A Poisonous Scheme

"What ⊙∀⊙?"

Shen Jianan stared at Cheng Guang in disbelief. "What did you say you heard!?"

"Zhao Jianguo was bullying Educated Youth Jiang in the little woods! He beat her until she wailed, and he hit her real hard."

"..."

Shen Jianan and Gu Yu both flushed scarlet with embarrassment, unsure how to respond. Then they saw the child vigilantly sweep his gaze around before edging closer, tilting up his little head as he continued.

"Brother Jianan, I heard it clear as day. Jiang Hongmei was crying so miserably. Dad told Mom and me not to gossip everywhere, but I wanted to tell you and Brother Gu."

Shen Jianan felt both touched and amused. He reached out and patted the boy's head, quietly reminding him, "Your dad is right. Don't tell anyone else."

"Mm! Got it."

The child nodded in promise and ran off. Only then did Shen Jianan look at Gu Yu and say excitedly, "Those two have some nerve. Aren't they afraid of getting caught?"

Then he added, "Didn't they fall out before? How did they get tangled up together again?"

"I don't know."

Gu Yu shook his head. "But making up at a critical moment like this can't mean anything good."

"Exactly."

Shen Jianan's face was full of disdain as he sneered. "Zhao Jianguo is really a shameless bastard. His grandpa is still in the hospital, and he's busy with someone..."

The young man blushed, unable to bring himself to say those words aloud. Gu Yu also felt somewhat awkward, but this was no time to be shy. He forced himself to remain calm and analyzed in a low voice.

"When something is abnormal, there must be a demon at work. Jiang Hongmei had always played dumb in response to Zhao Jianguo's declarations of love. Not long ago, she even broke his heart over it.

"If Old Master Zhao hadn't been injured by hail and hospitalized, Zhao Jianguo would probably already have begun going on blind dates with other girls at his family's request.

"Things had reached this point. Logically, the two of them couldn't possibly reconcile—or at least not so quickly. After all, conflicts need time to dissolve.

"But the truth is that two people who had fallen out got together like dry kindling meeting a blazing fire the moment they met. It would be stranger if there weren't something fishy going on!?"

"You're right."

Shen Jianan nodded in agreement, wondering whether those two had joined forces like wolves and jackals to harm him and Gu Yu.

After all, according to the usual novel tropes, whenever crooked men or women who had been at odds for a long time suddenly hooked up again—

Either they had been starved too long, or they wanted to pull some dirty trick on someone. He was more inclined toward the latter.

Thinking this, he hurriedly warned the other man, "Brother Gu, we should both be on guard lately. Jiang Hongmei and Zhao Jianguo have always seen us as thorns in their eyes. They'll definitely make a move."

Gu Yu decisively shook his head. "Rather than defend passively, it's better to strike first."

A trace of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. "If people do not offend me, I do not offend them. But if they truly want to stir up trouble, then I'll settle both old and new grudges with them together."

"What are you going to do?"

Shen Jianan asked, "Do you need me to coordinate with you?"

"Of course."

Gu Yu turned to meet his gaze. "Without you, this won't work."

The young man's eyes instantly blazed with fighting spirit. "How do we do it? Tell me."

Gu Yu bent down with a soft laugh and whispered in his ear, "In a while, I..."

Upon hearing his plan, Shen Jianan's eyes widened. "Okay."

He immediately turned and went to notify Zhao Gang, then left the brigade with Gu Yu.

Inside the Zhao Household bedroom.

Having gotten his fill of pleasure the night before, Zhao Jianguo lay on his family's kang bed with Jiang Hongmei filling his mind...

His body grew somewhat hot, and he could not resist relieving himself. Only then did he happily change clothes, preparing to go find the woman he loved. Unexpectedly, his younger sister Zhao Xiufen blocked him in the courtyard.

"Brother, Dad told you and me to return to the brigade first, not to have you circling Jiang Hongmei all day. If you keep confusing what matters and what doesn't, I'm really going to call him."

"Since when do I need you to teach me how to do things?"

Zhao Jianguo was irritated. In the past, not only his younger siblings, but even his grandparents sometimes had to listen to him. Now that Zhao Xiufen dared lecture him, he immediately became unhappy. "Move aside. Don't waste my time."

As he spoke, he raised a hand to push her, but Zhao Xiufen dodged aside and seized the opportunity to grab his arm tightly.

"Brother, you already offended everyone yesterday. If you don't go to the brigade today and properly ease relations, not only will Dad have trouble taking over the cooperation making hair ornaments and backpacks when he returns, you'll also lose a source of income in the future..."

"I don't care!"

When Zhao Jianguo heard that she actually wanted him to apologize, he nearly went mad with anger. He forcefully shook off her hand and retorted sharply.

"They're just some lousy bags and hair ornaments. What's so great about them? Sooner or later, I'll earn more than everyone in the brigade.

"And what's there to worry about with Dad taking over the cooperation? He's the Brigade Secretary. As long as he says the word, who would dare object? Stop meddling in my business from now on!"

After saying that, he glared furiously at her and strode out of the house. Zhao Xiufen stamped her feet in anger. "Brother, you'll regret this someday."

Unfortunately, Zhao Jianguo could not take her words in at all. Instead, he sped up, racing all the way to the Educated Youth Station.

At this time, almost all the educated youths had gone to work. Only Jiang Hongmei and Huang Qimei, whom Jiang Hongmei was stubbornly holding back, had yet to leave.

Zhao Jianguo's expression darkened. He immediately put on an anxious look and rushed forward to call out, "Hongmei, can you tell me about what you said you wanted to tell me last night now?"

Jiang Hongmei froze for a moment, then shot him a fierce glare. "What's wrong with you? Can't you look at where you are before speaking?"

She then turned to Huang Qimei and apologized, "You go to work first! I'll come find you later."

Then she grabbed the disgruntled Zhao Jianguo and hurried away. From afar, the two could still be heard discussing something about eight hundred yuan.

Huang Qimei had always been sensitive about money. Hearing such an astronomical figure, she naturally grew curious. After thinking it over, she decided to follow them and listen.

She tailed the pair all the way to the Reed Marsh, then found a corner not far from them to hide in and silently eavesdrop on their conversation.

Before the Reed Marsh, Jiang Hongmei leaned bonelessly against Zhao Jianguo's chest and said pitifully, "I was wrong before. I didn't see my own heart clearly. I thought I liked Gu Yu, and I let down your sincere feelings..."

After this confession, she immediately got to the point. "The other day, when I went to town, I wasn't actually visiting relatives. It was because someone sent by Gu Yu's aunt came to pass along a message.

"That person said Gu Yu's father wasn't doing well over in the Northwest. Gu Yu's aunt wanted him to quickly find someone to carry on the family line and leave an heir for the Gu Household, so his father could rest easy. Gu Yu's aunt originally looked down on me, but now..."

She choked back a sob, her face seeming embarrassed. "Gu Yu's father is in critical condition. She couldn't find a suitable candidate for the time being and was afraid something might change if she delayed any longer, so she could only accept me as a daughter-in-law of the Gu Household.

"She said that if I became pregnant with a child of the Gu Household within three months, she would buy me a house in the Capital City, give me the Three Turns and One Ring, the Thirty-Six Legs, plus eight hundred yuan in bride price."

"H-how much?"

Zhao Jianguo exclaimed in shock. "Eight hundred yuan? You're not trying to fool me, are you!?"

"Who's fooling you?"

Jiang Hongmei glared at him unhappily. "Although Gu Yu's family has fallen, his aunt and uncle haven't. Eight hundred yuan is a huge sum to you and me, but to them, it's just a little money!

"And they said if I get pregnant within three months, they'll give me another five hundred yuan for my trouble. Once the child is born, there'll be a huge red envelope, and she'll pay for the child's upbringing too."

Zhao Jianguo became anxious at once. "So you mean you want to marry him?"

"How could that be!?"

Jiang Hongmei raised her voice angrily and punched him once. "If I truly wanted to marry him, I wouldn't have confessed to you, much less told you all this.

"But if I don't marry Gu Yu and have his child, his aunt will definitely go after my parents."

As Jiang Hongmei spoke, she covered her mouth and began sobbing again. "My father may be a department director in the XX Ministry, but before Gu Yu's aunt and uncle, he is nothing. Do you understand?"

"I understand. Of course I understand."

Seeing that her eyes were red from crying, Zhao Jianguo's heart ached. He hurriedly pulled her tightly into his arms and comforted her gently. "Don't be afraid. I have a way to solve this."

"What way?"

Jiang Hongmei abruptly stopped crying at his words.

"It's simple. Just find someone to take your place."

Zhao Jianguo lowered his head to meet her eyes, calculation filling his gaze. "I can have my sister marry Gu Yu. Once she gets pregnant, you can notify Gu Yu's aunt.

"By then, the rice will already be cooked. No matter how unwilling she is, she'll have no choice but to let Gu Yu marry my sister.

"After all, her own nephew has a bad class background. If she dares oppose this marriage, Gu Yu will have to eat a bullet.

"And that bride price can naturally go into our own family's pockets. Why not have the best of both worlds!?"

"Brilliant!"

Jiang Hongmei praised him. "You're so smart. How did I not think of that?"

Zhao Jianguo laughed indulgently. "You were too close to the matter to see it clearly!"

Then he said, "Later, we'll go tell Xiufen about this."

"Okay!"

Jiang Hongmei nodded happily and praised her lover several more times. Zhao Jianguo was immediately so flattered that he lost all sense of direction. Seeing no one around, his mind drifted back to those matters, and he wrapped an arm around her and kissed her.

Jiang Hongmei's heart was sweet as honey. Not only did she not feel shy, she instead felt her charm knew no bounds. Moreover, to make the person hidden in the dark believe what they had said, she pretended to resist a few times before passionately responding.

Sure enough, upon hearing the rising and falling sounds of their..., Huang Qimei, who had originally harbored doubts, immediately believed Jiang Hongmei's nonsense about loving Zhao Jianguo and refusing to bear children for the Gu Household. She quietly left the Reed Marsh, intending to return to the Educated Youth Station and quickly think of a way to beat the two of them to the punch and win Gu Yu.

No one knew how much she liked Gu Yu. However, she was a practical and rational person. She knew her family background was poor, while his identity was even more special. If they got together, they would surely have a hard life.

Therefore, over the past few years, although Jiang Hongmei had constantly caused trouble and spread word everywhere that she was Gu Yu's fiancée, Huang Qimei had only been angry inside and had never stepped in to stop her.

But now, everything had changed. If she could marry Gu Yu, even if she could never return to the city, with this bride price to rely on and his aunt's occasional support, the two of them could still live quite comfortably in the countryside.

The more Huang Qimei thought about it, the happier she became, as though she and Gu Yu could marry and have children tomorrow.

But she did not know that Jiang Hongmei and Zhao Jianguo's poisonous scheme had not only been overheard by her. Gu Yu, hiding inside the space, had also heard every word clearly—and he had seen through her feelings for him as well.

Gu Yu's eyes turned cold. His gaze swept over the two figures half-concealed among the reeds. Guessing they would not be finished anytime soon, he used the space to bypass Huang Qimei and swiftly return outside the brigade wall. Then he pinched his throat and shouted loudly.

"How shameful! Broad daylight, and they're going at it in the Reed Marsh! Those bare white asses—oh my, how utterly shameless!"

As he shouted, he deliberately made the sounds of someone running. Once the timing was about right, he quickly entered the space and headed toward the field embankment. Quite a few villagers were still working there, and he had to make sure they were notified too.

As for the people in the brigade courtyard, they had already erupted in startled cries because of his words. Even Zhao Gang and the others in the office had been drawn out.

"Heavens! Did you hear that? Someone's fooling around in the Reed Marsh!"

"Who's so shameless? Even if they had to do that in broad daylight, couldn't they at least go to the little woods?"

"Is that the point?"

Bai Qiulian glared irritably at the people speaking. "The point is that they're shameless and corrupting public morals. If they were openly dating, who would say anything about them? They had to do this instead. Disgusting!"

Zhao Gang and the other cadres were also furious. At this point, they had no intention of saving face for that pair of wild mandarin ducks. "Come on, let's go take a look first!"

"Let's go!"

Everyone answered excitedly and followed behind the cadres as they streamed out of the brigade. Cheng Hu and Bai Qiulian, walking at the rear, exchanged complicated glances. Both had reached the same conclusion.

After leaving the brigade, Gu Yu used the same method to lure the people at the field embankment toward the Reed Marsh as well. Meanwhile, he used the space to return ahead of them to the Half-Mountain Courtyard and meet up with Shen Jianan.

At that moment, the two groups met head-on near the Educated Youth Station. The commotion was so great that even Huang Qimei, who had only recently returned to the Educated Youth Station, was drawn outside.

When she heard everyone was going to catch adulterers, she guessed someone had discovered Jiang Hongmei and Zhao Jianguo's disgraceful affair and alerted the others.

She immediately grew wildly excited, wishing they would hurry up and expose it. Putting on an expression of grief and indignation, she decisively joined the "adulterer-catching" party and headed toward the destination with them.

When the crowd passed the Half-Mountain Courtyard, Gu Yu and Shen Jianan, who had been waiting for quite some time, also pretended to have been disturbed by the commotion. They hurried out of the courtyard and asked where everyone was going.

Shen Jianan was now a popular figure in the brigade. Once he asked, everyone naturally rushed to curry favor with him, chattering over one another as they told him what had happened.

"Shen, someone's going at it over by the Reed Marsh. We're going to catch them in the act."

"Someone's ass was hanging out. I heard there was even a big black hairy mole on it."

"Bullshit! They clearly said there was a red birthmark on the chest."

Shen Jianan's mouth twitched violently. He silently turned to question Gu Yu, who also looked disgusted and indicated that he had never said that.

The young man shook his head. That was how rumors got passed around!

"Then Brother Gu and I..."

"You two should come along too!"

Before he could finish asking, Zhao Gang spoke first, waving urgently. "Hurry down and come with us."

How could the two of them dare refuse? They immediately hurried down the mountain and went to the Reed Marsh with everyone else.

By the time the crowd arrived, the battle inside the Reed Marsh was at its fiercest. From far away, they could hear the two people's absorbed..., along with filthy talk that even old married couples would be too embarrassed to say.

The men, women, old, and young in the group all blushed deeply with embarrassment and stood speechless. Yet Niu Chunhua, Zhao Hongying, and several others in the crowd were incomparably excited. They would recognize that familiar female voice even if it turned to ashes.

The four women exchanged glances and saw the same thought in each other's eyes. Then they all sprinted toward the reeds, shouting loudly, "Jiang Hongmei, you shameless bitch! You're fooling around!"

The others were instantly invigorated and ran after them...