Chapter 28

“What…”

Song Qingde widened his eyes as he met the man rushing in from outside. With urgency written all over his face, he asked, “What did you just say? Who jumped into the river?”

“Was she rescued? Is she still breathing?”

The man took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his face before replying to Song Qingde, “Hu Xiaoya jumped into the river at the southern embankment. When I left, they had just pulled her out. I don’t know how she’s doing yet.”

Everyone standing at the entrance of the courtyard sighed upon hearing that Hu Xiaoya had jumped into the river. What a tragedy. She had walked in on her own mother fooling around with a man. Hu Xiaoya was still a girl of sixteen or seventeen, of course she would feel ashamed. In the end, it was all the shamelessness of Widow Hu that caused this.

When Widow Hu heard the news, she could barely stand. If not for the woman beside her holding her up, she would have collapsed. She cried out, “Xiaoya, my Xiaoya…”

“Look at what you’ve done!”

Song Qingde pointed furiously at Song Xingguo and Widow Hu. The truth was already clear. There was no need for more questioning. He ordered someone to write down the full account, have them sign and fingerprint it, notify the commune, and send them directly to the labor farm. Before leaving, they would walk around the village to serve as a warning to others.

Relationships between men and women were strictly enforced these days. These two shameless people could forget about coming back anytime soon. They would have to go through years of reform at the farm.

“After something like this, our village’s reputation is ruined. Even the girls’ marriage prospects will be affected.”

“Exactly. My daughter was hoping to talk about marriage after the wheat harvest. Now there’s no chance. People won’t even consider us.”

Families with daughters gritted their teeth in anger toward the two disgraceful people. They wished they could tear them apart. Their village was already remote, and arranging marriages was hard enough. Now everything was ruined, even for well-behaved and good-looking girls.

Once the punishment for Song Xingguo and Widow Hu was decided, they were sent to the labor farm for reform. The commune would also assign a Women’s Federation officer to educate them so no one had to waste time running back and forth, especially during the busy harvest season.

Song Chunzhi looked coldly at Song Xingguo being taken away by the brigade members. The last weight in her heart had lifted. With something like this hanging over him, Song Xingguo would never be able to lift his head again. The label of a philanderer would follow him for life.

“Xinhua, go check on Hu Xiaoya. Even though Widow Hu is a disgrace, the child is still one of our own.”

Song Qingde drank some water and turned to speak to his son, Song Xinhua. He had just come back from the fields, only to be caught up in this mess. His stomach was full of anger. If he didn’t cool off, he might collapse from exhaustion.

“Dad, don’t worry. She’s fine.”

Wang Cuiqin burst in energetically from outside, beaming as she said to Song Qingde, “Hu Xiaoya did jump into the river, but as soon as she hit the water, one of the educated youths happened to see and pulled her out. She just swallowed a bit of water. She’s fine. Sister Hongxia took her home.”

“That’s a relief…”

Song Qingde finally relaxed. If someone had died, it would have been a huge problem. Thankfully, Hu Xiaoya was alright. He turned to Wang Cuiqin and added, “Tell the Women’s Director to go talk to her. Help her sort things out. We can’t let her dwell on this.”

Many villagers had initially planned to visit Hu Xiaoya to see how she was doing. Upon hearing she was safe, they breathed easier. Though they were angry at Widow Hu, they never wanted the child to die. She might be getting older, but she was still just a child.

Song Chunzhi was startled when she heard that an educated youth had saved Hu Xiaoya. Could it be… could it really be Shen Shujian, that clueless guy? The other educated youths all knew the customs of the village well and would never casually get involved with any of the brigade’s girls.

Song Jiawang stared as Song Xingguo was taken to the labor farm. He was furious about what his father had done. Now that Song Xingguo wouldn’t be home anymore, he began to worry. Would life still be bearable?

His mother only favored his second sister, and his eldest sister treated him with fists and kicks. Thinking about all this, Song Jiawang felt like the sky had fallen.

“Shameless whore, serves her right!”

Zhao Wanmiao’s face was marked with red nail scratches as she continued to curse. Even though that fox, Hu Xiaomi, had been sent to the labor farm, Zhao Wanmiao’s anger still hadn’t subsided. She truly hadn’t expected someone as useless as Song Xingguo to have the guts to fool around outside.

“Filthy tramp. Why didn’t she just die…”

Obscenities poured from Zhao Wanmiao’s mouth as the other villagers looked on at the entire Song family with ridicule. Even Song Chunzhi, who had just been commended days ago, was not spared. So much for being honest and upright. It all looked fake now.

“Song Chunzhi…”

Just as she was walking home with her head lowered, she heard someone call her name. She turned to see Shen Shujian running toward her with a gentle smile on his face.

She felt helpless. This Shen fellow. Hadn’t she already warned him last time? Why was he still being so friendly?

“Song Chunzhi, are you alright?”

Shen Shujian’s warm eyes landed on her with concern. He had heard that something had happened in her family, so when he saw her, he hurried to check on her.

Song Chunzhi shook her head, indicating she was fine. She didn’t need to look to know that dozens of curious eyes were watching her and Shen Shujian. She took two steps to the side, then asked, “Shen Zhiqing, were you the one who saved the girl who jumped into the river?”

“Someone jumped into the river?”

Shen Shujian froze when he heard her. He raised his eyes and asked in surprise. He had been assigned to move grain sacks that day instead of harvesting wheat, and had just come off work. After hearing something happened at the Song home, he came to check in.

“I see.”

Song Chunzhi immediately realized that he hadn’t been the one to save Hu Xiaoya. She gave a short reply and said she was going home. But just then, her younger sister, Song Chunhua, came up behind her, grabbed her arm, and cheerfully called, “Big sister…”

“Who is this?”

Song Chunhua’s clear eyes stared at Shen Shujian’s handsome and gentle face. Her own pretty face flushed with a hint of shyness as she twirled her braid and spoke softly.

“Hello, I’m Shen Shujian, one of the brigade’s educated youths…”

Song Chunzhi was caught off guard by her sister’s behavior and hadn’t reacted when Shen Shujian already smiled and introduced himself. How could she have forgotten? Shen Shujian was naturally friendly with everyone.

“H-hello, Comrade Shen…”

Song Chunhua’s eyes sparkled with joy when he spoke to her. A blush spread across her cheeks as she said sweetly, “I’m Song Chunzhi’s sister. My name is Song Chunhua…”

Chunzhi glanced at her sister’s flushed cheeks and instantly understood. Chunhua had a budding crush. She had taken a liking to Shen Shujian. Chunzhi’s lovely face twitched slightly, and she silently prayed for Shen Shujian’s sanity.

But then again, if the female lead of the book had fallen for someone else, was the plot even still intact? Who cared? The more the story went off track, the safer she, the cannon fodder, would be.

Watching Chunhua introduce herself to Shen Shujian, Chunzhi turned and walked away. She wasn’t going to hang around and serve as background scenery.

“Nice to meet you, Song Chunhua…”

Shen Shujian nodded politely at her, but when he turned back and saw that Chunzhi was already gone, a wave of regret rose in his heart. Why had she left so suddenly? He still had things he wanted to say to her. Faced with Chunhua, who kept chatting with him, he quickly lost interest and excused himself.

“Comrade Shen…”

Chunhua was upset when Shen Shujian stopped talking to her and walked away. Her pretty face scrunched with displeasure. He had been smiling so happily when speaking to Chunzhi earlier. Why did he change when it came to her?

“Ha, what a funny family. Song Xingguo just got in trouble, and now his daughters are cozying up to the educated youth…”

“I don’t see the big deal. Chunzhi just said a couple of words and left. It’s Chunhua who kept staring at him. Sure, Comrade Shen is handsome, but she’s only seventeen or eighteen. Where’s her shame?”

“Well, with a crooked father like Song Xingguo, of course the daughter doesn’t fall far. Maybe in a few days they’ll end up together too…”

“Look at her pouting. I never realized Chunhua was so shameless. Chasing after a young man like that…”

“I think Shen Shujian likes Chunzhi. No kidding, she really is the prettiest girl in the village. If she hadn’t kept her head down so much before, more people would’ve noticed her…”

“Sisters fighting over a man. Now that’s something I’d pay to see…”

Chunhua, already annoyed by Shen Shujian’s indifference, now heard villagers gossiping all around. Her heart filled with even more grievance. All she did was say hello. How had it turned into this? And now they were saying Shen Shujian liked Chunzhi? That was impossible.

Why would he go blind and fall for Song Chunzhi? She was obviously prettier than her sister.

“Aren’t you going home? Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough?”

Zhao Wanmiao came back after cursing at the widow Hu’s house. She saw villagers pointing and whispering about Chunhua, and her face darkened. She yanked her daughter’s arm and scolded her loudly, completely unaware that Chunhua had just added another scandal to the village rumor mill.

“Mom, I only said one sentence to the educated youth, and now the whole village is calling me shameless. I didn’t even do anything wrong…”

Chunhua’s face was full of grievance as her mother dragged her home. She couldn’t understand how the villagers could flip so quickly. They used to praise her for being gentle and kind, and now they were calling her cheap and brazen. Her heart was boiling with rage.

“What were you thinking, talking to him in front of everyone like that? If you really wanted to, could you not have found a quieter place? Why right in the open?”

Zhao Wanmiao glared at her daughter in disappointment. She knew the village’s temperament too well. By tomorrow afternoon, Chunhua would be the talk of the town, right alongside Song Xingguo.

Chen Xiuying had worked farther out that day. When she returned and heard about Song Xingguo’s scandal, she didn’t believe it at first. Then she rushed to the brigade headquarters. There was no way she could let him be sent to the labor farm. Once you went in there, there was no guarantee you’d come back. Besides, if he wasn’t home, how was she supposed to survive on her own?

Just as she rushed out the door, she heard Zhao Wanmiao scolding Chunhua about flirting with men. Her temper flared, and she rolled up her sleeves, charging toward Zhao without hesitation.