"Secretary Wang, it was her! It was Comrade Li Yufang who instigated us to go to the Wang family and stir up trouble!"
The moment Fugui's mother saw Li Yufang, she suddenly shouted, having bottled up anger for a long time.
Today, besides He Manshu, the person she hated the most was, of course, Li Yufang.
If it weren't for Comrade Li showing up at their house and manipulating her and her son, they would never have gone to the Wang family to demand justice. If they hadn't gone to the Wang family, they wouldn't have nearly been accused by the brigade secretary of organizing a gang fight. Thinking of this, Fugui's mother glared at Li Yufang as if her gaze were laced with poison.
That wretched woman dared to scheme against her.
Li Yufang was already in a panic, and when she heard Fugui's mother trying to shift the blame, she instinctively denied it, "Secretary Wang, I didn't! I didn't instigate anyone to cause trouble. Secretary Wang, you must believe me! I have no grievances with the Wang family, how could I possibly tell people to go make a scene? I've been wronged!"
How could she admit to such a charge? She didn't dare to.
"I don't know if you have a grudge against the Wang family, but I do know that you came to my house just now and pulled Fugui to the corner to whisper to him. If I hadn't overheard you two talking about drowning, being framed, and such, why else would I have rushed with Fugui to confront the Wang family? You dare say you didn't say those things?"
The moment Li Yufang denied it, Fugui's mother was enraged. Without waiting for the brigade cadres to interrogate, she spilled everything about Li Yufang.
Fugui's mother had her way of passing the buck, but Li Yufang also had her backup plan. With reddened eyes, she put on a pitiful expression and cried out, "Aunt Wang, I did say that your Fugui almost drowned in the river, but I never said He Manshu was the one trying to drown him. Maybe you misunderstood me?"
Li Yufang carefully worded her defense. She had observed that there was no evidence exposing her and Wang Fugui's collusion to harm He Manshu. As long as that part wasn't exposed, everything else could be denied.
She was also sure that Wang Fugui wouldn't dare tell the truth.
Feeling more confident, Li Yufang cried to all the brigade cadres, "Secretary Wang, Brigade Leader, Director Liu, Director Sun, team leaders—please help me! I really didn't say He Manshu tried to harm Wang Fugui, and I didn't tell Fugui and his mother to go to the Wang family's house and make a scene. You have to believe me. Don't wrong a good person!"
Li Yufang, being an educated youth, was quick with her words. In just a few sentences, she seemed to have cleared herself completely, leaving Fugui's mother furious and helpless.
But Fugui's mother wasn't one to sit quietly. She might not be able to win a battle of words, but she had her own tactics. With a sudden burst, she lunged forward, leaving only a trail of dust in the air.
"You bitch! You dare do it but won't admit it? You clearly hinted that He Manshu tried to drown my son, and now you deny it? You think the secretary and the team leaders are as easy to fool as my idiot son?
You damned liar, you never speak a word of truth. I'm going to beat you to death!"
With her furious shouting came a series of loud slaps.
Fugui's mother was now wildly slapping Li Yufang with her palm as large as a fan.
Caught off guard, Li Yufang was in trouble. Even Wang Fugui was stunned by his own mother's outburst. For the first time, he realized that in his mother's heart, he was considered a fool.
Hunched over, the already awkward Wang Fugui lowered his head even more. Even his own mother despised him—no wonder others treated him like a freak, like filth. At that moment, Wang Fugui hated everyone—Li Yufang, who had deceived him with false promises, the commune members who treated him like trash, and most of all, his own mother.
If it wasn't for her giving birth to such an ugly son, would he have been treated this way since birth?
A trace of madness flashed in Wang Fugui's eyes.
While Wang Fugui wallowed in self-pity and resentment, Li Yufang was both furious and pained. She never imagined Fugui's mother would dare beat her in front of so many brigade officials. Faced with such a vicious attack, all she could do was scream.
It hurt.
After just a few slaps, her cheeks were already swollen high, a testament to how much force Fugui's mother used.
Wang Xiu, who had firsthand experience of those slaps, shuddered instinctively while leaning on her nephew Wang Dahu. Her face was not only swollen and burning but also in pain. That pain filled her eyes with fear.
Fugui's mother was terrifying.
She should be locked up. Wang Xiu had taken a huge loss and now hated the mother and son pair of Wang Fugui deeply. Since Li Yufang's scheme to target Manshu had failed, Wang Fugui was now a discarded pawn—and discarded pawns were to be trampled on.
Just to vent.
Fugui's mother's outburst stunned not only the commune members but also He Manshu. She hadn't even taken action yet, and the others were already tearing into each other. Karma truly spares no one.
They deserved it.
While He Manshu enjoyed the show, Secretary Wang Zhiguo was so angry his face turned blue. "Stop it now!"
If not for the fact that she was a woman, he might have gone up there himself and given that shrew a beating.
To cause a scene even in the brigade office—did she think there was no law?
Today, he had to make an example out of someone.
Wang Zhiguo still held authority. At his roar, Fugui's mother reluctantly stopped. "Secretary Wang, don't listen to that lying whore Li Yufang. Nothing she says is true. My son Fugui is such an honest boy, who knows what kind of nonsense she filled his head with, making him think Manshu pushed him into the river. Otherwise, we wouldn't have gone to the Wang family to demand justice."
If they hadn't gone, they wouldn't have been beaten or dragged to the brigade office.
Now that she understood that, Fugui's mother hated Li Yufang even more.
"Enough! You think I'm senile? Need you to teach me how to do my job?
Listen here, Dog Egg's mother, this is the brigade office, a place where law is upheld. This isn't your little alley where you can throw tantrums. If you dare hit someone again, I'll have the militia arrest you immediately. Believe me, I'll make sure you rot in jail!"
Panting heavily, Wang Zhiguo was fuming.
If a tiger doesn't show its might, people take it for a sick cat.
Hearing talk of jail, the aggressive Fugui's mother immediately collapsed to the floor, legs giving way. She was just an uneducated rural woman, only bold enough to argue with her neighbors—not go up against the government. "Y-yes, Secretary, I won't do it again."
Timid and trembling, she was scared out of her wits.
With Fugui's mother finally quiet, the beaten Li Yufang was about to cry and complain again, but Wang Zhiguo turned sharply to her. "Comrade Li, we brought you here today to get the facts out in the open. Don't worry—we won't wrong a good person, but we won't let a bad one off either. Our brigade works on discipline, principles, and evidence."
Faced with Wang Zhiguo's stern gaze, Li Yufang broke out in a cold sweat. In his eyes, she felt completely exposed, as if all her schemes had already been seen through.
Feeling guilty, she shivered and wisely shut her mouth.
Seeing that both Fugui's mother and Li Yufang had been subdued, Wang Zhiguo turned to He Manshu. Since this all started because of her, they might as well start with her. "Manshu, was it you who caused Wang Fugui to fall into the water?"
"It was me."
Wang Zhiguo asked directly, and He Manshu answered just as bluntly.
The Wang family members who had just had their table flipped over: …So they weren't wronged at all? They deserved to be yelled at, deserved to have their food ruined, deserved to go hungry?
Wang Xiu: ?
Why does this make no sense?
The commune members: !
Everyone was stunned by He Manshu's admission. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. No one expected things to take this turn. For a moment, no one knew what to say.
"What?! It really was Manshu who pushed Dog Egg into the water?"
"That's impossible. With her build, how could she kick someone like Dog Egg into the river?
Even if she did, Dog Egg can swim! How did it become a drowning attempt? And didn't Sister Chunhua and the others witness it? They didn't see Manshu push anyone. In fact, they saw Comrade Li pulling down Dog Egg's waistband. That scene... tsk tsk."
"Exactly. There's no way Manshu could've pushed Dog Egg. It's impossible!"
"But Manshu admitted it—she said she did it."
Mouth twitching, Fugui's mother muttered defensively. But Wang Zhiguo's authority was too strong. She didn't dare argue out loud. Still, that didn't stop her from proudly glaring at Wang Xiu and the Wang family.
Manshu admitted to it—so she was right to demand justice!
One sentence from He Manshu was like a bomb dropped in the brigade office. After a brief silence, the crowd exploded. Countless voices of shock and disbelief echoed in the air.
No one expected this.
No one believed that someone like Manshu could try to kill someone. Normally, she looked so frail. Murder? That wasn't a light offense—it wasn't just criticism or reform through labor. If not handled well, it could lead to a death sentence.
Thinking of that, everyone looked at Secretary Wang Zhiguo.
As all eyes turned to him, the room quieted once again. Everyone waited for him to speak. Even the other officials looked to him. After all, something like this wasn't their call.
"Why?"
It wasn't just the commune members who wanted to know why—Wang Zhiguo wanted to know too.
"Because Wang Fugui tried to harm me, so I struck first."
Under Wang Zhiguo's gaze, He Manshu remained calm and unafraid. She could see he was a just man and didn't mind revealing the truth.
To bring down Wang Fugui and Li Yufang, she needed Wang Zhiguo's support.
The moment she spoke, Li Yufang collapsed, and Wang Fugui turned pale. Just one glance, and not only did Wang Zhiguo realize something was up—even the commune members could see:
There was more to this story.