Zheng Lei vs. Huang Qimei

Gu Yu used his space to hurry toward the Educated Youth Station. Passing the small woods nearby, he saw Zheng Lei standing ahead, looking around. He then plunged inside. Not long after, Huang Qimei also wandered out of the women's dormitory and quickly slipped into the woods.

"Humph! That was easier than I expected."

Gu Yu's expression darkened. He followed close behind and heard Huang Qimei trying to persuade Zheng Lei to work with her.

"You and I have both offended Shen Jianan and Gu Yu. It hadn't been much of a problem before, but now Chen Ming has betrayed us, and both Jiang Hongmei and the Zhao Household have gotten into trouble.

"From now on, no one will help shield us or speak up for us. If we don't act soon, once they finish dealing with the Zhao Household, they'll turn around and come after the two of us."

Huang Qimei tilted her head to look at Zheng Lei and said softly, "I know you've liked Hongmei for a long time, even after what happened to her..."

Her voice paused briefly before she continued, "If... you help me win over Gu Yu, then when we get married, I'll definitely help you get her.

"You know Zhao Jianguo's situation. It's practically impossible for him to get out now, and Hongmei is no longer some lofty young lady from Capital City. If you two have physical relations at a time like this, she'll definitely marry you."

Huang Qimei reached out and squeezed his shoulder, parting her lips to tempt him. "Zheng Lei, this is your only chance to marry the woman of your dreams."

Zheng Lei began trembling uncontrollably at her words. He raised his eyes and stared blankly at her, then suddenly curled his lips and chuckled.

"Hehe! You want to use me as cannon fodder and have me clear the way for you, don't you? Don't make yourself sound so kindhearted. But..."

He straightened up and gave the embarrassed Huang Qimei a sinister sidelong look. "I'm willing to be that cannon fodder, but I have one condition. After I help you get Gu Yu, you have to give me three hundred yuan. Also, you'll cover all the expenses for my wedding with Hongmei.

"If you don't agree, I'll go tell Gu Yu and expose you. Then let's see how you're supposed to marry him!"

"You!"

Huang Qimei stared at him in disbelief, secretly cursing herself for underestimating how shameless he was. If she'd known, she wouldn't have slipped him that note this morning.

But now she was riding a tiger and couldn't get off. They were tied to the same rope. If they didn't put their plan into action soon, she feared she would have even less chance to get close to Gu Yu in the future.

"Fine, I agree. And I can give you fifty yuan in advance."

Huang Qimei thought that she could "borrow" Jiang Hongmei's money to cover it later. Jiang Hongmei wasn't at the Educated Youth Station right now anyway, so there was no fear of being discovered.

Even if she was discovered, it wouldn't matter. Huang Qimei could shift the blame onto Lu Xiaoyue and the others. Not only could she teach them a lesson for isolating her all this time,

she could also deepen the conflict between them and Jiang Hongmei. Killing three birds with one stone—wasn't that wonderful!?

She continued, "But you have to write me a note first, so you can't deny it later and demand more money from me."

"Fine."

The moment Zheng Lei heard he could get money in advance, he was delighted. His attitude immediately softened. "Tell me, what should I do?"

Huang Qimei lowered her eyes to hide the contempt in them and whispered, "Tomorrow, ask Gu Yu and Shen Jianan out. Say that after reflecting for a while, the two of us realized just how wrong we were. To show our apology, we want to treat them to a simple meal.

"Then I'll buy more liquor and invite everyone from the Educated Youth Station over as peacemakers. After that, &@Б¥@... once everyone is drunk and can't tell east from west, even if he enters the wrong room and something happens between us, no one will suspect anything."

Her face heated as she spoke. She glanced at Zheng Lei awkwardly. "And I still have the medicine Jiang Hongmei gave me. Once he takes it, success is guaranteed. What do you think?"

"Let's do it."

Zheng Lei nodded. His triangular eyes gleamed with viciousness and madness. Gu Yu, hiding in his space, was furious as he listened. He felt the two were shameless beyond belief and didn't want to hear any more of their scheming. He stepped forward and knocked them both unconscious in the woods.

He then used his space to go to the Educated Youth Station. After making a disturbance outside to lure the women out, he entered the room, found the pills Huang Qimei had mentioned, and quickly returned to feed them to the unconscious pair.

Only then did he carry them to the haystack beside Niu Chunhua's family latrine. He stripped Zheng Lei of his clothes. Seeing him begin to toss Huang Qimei about, he used his space to swiftly return to Half-Mountain Courtyard.

Not long after, Niu Chunhua's husband, Zhao Ping, came out to use the toilet. But as soon as he reached the latrine door, the ... sounds from the neighboring haystack shocked him so badly that he held his shit back in. He hurried inside to call for someone. "Wife, there are people outside—"

Zheng Lei and Huang Qimei, immersed in ..., didn't notice anyone had come at all. Instead, they became more spirited the more they fought.

Niu Chunhua was making up the bed and getting ready to sleep when her husband suddenly shouted. She jumped in fright, thinking something had happened, and hurried out to ask what was wrong.

Zhao Ping's face was red and his neck bulging as he pointed outside and stammered, "In, in our haystack, there's, there's someone... doing, doing that."

"What are you even saying!"

Since he couldn't explain himself clearly, Niu Chunhua shoved him aside and went out to check herself. Just then, she heard Zheng Lei "sound the retreat," and she was instantly dumbfounded.

Before she could recover, however, the second round began over there. Niu Chunhua was so enraged her blood rushed to her head, and she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Come look! Someone is... shameless! They came to our place and just started g-ing!"

At Niu Chunhua's howl, every household within a hundred-meter radius of her home lit up their lamps. Before long, everyone rushed out and headed toward her house, including Gu Yu, Shen Jianan, and Chen Ming.

Only then did Zheng Lei and Huang Qimei gradually regain consciousness. But by the time they realized what was happening and began cursing each other as they tried to escape, the brigade's villagers had already called over several cadres.

Everyone held flashlights and torches, surrounding them in a tight circle before the haystack. The two had nowhere to hide. The pathetic sight made Zhao Gang's blood pressure shoot up, and he started swearing furiously.

"This is going to kill me, it's going to kill me! Is there something wrong with Chaoyang Production Brigade's feng shui? Why are every last one of you so shameless?

"I never stopped you from dating! But in the middle of the night, you run to someone else's g-haystack? Have you both gone insane!?"

"Wuwu... I-I didn't know. Zheng Lei bullied me..."

Huang Qimei curled up in the haystack with her arms wrapped around herself, trembling nonstop. Zheng Lei heard her trying to shirk responsibility and, afraid of being sent to the police, immediately blurted out a rebuttal.

"Bullshit! You clearly had someone knock me out, then you climbed all over me yourself! If you don't believe me, ask Sister-in-law Niu. She must've heard how... huan you were just now!"

Niu Chunhua's face burned at his question. She didn't even know how to respond and felt this man was utterly shameless.

The villagers present were also furious. The brigade had already had enough trouble lately, and now these two had joined in the mess. Did they want the people of Chaoyang Production Brigade to be unable to hold their heads up whenever they went outside?

Not to mention the educated youths. Every one of them felt too ashamed to face anyone. After what had happened with Jiang Hongmei and Zhao Jianguo, many village men had already started speaking less politely to the female educated youths.

Now Zheng Lei and Huang Qimei had pulled another stunt like this. The villagers would probably think all educated youths were loose and would do anything. The girls among the educated youths would likely face even greater danger whenever they went out.

Zhao Gang and the other cadres had thought of this as well. Afraid matters would grow worse later, they decided to make an example of them. He ordered two men and two women to tie them up and take them to the brigade office to be held until a public trial the next day.

The moment Huang Qimei and Zheng Lei heard that, they were terrified and began crying and shouting, begging repeatedly for mercy. Zhao Gang found the noise irritating and had their mouths stuffed.

That made the two even more panicked. They struggled violently on the spot. Several villagers who were already in a foul mood saw that they still weren't behaving and angrily slapped them several times each, leaving both their cheeks red and swollen and their noses bleeding.

Afraid they would lose control and beat the pair too badly, Zhao Gang hurriedly stopped them. "Enough. Aren't you tired in the middle of the night? Hurry up and take them to the brigade office."

Only then did they stop reluctantly. They dragged the two out of the haystack and hauled them toward the brigade office, while the other villagers followed behind, talking animatedly.

Huang Qimei and Zheng Lei were like livestock, left to be judged and picked apart without being able to argue back. They were furious and afraid, and their minds, which had only just cleared somewhat, became a muddle again. They both felt something was wrong, yet neither could remember what it was.

Gu Yu and Shen Jianan watched the two being shoved forward, coldness appearing on both their faces. They then called Chen Ming, who had remained silent, and returned to the small courtyard.

On the way, the two asked whether he was worried about Zheng Lei and Huang Qimei. Chen Ming shook his head. "I'm not worried. I'm just scared after the fact. If I were still hanging around with them, and this happened today, they might have pinned it on me and said I was the one who harmed them."

Gu Yu and Shen Jianan nodded at that. It really was possible. Those two were selfish by nature and experts at slinging mud. If Chen Ming kept associating with them, something would happen sooner or later.

"It's good that you understand."

Gu Yu patted his shoulder and comforted him. "Be more careful when making friends in the future. Don't just pour your heart and soul out to anyone you meet."

"Yeah! I know."

Chen Ming looked up at him with a smile. "You and Shen are worth it."

"Hm?"

The two froze for a moment, then both burst out laughing. Gu Yu even shook his head with a helpless laugh. "Why are you so silly?"

Shen Jianan nodded in agreement. "But silly in a cute way!"

Gu Yu's face immediately fell. "What's cute about it? He's dumb as a pig and was always getting plotted against before."

He then turned and went inside.

Shen Jianan, "..."

Chen Ming, "..."

How could this person change faces faster than turning pages? So willful.

The next day, the brigade's villagers worked all morning before heading to the drying ground. Soon, everyone had arrived.

Zhao Gang angrily had Zheng Lei and Huang Qimei, who had engaged in an improper ... relationship, brought to their knees on the platform in the center. He had their ropes untied and the cloth strips removed from their mouths.

The two...

For the first time, they were already weak from overexertion. After being locked up all night, they were frightened and anxious. Now, suddenly dragged out and faced with the crowd filling the drying ground, they began trembling all over.

Huang Qimei in particular felt the most wronged and had suffered the greatest loss. Yet she still had to be surrounded, watched, and cursed at. She felt so miserable that tears began falling again.

Still, she was someone with a brain. She knew she and Zheng Lei had been set up. It was just that what had happened last night was too bizarre; even if she said it, no one would believe her.

After all, neither of them had seen so much as a ghostly shadow. They couldn't even accuse anyone if they wanted to. All they could do was swallow the broken teeth with blood and endure the grievance, planning to get through this first before finding the culprit and taking revenge.

With that in mind, she turned to Zheng Lei and cried out loudly that she and Zheng Lei had been freely in love, and that they had only made such a mistake in a moment of passion.

Perhaps because it was a critical moment, Zheng Lei's mind finally started working. Originally, he resented Huang Qimei for dragging him into this and wanted to bite back at her to get revenge. But after hearing her say that, he quickly nodded along.

"Yes, yes! We're freely in love. Last night, we were discussing marriage, and then, in a moment of impulse, we, we..."

"You just went straight to rolling in the hay, didn't you?"

Zhao Gang roared furiously, "What kind of animals are you? Even if you were young and impulsive, you could at least find a room! How could you do it out in the open, &@¥Б@&..."

Hearing Zhao Gang's words, everyone knew that the cadres wanted to make a big matter small and wouldn't be too harsh. Otherwise, far more than this small crowd would have been gathered today.

Besides, Jiang Hongmei and Zhao Jianguo had committed the same mistake and hadn't been punished. If they were too ruthless with these two, and the matter got reported upward, the brigade wouldn't fare well either.

So everyone merely crowded around the platform and cursed and spat at the pair. Gu Yu and Shen Jianan, however, did not join in. They stood at the edge, watching the two suffer humiliation as they both considered how to add more fuel to the fire between Huang Qimei and Zheng Lei.

They didn't believe those two despicable people would tuck in their tails and behave, never daring to cause trouble again. Once they recovered, they would continue doing evil.

"Enough, disperse!"

Zhao Gang's voice rang out again. Shen Jianan and Gu Yu looked up to see him standing with his hands behind his back, staring at the two with disgust. He ordered them to marry within three days, or he would report the matter for real and have them paraded through the streets wearing placards.

When Zheng Lei heard that, he nearly pissed himself. He said repeatedly that he could marry today and didn't need to wait three days, making everyone burst into laughter. Even Zhao Gang nearly failed to hold it in.

Still, that was fine. The sooner they married, the less likely they were to cause more trouble.

Thus, that afternoon, the two changed into different clothes and, bruised and swollen, bowed in marriage. It was a miserable wedding. No one was willing to attend. Only Wang Hongbo from the Educated Youth Station went because, as the group leader, he couldn't refuse, and he officiated the ceremony.

There were also two village women who accepted Huang Qimei's money and helped send her off. The moment she entered the house, they left without even eating.

But there was nothing much to eat at the wedding feast anyway. The wedding had been arranged so hurriedly, and Zheng Lei felt that he had suffered a loss too. He only traded for half a small sack of potatoes, a handful of dried green beans, and several jin of cornmeal, then hastily made two tables of food.

He had even cooked the meal in the spare time after the wedding ceremony. Unfortunately, no one wanted to eat it. Huang Qimei felt terribly wronged. Though the two had been caught in the act, there was no need for everyone to treat her like this, was there?

The more she thought about it, the more she cried. Zheng Lei had been eating when he saw her wailing again. His anger instantly flared, and he backhanded her across the face.

"Ah!"

Caught off guard, Huang Qimei was slapped heavily to the ground. She covered her face in disbelief and questioned him, "Y-you hit me? What right do you have to hit me!?"

"Damn it, if I don't hit you, who should I hit?"

Zheng Lei slammed the table, rose angrily, and pointed at her as he shouted, "If I hadn't been dragged down by you, would I have embarrassed myself so badly yesterday? Would I have been forced to marry a ruined woman like you today? Shouldn't I hit you?"

"Y-you're shameless!"

Huang Qimei was so furious her vision darkened. She had never seen anyone so shameless. This person practically disgusted her to the point of vomiting.

"Shameless!?

Zheng Lei sneered. "I wonder who was... so loud last night. Since you think I'm shameless, then if I don't do something, I'd be letting down your praise too much."

After saying that, he scowled and stepped forward to grab her. Huang Qimei scrambled up in fright and ran outside while shouting, "Help! Don't come near me!"

Seeing that she still dared to run, Zheng Lei became even angrier. He caught up in a few steps, hooked an arm around her from behind, and dragged her struggling body toward the inner room with a sinister smile.

"Help? Who are you going to ask for help? Do you still think this is the Educated Youth Station? Let me tell you, no one can save you today!"

Huang Qimei suddenly froze. Only then did she remember that because they were married and could no longer live at the Educated Youth Station, Zhao Gang had assigned them this abandoned, dilapidated house by the mountain. It was some distance from the village residences, and no one could hear her cries for help.

Huang Qimei despaired, tears streaming endlessly from her eyes. Zheng Lei roughly threw her onto the hard wooden bed...

At this point, she and Zheng Lei had become mortal enemies. They completely forgot about plotting against Shen Jianan and Gu Yu, and even forgot to consider who had set them up.

All they knew was that the person before them was the culprit who had ruined their reputations. The two vented all their hatred on each other and fought fiercely.

In the end, Zheng Lei's head was smashed open by his new bride, and one of his ... was burst, while Huang Qimei suffered heavy bleeding from ...

Finally, both were sent to the hospital for treatment. This was only thanks to several unruly village men who had come to listen outside the wall and noticed something was wrong. Otherwise, Zheng Lei aside, Huang Qimei likely would not have survived.

After hearing about it, Gu Yu and Shen Jianan felt no sympathy like the villagers did. Instead, they thought the two had gotten what they deserved. After all, they had brought it upon themselves and could blame no one else.

Besides, they had no time to concern themselves with this gossip. The brigade's delivery deadline was close at hand, and they were busy supervising everyone as they rushed to finish the work.

Fortunately, no matter how much everyone loved excitement, they still knew what was important. With the help of key workers like Cheng Hu, the brigade not only completed its several hundred backpacks ahead of schedule but also had more than a hundred and twenty extra. As for hair accessories, they exceeded the target by over six hundred.

Worried that the Zhao brothers' affairs would affect sales, Shen Jianan decided to deliver the goods ordered by the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and several residential compounds ahead of schedule.

The cadres were also afraid that delays might lead to trouble, so they agreed with his idea. Thus, early the next morning, Shen Jianan and the others brought several key village workers and hauled the goods into town.

Gu Yu took the opportunity to go to the neighboring town. As it happened, Zhong Ning had uncovered quite a lot of evidence, all of it enough to get Zhao Qiancheng and Qin Guangtao executed.

After discussing it, the two decided to act immediately and nail everything down for good.