Beginning the Counterattack

The cases involving Jiang Hongmei and the other two were handled as special cases. Within just a few days, they were convicted and sentenced. Thus, when Liu San arrived in Xinghe Town, not only did he fail to see anyone, he also lost his life because of it.

He had received Luo Tianming's orders to head to Xinghe Town and contact Jiang Hongmei, telling her to stop at nothing to cripple Gu Yu as soon as possible and lure Gu Jun into showing himself.

Unexpectedly, after arriving, he had people pass along messages several times but received no response. Left with no choice, he went to Chaoyang Production Brigade himself to find her. As he reached the village entrance, he spotted a woman passing by and hurried over to strike up a conversation.

By sheer coincidence, the person he encountered was Jiang Hongmei's sworn enemy, Niu Chunhua. The moment she heard him claim to be Jiang Hongmei's cousin, she rolled up her sleeves and started cursing. "You're that little bitch's cousin? Then you can't be anything good either."

Then she raised her voice and shouted, "Someone come quickly! Jiang Hongmei's accomplice is here! Someone come quickly—"

Her shouts instantly drew over the people working in the brigade and nearby residents. Some felt the commotion was not big enough and even took it upon themselves to call for more people from the village and the fields.

Liu San was nearly driven mad with rage. He had never met such a lunatic before. He was only asking about someone—was there really any need to summon the whole village?

Fortunately, the young master of the Gu Household could not move around freely. Otherwise, if he saw him, would he not be exposed?

But as more and more people gathered to watch, he began to panic as well. Afraid that word would reach Gu Yu, he could only suppress his anger and patiently ask everyone what Jiang Hongmei had done to make people hate her so much.

Zhao Gang and the other cadres had learned their lesson long ago. Why would they tell him such things? Besides, there were some questionable details in Jiang Hongmei's case. The more they said, the more likely they were to slip up, so they merely gave him a few vague answers with unfriendly expressions.

"She did far more than make a mistake. Her actions were utterly unforgivable. This matter is too serious, and it would not be appropriate for us to reveal too much. Go ask at the Public Security Bureau yourself!"

Then they ushered him away. Liu San was left utterly confused. Not only had he failed to see her, he had learned nothing at all. Still, from their words, he vaguely guessed that Jiang Hongmei must have committed some crime.

He could only turn and leave, intending to make inquiries in town. Yet no matter how carefully he planned, he never expected Gu Yu's status to have changed completely. The moment there was a disturbance here, Gu Yu came over with Shen Jianan and recognized him at a glance.

Gu Yu was too clever not to immediately realize that Luo Tianming must have assigned something to Jiang Hongmei, something that required her help. Otherwise, Liu San would not have risked exposure by coming into the village to look for her after waiting so long without news.

He boldly guessed that Liu San's urgency had to be related to his uncle, Gu Jun. There could be no other reason. Therefore, he could not allow Liu San to report the changes here back to Capital City.

With that in mind, Gu Yu took advantage of the crowd dispersing to quickly hide in a secluded place. He entered his space, caught up with Liu San midway down the road, decisively dealt with him, and threw his corpse into the deep forests of the neighboring town.

Afterward, he took the opportunity to send several secret telegrams to Jiang Heng, Gu Jun's lover, informing him of the foolish things Jiang Hongmei had done over the past few months.

He especially reminded him that she had been sentenced to ten years in prison for destroying a portrait of a great figure and for improper conduct, telling him he could use that angle to deal with Jiang Jianhua and Luo Tianming.

Only then did he use his space to enter the mountains, hunt two rabbits, and return to Chaoyang Production Brigade at ease.

Meanwhile, after transferring Jiang Hongmei and the others to prison, the Public Security Bureau called to notify her parents. Jiang Jianhua and his wife, far away in Capital City, were both dumbfounded.

Had their daughter not been perfectly fine before? How had she suddenly committed such a serious crime? More importantly, why had the Public Security Bureau and the Educated Youth Office waited until after the case had been sentenced to notify them? That was completely against procedure!

For that reason, Jiang Jianhua relied on his status as a director to throw a huge tantrum over the phone.

"I order you to reinvestigate this case! How could my daughter possibly make such a low-level mistake? Did you take someone else's money? Did you deliberately frame my daughter!?"

The public security officer on the other end was so angry his liver hurt. He felt that although this man was a director, he spoke with absolutely no class. He was probably someone who had risen through connections, and the officer had no intention of indulging him. He immediately shouted back.

"Comrade Jiang Jianhua, watch your words. What do you mean, we took someone else's money? Do you believe I can sue you for slander?"

After a brief pause, he sneered mockingly, "Before, we couldn't understand how a female educated youth from Capital City could have such poor character and awareness. Now I understand. Like father, like daughter, huh?"

Jiang Jianhua exploded again in rage. "What the hell did you say?"

"Don't yell at me!"

The officer loudly cut him off and continued coldly, "Your daughter is famous throughout Xinghe Town. Not only did she engage in improper relationships between men and women and corrupt public morals.

"She also egged on an entire family here to frame another educated youth, though they failed. If that person had not chosen to let it go, she would have been sent to prison long ago.

"Unfortunately, she refused to repent and kept committing evil. And you still have the nerve to say she is well-behaved!? Hmph!"

After venting, the officer decisively hung up, leaving Jiang Jianhua listening to the busy tone on the other end. His face turned purple with rage, he panted like a bull, then rolled his eyes back and fell stiffly to the floor.

His wife, Li Hui, screamed in fright and hurriedly called others over to send Jiang Jianhua to the hospital. Unfortunately, he was hard to kill and was revived, though he was left with the aftereffects of a twisted mouth and crooked eyes.

Jiang Jianhua cared deeply about his reputation and did not want to be seen in such a state. Furthermore, he worried that Luo Tianming would find out that his daughter had not only failed to do her job properly at Chaoyang Production Brigade, but had caused a mountain of trouble and even been sentenced to ten years in prison.

So he had his wife secretly request sick leave from his workplace. He intended to return only after his health improved and he had found a way to rescue his daughter from her misery. However, he did not know that he would never have another chance to go back.

The next day, after Jiang Heng received Gu Yu's telegram, he immediately sent people to publicize Jiang Hongmei's disgraceful deeds and contacted newspaper staff to blow the matter wide open.

At the same time, evidence of Jiang Jianhua's crimes during his tenure—including exploiting his position through various covert means to embezzle and seize funds, extort bribes, and collude with multiple enterprises to fraudulently obtain subsidies—was also secretly delivered to the heads of the relevant investigation teams in Capital City.

Also included were some minor incriminating details about them and a newly melted small gold bar.

The people who received the report materials and gold were both shocked and furious. But after each of them calmed down, they realized that the sender did not intend to make enemies of them.

Otherwise, the investigation reports included as gifts would not have contained only trivial matters. Combined with the gold bar, the team leaders immediately understood that the person behind this only wanted to deal with Jiang Jianhua and, incidentally... take a bite out of the people backing him.

With the target clearly identified, they did not delay any longer. After accepting the gold bars with a clear conscience, they immediately launched a comprehensive investigation into Jiang Jianhua and those around him.

Meanwhile, Luo Tianming had only just received news that Jiang Hongmei had been imprisoned for deliberately destroying a portrait of a great figure, leading a dissolute life, and other offenses. He flew into a rage and was about to go settle accounts with Jiang Jianhua on the spot.

It was Gu Lingwei who reminded him that rather than wasting time arguing, he should quickly find someone to clean up the mess, lest he be implicated and ruin his reputation in his later years.

Only then did he come to his senses and hurriedly ordered his subordinates to put out the fire. However, this wind seemed to be blowing too hard and too fiercely. The fire he had started was proving rather difficult to extinguish...

By the time Gu Yu returned to the brigade, it was already evening. As soon as he reached the vicinity of the small courtyard, he saw his beloved pacing back and forth along the mountain path in the distance. Knowing Shen Jianan was waiting for him, he hurriedly called out, "Jianan!"

"Brother Gu!"

Hearing him, the youth looked up and waved at him with a smile. Then he called toward the courtyard, "You're back from the mountains?"

Gu Yu laughed. Knowing Shen Jianan was putting on a show for Zhang Qiao and the other two, he quickly nodded. "Yes. The 'meat' was especially crafty today. After a whole day, I only caught two rabbits."

As he spoke, he had already climbed halfway up the mountain. Shen Jianan stood on tiptoe, glanced at the rabbits in his basket, and smiled with curved brows. "Two is not bad either. If we eat one every other day, they'll last us quite a few days."

As he spoke, the youth entered the house with him. Chen Ming, Zhang Qiao, and Qu Feng had just finished making dinner. Gu Yu put the rabbits into the cage in the corner, then fetched water to wash his hands before sitting down to eat with everyone.

After dinner, Shen Jianan called Gu Yu into the room under the pretense of discussing new clothing designs. The door had barely closed when, before Shen Jianan could ask anything, Gu Yu took the initiative to explain everything.

"The man this morning was Liu San, one of Luo Tianming's subordinates. He came here so openly to look for Jiang Hongmei. Something must have happened in Capital City that required her cooperation.

"Otherwise, with Luo Tianming's cautious nature, he would never have allowed him to appear so openly at Chaoyang Production Brigade.

"I guessed it might be related to my uncle, so I took advantage of everyone's inattention to use my space to catch up with Liu San and seriously injure him... to delay the time before he could report back to Capital City."

As he spoke, he carefully watched the youth. When he saw no sign of disapproval on Shen Jianan's face, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief before continuing.

"Afterward, I sent a telegram to my uncle's lover and told him to use Jiang Hongmei's situation as leverage to deal with Jiang Jianhua, while also disgusting Luo Tianming in the process."

"Mm."

Shen Jianan nodded in agreement. "That is a good idea. Jiang Hongmei committed a serious crime. It is enough to keep her whole family busy."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Speaking of which, that woman was truly too stupid. She fell for my little trick and really went to destroy our blackboard newspaper.

"Still, I never expected the three of them to use red paint, much less accidentally destroy a portrait of a great figure."

The youth looked up at Gu Yu, his face full of lingering fear. "You have no idea. I was nearly scared senseless at the time. But when I thought about it, I felt as though Heaven was helping us..."

"I put the red paint there."

"Those three idiots..."

Shen Jianan had still been talking to himself when he suddenly heard that sentence. His eyes widened in shock, and for a moment, he could not process it. "What did you say?"

Seeing him freeze, Gu Yu smiled and reached out to pinch his cheek. "I secretly added the red paint for them."

Shen Jianan blinked in disbelief. "You... when did you add it?"

"When you went to find Feng Yi and the others."

Gu Yu took his hand and led him to sit by the bed, then voluntarily explained the entire process of his "crime."

After they had cast out the bait that day, Gu Yu quietly poured some pigment slurry into his space for later use. Then, in the middle of the night, he took Zhang Qiao and Qu Feng to the small wooden house where Zheng Lei and the others lived to keep watch. Sure enough, the three were plotting to destroy the blackboard newspaper.

The moment he saw them preparing to act, he immediately sent Qu Feng to notify Shen Jianan and told him to get the people from the Educated Youth Station to catch them in the act.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qiao and he hid in the dark. Only after the three left the wooden house carrying their tools did they follow from a distance.

It was not until they passed the fork near the Educated Youth Station that he used the excuse of needing to relieve himself and had Zhang Qiao wait by the roadside for Shen Jianan, Qu Feng, and the others.

Then he plunged into the woods and used his space to quickly catch up with Jiang Hongmei and the other two. Under the cover of the darkness, he silently poured the pigment slurry he had prepared in advance into the bucket Zheng Lei was carrying. That was what led to everything afterward.

Gu Yu lowered his head to look at the youth beside him and said cautiously, "I was truly sick of them pestering us without end, so I came up with this method.

"After all, red paint looks far more destructive than clear water and is more likely to provoke everyone's senses.

"By then, even if they failed to do evil, just that bucket of crimson water would have been enough for the brigade cadres not to let them off.

"Still, I truly did not anticipate the matter of them destroying the portrait. At the time, I only wanted to make their crime of destroying the blackboard newspaper stick."

His tone paused slightly as he said in a somewhat ingratiating manner, "So you are still the clever one."

"You are the clever one."

Hearing his beloved praise him, the youth smiled and leaned into his arms. Then he lifted his head to meet his gaze. "If you had not arranged things in advance, I would not have had that 'flash of inspiration' and pinned such a charge on them. Looking at it now, we really are made for each other. We are both equally clever."

After saying that, he felt he was being a little shameless, so he lowered his head awkwardly and rubbed against Gu Yu's arm. Gu Yu was instantly delighted, laughter rippling through his eyes. "Mm, I think so too."

Then he changed the subject and brought up the matter of selling winter clothes. "If you are willing, I can have people in Capital City pull some strings and find a factory to manufacture them for you. Then you can sell them directly there. You will definitely earn no less than you do here."

"No."

Shen Jianan shook his head. "Let's stick to our original plan. As for the Capital City market, I want to handle it personally once the time is right."

Gu Yu replied, "Since you have a plan, I will not interfere. But if you need anything later, just tell me."

"Don't worry!"

Shen Jianan nodded with a soft smile. "I definitely will not stand on ceremony."

"Mm!"

Gu Yu reached out and wrapped an arm around him, lowering his head to kiss the top of his hair. "Get some rest. Don't you have to get up early tomorrow to go into town and discuss cooperation with someone?"

"Alright, I am a little sleepy too."

Shen Jianan obediently agreed, but he remained nestled against him without moving. Gu Yu's eyes held a smile, his gaze full of tenderness. "I'll go get water so you can wash your face and feet."

"Mm!" The youth smiled and coquettishly said, "I knew Brother Gu treats me best."

Gu Yu curved his lips slightly and tapped the tip of his nose. "Wait here."

Then he got up and walked out of the bedroom. Before long, he returned carrying two basins of water. He washed Shen Jianan's face and feet, then took the water outside to pour away after finishing. He cleaned himself up as well before returning to the room, holding his soft beloved in his arms as they gradually drifted off to sleep together.