Volume 1, Chapter 18: Caught Spreading Rumors

"You... you..." Li Meihua was so infuriated that her hands began to tremble. "Son, you all saw it! This wretched girl is cursing your mother to die!"

Seeing this, Yang Xiangxi gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He lifted his foot, ready to drag Xia Niannian by the arm, but before he could even touch her clothes, he was frozen in his tracks by the predatory gaze of Gu Nanzhou, not daring to move an inch further.

Li Meihua scrambled up from the ground in a panic. "Captain Gu, don't be fooled by this little vixen's looks! I saw with my own eyes yesterday that the educated youth Yu went to their house, and then he ran out in a panic. The death of this educated youth today must have something to do with her. Maybe that woman from last night was her!"

Hearing this, Gu Nanzhou’s face darkened. "Since you know something, you should go with the police to give a statement!"

As he stepped aside, a police officer appeared behind him, making Li Meihua’s heart race with terror.

"Ma'am, please come over and assist us with a statement," Officer Xiao Zhao said, stepping forward with a polite gesture.

A rural woman who had never even set foot in the city, Li Meihua had never seen such a scene. She retreated repeatedly, waving her hands. "I don't know anything! I didn't see anything!"

"Ma'am, it's just a statement. You have nothing to fear," Xiao Zhao said, trying to reason with her patiently.

But no matter what, Li Meihua kept repeating the same thing: she had seen Yu Mingliang go to Wang Cui's house and emerge in a flustered hurry less than five minutes later. She knew nothing else; she hadn't even seen Xia Niannian speak to him.

"That's not what you said just now," Xia Niannian interjected. "You claimed you saw the educated youth bringing me chicken soup."

"Chicken soup? Him? He’s a poor educated youth who even steals our cigarettes—where would he get the money to buy a chicken and make soup? Where would he cook it? Could he even do that?"

Ma Zhaoyang, the leader of the educated youth team, pushed through the crowd to clarify the situation. He had already questioned everyone. All the female educated youths had been at their quarters last night, and each could provide an alibi for the others. Even Liu Hongmei had spent the afternoon at Granny Wang’s house at the edge of the village returning sewing supplies, and the son and daughter-in-law of the Wang family could vouch for her.

The villagers were clear: they wouldn't let this false accusation stick to them. It was obvious that Li Meihua was deliberately spreading rumors to ruin the young girl's reputation.

When Yang Jianshe heard about this, he was nearly driven to madness. A dead educated youth was already a massive headache; now this absurd family was adding fuel to the fire, making their village a laughingstock.

"Aren't you old enough to know better? Can't you control your own mouth? You never say a word about the messy business in your own home, yet you spend all day manufacturing rumors about others?"

"If you have the energy, why don't you focus on getting your two sons married instead of staring at Wang Cui's house all day and slandering her cousin?"

"You have daughters too. If someone spread rumors that your third daughter was acting improperly, how would that make you feel?"

Li Meihua grabbed onto Yang Jianshe’s pant leg. "Captain, I was wrong, I was truly wrong..."

She was genuinely terrified this time. Wang Cui hadn't pursued the matter when she spread rumors before, but that didn't mean Xia Niannian wouldn't.

Because of her repeated, unrepentant, and malicious behavior, Li Meihua was taken away by the police on the spot. Liu Juan was publicly criticized by the commune for spreading rumors and forced to apologize to Xia Niannian at a village meeting, and her family was docked a month's worth of work points. Only then was the matter considered settled.

"A whole month! Isn't that going to starve our family to death?"

Liu Juan stumbled home, and the moment she opened the courtyard gate, she collapsed onto a stool by the door and burst into loud sobs. She had no idea that saying a few words to help Li Meihua would lead to such a disaster.

After she had cried for a moment, her husband, who had rushed back from the village entrance, slammed the gate shut, grabbed a stick leaning against the wall, and began striking Liu Juan. "Are you trying to make this whole family starve? See if I don't beat you to death, you destructive woman!"

Passing villagers didn't dare to intervene; they knew Yang Guowei’s temper—he was a rebellious son who would even beat his own mother when he lost his mind.

...

Wang Cui took two pairs of shoe insoles she had crafted earlier that year from her cabinet. "She helped us so many times, and we don't have anything good to give her. Go, take these to Captain Gu."

She could tell that Xia Niannian had a soft spot for Gu Nanzhou, but because he was already in a relationship, she kept those feelings hidden. While one shouldn't try to steal someone else's partner, there was no harm in letting Gu Nanzhou introduce Xia Niannian to a nice young man at his unit.

"Ah! That wouldn't be appropriate, would it?" Xia Niannian asked, hands behind her back. In her previous life, she had heard that you shouldn't just give gifts to the opposite sex, and shoe insoles were something only intimate partners exchanged. Since he had a girlfriend, if she gave them to him, it would be a huge misunderstanding.

No, absolutely not. She couldn't do it.

Wang Cui was exasperated by the girl's stubbornness. After steadying herself, she picked up the insoles. "Why are you so stubborn? If you won't go, I will. You stay here and watch over Xiaobao."

As Wang Cui prepared to get off the *kang*, Xia Niannian snatched the insoles from her hand and ran to the door. "Fine, fine, I'll go! Handle your own son."

She didn't know what she would do if the baby started crying for milk. Besides, who knew what Wang Cui might say if she met Gu Nanzhou? If she ended up asking him to play matchmaker, it would be a massive misunderstanding.

Watching Xia Niannian scramble away, Wang Cui burst into laughter. "Little thing, I know exactly what you're thinking."

Xia Niannian walked east, clutching the two pairs of insoles. It wasn't until she had gone to town with Tian Min last time that she learned where Gu Nanzhou’s troop was stationed. Fortunately, it wasn't far; a half-hour walk at a brisk pace would get her there.

"Captain, that looks like Comrade Xia."

Wang Hu was about to turn the car when he spotted a familiar figure in the distance.

Gu Nanzhou got out of the car and walked up to her. "Where are you going?"

Xia Niannian had been walking for a while; her face was slightly flushed, and the water droplets on her eyelashes shimmered in the sunlight. She had been rehearsing excuses along the way, but just as she was about to speak, a woman in a military uniform ran toward them.

Bai Yuwei panted as she reached them, her face full of apology. "Captain Gu, you're back. I ran into Political Commissar Liu at the hospital earlier, so I took his car back. I am so sorry."

After explaining, Bai Yuwei noticed that Gu Nanzhou hadn't even glanced at her. She turned her gaze to the woman standing nearby. "And who is this?"