Chapter 5: Reporting Her Grandma, Righteousness Over Family

Jiang An’an blinked innocently. 

She had just been punishing evil and promoting good; there was nothing to feel guilty about. 

That said, the tall young man sitting diagonally across from her was quite pleasant to look at, seemingly a new educated youth. 

He was about 1.89 meters tall, taller than the average villager. With healthy wheat-colored skin and a clean, neat buzz cut, his narrow, deep-set eyes were dark and captivating. His distinct facial features made him stand out in the crowd. 

However, he exuded an impressive aura that made people wary of him. 

His black coat was impeccably neat, all buttons fastened. The rolled-up sleeves revealed strong, muscular arms, and the two wooden barrels filled with fertilizer felt light in his hands. 

“Brother Huai, don’t walk too fast, wait for me.” Compared to Zhou Yinghuai, Wen Hao struggled to lift a wooden barrel, feeling like he was about to collapse. 

Zhou Yinghuai glanced at his barrel, his expression instantly cooling a bit, and said sharply, “Who told you to take so much? The brigade doesn’t need you to work that hard.” 

Wen Hao scratched the back of his head sheepishly, grinning like a silly boy: “I was too greedy and filled it up too much at once.” 

He was inherently weaker than most, and if it weren’t for the tense situation in the capital, his family wouldn’t have arranged for him to go to the countryside with Zhou Yinghuai. 

If you asked Wen Hao who he admired most among the disciples in the capital, it would definitely be Zhou Yinghuai, who had entered military school solely on his own merits. According to the old man, he had achieved quite a bit at a young age and had a bright future ahead. 

But he didn’t know why Zhou Yinghuai had suddenly been sent down as an educated youth… 

Zhou Yinghuai pressed his lips together, bending down to transfer the compound fertilizer from Wen Hao’s barrel into his own, stacking it high. Then, without changing his expression, he continued walking briskly with two barrels, brushing past Jiang An’an. 

Wen Hao smiled at her friendly before quickly catching up. 

Jiang An’an immediately understood that Zhou Yinghuai didn’t intend to get involved. But then she thought of the troublesome situation created by Uncle Jiang’s family and turned on her toes towards the team leader’s house. 

The team leader’s house was a small courtyard made of blue bricks and tiles, somewhat resembling an old Beijing siheyuan. 

It was said that it used to belong to a kind-hearted landlord who was later criticized and had his house auctioned off. The old man of the Luo family spent all his savings to buy it, and now it had become a place where four generations lived together, all cramped in one space. 

The front door was wide open, and after knocking for a while without anyone responding, Jiang An’an walked in, unexpectedly finding her brother-in-law Zhou Kang was also present. 

Upon seeing her, everyone’s expressions changed simultaneously. To make matters worse, Old Lady Luo, while stirring a plate of persimmons on the table, retreated into the inner room. Despite her head full of white hair, she moved quite nimbly.

Observing the tense expressions of others, Jiang An’an touched her beautiful face and sighed internally that the old Jiang family was truly disliked by everyone. 

“The proof can be issued, but you should first discuss it with your family,” said team leader Luo Jiawang, his tone somewhat serious and his expression hard to read. 

Zhou Kang lightly replied, “Hmm,” not angry, maintaining a gentle and refined demeanor: “I apologize for disturbing you today.” 

He stood up and walked over to Jiang An’an, smiling warmly: “An’an, what brings you here?” 

The eyes behind his glasses were filled with scrutiny. 

Jiang An’an concealed her doubts and pretended to admire him, responding in the same way the original owner would: “I have something important to discuss with the team leader. What about you, brother-in-law? Don’t you have to teach at school this morning?” 

Zhou Kang, not suspecting anything, replied, “I’m discussing some school matters with the team leader. I still have classes in the afternoon, so I’ll head back to prepare.” 

“Take care, brother-in-law.” Jiang An’an watched his departing figure, her smile deepening. 

Since the situation in the city had become chaotic, the school had nearly come to a standstill. Even casually making up an excuse wasn’t taken seriously; was the Jiang family not only bizarre but also profoundly foolish? 

But that wasn’t her main concern right now. Jiang An’an turned back, her gaze landing on the team leader: “I want to report my grandma and my uncle; they are breaking the law and engaging in feudal oppression.” 

Luo Jiawang: !!! 

Each word was powerful and resonant, but somehow he found it hard to comprehend the whole statement. 

“Ridiculous!” Luo Jiawang scolded with a stern face: “Who reports their own grandmother? That’s utterly unfilial.” 

What a lovely young girl, completely ruined by her parents’ teachings. Just because she bumped her head a little, she dared to report her own grandmother and uncle for money! 

He waved his hand, dismissing Jiang An’an as a child who didn’t understand: “Given your head injury, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear this.” 

Jiang An’an did not dwell on it: “Alright, then please help me issue a document for entering the city.” 

Luo Jiawang glared with his sharp eyes, wary: “What do you need to go to the city for?” 

As he held a special ceramic jar, sipping tea while contemplating how to sternly criticize Jiang An’an without falling into the same chaotic reasoning as her mother. 

“I want to go to the police station to report that my grandma is using me as a bargaining chip to exchange marriages with the Qin family from Hongfeng Brigade for my little cousin’s wedding.”

“… Exchange of brides?” Luo Jiawang was instantly choked up, his face turning red. He suspected he had misheard, but Jiang An’an was angrily raising her fist, her expression entirely sincere.

Exchange of brides!

That was something the impoverished would devise when they couldn’t afford to marry; it had been abolished long ago after the founding of the New China.

Now, with the national mood tense and the red armbands everywhere looking for examples to catch, anyone paying attention could see the dire consequences faced by those who defy the laws. How could Jiang Dezhuz dare to violate the rules?

Luo Jiawang was furious. In this critical period of competing for the mobile red flag in the Nanxi Brigade, anyone who dared to drag their feet would not be spared.

“What exactly is going on?” he almost bit down on his own teeth to say this.

So, Jiang An’an recounted everything that had happened the previous day. She had a good memory and even mimicked the elderly woman’s tone and demeanor perfectly.

Just listening to her was enough to set Luo Jiawang ablaze with anger. Who in the ten miles around didn’t know that the Qin family was poor? Anyone marrying into that family was sure to have bad luck for eight generations.

Uncle Jiang’s youngest son hadn’t even graduated from elementary school and did nothing but loaf around, playing tricks. To push such a useless person onto his granddaughter?

No, Jiang Dezhuz wouldn’t be willing to let his own daughter suffer—he was trying to marry off his niece instead!

“This matter will be handled by the brigade!” Luo Degui tried hard to soothe Jiang An’an’s emotions, fearing that she might impulsively report it to the police and drag the whole brigade into trouble.

He went into the inner room and returned with two persimmons, stuffing them into Jiang An’an’s pockets: “Marriage freedom is now promoted; no one can force you to marry.”

Jiang An’an smiled even more sincerely: “No wonder my mom always says that the team leader wholeheartedly seeks benefits for the people and will never let any member’s heart go cold. Therefore, even if I’ve offended my uncle these days, as long as the righteous team leader is here, my cousin, as the scorer, wouldn’t dare pull any tricks.”

Hearing this, Luo Jiawang looked at Jiang An’an thoughtfully. This young girl’s scheme of using others to achieve her goals was quite sharp; she intended to leverage his authority to eliminate Jiang Yongzu’s role as the scorer in one fell swoop!