At this moment, Shěn Dàjiāng and his wife, along with their eldest son, heard that something had happened at home and rushed back from the fields.
Shěn Dàshān, carrying a hoe, rushed to the front, his sun-tanned face showing bulging veins on his forehead: "Who! Who is bullying my daughter!"
Shěn Tiězhù followed closely behind his father, the two of them like small mountains blocking Shěn Suìsuì and Grandma Shěn.
"Grandma, don't get angry. It's not worth spoiling your health over such people. Please wait a moment, I need to ask something."
Grandma Shěn blinked. It wasn't what she thought, so that was fine.
Shěn Suìsuì coldly looked at the mother and daughter pair and was about to walk over when Wáng Xiùfēn grabbed her hand.
Catching sight of her mother's worried expression, Shěn Suìsuì patted her hand to reassure her, then turned her head.
"Since you two care so much about my affairs, why don't you clarify things? Who told you that I, Shěn Suìsuì, am no longer pure?"
Seeing that the men from the Shěn family had returned, the mother and daughter pair grew fearful and took two steps back, stammering: "The village... the village is saying so..."
Seeing their flustered expressions, Shěn Suìsuì let out a cold laugh and pressed on.
"If the village is saying so, there must be a first person to say it. Tell me, from whose mouth did you hear it?"
The mother and daughter were speechless under Shěn Suìsuì's questioning. The younger woman tugged at her mother's sleeve. The latter's eyes darted around, and she suddenly pointed at someone in the crowd.
"It was Lǐ Cuìhuā who said it!"
As soon as this was said, the crowd stirred. They automatically parted a pathway, revealing Lǐ Cuìhuā's pockmarked face.
Her face changed drastically, and she screamed: "Nonsense! When did I ever say such a thing? Wáng Guìméi, don't spread slander! You yourself told me about Shěn Suìsuì's matter!"
"Why not you? Today at the village entrance, how many people heard you say it! With so many people watching, how can you have the nerve to throw mud at others, Lǐ Cuìhuā!"
Wáng Guìméi said this, a hint of relief flashing in her eyes.
Ever since her daughter, Xiǎojú, received a call from Jing City two days ago and learned about this matter, she had been feeling uneasy.
Yesterday, Lǐ Cuìhuā came to her house to borrow farming tools, and she took the opportunity to mention it. She didn't expect her to be so quick, and the entire village had spread the word in just one day.
Seeing the two women
swapping accusations, Shěn Suìsuì interrupted them with a hint of impatience and raised her voice. She then walked slowly in front of Lǐ Cuìhuā.
"Aunt Lǐ, you say that Wáng Guìméi told you about this matter first. Do you have any proof?"
Lǐ Cuìhuā, staring at her, felt a cold sweat break out on her forehead.
She was naturally prone to gossip, but being questioned publicly like this tied her tongue.
"It was yesterday afternoon, I went to Wáng Guìméi's house to borrow farming tools and we chatted. The daughter-in-law of Old Liu next door was also there, and she also said that you..."
"Lǐ Cuìhuā!" Wáng Guìméi sharply interrupted her. "Stop spouting nonsense! You fabricated these things yourself!"
Lǐ Cuìhuā, being cut off by her shout, turned beet red with anxiety.
Shěn Suìsuì turned back and coldly gazed at Wáng Guìméi and her daughter. She spoke, "You're so eager to silence someone, are you afraid of what she might say?"
Wáng Guìméi met Shěn Suìsuì's gaze and recalled seeing Shěn Suìsuì walking down the mountain covered in blood two days ago. Her face instantly stiffened.
Seeing that she had no more to say, Shěn Suìsuì turned to Lǐ Cuìhuā and said, "Continue."
"She also said you were defiled and abandoned by the Lin Family, and that's why you scurried back to the village..." After Lǐ Cuìhuā finished speaking, she saw the faces of the Shěn family and waved her hands repeatedly to explain, "She said all these things, it has nothing to do with me, I just overheard it! Old Liu's daughter-in-law can also testify for me!"
At this time of day, everyone had finished work and was rushing home for dinner. Seeing the commotion at the old Shěn family's house, no one was in a hurry anymore.
All sixty to seventy households in the Hongqi Brigade who had no broken legs or poor eyesight gathered to watch the spectacle.
Only Old Liu's daughter-in-law was missing. After some discussion in the crowd, they learned that she had taken her child back to her mother's home that day.
Just then, a commotion erupted from the back of the crowd. It turned out that Shěn Dàjiāng had arrived with some village cadres.
"What are you all standing around here for? Aren't you working in the afternoon? Going home for dinner, what are you waiting for!?" Shěn Dàjiāng shouted sternly, his gaze clearly turning cold as he swept over Wáng Guìméi and her daughter.
Seeing this, Grandma Shěn immediately strode forward. "Brigade Leader, you're here. Wáng Guìméi is spreading rumors about Suìsuì everywhere, and now it's come to our doorstep. You must uphold justice for us!"
Private matters are private, official matters are official. Although Grandma Shěn was Shěn Dàjiāng's aunt, she still had to give him due respect in front of others.
"Aunt, I know about this matter. Don't worry, I will give Suìsuì a proper explanation."
Shěn Dàjiāng appeased Grandma Shěn's emotions and his expression turned serious as he looked at Wáng Guìméi and her daughter. "The Brigade Accountant said that two days ago, there was a call from Jing City looking for Tián Xiǎojú. That person on the phone must have been Lín Jìngwēi, right?"
Shěn Dàjiāng's words were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, and the surrounding villagers erupted.
"Lín Jìngwēi? Didn't she run off with the money?"
"Oh my, she really knows how to cause trouble! Even after running off with the money, she's still not done, and even called specifically to spread gossip."
With the matter exposed, Tián Xiǎojú's face turned pale, and she tightly clenched the hem of her clothes.
Wáng Guìméi saw this and quickly stepped in front of her daughter, forcing a smile. "Brigade Leader, what you're saying... there's no way our Xiǎojú could have contacted Lín Jìngwēi. It's impossible..."
"Is that so?" Shěn Suìsuì saw that Shěn Dàjiāng was somewhat at a loss for words and immediately chimed in. "Then let's go to the county Post and Telecommunications Bureau and check if it was Lín Jìngwēi who made the call. If that doesn't work, since it's still early, we can take an ox cart to fetch Old Liu's daughter-in-law from the next village and confront her face-to-face. What do you say?"
Upon hearing that they would get a witness, Wáng Guìméi panicked. "This, this small matter, why make such a big fuss..."
"A small matter?" Seeing her say this, Grandma Shěn understood everything. She rushed forward and unleashed a torrent of scolding. "You mother and daughter, have you destroyed someone's reputation and purity, and you call this a small matter? If this matter isn't clarified today, I, this old woman, will fight your old Tián family to the end!"
Her words were sonorous, and the surrounding villagers nodded in agreement.
After all, in the countryside, a girl's reputation was more important than anything, and unfounded rumors could ruin a person.
Seeing the situation about to spiral out of control, Shěn Dàjiāng had Shěn Dàshān pull his elderly mother back.
"Quiet, everyone stop arguing! Since this matter has escalated to this point, it must be handled according to the rules!"
He looked at Wáng Guìméi with sharp eyes. "Wáng Guìméi, the phone records will be investigated. If you tell the truth now, we can consider a lighter punishment.\