Chapter Ninety-Four: False Accusation

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The villagers' words made even the educated youths who hadn't participated feel their faces burn with shame, and everyone could only try their best to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible.

Hao Hongmin, Yang Xiuying, He Mi, Sister Yun and the others, and Qi Zhaodi—none of them knew when they had moved to stand behind Han Li. As if Han Li's back could shield them from those words, and from the hateful glares in the villagers' eyes.

Because in their eyes, at this moment the villagers' faces had lost the harmony of days past, and that frightened them.

The villagers weren't just laying hands on those people—some even took the opportunity to cop a feel here and there. All of this they saw clearly.

Shouts of alarm, screams of pain, pleas for mercy, and cries to confess came pouring out from that group of people.

The three bigwigs of Shanghe Village hadn't stopped the villagers' behavior at first, only stepping forward when they felt it had gone on long enough.

"Everyone, hold on a moment. Let's give them a chance to defend themselves. Let's all hear what these people have to say."

No sooner had Brigade Leader Liang finished speaking than the educated youths began voicing their defenses one after another.

"Brigade Leader, I really didn't go stealing! I just went along with everyone to the fields and scooped up a couple of handfuls of bean pods."

"Brigade Leader, we weren't stealing! We were just taking back in advance the share we're owed this year."

"Brigade Leader, I was truly in such dire straits that I listened to them and went to pick bean pods."

"Brigade Leader, I was a good student back in school. I just followed them for a walk. Please forgive me this once."

"Brigade Leader, I want to report who masterminded this and what their motives were. I hope the village can give me a chance."

The three bigwigs of Shanghe Village nodded, then took away both those who wanted to inform and those who were making excuses, locking them up separately.

Village Chief Zhao stepped forward at this point and said, "Did you all hear what they said? Some said they stole bean pods because life was hard. Some said it wasn't stealing, just that they happened to come across them in the fields. Some said they learned bad ways from following others. Some even said this was just taking their rightful share in advance. Hah... what a joke. Are you taking all of us in the Shanghe Brigade for fools?"

"Brigade Leader, Village Chief, a bit more discipline and they'll confess honestly."

"Exactly. If they won't tell the truth, keep beating them until they do. I refuse to believe their mouths are harder than the bandits of years past."

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Just then, a hotheaded young man who clearly couldn't read the room stuck out his neck and shouted, "Zhao Shengli, Liang Ziqiang, Zhang Dagang! You're running a private kangaroo court! I'm going to the Educated Youth Office, I'm going to the higher-ups to report you for inciting villagers to beat up sent-down youth!"

Village Chief Zhao walked slowly over to the educated youth who'd threatened to report him, and said in a notably cold tone, "Hah, you say we're holding a private tribunal—that's an accusation I wouldn't dare accept. We merely caught thieves who stole from the collective. But do you know what happens to thieves around here when they're caught—especially thieves who steal grain? Let me tell you now: whether you're missing an arm or a leg, as long as you're still breathing when we hand you over to the police station, that's good enough. You should be grateful my temper has improved a great deal over the years. Otherwise—hah."

Village Chief Zhao paused there, staring at the now-terrified educated youth for a moment, then continued, "Hah, is that all the guts you have? On a battlefield you'd be a coward, and in wartime you'd be a traitor and a deserter. Didn't you say you were going to report us to the higher-ups? Don't worry, we'll gladly oblige what you just said—because when dawn comes, we'll personally escort you there ourselves, and let the higher-ups see what sort of faces you educated youths have."

After Village Chief Zhao finished speaking, he sat down wearily on a stone nearby and lit up his pipe. Brigade Leader Liang then addressed everyone, "I believe that no matter the reason, no one should steal the property of the collective or of individuals. If everyone behaved this way, wouldn't everything descend into chaos? Then what would be the point of the village branch? What would be the point of the county offices, the prefecture, the nation? Their actions, to put it mildly, are damaging public interests for private gain and undermining everyone's collective economic interests. To put it more seriously, they demonstrate dissatisfaction with the current socialist system and a deliberate attempt to sabotage all existing systems. If pursued to the full extent, all their relatives and connections could be investigated."

If Village Chief Zhao's words had been physical damage, making them feel the sting of pain, then Brigade Leader Liang's words now were a blow of both magical and spiritual damage, reducing them to trembling, weeping terror.

If time could be rewound, they wouldn't touch a single bean pod even if they were beaten to death.

But Brigade Leader Liang paid no heed to their crying. Instead, he raised his voice and continued, "So what should we do with people like this? I believe they must be stopped, educated, and struck against, so that everyone understands what the righteous path in this world is. Whether they're eventually sent back to the cities or tried for their crimes—that's for the higher-ups to decide. What we must do now is make them fully recognize their own mistakes, make them..."

Han Li felt like a long time had passed before he dragged his weary body toward home. Hao Hongmin and the others followed at his side, though at this moment everyone's mind and body were in a poor state.

Truth be told, all the educated youths were in a poor state now—those locked up were their roommates. Even if they usually exchanged barely two words when they came back, this mood... this feeling...

He didn't recover a bit of his spirits until he reached his own front door. Putting on a smile, he said quietly to the women, "Alright, everyone hurry back and rest now. The village will be sending people to inspect soon—best keep out of the way."

At Han Li's words, they snapped back to their senses. No longer able to dwell in melancholy, they hurried off toward their own homes. Never mind contraband—there were still certain personal items belonging to young women that needed to be tidied away.

It was then that Han Li noticed Zhang San's reaction was completely different from everyone else's. His face wore an expression of regret.

Han Li mulled it over for a moment and understood what was going on. Zhang San must be regretting that he hadn't been the one to report this himself. After all, for someone who habitually snitched, missing out on a piece of intelligence was roughly equivalent to a dog missing out on a steaming fresh pile of... well, you know.

A glint flashed in Han Li's eyes. No—this Zhang San absolutely had to be sent away as soon as possible. Otherwise, if he decided to rat on their side one day, even if it didn't necessarily cause any real damage, it would absolutely disgust him to death.

But this time, the mad finger-pointing of those educated youths who had gotten themselves in trouble—making the village inspect everyone's luggage—was just the perfect opportunity.

With that thought, Han Li decided not to go inside his home at all. He plopped himself down on the doorstep outside the gate and waited. He looked for all the world like someone openly awaiting inspection. In reality, his mental energy had already followed Zhang San into the educated youths' compound.

Before he could even check whether Zhang San had any contraband, the three bigwigs arrived with their people.

"Educated Youth Han, why are you sitting at your door? Haven't you gone inside yet?"

"No, not yet. Perfect timing—I'll have everyone come check my place along with me."

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