Chapter 7: Inquiring

The next morning, Tang Wan changed into a set of clothes convenient for working.

Today, Tang Wan was assigned to weed pulling. This task was relatively simple, usually done by teenagers or elderly people who couldn’t handle heavy work. It only earned four work credits per day. Among all the sent-down youth, Tang Wan was the only one given such an easy task.

That was in the morning. Tang Wan had proactively approached the team leader to see if she could get assigned something easier to manage.

Tang Wan naturally looked fair-skinned and delicate. When the team leader went to assign work to the sent-down youth, he already knew he was giving himself another person who couldn’t do hard labor.

Sure enough, Tang Wan had gotten heatstroke not long after first going to the fields last time. She was too fragile and indeed couldn’t handle heavy work. So, the leader agreed to her request.

After all, this task didn’t earn many work credits, and if she was willing to do it and take fewer credits, the others wouldn’t complain.

The reason the team leader was so agreeable was because Tang Wan had handed a package of biscuits directly to the team leader’s child. The young sent-down youth knew how to behave; this simple and harmless gesture meant the leader had no reason to refuse.

Tang Wan had anticipated this outcome. Most people went straight to their assigned fields when starting work, and few paid attention to what she said to a small child.

But since the child was the team leader’s, the leader naturally noticed a bit more.

It wasn’t the busy farming season, so people could even choose not to work that day. Changing to a lighter task was not difficult, and even if she hadn’t brought biscuits, the leader would have eventually agreed.

After all, Tang Wan clearly couldn’t do heavy labor, and if anything happened to her, the leader would have to worry.

Still, showing some social tact was necessary to make future favors easier.

Being among the children had its advantages—Tang Wan quickly got the information she wanted.

She hadn’t expected Qin Zheng’s reputation in the village to be so bad. When she casually steered the conversation that way, the children nearby looked a bit fearful and warned her to be careful around him.

“So, is it true someone said he killed a person?”

“Shh!” The one speaking to Tang Wan was called Cuicui, a girl about fourteen or fifteen.

Upon hearing Tang Wan’s question, she quickly told her to speak quietly and glanced around to see if anyone had overheard.

“Yes. I overheard my mom and dad talking late at night. They said when he first returned to our village, his face looked fierce and terrifying, like he was displeased with everyone. He even broke Uncle Zhenxing’s leg—he’s his real uncle! Since then, no one dared to provoke him.” Cuicui looked genuinely scared as she spoke of Qin Zheng.

“Returned to your village? Wasn’t he here before?” Tang Wan caught the key point in Cuicui’s story.

“He left when he was a teenager. He only came back last year. No one knows what he was doing all that time. Some say he killed someone, went to jail, and was only recently released.” On Tang Wan’s other side, a girl named Luo Ying answered her question.

“He also beat someone from the neighboring village. Last time when we went to the neighboring village to watch a movie, he didn’t like how someone looked at him and beat that person until his face was covered in blood. It was terrifying.” Cuicui recalled the incident with real fear.

Tang Wan hadn’t expected Qin Zheng’s image in the village to be like this; it was very different from what she thought.

But she trusted her own judgment more—Qin Zheng wasn’t that kind of person.

In her eyes, although Qin Zheng’s sharp features made him look fierce, he would never randomly beat someone to a bloody mess, let alone come back after killing someone.

There must be reasons behind all this.

“Besides that person, did he beat anyone else?”

“Yes, some people saw him fight with others when he was in town!” Luo Ying got excited talking about this gossip, clearly eager to share what she knew.

Tang Wan looked at her in surprise. “And then?”

“And then? Nothing else. That’s all I heard.”

“Did anyone say why he fought?”

“No. Who knows? People in the village just try to avoid him.” Luo Ying shook her head, signaling she knew no more.

After hearing this, Tang Wan had roughly made up her own mind.

Words like ‘heard,’ ‘someone said,’ and ‘someone saw’ lowered the reliability of the story.

Especially since none had a clear beginning or end, or the reasons behind events.

“Does he live alone now? Does he have no family?”

Qin Zheng’s house was a solid, proper three-room tile-roofed house with an additional side room. Could he be living there all by himself?

“No, there’s also Grandma Bai.”

“Grandma Bai?”

“That’s his real grandmother. She used to live with Uncle Zhenxing, but after he came back and built a house, Grandma Bai went to live with him,” Cuicui explained seriously.

“Grandma Bai went to the city to visit her daughter, so she hasn’t been in the village these days. Otherwise, you would definitely know her,” Luo Ying added.

Seeing Tang Wan’s puzzled look, Luo Ying glanced around and lowered her voice. “Grandma Bai argues fiercely. No one can win against her in a quarrel. She’s sharp-tongued and especially protective. She won’t let anyone speak badly about Qin Zheng; otherwise, she’ll cause trouble at their homes.”

Tang Wan understood what she meant.

It was interesting—Qin Zheng’s household had two people, both quite intimidating.

This outcome was unexpected.

But no matter how much Tang Wan believed the gossip, it wouldn’t affect her own judgment, especially since Qin Zheng had helped her.

“Does he have to work?”

“Yes, he works. He’s pretty capable—very strong, can carry ten work credits. But sometimes he doesn’t show up, and no one can do anything about it. Today, he seems to be picking up Grandma Bai, so he hasn’t come back yet.” Luo Ying’s father was the village accountant, so she knew a bit more than others.

Tang Wan got the information she wanted and casually changed the topic to divert the two girls’ attention.

If Qin Zheng was picking someone up, he should be back by this afternoon after work, and she could visit then.

Tang Wan’s guess was right. When going to work in the afternoon, she didn’t even notice at first until Luo Ying tugged her sleeve and pointed.

On the small path, Qin Zheng was riding a bicycle (a “28” model), with someone sitting behind him.

Under the blazing sun, he rode fast and was quite far from where Tang Wan was working. Tang Wan hadn’t gotten a good look until Luo Ying spoke.

“The person riding behind is Grandma Bai. Look at what she’s wearing—it’s different from other elderly folks in the village.”

Luo Ying looked at Tang Wan expectantly, hoping for a response.

“I didn’t see clearly.” Tang Wan really hadn’t. Wearing a hat, her view was partially blocked, and by the time she looked up, they had already gone far.

Luo Ying was a little disappointed. “Oh well, but you’ll see her sooner or later. Grandma Bai is different from others.”