But she rejoiced too soon. As soon as she reached the fork in the road to Zhangshan Village, she was ambushed by a group of women.
After chasing off Zhou Chengbin, Tian Jing followed the villagers of Zhonghe Village towards Zhangshan Village.
She did indeed need to brainstorm how to deal with Zhonghe Village's grapes.
The sale of raisins couldn't keep up with that of grape wine, nor was it as quick to produce.
Seeing Tian Liguo's wife being beaten, she decided not to help. She found this woman utterly unlikable.
From their first meeting ten years ago, she knew that Tian Liguo's two sons had been spoiled.
Tian Liguo was also in no position to help.
Tian Liguo's wife was beaten even more severely than Tian Liguo.
What a pair of pig-headed couple!
Tian Jing went directly to the Tian family's house.
There was a veritable sea of people at the entrance of the Tian family's house.
The villagers of Zhangshan Village had also gathered.
Upon seeing Tian Jing, the villagers of Zhangshan Village obligingly parted to make way with smiles.
This once frail, delicate girl who could be blown over by a gust of wind and could only barely survive under Old Madam Tian's thumb was now the town mayor's wife.
She had heard that she had also opened a large company in the capital.
Moreover, the seedling base she managed was a designated seedling base for national poverty alleviation programs.
Such a golden child had been so mistreated by the Tian family that they were unwilling to even acknowledge the kindness of raising her.
If the Tian family had treated her even a little better, they wouldn't be in their current predicament.
As the villagers made way, Li Zhengguo looked over. Seeing that it was his wife, he quickly approached and asked, "Wife, why are you here?"
Tian Jing pointed behind her, "If I hadn't come, I would have been sold..."
After listening, Li Zhengguo admonished the villagers of Zhonghe Village, "I told you to wait for the town to handle it. You didn't listen to me and instead believed Tian Liguo?"
The villagers of Zhonghe Village who had intercepted Tian Liguo lowered their heads.
Li Zhengguo waved his hand, "From now on, anything that mentions my name or Tian Jing's name must be verified by us. Otherwise, if you're deceived, it's because you're foolish."
"Go back and attend the literacy and law classes. If you suffer a loss, the town will surely help you resolve it. Can you rush hot tofu?"
After sending away the villagers of Zhonghe Village, Li Zhengguo directly revoked the position of Zhangshan Village chief:
"Your village chief can no longer be elected from Zhangshan Village. Because everyone knows each other, no one can speak harshly or do harsh things."
"Wang Zhongfei," Li Zhengguo called out to his assistant beside him, "You will temporarily take over as the village chief of Zhangshan Village."
"Yes!"
Wang Zhongfei's face lit up with joy. If he could stay as village chief, it would be a faster promotion than being an assistant.
Even if it was just a temporary appointment, it also meant that Mayor Li was training him.
Li Zhengguo glanced at him, "If you don't do a good job, even your assistant position will be revoked."
"Yes!" Wang Zhongfei stood at attention and saluted, "I guarantee I won't disappoint you."
He turned and extended his hand to the village chief of Zhangshan Village, "Please, let's go and hand over the work."
The village chief of Zhangshan Village was heartbroken. It wasn't that he was sad about losing his position, but he knew that from now on, the villagers of Zhangshan Village would have no chance of upward mobility.
Because this precedent had been set, if there were achievements, outsiders would surely continue to hold the position of village chief.
If there were no achievements, it would simply mean that the villagers of Zhangshan Village were incorrigible.
Some villagers of Zhangshan Village also understood.
Tian Yongren, who had previously worked as an accountant, understood even more. He glanced at his son, who not only had no possibility of advancement but might even be dragged down.
This incident was enough to make Mayor Li fiercely deal with Zhangshan Village.
Tian Ping's eyes sparkled as she looked at Li Zhengguo. She squeezed herself between Tian Jing and Li Zhengguo, gesturing with her fingers.
Li Zhengguo, disgusted, moved aside, "Wife, you should go back first."
Tian Ping grabbed Tian Jing, preventing her from leaving.
Looking at Tian Ping, who was nearing fifty but still powdered and rouged like a young girl, Tian Jing's lips curled into a smile:
"Since I've come all this way, I might as well catch up with my former good sister. Mayor Li, you go ahead and be busy."
Saying that, Tian Jing, going with Tian Ping's pull, entered the Tian family's house.
The Tian family's house was still the Tian family's house. Twenty-seven years had passed, the population had grown, but the house remained unchanged.
Tian Ping dragged Tian Jing into her room. It was still the same room, but with two extra beds, so crowded that there was no space to put one's feet.
The room smelled of mold mixed with the odor of shoes and sour clothes.
Tian Jing calmly sat on the outermost bed and watched Tian Ping take out a small blackboard to write.
"Tian Jing, Li Zhengguo should have been mine."
Tian Jing sneered, "Tian Ping, it was a marriage exchange back then. You yourself said that I was only fit to exchange for a woman to bring into the Tian family."
"Besides, if Li Zhengguo were yours, do you think you, with your abilities, could lead the development of Kusan? Could you make Li Zhengguo the town mayor?"
"With nothing but laziness, you still dream of being the mayor's wife? How laughable?"
"Even if you were the mayor's wife, you would only be a source of ridicule for others."
Tian Ping wrote furiously on the small blackboard: "You're talking nonsense. If I were the mayor's wife, no one would dare to laugh at me. Zhangshan Village would have developed long ago."
"Heh heh heh," Tian Jing chuckled, "You're too naive. You still don't know my identity, do you?"
"Since it has come to this, I'll tell you the truth. My official rank is higher than Li Zhengguo's, higher than Magistrate Ji's, and on par with the provincial governor's."
"It is someone like me who is the driving force behind Li Zhengguo's climb to the position of town mayor."
"You, without that destiny, shouldn't harbor that dream."
"Just like back then, when you were convinced you could marry a rich man. You did marry, and he was indeed a rich man at the time. Where is your rich man now?"
Tian Ping paused, wiped the writing on the blackboard, and continued to write, "You're lying."
Tian Jing shook her head, "Why would I lie to you? In the past, I concealed myself because I wanted freedom and didn't want to be affiliated with the state."
"Later, when my two sons joined the army, my special abilities could no longer be hidden, and the state incorporated me."
Tian Ping stared at her blankly for a long time, then hastily wrote on the blackboard: "The anomalies around the house back then, were they caused by you?"
"That's right," Tian Jing nodded. "You're very smart. Even though you're mute, you've learned to write. It's a pity you don't take the right path."
Tian Ping opened her mouth wide and laughed silently, continuing to write: "The Tian family, who consider themselves intelligent, were all played by you alone."
"No," Tian Jing smiled and shook her head, "You're wrong. I was a sudden outburst after being bullied by all of you, not something I had from childhood."
"Thank you, Ding Aihua, for arranging the marriage exchange for me; thank you, Tian Yongyi, for knocking me unconscious; thank you, all of you, for ganging up to bully a weak woman like me."
"The person I thank the most is you, because you told me everything."
"For example, I'm not a member of the Tian family, and my maternal grandfather sent gold and silver to the Tian family asking them to treat me well."
Under Tian Ping's astonished gaze, Tian Jing leaned close to her ear:
"For example, in the dilapidated house at the end of the village, you told the educated youth Lu where the Tian family's gold was hidden."
"Heh, heh, heh," Tian Ping staggered back several steps, falling onto the other bed, making choking sounds in her throat.
Tian Jing smiled beautifully and softly, "Tian Ping, your mouth is truly uncontrollable. Your grandfather ordering your father to drug you mute was truly your own doing."
"Write, write down everything you've guessed, everything you want to say, everything you want to vent."
"Everything you thought was a handle you could grasp, it's no longer a handle now."
"Everything you wanted to use as evidence to turn things around, can no longer be evidence."
"If you had endured hardships with me; if you had known to care for your sister and do housework together; if you hadn't fanned the flames and made Old Madam Tian beat and scold me even harder."
"When I had the ability, I would have lent you a hand.
"Unfortunately, there are no 'ifs' in the world."
"Tian Ping, the fact that you can still live so comfortably in the Tian family after your divorce is thanks to you being drugged mute. Otherwise, you would surely be a beggar."
"I believe Old Man Tian must have regretted giving that order when he passed away, because he didn't know the situation had changed."
"I believe Tian Yongyi must have regretted forcing the medicine down your throat himself, because he still has the responsibility of supporting you."
"Do you want me to help you? Help you speak out about your grievances?"
"I can testify for you, proving that you were drugged mute by your own father, with Tian Lifu and Tian Ligui as accomplices."
"By the way, where is Tian Lifu? Wasn't he released from prison long ago? Why haven't I seen him?"
"Isn't life outside difficult? Three daughters are gone, and you still have to support your powdered-and-rouged sister with your father. He would probably prefer to go back inside, wouldn't he?"