Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback

CHAPTER 136: The Pretty Educated Youth in the 1970s (4)

　　“You make it sound so easy! So he can ruin my reputation and get away with a simple apology? Does that mean a murderer can kill someone and then just apologize to get off the hook?”

　　“Besides, there are plenty of unmarried young women in this village. If we let him off so easily, won’t he become even more brazen next time? After all, he can just apologize again when he gets caught!”

　　After hearing Xia Shuang’s words, the families with unmarried daughters felt a sudden jolt of alarm.

　　She was right. Liu Erbao had always been arrogant, relying on his uncle’s position as village chief to do whatever he pleased.

　　He had ruined a young woman’s reputation and nearly driven her to smash her head against a wall, yet all he had to do was offer a casual apology and everything would be settled? Wouldn’t that only make him even more reckless in the future?

　　Jiang Jin spoke up as well. “Educated Youth Xia is right. Liu Erbao didn’t just spread rumors and make sure the whole village heard them. He also insulted and threatened us just now. How can a simple apology possibly be enough?”

　　The other educated youths from the compound chimed in one after another.

　　“Exactly! There are still plenty of female educated youths among us. If we can’t even feel safe in this village, then we demand an explanation!”

　　Compared with the villagers who had their families and roots here, the educated youths who had come from elsewhere had no one to rely on. That was why they instinctively banded together.

　　Xia Shuang was one of the female educated youths. She was pretty, usually quiet and gentle, and easy to get along with.

　　Liu Erbao had clearly tried to ruin Xia Shuang’s reputation because he couldn’t get what he wanted from her. If they let the matter slide today, he would only grow bolder. Who knew which female educated youth he might set his sights on next?

　　Some of the villagers also spoke up in support of them.

　　“Who doesn’t have a daughter at home? Liu Erbao is already twenty-seven or twenty-eight and still unmarried. He dares to bully Educated Youth Xia today. Who knows whose daughter he’ll set his sights on tomorrow?”

　　“Exactly! Just because he’s the village chief’s nephew doesn’t mean he can do whatever he wants!”

　　Seeing public opinion turn overwhelmingly against his side, the village chief’s expression darkened. He fixed his black, unreadable eyes on Xia Shuang.

　　He had clearly underestimated this girl.

　　He had thought she was gentle, soft-tempered, and easy to manipulate. That was why he had deliberately chosen her as a wife for his son, hoping she might improve the next generation’s intelligence. Who would have thought she had never shown her true colors? She was cunning, sharp-tongued, and far more difficult to deal with than he had imagined.

　　Liu Erbao, however, had never been one to keep his temper in check. Seeing Xia Shuang deliberately turn everyone against him, he flew into a rage and cursed, “I only apologized to you out of respect for my second uncle! Don’t go thinking you’re somebody important! And you want to call the police? The production team won’t even lend you a phone. How the hell are you going to report anything?”

　　“Everyone, did you hear that? The production team’s telephone is public property! Not only does he refuse to admit his mistakes, but he also treats public property as if it belongs to his own family. How is that any different from a bandit or a local tyrant?” Xia Shuang immediately called out.

　　Liu Changgui’s face darkened even further. He had been trying to figure out how to handle the situation, but hearing his good-for-nothing nephew spout such foolishness sent him over the edge. He kicked Liu Erbao hard in the butt.

　　Then he called over two young, strong men standing behind him. “Tie him up! Today, I’m going to use our family discipline to teach this unrepentant fool a proper lesson!”

　　Liu Erbao panicked and wailed, “Second Uncle! Those two deliberately set me up!”

　　Liu Changgui ignored his excuses. Whether the accusations were true or not, things had already gone too far. He had to put an end to this farce, or he would truly lose the villagers’ support.

　　As for that little brat, he’d have plenty of opportunities to deal with her later!

　　“Second Uncle!”

　　Liu Changgui remained unmoved. He took a carrying pole from one of the villagers and brought it crashing down hard on the back of Liu Erbao’s legs.

“Ahh!”

　　Liu Erbao cried out in pain, startling the two men holding him down.

　　“Hold him down properly!”

　　Liu Changgui showed no mercy, bringing the carrying pole down hard on Liu Erbao again and again. At first, Liu Erbao kept screaming, but eventually, he ran out of strength, and even his lips began to turn pale.

　　The onlookers couldn’t help taking a step back.

　　Only after delivering a full ten blows did Liu Changgui toss aside the carrying pole. He dusted off his hands, then cupped his fists and bowed to everyone.

　　“This disgraceful brat has caused everyone a lot of trouble. After this lesson, he’ll surely remember it. You have nothing to worry about. As long as I, Liu Changgui, am here, he won’t dare lay a hand on anyone in this village!”

　　The sheer force with which the village chief had beaten Liu Erbao seemed fair enough to everyone, and the villagers clearly trusted him.

　　After reassuring the villagers, Liu Changgui turned to Xia Shuang. “Educated Youth Xia, I know you’re still not satisfied. You and Educated Youth Jiang should come with me to the village production team office so we can discuss compensation. I’ll give you a proper explanation for this matter. Everyone still has work to do, so let’s not keep disturbing them here.”

　　Xia Shuang thought this man was quite skilled at winning people over. No wonder the original owner had been completely manipulated by them, unable to escape their grasp even until her death in her previous life.

　　However, Xia Shuang wasn’t afraid of him.

　　Meeting his gaze, she smiled playfully. “Of course. Village Chief Liu is such a righteous man. I’m sure you won’t shortchange me.”

　　Liu Erbao was already too weak to put up a fight. The two men supporting him carried him away.

　　Xia Shuang and Jiang Jin followed Liu Changgui to the village production team office.

　　Once they entered, they were on the village chief’s turf.

　　Liu Changgui sat down in his office chair, took out his tobacco pipe, and began smoking, watching the two of them with a cold expression.

　　He immediately tried to put them in their place. “You two had better understand whose territory you’re on. My nephew has already been beaten to a pulp, so you’d better know when to back off. Don’t think you can turn the world upside down just because you’ve learned a few lousy words from your books. I’m the one who calls the shots at your educated youth compound!”

　　They were just two youngsters barely over twenty. Did they really think he was afraid of them?

　　He had only compromised outside because the entire village had been watching. He’d put on a show for the outsiders to protect his reputation.

　　With only the three of them in the production team office now, Liu Changgui didn’t believe these two would really dare to make trouble for him. If they did, they could forget about getting by in the village from then on.

　　If he were dealing with other educated youths, they might have backed down out of fear.

　　But these two were Jiang Jin and Xia Shuang.

　　Jiang Jin was a grown man, full of youthful passion and a strong sense of justice. He was also clever. How could a few threats from Liu Changgui possibly intimidate him?

　　Xia Shuang was even less afraid. She had deliberately made a big fuss over this incident to target the Liu family and plant the seeds for her future plans.

　　After all, the village chief had an excellent reputation in the village. Everyone praised him as a good person.

　　If Xia Shuang rashly went around claiming he was a man of poor character or exposing some of his misdeeds, the villagers might not believe her.

　　Liu Erbao was different because he already had a bad reputation. But the village chief was skilled at winning people over, and she was just an educated youth from out of town. She couldn’t shake his position in the village.

　　By making such a huge fuss today, Xia Shuang had first dragged Liu Erbao’s reputation through the mud, reinforcing the villagers’ already poor impression of him.

　　The Liu family certainly wouldn’t give up on finding a suitable wife for their intellectually disabled son. Who knew what dirty tricks they might resort to next?

　　If their actions were exposed then, the villagers would be less likely to dismiss the accusations outright. Instead, they might think back to the incident with Liu Erbao. After all, the village chief and his nephew were related by blood. If the uncle had raised his nephew into such a disgraceful person, perhaps the uncle wasn’t any better himself.

　　In those days, transportation was underdeveloped, and villages were often quite far apart. Even if the police were called, they would still need to investigate, gather evidence, and question people. Besides the victims themselves, the villagers would need to get involved too. By then, everyone would be a witness.

　　Only then would the entire Liu family have a chance of facing severe punishment.

　　Of course, before all that, they still needed to give Liu Erbao a good, hard beating to vent their anger.

　　Xia Shuang felt around in her pocket for the remaining half of a Recovery Pill, casually pulled it out, and popped it into her mouth like a piece of candy.

　　The pill was dark brown on the outside, resembling a lump of brown sugar.

　　The village chief had been waiting for them to beg for mercy. Instead, he watched as Xia Shuang pulled a lump of brown sugar from her pocket and leisurely ate it.

　　She clearly wasn’t taking him seriously. Furious, he shot to his feet and slammed his palm against the table.

　　“Xia Shuang! Do you have any respect for me as the village chief or not?!”

　　Xia Shuang had already swallowed the Recovery Pill. As she felt strength gradually filling her body, she rubbed her nose and approached him with a smile.

　　“Not one bit.”

　　“Jiang Jin, go stand guard outside. I want to have a little chat with the village chief.”

　　Jiang Jin wasn’t comfortable leaving her alone with him and was about to say something.

　　Suddenly, Xia Shuang lunged forward, swiftly grabbed the village chief by the collar, hauled him out of his chair, and slapped him several times, left and right.

　　The village chief was terrified. He kept yelping, “Xia Shuang! You’re completely out of line!”

　　In response, she shoved his tobacco pipe into his mouth to shut him up, then started kicking him all over.

　　Jiang Jin was stunned. Once he came to his senses, he actually found it rather satisfying. In the end, all he said was, “Educated Youth Xia, be careful. Don’t hurt yourself.”

　　“I’m fine. Taking care of an old geezer like him is easy.”

　　Jiang Jin fell silent and hurried outside to keep watch.

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