As most of the neighbors moved to another courtyard, Cheng Rushan whispered to Jiang Lin, “Are you coming with me tonight?”

Jiang Lin instinctively thought, “Of course I’ll go with you. It’s too crowded here, nowhere to sleep.”

Jiang Er-ge said, “Dad, why don’t you borrow a dorm room for my sister and brother-in-law? We can pay for it.” Jiang Dongjian would definitely feel embarrassed to ask for favors, but paying would make things straightforward.

Jiang Dongjian hesitated for a moment. “Okay.”

Cheng Rushan interjected, “No need, I’ll handle it myself.” He turned to Jiang Lin and said, “I’ll come pick you up later.”

Jiang Dongjian felt uneasy seeing his daughter relying more on her husband than on her own parents.

But thinking about how strong their relationship was, it was just something he had to accept.

Cheng Rushan called Jiang Xinglei to go out together and casually asked, “What do you young folks usually do?”

Jiang Xinglei, feeling less fearful of Cheng Rushan now and thinking he might treat him better for his sister’s sake, replied, “We just watch movies, go shopping, ice skate in winter, swim in summer…”

“Do you do anything illegal?”

“Illegal?” Jiang Xinglei vigorously shook his head and pleaded, “Brother-in-law, I really don’t dare.”

“Have you read any banned books?”

Jiang Xinglei hung his head low. “Yes.”

“What books?”

Blushing deeply, Jiang Xinglei stammered out a few titles like “Maiden’s Heart,” “Second Handshake,” “Youth Like Blood,” most of which were hand-copied editions.

“Do you exchange these books with others? Who do you borrow them from?”

“Meng Ruirui, and…” Jiang Xinglei mentioned a few names.

Arriving at the gate of Meng’s residence, the courtyard door was wide open, and voices could be heard chattering inside.

Cheng Rushan said, “Go call Meng Ruirui out.”

Jiang Xinglei hesitated for a moment. “Brother-in-law?”

“Go.”

Jiang Xinglei obediently went.

Soon, he returned. “Brother-in-law, he’s not home. Meng Kaiping and Huang Meini aren’t either. Meng Ruirui probably couldn’t stand the noise in the courtyard and went out to find some peace.”

Cheng Rushan pondered for a moment. “When you guys stay up at this hour, where do you usually go?”

Jiang Xinglei replied, “Some go watch movies, some go to the park, or we just wander around.”

Cheng Rushan asked him about quiet places with lights at the factory.

Jiang Xinglei chuckled. “I know. Sometimes we sneak out to smoke.” He led Cheng Rushan through a series of twists and turns until they arrived at a spot where they indeed found Meng Ruirui, puffing away on a cigarette and deeply engrossed in a book.

Cheng Rushan signaled Jiang Xinglei to go greet her.

But as soon as Jiang Xinglei spoke up, Meng Ruirui jumped up in fright and ran.

Cheng Rushan blocked her path as she tried to flee, causing Meng Ruirui to trip and fall flat on the ground.

The book in his hand flew out.

Cheng Rushan reached out and grabbed the book, then glanced at it and smiled.

Meng Ruirui blushed deeply, reaching out to get up. “You, give it back, give it back!”

Cheng Rushan lifted his foot, pinning Meng Ruirui down. “Memories of Mana, huh? It’s good, isn’t it?”

Jiang Xinglei was excited to see the book. “Wow, Meng Ruirui, where did you copy this from? When I asked you before, you said you didn’t have any!”

Meng Ruirui turned pale. “You… please don’t… don’t expose me.” Being exposed could mean going to jail.

Cheng Rushan moved his foot away, squatted down, and casually lifted Meng Ruirui from the ground. “Help me with something, and we’ll forget about this book business.”

Meng Ruirui was sweating. “Wh-what do you want me to do?”

Cheng Rushan said coldly, “Go find me a few letters. They need to mention ‘selling son to elope’.”

Meng Ruirui sweated profusely. “I don’t… I don’t have any. Where would I find them?”

Cheng Rushan sneered. “You know exactly where. Don’t pretend.”

He took out a notebook and a pen from his bag. “Write a letter of repentance. Bring back the letters in exchange.” He paused, then smiled. “If you don’t want to exchange, that’s fine too. I’ll tell the police station to arrest you and send you to prison for a few years. If you end up in a provincial prison, you’ll likely be sent to the Yunye Lake labor reform farm.

I grew up there and know it well, so I can arrange for you to be treated specially. Of course, you could also go to the provincial prison, where I also know people.

But the farm is more interesting. Good people go there for transformation, which isn’t bad.”

Meng Ruirui was scared to the point of almost wetting himself.

Ordinary people, especially young ones like them, feared prison and labor reform the most.

They had seen enough brutal scenes in their childhoods, like nightmares etched deep into their souls, forming an unshakable belief: never get caught and sent to prison.

“I see you’re a smart person,” Cheng Rushan said, releasing him.

Finding the letters was the easiest and most irritating method.

If they couldn’t be found, he had other ways. It just took a bit more effort.

Meng Ruirui cried as he wrote his letter of repentance on the roadside.

The words were crooked and uneven, but it didn’t matter as long as there was a signature and thumbprint.

Cheng Rushan let him go back home and told Jiang Xinglei to wait outside.

Jiang Xinglei was speechless.

If his brother-in-law used such methods on him, he would be scared to death.

When Meng Ruirui returned home, his parents weren’t there, and the annoying gossips in the courtyard had dispersed.

He sneaked into the house to avoid his sister and rummaged through his parents’ room.

He had seen his sister’s letters before, so he had a general idea of what they contained.

He was frantic because the two letters specifically about selling children and eloping had gone missing.

If he couldn’t find them, his confession letter would be sent to the police station.

The person mentioned with Jiang Xinglei must be Jiang Lin’s man.

His sister had mentioned him in the letters, saying he had been imprisoned but would return to clear his name and so on.

Meng Ruirui naturally assumed he must be a murderer!

Therefore, he had to find them.

Finally, he remembered that a while ago, after reading the two letters, he had casually stuffed them under his own bed.

He searched and sure enough, found them. These were the letters sent by Jin Lei after Meng Yiyi’s exposure, full of resentment towards Jiang Lin, accusing her of ingratitude and hypocrisy.

It was clear she wanted to sell her child and elope with Bian Haitao, yet she pretended to be righteous and noble, etc.

The language was even more harsh and venomous than before, criticizing Jiang Lin’s behavior in the village and her ambitions to study, return to the city, recruit workers, and lead a good life.

Meng Ruirui didn’t have time to think much. For the sake of his own letter, he immediately stuffed it into his pocket and ran out.

Jiang Xinglei saw him coming out and grabbed his arm. “Did you get it?”

Meng Ruirui: “Give me back the confession letter.”

Jiang Xinglei pulled him towards the streetlight. “You got it?”

Meng Ruirui cried, “I… I definitely won’t say anything.”

Although he didn’t know what would happen, his intuition told him it wasn’t good.

He knew most of what was going on at home, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Cheng Rushan ignored him and said to Jiang Xinglei, “You go back first. I’ll take care of something.”

Cheng Rushan went to find the logistics manager of the factory, showed his work permit, and paid to rent a single dormitory room for a few days.

After handling things, Cheng Rushan returned to the Jiang family to pick up Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin stood up, “Mom, Dad, let’s go first.”

Xu Aimei asked Jiang Dongjian to carry over a mattress and blankets; the dormitory didn’t provide bedding.

Their family wasn’t wealthy, so they took Jiang Xinglei’s over, and he shared a bed with his second brother.

Cheng Rushan carried the bedding and led Jiang Lin to the single dormitory room in the factory to sleep.

…

With Cheng Rushan by her side, Jiang Lin slept especially well and wasn’t affected by the events of the day.

Early the next morning, the loudspeakers began playing songs like “Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman,” essentially their wake-up call.

Jiang Lin and Cheng Rushan got up and tidied up a bit.

Jiang Xinglei hurried over, knocked on the door, and peered in. “Brother-in-law, Second Sister, Mom asked you to come eat.”

Cheng Rushan said to Jiang Lin, “Go tell Mom and Dad I have something to do. I’ll take them to another hospital today.”

Jiang Lin nodded. “Okay. Tell Wensheng and the kids I miss them too. Should we get another room here so you can bring Mom and Dad over?”

Cheng Rushan reached out and touched her face. “In a couple of days.”

He greeted Jiang Xinglei and left first.

Jiang Lin locked the door and glared at Jiang Xinglei. “You’re quite bold.”

Jiang Xinglei wore a mournful expression. “Second Sister, I was wrong.”

He was four or five years younger than Jiang Lin and had been bullied by her when they were young.

His biggest wish back then was to grow up quickly and have the strength to fight back against her.

Little did he know, by the time he grew up, Jiang Lin had left for the countryside.

Now that he had strength, her husband was much stronger than him, so he still couldn’t fight back.