daring to accuse people at will.

Ji Tingting, listening to the villagers, grew both anxious and furious. Things were unfolding completely differently from what she had planned. Seeing Lin Yulan and the group of women speaking in Ji Tangtang’s defense, she hated them so much she wished she could tear them apart. What was so special about Ji Tangtang knowing how to pick mushrooms? What was the big deal? These shallow, short-sighted fools—just a few mushrooms, and they were ready to take Ji Tangtang’s side. She was seething, but her mind was working quickly. Could she really let Ji Tangtang get away so easily? No, absolutely not! But to maintain her long-cultivated image of kindness, she couldn’t utter a single bad word about Ji Tangtang right now. On the contrary, she even had to step in to defend her.

She said, “Fang Juan, stop talking nonsense. We all saw it—it was Cousin who sold medicinal herbs to earn the money!”

“As if those herbs she dug up could be worth that much. Over 400 yuan!” Fang Juan shouted hysterically. “What do you people know? She sold herbs today for more than 400 yuan! If she didn’t have something going on with the purchasing clerk, how could a handful of herbs fetch that much money? She must be having an affair with him—he abused his position to favor her. Otherwise, how could just a few herbs be worth so much?”

The noisy crowd suddenly fell silent. The villagers all widened their eyes in disbelief, staring at Ji Tangtang, clearly shocked by Fang Juan’s words.

“I want to report this to the Public Security Bureau!” Ji Tangtang declared loudly. “Captain Liu, please arrange for someone to help me make a report. I want to accuse Comrade Fang Juan of slander! The purchasing prices for medicinal herbs are set by the authorities. Different herbs are priced differently depending on their rarity. When I went into the deep mountains to look for food, I was lucky and came across some lingzhi mushrooms, and I also dug up a bit of codonopsis and gastrodia. I’m sure you’ve all heard of lingzhi—it’s a very valuable medicinal herb. Gastrodia and codonopsis are also in short supply these days, so naturally the cooperative pays a bit more for them. If I had found ginseng, which is even rarer, the price would have been several times higher! You can’t just assume that because the herbs I sold were valuable and brought in a high price, I must be sleeping around. By saying this, you’re not only ruining my reputation and that of the purchasing clerk, you’re also casting doubt on government policy. We must report this! Let the public security officers investigate and clear our names.”

Liu Daocheng frowned deeply, his brows furrowing into the shape of the Chinese character “川.” He said, “Hongjun, Tiezhu—go to the county town and ask the comrades from Public Security to come.”

At the mention of the police, Fang Juan’s face went pale. She hadn’t expected the usually meek Ji Tangtang to be so forceful today, even demanding to involve the authorities. And Captain Liu had immediately agreed to send for them.

“Captain Liu, this is just some childish bickering, why make it such a big deal by bringing in Public Security?” Fang Juan’s mother, Ran Shufen, grew anxious. She nodded and flattered Liu Daocheng, then turned around and yanked Fang Juan’s hair, scolding and beating her. “You useless girl! Instead of working hard to earn work points, you run around with those good-for-nothings and cause trouble for your mother. I’ll beat you to death today!”

Fang Juan was shoved to the ground, and Ran Shufen kicked her relentlessly, even harsher than Ji Tangtang had hit her earlier. At this point, Fang Juan no longer had the heart to resent Ji Tangtang—she was too busy begging for mercy. “Mom, I was wrong! I know I was wrong, please don’t hit me!”

Only then did Ran Shufen stop, and she turned back to Captain Liu, pleading: “Captain Liu, you see the child already admits her mistake. How about we just drop the matter? It’s getting late, the Public Security comrades must be off duty by now, let’s not trouble them.”

Of course, Liu Daocheng hadn’t truly intended to escalate things that far. If the matter grew too big, it might affect the production team’s evaluation for advancement. But it also couldn’t be dismissed so lightly.

“It doesn’t matter if Public Security is off duty today. Tomorrow morning will do. This isn’t just about Comrade Ji and the purchasing clerk’s reputations—it also concerns the people’s trust in our leadership. It must be reported to Public Security and investigated thoroughly.” Liu Daocheng continued, “If Comrade Ji Tangtang and the clerk did wrong, they should admit their fault in front of everyone. But if there was no such thing, and Comrade Fang Juan slandered them, then she too must publicly admit her fault and accept punishment.”

Ran Shufen turned and beat Fang Juan again. “You stupid girl! Did you actually see them carrying on? Did you hear that? If this is something you made up, you’ll be denounced and sent down to the farm! Do you have a death wish? Do you want our whole family to be dragged down by you?”

This time, Fang Juan was truly terrified. She didn’t want to be sent to a labor farm… And the truth was, she had never actually seen Ji Tangtang and the clerk together. She was only repeating what Ji Tingting had suggested, guessing aloud.

Frightened, she dropped to her knees in front of Liu Daocheng. “Captain, I was wrong. I never saw Comrade Ji and the clerk behaving improperly. I just heard that Ji Tangtang made over 400 yuan selling herbs today…” She bit her lip. “I—I was jealous, and I couldn’t control my tongue, so I said those things. I never doubted government policy. Please don’t call the police!”

“Over 400 yuan, that’s no small sum. Don’t blame a child for being shaken by that. Even we adults would be astonished,” said one of Fang Juan’s relatives, trying to smooth things over. Many villagers nodded in agreement. What they were most curious about was whether Ji Tangtang had really sold herbs for that much money. If it was true, then maybe they too could collect herbs and sell them to the cooperative.

“Captain, Fang Juan’s aunt has a point. It’s getting late, let’s not trouble the Public Security comrades. Why don’t we first ask Comrade Ji Tangtang to clarify the situation?” someone suggested, while others eagerly questioned Ji Tangtang.

Meanwhile, Shen Meifang was staring at Ji Tangtang with eyes glowing. She had never liked Ji Tangtang before, thinking she looked like a temptress, destined to be restless. Ji Tangtang also wasn’t as good at talking or handling matters as Ji Tingting, so Shen Meifang had always looked down on her, preferring the idea of Ji Tingting as a daughter-in-law.

But now, she found Ji Tangtang wonderful in every way. She was hardworking, daring enough to venture into the mountains at night to dig herbs, and had managed to sell them for over 400 yuan—more than an ordinary worker’s annual salary. Thinking of how Ji Tangtang seemed fond of her second son, Shen Meifang immediately began plotting. Such a good marriage couldn’t be left to her eldest, the cripple.