The villagers, some sympathetic to Zhang Fangcao, others skeptical of her claims, considered that Li Zhengguo had mentioned Li Min and Tian Jing were out digging for wild vegetables, and if she were lying, it would be impossible to conceal.
Li Zhengguo felt a degree of admiration for Zhang Fangcao; eight out of ten words were falsehoods, yet when filled with resentment, she could switch to a wronged demeanor and weep. Those unaware of the truth would surely believe her and sympathize, no wonder Minmin had been deceived for three years.
"The village accountant also said we'd confront them. Your words, no matter how many, are useless. We can't just believe your side of the story. When my wife and sister return, we'll hear what they have to say."
"Zheng, uh, cousin..."
"Stop, stop, stop." Li Zhengguo interrupted Zhang Fangcao again. "Comrade Zhang, Comrade Li Aiguo already called me by my name. Please address me as Comrade Li. If you call me anything else, don't blame me for kicking you."
"I've warned you more than once not to call me brother. My family and Accountant Li's family are settled, our interactions have ceased."
Zhang Fangcao's face shifted through a spectrum of colors like a palette before she finally regained her composure. "Comrade Li, did Li Min really go to dig for wild vegetables? You and Chen Suozhu acting this way, it seems you're afraid people will enter?"
Zhang Fangcao's objective was to have the villagers witness Li Min's drugged state. Once seen, everyone would naturally draw their own conclusions. Even if Li Min claimed Zhang Fangcao had drugged her, as long as she denied it, no one could do anything to her. Li Min's word alone was powerless. If it could be proven Li Min was drugged, her being knocked unconscious would only make her a fellow victim, just like Li Min, since Lin Er Lai had also claimed he was knocked out and didn't see who did it. And since she had stated Tian Jing was with Li Min, how could Tian Jing escape? Tian Jing would naturally also be a victim. And Tian Jing, of course, wouldn't have been drugged, so had she been cured by the perpetrator? Men didn't like wooden dolls, did they?
Gazing at the sinister smile on Zhang Fangcao's lips, Li Zhengguo scoffed. "Comrade Zhang means to say that you want to search my home, right?"
Zhang Fangcao, wanting to nod, was steadied by Li Aiguo. "Comrade Li, we are not qualified to search."
"So you still understand the law? Since you understand the law, don't you know that if you bring Comrade Zhang to my home today to demand an explanation, and if Comrade Zhang's words are all proven false, then both you and Comrade Zhang will be charged with defamation?"
"I..." Li Aiguo faltered. His wife's lies were endless, and he didn't know which were true and which were false.
"Aiguo, believe me, I'm not lying. I was knocked unconscious, and Lin Er Lai proved it. Our necks still hurt."
"Heh." Li Zhengguo let out a cold laugh. "What I said is about you accusing my wife and sister of going to the educated youth point. Whether you were knocked unconscious, whether your neck hurts, only you know. The same applies to Lin Er Lai."
Li Aiguo, who had just begun to stand his ground, was once again pushed back by Li Zhengguo's words. Hu Hongju's shame was no less than Zhang Fangcao's. Regardless of who Zhang Fangcao implicated, her family had lost immense face. She regretted it deeply; she shouldn't have married this troublemaker.
"Aiguo, why are you still supporting her? A soiled woman, our Li family doesn't want her."
Zhang Fangcao's face turned so pale she nearly fainted. She was desperately trying to clear her name, only for her mother-in-law to pour a basin of black water on her. Li Aiguo still wanted to take advantage of the situation, hoping to find leverage against Li Zhengguo and Tian Jing. Therefore, he didn't care if his wife was soiled or not; she was just a tool, it didn't matter. By the time he dealt with Tian Jing and surpassed Li Zhengguo, divorcing her wouldn't be too late. His father would find him a fine young woman.
"Mother, I believe Fangcao. Lin Er Lai looked that way, no one would choose him."
"Are you implying I'm blind?" Fang Qiuhong, standing by her husband and showing him full support, was displeased. She asked coldly, "Am I blind?"
Li Aiguo: "..." Ugh, he forgot that Lin Er Lai not only found a wife but one from a very well-off family.
"That, I didn't mean that. I meant..."
"You mean Zhang Fangcao knew how to choose you, so I know how to choose Er Lai. Does that mean I'm inferior to Zhang Fangcao?"
"What's wrong with my Er Lai? You dislike him so much, in what way is he inferior? In height or looks, how does he compare to you, Li Aiguo? Are your eyes blind?"
The onlookers, who had been watching the drama, now noticed Lin Er Lai. Upon seeing him, they were startled; he had indeed changed drastically. His hair was newly cut short, he wore pointed leather shoes, a blue new cotton jacket, and yellow military trousers. His face, which used to appear very dirty, was now clean. If not for his somewhat lewd expression, he was truly unrecognizable from his past self. Having a wife made all the difference. His wife not only supported him but also dressed him up. Lin Er Lai stood up straighter, and with that posture, his demeanor really wasn't bad. Observing more closely, one would notice that Lin Er Lai had become much fairer. Looking at Lin Er Lai on one side and Li Aiguo on the other, the comparison was striking. Huh? Lin Er Lai seemed even more handsome than Li Aiguo. Perhaps, that Zhang Fangcao...
The villagers' gazes subtly shifted. The guilty and sensitive Zhang Fangcao certainly noticed. It was all Fang Qiuhong's fault, that ugly woman. Ugly people were so troublesome. Not only was she ugly but she also dressed up, and why did she dress up Lin Er Lai? At this moment, she couldn't speak. If she spoke, it would confirm her guilt. The atmosphere changed. Fang Qiuhong was smug; could her judgment be wrong? A bunch of blind fools.
Captain Ou felt that this stalemate was not a solution. "Zhengguo, why don't you go up the mountain to search?"
"It's bad, it's bad."
Just as Captain Ou finished speaking, someone ran from the edge of the village. "It's bad, Lin Sanlai has drowned." Lin Guangde, his face grim, ran in behind him. Lin Guangde was fast. Before the crowd could fully process the news, he was in front of Li Zhengguo, throwing a punch. Li Zhengguo raised his hand to block it. Lin Guangde's other fist then struck towards his face. After catching this punch, Li Zhengguo stopped defending and turned to attack Lin Guangde. In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged over ten moves. Li Zhengguo was inwardly shocked. Was Lin Guangde a martial artist? No wonder his actions were eccentric, his behavior arrogant, and the captain and secretary still allowed him to act with impunity. He had been narrow-minded. Soon, Li Zhengguo began to show signs of defeat. Even those who didn't understand martial arts could see it. Li Aiguo smiled, finally seeing his cousin, the perennial "child of another family," in trouble? Zhang Fangcao clenched her fists anxiously, her fingernails digging into her palms. Lin Guangde landed a punch on Li Zhengguo's abdomen. Just as Li Zhengguo was about to fall onto the plastic shed, a figure came rapidly. As fast as lightning, they grabbed Li Zhengguo's arm, then twisted it to the side. The two spun for a few turns before stabilizing. As soon as she stabilized, Tian Jing released Li Zhengguo and, with a few swift movements, arrived next to Lin Guangde and threw a punch. Lin Guangde came to his senses and quickly raised his arm to block the punch. Unexpectedly, the fist suddenly changed into a sword finger, aiming directly for his eyes. He leaned back and raised his other hand to grab this sword finger, only to be hit in the stomach with a punch. This punch landed heavily on his stomach, causing him to spew sour water and lose control, falling backward onto the Li family's bamboo fence, crushing it, and continuing to fall backward. Tian Jing, with a few more swift movements, leaped over his head and kicked the out-of-control Lin Guangde. *Swish* Lin Guangde flew over the plastic shed, over the wasteland, towards the vast barren land to the south. With a *thud*, he landed on the rocky barren land.