Jiang Lin invited Zeng Hongjie, “Stay at my place tonight.”

Zeng Hongjie replied, “Okay.”

She originally intended to take the mouthpiece bag and embroidery samples and leave, but after seeing them, she couldn’t resist the urge to try some designs with Jiang Lin.

Since it was still light outside, they went to the courtyard to work on their designs.

While they were busy, a child came looking for Jiang Lin, “Bao’er mother, Bao’er grandma asks you to come home. Someone is looking for you.”

Jiang Lin told Zeng Hongjie she would go check it out herself.

Zeng Hongjie said, “You keep busy, I’ll go over myself after we finish.”

Jiang Lin hurried home and found a group of people gathered at the courtyard gate.

Among them were seven or eight unfamiliar middle-aged men and women, with one woman, particularly noticeable for her sharp features and protruding teeth.

They were crowded around Yan Runzhi, chattering loudly about something.

Jiang Lin approached them, “Who are you all? What’s going on?”

The woman with the protruding teeth immediately confronted Jiang Lin, “Where’s that man? Why isn’t he coming out?”

Jiang Lin frowned, “Who are you?”

The woman snapped, “Your man bullied our daughter! We’re here to settle the score!”

Her aggressive tone and demeanor were intimidating.

But Jiang Lin wasn’t afraid of tough women; she was only afraid of dogs and soft-bodied creatures.

This woman wasn’t someone she couldn’t handle!

Ignoring her, Jiang Lin asked Yan Runzhi, “Mom, has Wensheng and Dabao and Xiaobao not come back yet?”

Yan Runzhi replied, “They took a bottle to catch bugs to feed the chickens. They said they’ll come back when it’s full.”

They were telling stories to the children, who then went to catch bugs and cut grass.

Now, they were off to catch bugs.

Finally turning to the woman with protruding teeth, Jiang Lin said, “First, tell me your name and where you’re from, then tell me how Wensheng supposedly bullied your daughter.”

She thought maybe these were kids from another village who didn’t know the situation, got scared by Wensheng, and came to complain.

The woman pointed to two people nearby, “I’m Guo Minying. This is my husband’s elder brother, Liu Dapeng, and his wife. Your man bullied my niece, Xiaoxia.”

Jiang Lin impatiently asked, “How did he bully her?”

“He pulled down our Xiaoxia’s pants!” Guo Minying furrowed her brows angrily. “Hurry up and call him out. We need to resolve this today.”

Jiang Lin replied coldly, “Don’t you know how to speak respectfully at your age? Just because you suddenly claim we bullied your niece, we’re supposed to believe you? Where is your niece? Where are the witnesses? What exactly happened?”

Guo Minying, thinking she had the upper hand, tried to intimidate Jiang Lin, but Jiang Lin cut her off.

She immediately shouted loudly, “What’s the matter, are you refusing to admit it?”

She turned to the men and women who had come with her, “They’re trying to deny it!”

The other women quickly joined in, accusing Jiang Lin of covering up for her husband and refusing to admit fault.

Yan Runzhi was infuriated but Jiang Lin gestured for her to calm down.

Jiang Lin said, “Mom, go back home first. Don’t argue with them. They’re obviously here to pick a fight. I’ll take them to the village office.”

Yan Runzhi had been embroidering the whole time and didn’t know what had happened, so there was no point in getting upset.

But Yan Runzhi insisted, “I’ll go get your father to come back and send someone to find Wensheng and Dabao and Xiaobao.”

At that moment, Cheng Ruhai and Liu Honghua hurried over.

Cheng Ruhai shouted, “What’s going on here? Bullying our Cheng family because no one’s home? Bullying them right at our doorstep!”

He loudly demanded justice, seizing the opportunity to support his brother and make an impression on Jiang Lin and Yan Runzhi.

Several women thought Cheng Ruhai was in charge and immediately surrounded him, pointing fingers and complaining loudly.

Neighbors also gathered to see what was happening.

Mrs. Feng, who had helped Jiang Lin last year when she and the children were chased by a dog, spoke up, “This is ridiculous! Wensheng pulling your daughter’s pants down and bullying her? Give me a break.”

Since helping Jiang Lin and the children last year when they were chased by a dog, Mrs. Feng had grown closer to their family and knew Wensheng quite well.

In the past, Jiang Lin might have been suspicious, considering Wensheng was in his thirties and struggled with mental health issues; there was a possibility he could act unpredictably, especially towards women.

But now, having interacted more with Yan Runzhi and knowing Wensheng better, she understood he was more like a child himself, not even as mature as Dabao and Xiaobao in terms of understanding male-female relationships.

Other neighbors chimed in, most of whom worked at the brickyard factory and were inclined to support Jiang Zhiqing.

They realized that although Wensheng tried to act mature, he was just a kid at heart.

During the Lunar New Year, for instance, he paid no attention to the girls from other villages who gathered around him; his eyes were always on his mom and grandma.

A 10-year-old boy might play a prank like pulling down a girl’s pants, but Wensheng would never do such a thing.

The argument escalated between Mrs. Feng, Liu Honghua, and others against Guo Minying and her group.

Just then, Wensheng and Dabao Xiaobao returned home, seeing Jiang Lin on the sidelines, joyfully shouting, “Mom, we caught so many bugs and fed the chickens to lay eggs!”

Approaching closer, they saw the crowd fighting.

Wensheng yelled, “No fighting!” and rushed over to push and pull people apart, saying, “No fighting in front of my house! You’ll scare my mom!”

His strength was evident as he managed to separate the men and women, glaring at them unhappily.

“Everyone calm down, don’t scare my mom!”

Dabao Xiaobao ran over first, showing Jiang Lin and Yan Runzhi the wildflowers they had picked and the bugs they had caught, trying to cheer up Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin asked them, “Wensheng, Dabao and Xiaobao, where were you catching bugs this afternoon?”

Dabao and Xiaobao replied eagerly, “Over by the river to the east.”

That river bordered three villages: Shuicai, Miaozi, and Mopan.

It was lush with water grass, wildflowers, and plenty of insects.

Jiang Lin pointed to the gap-toothed woman and said to them, “They said you bullied a girl, pulling down her pants.”

Wensheng and Dabao and Xiaobao immediately exclaimed, “Why would we pull down her pants? Are her pants particularly nice?”

The three of them looked down at their own pants and stretched out their legs. “Look, our pants are so nice. Why would we need to pull hers down?”

At that time, everyone’s clothing styles were quite plain and shapeless, which Jiang Lin couldn’t stand.

Since getting the sewing machine, she had been designing and having Yan Runzhi make clothes for everyone.

Except for Yan Runzhi and Cheng Yunzhi, who preferred loose-fitting clothes, everyone else wore Jiang Lin’s designed pants—narrow-legged, with a straight waistband extending from the pants waist, secured with three buttons on the left side.

The pants were snug yet sturdy, slightly roomy around the hips and thighs, narrowing from the knees down to the ankles with a side opening secured by two cloth buttons.

These pants beautifully wrapped around Cheng Yunzhi and Wensheng’s long, straight legs, impressing even Zeng Hongjie, who thought they looked great and asked Jiang Lin for a sample to make a set for herself.

Jiang Lin had once boasted to her family that these were currently the most attractive pants, likely beyond anyone in the village’s expectation.

Cheng Yunzhi and Wensheng naturally believed that when they heard about pants being pulled down, their first thought was “Did someone think their pants were more attractive than their pant’s?”

Impossible!

Wensheng stretched out his long legs, with Dabao and Xiaobao standing beside him, both displaying their pride, “How about it? Are ours nice?”

“You lunatic!” Guo Minying was so angry she trembled. “You—”

….

Jiang Lin: “Let’s go.”

“Wait!” Liu Dapeng shouted to stop Jiang Lin.

But Jiang Lin ignored him and instead asked Da Bao, “Da Bao, did you guys encounter a girl this afternoon?”

Da Bao replied, “When we were catching insects, we scooped up a girl washing clothes in the river. She was splashing and shouting for help. Wensheng said she was going to drown, so he went down to rescue her.”

“Did you guys pull down her pants?” Jiang Lin naturally didn’t believe it, but the story might have been twisted.

Da Bao exclaimed loudly, “Who pulled down her pants? She wasn’t shy, she was butt-naked!!!”

Xiao Bao added, “Not shy, butt-naked!”

Wensheng said, “Not shy, butt-naked!”

Liu Dapeng and his wife immediately blushed, Guo Minying shouted, “Don’t talk nonsense! Our daughter was washing clothes by the river, how could she be butt-naked?”

Jiang Lin glanced at them, “So you’re saying Wensheng rescued your daughter who fell into the water, but instead of being grateful, you’re accusing us of being hooligans? Fine, no need to find the brigade leaders, let’s go directly to the police station and file a case to have you all arrested!”

Guo Minying immediately protested, “Why arrest us? We have witnesses who saw your men stripping naked and harassing our daughter!”

Jiang Lin’s face suddenly turned cold.

She grabbed Guo Minying’s wrist forcefully, “Don’t you dare run. You’re spreading baseless accusations. Later, I’ll teach you a lesson!”

Da Bao shouted, “If you go into the river to rescue someone and don’t take off your clothes, wouldn’t that be silly? How can we catch bugs if we’re wet?”

Xiao Bao added, “They must be silly.”

Wensheng said, “I’m not so shameless to go butt-naked! I was wearing shorts!”

Their shorts were designed by Jiang Lin and made by Yan Runzhi, modeled after bulletproof underwear with a layer of fine cotton inside as lining, and boxer briefs below, with an elastic waistband.

Jiang Lin quickly pieced together what happened from their few words.

It seemed a girl might have accidentally fallen into the water while washing clothes, and Wensheng went down to rescue her.

However, somehow the girl’s pants weren’t on, so someone saw and thought Wensheng was harassing her.

“Instead of clarifying and bringing your daughter and witnesses, you come here making a fuss, maybe wanting to make money?”

“No, that’s not it,” Liu’s mother quickly denied. “We’re here to clear our daughter’s name. Our innocent girl, ruined by… your men. How will she ever marry now?”

“Go and bring your witnesses and daughter here. Let’s discuss this in front of the leaders and clear things up. Don’t make baseless accusations here. I don’t care about your daughter’s marriage prospects; that’s your concern. I’m warning you first—if you try to defame or extort, be prepared to face the police!”

“We’ll face them if we have to!” Guo Minying was defiant, thinking Jiang Lin was just bluffing.

However, Liu’s mother quickly waved her hands, saying, “Let’s not involve the authorities. Won’t that just ruin our Xiaoxia? Our good daughter, touched and held by a man, her innocence exposed. How will she live, let alone marry? Though you all may be foolish, we don’t blame you. Why don’t we just let them marry and live their lives?”