Meanwhile, out in the fields of Wansheng Village...
As she worked, Auntie Zhao kept cursing Wang Ergou for causing Su Qianli to freeze and run such a high fever, nearly costing the poor girl her life.
When the villagers heard about this, they recalled the chronic illness Su Qianli had suffered from since childhood. They all shook their heads and sighed, deeply sympathizing with her plight.
Just then, thirteen-year-old Wang Goudan happened to walk by and overheard the villagers' gossip.
He felt incredibly resentful.
It turned out that Wang Ergou was Wang Goudan's young uncle, who often gave him delicious treats, so the two of them shared a very close bond.
He felt his uncle had been extremely unlucky. All he wanted was to date Su Qianli—what was wrong with that? Yet he ended up in such a miserable state.
But there was nothing he could do. After all, the Public Security Bureau wasn't a place just anyone could waltz into, and he didn't have the guts anyway. So, he kicked at the pebbles on the ground in solo frustration.
Suddenly, someone approached him and whispered in his ear.
Instantly, Wang Goudan's eyes lit up. His heart fluttered like a trapped rabbit, thumping with excitement.
To him, wasn't this the perfect opportunity he had been looking for to teach Su Qianli a lesson?
With this in mind, Wang Goudan gathered his buddies, preparing for revenge.
Su Qianli had no idea she had been targeted. Auntie Zhao had brought her lunch and dinner, and she was currently trying to figure out how to return the favor.
Eventually, she found a box at the very bottom of the kang cabinet containing money and coupons, totaling one hundred and sixty-three yuan and forty cents.
There was also a small cloth bag wrapped in a handkerchief, containing three wild ginseng roots of modest size.
Su Qianli decided to give one of the wild ginseng roots to Auntie Zhao. The older woman's health was a hidden concern; otherwise, she wouldn't have passed away so soon after Zhao Hongxing's incident.
Besides, even if she asked Auntie Zhao to go to the hospital for a checkup now, the older woman wouldn't agree, simply because she wouldn't want to spend the money.
But taking some preventative nourishment was highly necessary.
In addition, Su Qianli planned to keep one for herself. Falling into the water had served as a wake-up call; she had to properly nurse her body back to health. Without physical health—the capital of revolution—how could she face the battles ahead?
But staring at the whole ginseng root, Su Qianli was stumped. In the end, she decided to just gnaw on it raw, euphemistically claiming it was to maximize the retention of the active ingredients.
In truth, she was just too lazy to brew it!
Su Qianli picked up the ginseng and took a couple of casual bites. Her brow immediately furrowed; the taste was truly dreadful.
After eating it, she waited for a while. Feeling no obvious changes in her body, she put the matter out of her mind.
But when night fell, Su Qianli regretted her decision so much her stomach churned.
She felt incredibly hot all over, drenched in sweat. Tossing and turning on the kang, she couldn't fall asleep at all, as if every cell in her body were screaming in protest.
Meanwhile, under the cover of darkness and after a long conspiracy, Wang Goudan and his two companions finally decided to make their move on Su Qianli in the dead of night. Their target was her woodshed!
After all, Su Qianli was seriously ill and surely wouldn't be very alert at night. Burning down one of her woodsheds to avenge his uncle was considered a light punishment.
That person had told them that the woodshed was separated from Su Qianli's bedroom by the kitchen, so nothing dangerous would happen. It would only serve as a mild warning and wouldn't lead back to them.
Deep down, they knew that if they clashed with Su Qianli head-on in a real fight, they wouldn't stand a chance.
Out of options, they had to resort to this underhanded scheme, hoping to cause Su Qianli some grief and vent their own pent-up anger.
However, in the middle of the night, Su Qianli went out to use the outhouse. Suddenly hearing a noise in the yard, she didn't say a word. She snatched the manure ladle leaning against the outhouse wall, scooped up a steaming, brimming ladleful, and splashed it directly at the intruder.
Instantly, a foul stench filled the air. Feeling the strange substance on his body, Wang Goudan shrieked, "Aaaahhh!"
The boys waiting outside the gate were also startled by the scream.
Zhang Erhu said with a shudder, "Let's run! This is terrifying. Goudan's head must have been cracked open!"
Niu Shitou disagreed. They had to be loyal and couldn't just abandon Goudan. Besides, Su Qianli was only one person, so they still had a fighting chance. With that, they began scaling the wall to rescue Wang Goudan.
However, the moment they jumped over, something smelly and gooey hit them right in the face.
Zhang Erhu immediately reached up to wipe his face. Realizing it was manure, he opened his mouth in shock to scream, but the moment he did—"Blegh..."
Zhang Erhu could only squeeze his mouth shut, whimpering and sobbing.
Niu Shitou was relatively composed. He wiped the filth off his face with his hand and fell to his knees right in front of Su Qianli.
"Sister Su, we were wrong! We'll never do it again. Please spare us!"
After all, he had sharp eyes and had clearly seen Su Qianli holding the ladle in one hand and a bucket of manure in the other.
What else could he do but admit his mistake? Wait for Su Qianli to give them a taste of their own medicine—or rather, a mouthful of manure?
Ugh, the mental image was too beautiful to contemplate.
Su Qianli had been gearing up for a big fight, so she was a bit dazed when she saw Niu Shitou drop to his knees.
*That's it???*
She hadn't even really made a move yet! If she didn't teach them a lesson for breaking into her house in the middle of the night, she would disgrace her title as Invincible Su.
But Su Qianli looked at the bucket in her hand, then at Niu Shitou kneeling straight as a ramrod in front of her, feeling conflicted about whether to keep going.
Seeing Su Qianli hesitate, Niu Shitou thought his begging was working. He immediately dragged the nearby Zhang Erhu down with him and waved Wang Goudan over, lining them up to kneel in a row.
At that moment, Su Qianli remembered that she was still playing the fool. This identity had many advantages; for instance, doing outrageous things would seem perfectly normal to others, and no one would hold her accountable.
In that case, why not stir up some trouble? Su Qianli decided to handle the three of them using the original host's logic.
No matter what they came here to do tonight, she would treat them all as manure thieves.
After all, in these times, manure was a valuable resource.
In the darkness, the corners of Su Qianli's mouth curled up. Seeing how earnestly they were kneeling, and thinking how hard it must be to steal manure in the middle of the night, she decided to share the wealth and give them a ladleful each. Hehehe.
Then, Su Qianli generously scooped up a brimming ladleful and offered it to Niu Shitou.
Niu Shitou: "..."
Wang Goudan and Zhang Erhu watched, filled with suspicion. What was she doing?
Did she want them to eat it???!!!
Terrified, the two of them scrambled to the side.
However, their movement was too loud, instantly catching Su Qianli's attention.
Thinking they were impatient, Su Qianli turned the ladle toward Zhang Erhu.
Zhang Erhu's head spun, and he blurted out, "I... I've already tasted it! They haven't had any yet. Let them taste it first!"
Niu Shitou and Wang Goudan: "..."
The two of them turned their heads mechanically to look at Zhang Erhu, their faces filled with utter disbelief.
Excellent. She loved seeing them be so polite to one another. But it was one ladleful per person—no one was getting away.
Thus, Su Qianli brought the ladle close to Zhang Erhu again.
The thick stench invaded his nostrils. Zhang Erhu's stomach was already churning violently, but he had to force down the urge to vomit, his body twitching with the effort.
Su Qianli frowned. These guys were taking way too long. She immediately set down the bucket, stepped forward, and made the three of them hold out the hems of their shirts with both hands.
Since Su Qianli possessed extraordinarily freakish strength, when she used the ladle to guide their hands into position, the three of them felt as though their hand bones were about to be shattered.
This realization completely crushed any thoughts of resistance. They obediently followed her commands.
As a result, each of them left Su Qianli's house carrying a ladleful of manure cupped in their shirts.
On the way back, they carried it with utmost care, not daring to spill a drop.
Su Qianli had told them, "Don't waste it. It comes at a high price."
Only when they turned the corner and were completely out of sight did the three of them dare to drop their cargo and run like madmen toward the nearby river.
They soaked in the water until dawn, weeping and scrubbing their hands relentlessly. They felt incredibly aggrieved, utterly convinced they were forever defiled.
Su Qianli wasn't idle either. Since she couldn't sleep anyway, she began washing away the filth in the yard. Splashing manure was satisfying in the moment, but cleaning it up was pure misery.
It wasn't until dawn that Su Qianli finished cleaning up. Feeling exhausted, she turned and went back inside to sleep.
Meanwhile, by the wall outside the kitchen, someone whose legs had long since gone numb from crouching finally stood up. Hearing no more noise in the yard, they hobbled away, carrying a kerosene can.
The next day, rumors began to spread through the village that Su Qianli liked to feed people manure!
Overnight, the villagers started avoiding her.
This deterrent was far more terrifying than having one's head cracked open!
And the worst part was, everyone believed it!!!
Su Qianli: "..." Fine. Even doing a good deed was wrong now.
She could ignore the villagers' gossip, but for some reason, Su Qianli felt as though she had overlooked something very important.