These villagers had held nothing back when they pulled Shen Yunzhi into chats about everyday life and urged her to get married.
Now that they had stepped forward to defend Shen Yunzhi, they were just as ready to fight Shen Yonggui, Wang Dezhen, and their crowd to the death.
Aside from those making jokes in the live comments,
most viewers were moved that these simple, honest villagers were willing to stand up for Shen Yunzhi.
Some younger people from the same village who knew their way around the internet saw that their fellow villagers had all appeared on the livestream and stopped holding back, too.
One after another, they posted to clear Shen Yunzhi's name.
[Yunzhi really is a wonderful person. My dad secretly told me that after she left, she sent money back every year for us to use. She even pulled strings to get a really skilled doctor to operate on my dad.]
[I'm Yunzhi's neighbor, and I've always kept in touch with her. I went to work in the city in my teens, and there were two years when I was really down on my luck. I borrowed a few thousand yuan from Yunzhi. When I found a steady job and paid her back, she kept trying to refuse it. I insisted she take it, but in the end, she spent that money on clothes and food and sent them back to my parents.]
[Yunzhi paid for me to go away to college. She never let her adoptive parents know about the money she sent to the village. Those two parasites feeding off her, and Shen Yaozu too-if they knew she was sending money to other people instead of giving it to them, they'd want to suck even her marrow dry. We didn't dare tell anyone, so we could only watch helplessly as these rumors plagued Yunzhi all these years.]
Quite a few people from the village came forward online to share their experiences and posted plenty of evidence.
There were screenshots of payments received and screenshots of chats with Shen Yunzhi.
Others came forward to confirm that Shen Yunzhi's adoptive parents had abused her in the past and hurled insults at her whenever they pleased.
She had done all the dirty, exhausting work.
After Shen Yunzhi left, she heard that a girl from the village had been accepted into a university in S City but came from a poor family, and she even went to see her in secret. When the girl refused to accept money, Shen Yunzhi found her a steady part-time job so she could work her way through college.
It brought the online viewers to tears.
[My eyes need to pee.]
[Forget being a simp and flaunting money. If my family put me through that, it'd be a miracle if I didn't turn against society.]
[With my temper, I'd kill them. And she still sends those two money?? Not sending them a few grenades would already make me a kind soul!]
[That damn couple!! They failed to get money out of her over and over, and now they've actually brought a whole crowd to guilt-trip her.]
Shen Yonggui and Wang Dezhen's behavior provoked everyone's outrage.
When Jiang Yunli learned from her manager that something had happened, she hurried back to deal with it.
It was giving her an awful headache.
She had never known Shen Yunzhi had this up her sleeve.
What Shen Yunzhi had done for the other villagers had actually allowed her to turn things around beautifully.
Although Jiang Yunli had known Shen Yunzhi was bound to stir something up when she returned to Caoli County,
she had never realized her schemes ran this deep.
Once that crowd of gossiping relatives realized there was no hope of getting money, they all left in disappointment.
Only Shen Yonggui and Wang Dezhen refused to leave.
They insisted on pestering Shen Yunzhi and making a scene.
They figured they could at least squeeze something out of her.
When Jiang Yunli arrived,
Shen Yonggui and Wang Dezhen were still making unreasonable demands.
Shen Yunzhi sat there expressionlessly.
The director was patiently trying to persuade them to leave.
The other guests were all watching the show.
Chi Zong munched on sunflower seeds as he chatted with An Zhizhi. "Why not just give those two a little money and send them off?"
Just watching was giving him a headache.
"You don't know a damn thing," An Zhizhi said irritably.
Chi Zong said, "It's not like Shen Yunzhi needs that little bit of money. Those two haven't seen much of the world. Even if they ask for an outrageous sum, it won't be much. She might as well just give it to them and settle it once and for all."
Xiao Yao asked Chi Zong for some sunflower seeds. "You don't understand. It's not that simple."
Once there was drama to watch, the three of them got along harmoniously, stopped sniping at one another, and were happily chatting again.
Whenever money was involved, Xiao Yao had a whole string of well-reasoned arguments.
"Once there's a first time, there'll be a second." Cracking sunflower seeds, Xiao Yao held a shell between two long fingers and pointed at Shen Yonggui and Wang Dezhen, who were still causing trouble nearby.
"Those two might as well have 'greedy' written on their foreheads. This time they want fifty thousand. Once they've spent it, they'll want a hundred thousand. Again and again, they'll suck Shen Yunzhi dry for the rest of her life."
Chi Zong gave Xiao Yao a thumbs-up. "You really know your stuff, Brother Xiao."
Xiao Yao was modest. "I do all right."
Chi Zong said, "Since I've praised you so much, how about easing up on the terms for that endorsement my company discussed with you last time?"
Xiao Yao said, "Those are separate matters."
Chi Zong said, "..."
Damn it.
He turns into such a tightwad as soon as money comes up.
Xiao Yao had only eaten a few sunflower seeds before he brushed off his clothes, stood up, and walked toward the director.
Chi Zong still wanted to negotiate with Xiao Yao. "Where are you going? Let's talk about this some more."
Xiao Yao gave an absentminded "Mm" as he listened, then left him with a remark.
"Those two are annoying me with all their wailing. I'll have the director send them away."
Chi Zong looked at Xiao Yao, then at the couple, utterly taken aback. "Doesn't Shen Yunzhi fighting with her adoptive parents bring traffic to your livestream?"
Why was Xiao Yao getting involved?
Xiao Yao only said, "What's so great about profiting off dirty traffic? It's no fun."
Chi Zong said, "?"
He was completely baffled.
Just listen to that.
Was that something someone as profit-driven as Xiao Yao would say?
Did he have that much of a conscience when it came to making money?
But before Xiao Yao could reach them,
he saw Jiang Yunli hurry back with Ji Nanxian.
Xiao Yao saw Shen Yunzhi blink, her previously disinterested expression suddenly becoming animated.
She looked as though a good show was about to begin.
Xiao Yao stopped in his tracks.
Then he leisurely returned to his seat.
Beside him, Chi Zong asked curiously, "Why aren't you going anymore?"
Too lazy to explain, Xiao Yao lounged on the plastic stool with his hands tucked into his sleeves. His manner was just like an old man's, yet he had an undeniably handsome face.
"If you want me to consider working with you, talk less."
Shen Yonggui had made up his mind to get something out of this trip and stubbornly refused to leave the doorway.
Neither of them had any fucking shame left.
Shen Yonggui planted himself on the threshold, and no one could pull him away.
Wang Dezhen clung to a pillar by the courtyard wall as though she had been stuck there with superglue.
Shen Yonggui said, "I don't give a damn! Aren't you people on TV? Since there's an audience watching, let those good viewers judge! I raised her all these years. What's wrong with asking for a little money?"
The viewers were furious.
[These two are pure trash!!]
[I seriously can't take this anymore. Those two won't do a single thing that even remotely resembles human decency.]
An Zhizhi couldn't stand watching anymore either and wanted to go say something.
Shen Yunzhi was still waiting for Jiang Yunli to bring Ji Nanxian over to put on their act, so she held An Zhizhi back.
"Let them make a scene. They'll leave once they've had enough."
An Zhizhi said angrily, "You can still put up with them after all this?"
Shen Yunzhi said, "I once heard a saying."
An Zhizhi asked, "What?"
Shen Yunzhi said earnestly, "After you take a shit, the last sheet of toilet paper doesn't actually wipe you clean. The shit has just faded enough for you to accept it. Life's the same. Put up with it for a bit, and it'll pass."
An Zhizhi said, "..."
Before you continue