"Educated Youth Fu! No, no, no! Don't call the police!" Hearing Fu Wenwen threaten to call the police, Zhang Laosan, terrified, immediately kowtowed to her.
"You tell me! Was it you that day! You must give me justice!" Fu Wenwen gritted her teeth and pressed him.
Seeing everyone staring at him and the village chief gesturing for him to tell the truth, Zhang Laosan gritted his teeth and nodded. "It was me!"
"But I didn't mean to bully you! It was Educated Youth Su. She said you wanted to marry a villager so you wouldn't have to work, and that you had your eye on me and asked me to meet you in the small woods for some fun! That's why I went!" Zhang Laosan shouted, and everyone turned to look at Fu Wenwen.
Fu Wenwen's face turned red with anger. "You're talking nonsense! What are your qualifications, and what are mine? Why would I, a decent young woman, debase myself to marry you! If I really wanted someone to marry, there are so many eligible men in the village, surely their conditions are better than yours! Why would I look for you instead of them!"
The village chief and the others nodded upon hearing Fu Wenwen's furious outburst.
With Fu Wenwen's background, marrying her would be like burning incense to the gods. If she were looking for a husband, she could pick any man in the village.
"Zhang Laosan, tell the truth! If you spew any more nonsense, don't blame me!" The village chief also thought Zhang Laosan was talking nonsense; who would believe that Fu Wenwen begged him?
What were Zhang Laosan's conditions? A dilapidated mud hut, not even a decent bed at home. He idled around all day, never working in the fields, relying on his elderly mother to earn work points. He looked old, had no qualifications, and was even ugly. Such a man, no one with eyes would ever fancy.
Then look at Fu Wenwen's conditions. The villagers didn't know, but as the village chief, he was well aware of the backgrounds of all the educated youths who came.
Fu Wenwen was like a young lady from the city, while Zhang Laosan was the mud in the village.
"It's true! Educated Youth Su told me!" Zhang Laosan panicked, now telling the truth. "Educated Youth Su also told me this time! She told me Fu Wenwen's family had grain!"
"The Educated Youth Su you're talking about, is it Su Xiaoxiao?" Fu Wenwen glared at Zhang Laosan, speaking earnestly.
"Yes, yes, yes, it's her! She said you didn't want to work, envied me for not working, and wanted to marry a villager so you wouldn't have to work. And she said, we agreed to meet in the small woods at three that afternoon! She told me to be proactive, saying that as a girl you should be reserved," Zhang Laosan replied, holding his head.
"I swear, everything I'm saying is true!" Zhang Laosan raised his hand to swear and looked at the village chief. "Village Chief, believe me, I'm telling the truth!"
"What evidence do you have to prove you're telling the truth?" Fu Wenwen gritted her teeth and menacingly picked up a broom beside her, pointing it at Zhang Laosan.
"When I struggled so fiercely, you didn't listen at all. You clearly knocked me out deliberately to make your move! If Lin Feng hadn't arrived in time, you would have succeeded long ago!"
Seeing the broom in Fu Wenwen's hand and remembering his crippled leg from her beating, Zhang Laosan couldn't help but shiver and shrink back in fear.
"Send someone to the town to report it to the police!" Seeing Zhang Laosan's state, the village chief understood everything. It was clear that Zhang Laosan had acted on lust and deliberately knocked Fu Wenwen unconscious.
"Village Chief, Village Chief, please let me go! I really dare not anymore! Educated Youth Fu, please let me go!" Zhang Laosan was truly scared and cried out, wanting everyone to intercede for him. However, everyone's gaze towards him was full of disgust, and no one was willing to speak up for him.