Chapter 17: Borrowing a Knife to Kill, Achieving Three Goals with One Move

Chapter 17: Borrowing a Knife to Kill, Achieving Three Goals with One Move

With the ticket in hand, Ye Qing finally felt a sense of reality and urgency about the task of going to the countryside.

Coming from the latter part of the 21st century, she had little understanding of what going to the countryside really meant.

Having grown up in the city, she had never spent time in a rural area. Moreover, in the era she lived in, agriculture had long been automated, with mechanical intelligent farming prevalent in rural areas, eliminating the need for farmers to work in the fields.

Her limited knowledge of the educated youth going to the countryside in the 1960s and 70s came from a few time-period novels she read on the Green Jiang River before her crossing.

The descriptions in those books painted a picture of backbreaking labor under the sun, with barely enough to eat, making survival incredibly harsh and cruel.

Having experienced the apocalypse and endured ten years of hunger and fear, Ye Qing had no desire to go hungry again.

From the moment she arrived in this era, Ye Qing had a clear goal: to enjoy a leisurely life, not to tighten her belt and suffer through hardships!

Once she got to the countryside, she was determined to secure an official position, legitimately collect a subsidy, and eat state-provided food!

To achieve this goal, Ye Qing felt she needed to go back and double-check her preparations, ensuring everything was in place before heading to the countryside.

Otherwise, once she boarded the No. 56 train, it would be too late to make any last-minute adjustments.

After placing the ticket and her countryside certificate into her backpack, Ye Qing prepared to leave.

However, before she even exited the revolutionary committee building, a female voice called out to her:

"Ye Qing? Are you here to collect your train ticket too?"

Ye Qing looked up to see two girls approaching her.

Both were around eighteen or nineteen, dressed in the era-specific liberation clothes.

One of them, about 1.6 meters tall with short hair reaching her ears and dimples that appeared when she smiled, looked quite delicate and lovely.

The other girl was slightly taller, with braided hair, also smiling, but her eyes seemed to be calculating something as they rested on Ye Qing, giving off a less innocent vibe.

It was this taller girl who had called out to her. As Ye Qing stopped, the girl quickened her pace, reached her, and grabbed her arm, asking with a warm smile:

"Don't you remember me? I'm Li Juan, your sister's classmate. We met last year when you brought your sister her quilt."

Ye Qing rifled through the original body's memories and vaguely recalled the incident.

At the time, Ye Hong had been boarding at a high school, and when the weather turned cold, their mother had sent the original body to deliver a quilt. Ye Hong had indeed been accompanied by a girl when she picked it up.

However, since Ye Qing had completely severed ties with the Ye family, she had no goodwill towards Ye Hong, let alone her classmate.

So, with a subtle move, Ye Qing removed Li Juan's arm from her and replied coldly:

"Do you need something?"

Li Juan's fake smile almost slipped at Ye Qing's cold response.

But thinking of the benefits promised to her, she gritted her teeth and continued with a familiar and friendly demeanor:

"Oh, it's nothing. I just haven't seen you in a while and wanted to say hello."

"Oh, by the way, I heard from your sister that you've also signed up to go to the countryside. The specific assignment list should be out by now. Do you know where you've been assigned?"

Ye Qing had no desire to answer.

She found Li Juan's familiar attitude strange and unnerving.

Moreover, the assignment of educated youth to the countryside was no secret. If Li Juan really wanted to find out where she had been assigned, she could have easily asked around at the revolutionary committee.

Sensing Ye Qing's coldness, Li Juan continued talking on her own:

"My situation is similar too. My older brother took over my grandmother's job, and my younger siblings are still too young, so I'm the only one who meets the requirements to go to the countryside, and my family pushed me forward."

"Your sister is smart, though. As soon as she heard the news, she found herself a partner, not only avoiding the countryside but also happily waiting to become a bride."

"Unlike us, who foolishly follow our family's arrangements and end up taking a big loss."

Ye Qing listened with growing impatience.

This Li Juan thought she was clever, but Ye Qing saw right through her little schemes.

Having survived the apocalypse, Ye Qing wasn't so easily manipulated by such basic rhetoric.

Li Juan was merely pretending to sympathize, trying to gain her attention and resonance, and then deliberately criticizing Ye Hong to build a false sense of camaraderie.

As long as the two of them had a common enemy in Ye Hong, it meant they were on the same side. This would lower her guard, making it easy to form an alliance with Fang.

Ye Qing had fallen for this kind of tactic at the very beginning of the apocalypse and had learned her lesson, so she was already immune to it.

She didn’t know what was going on with this Li Juan, but she didn’t care at all.

No matter whether this person had a good or bad relationship with Ye Hong, it had nothing to do with her. She wasn’t friends with this person and had no intention of using them to deal with Ye Hong, so there was no need to waste time on them.

Ye Qing twitched the corner of her mouth and was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, this Li Juan had no sense of perception at all, seemingly oblivious to Ye Qing’s impatience, and continued to talk to herself:

"When I first saw you, I felt an instant connection with you. Since you’re Ye Hong’s younger sister, that makes you my sister too. I think even if we’re sent to the countryside, we can still keep in touch by writing letters, help each other out, and encourage one another. We’ll definitely be able to make the best of our days in the countryside!"

"I forgot to mention, I’ve been assigned to Frosthaven City. How about you? Where have you been assigned? If we’re on the same route, we can travel together."

Ye Qing was just about to walk away but froze in her tracks upon hearing this, spinning around to look at Li Juan.

This person was assigned to Frosthaven City too?!

Ye Qing suddenly recalled the conversation she had overheard between Ye Hong and Ye Zhi Gao at the Ye family house.

She remembered that Ye Zhi Gao had mentioned that their father had asked Ye Hong's classmate for help, planning to drug her on the train!

The fact that the perpetrator could take action on the train meant that they, like Ye Qing, were also sent-down youths, and even if they weren't headed to the same city, their routes must overlap partially, otherwise they wouldn't be on the same train.

With so many preconditions, and the fact that the person had to be Ye Hong's classmate, there weren't many candidates who fit the bill.

Ye Qing's expression turned cold.

She finally understood why Li Juan had suddenly gotten so chummy with her, showing so much enthusiasm.

It turned out that this was the accomplice their father had hired!

First, acting all friendly and sisterly to lower Ye Qing's guard, and once they were on the train, surrounded by strangers, the two girls would naturally stick together. It wouldn't be strange for them to exchange food and drinks.

This meant that as long as Li Juan added something to anything edible, Ye Qing would definitely fall victim to it.

What a scheme!

Watching Li Juan droning on in front of her, Ye Qing's face remained expressionless, but inside, she was boiling with rage.

Her hand involuntarily reached into her shoulder bag and gripped the vine inside.

If this woman didn't stop her noise, Ye Qing couldn't guarantee that the vine in her hand wouldn't stab straight into the woman's chest!

"Cousin."

Just as Ye Qing was about to lose control, the dimpled girl who had been standing silently next to her suddenly stepped forward and stood in front of Li Juan, her round eyes staring directly at Ye Qing.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?"

The girl looked sweet and innocent, even when she glared, she didn't look intimidating at all.

But for some reason, Ye Qing had a feeling that this girl had sensed something. Not only did she position herself in front of Li Juan, but her gaze also subtly swept over Ye Qing's bag.

Ye Qing was startled and immediately pulled her hand back from the vine.

Li Juan, suddenly interrupted, flashed a look of displeasure on her face and instinctively wanted to scold the girl beside her.

But before she could open her mouth, seeing Ye Qing standing in front of her, she swallowed her words.

"This is Ye Qing. Her sister, Ye Hong, was my high school classmate," Li Juan explained to Ye Qing, pointing at the dimpled girl.

"This is my cousin, she's been assigned to Fog Frost City just like me."

Li Juan was somewhat dismissive of her younger cousin, but the sweet girl, as if unaware of Li Juan's attitude, still wore a sweet smile with her dimples faintly showing.

"Comrade Ye Qing, hello. My name is Yin Shuang, and I am also a sent-down youth this year. Nice to meet you."

Initially, after realizing that Li Juan was the accomplice sent by the Ye family to harm her, Ye Qing had developed a deep dislike for Li Juan. And because of that, no matter how cute her cousin might be, Ye Qing couldn't have a good impression of her.

But upon hearing the girl's introduction, Ye Qing's expression faltered, and she looked at the girl in surprise.

Yin Shuang? Why does that name sound so familiar?

A thought flashed through her mind.

Unable to resist, she asked, "Is your mother named Li Rulan, and is she a procurement officer in the logistics department of the silk factory?"

Yin Shuang was taken aback, surprised. "How do you know?"

Ye Qing chuckled dryly.

How did she know? Of course, she had read about it!

Not only did she know Yin Shuang's mother's name, but she also knew that the mother wasn't Yin Shuang's biological mother, but rather her father's second wife.

Since Yin Shuang's biological mother had passed away when she was very young, and this stepmother was good at pretending to be kind-hearted, Yin Shuang had been kept in the dark and had no idea she wasn't born to her stepmother.

Sent to the countryside, Li Juan, Aunt Li Rulan who worked in the silk factory, cousin Yin Shuang, and the sweet dimpled girl—all the information matched!

This was actually a novel that Ye Qing had read before her transmigration—*The Daily Life of a Lucky Girl in the 70s*!

Long-time readers of the website could probably guess from the title that the female lead had a special ability.

That's right, the female lead had a blessed life, a genuine luck-based protagonist who always managed to escape danger and have good fortune, essentially the darling of fate.

This sweet dimpled cousin standing in front of Ye Qing was none other than the female lead of that novel.

As for Li Juan, she was the villainous supporting character in the novel who constantly tried to sabotage the female lead, appearing from the beginning until the end of the story.

Ye Qing really felt like cursing at that moment.

Not because she had transmigrated into a novel, nor because both the female lead and the villainess were standing in front of her, but because she remembered the opening plot of this sweet pet novel.

The first chapter of the novel described how the female lead encountered human traffickers on the train, and thanks to her lucky constitution, she cleverly uncovered their scheme and helped the Train Police precisely catch a human trafficking gang.

It was a thrilling and satisfying read for most readers.

If not for the fact that there was a female sent-down youth who didn't survive the first chapter, collapsing from exhaustion after suffering from diarrhea, only to be taken hostage by the traffickers and ultimately dying from a heart attack due to fright.

Back then, Ye Qing had read the novel with great enjoyment, unable to stop.

But now, she couldn't quite laugh.

Because she had reason to suspect that this nameless female extra who didn't make it past the first chapter might very well be herself!

Accompanied by Yin Shuang and Li Juan, they were all heading to the countryside, specifically to Wusong City for the labor reallocation. Moreover, she had a heart condition and had fallen seriously ill on the train, suffering from diarrhea until she was utterly exhausted. All these clues unmistakably pointed to her—Ye Qing!

Ye Qing was so angry she almost fell backward. So, was she just a disposable character who would be written off in the first chapter, not even deserving of a name?

"Almost forgot, Ye Qing's father seems to work at the silk factory too. He probably mentioned his sister's name."

Seeing that Ye Qing didn't respond to Yin Shuang's question, Li Juan's eyes flickered with a sudden thought, and she smiled.

"Our elders work at the same factory, and my sister was even classmates with your sister. Now, we're all going to the countryside together. Isn't that fate, Ye Qing?"

Li Juan still hadn't forgotten her goal, which was to curry favor with Ye Qing and get closer to her.

Ye Qing had no intention of letting Li Juan have her way.

She had no interest in the protagonists and supporting characters in those "lucky girl" novels, nor did she want to get involved in their conflicts and become collateral damage. All she wanted was to live her quiet life in the countryside, and she didn't want anyone meddling in her affairs!

However, Li Juan's mention that both Ye Qing's father and Yin Shuang's mother worked at the silk factory had unintentionally reminded Ye Qing of something.

A brilliant idea to deal with Ye Qing's father suddenly struck her.

"It's getting late, I have some errands to run, so I'll be leaving. You two can do as you please!"

With that, Ye Qing ignored the reactions of the two plastic sisters and simply shook off Li Juan to leave.

Li Juan, not having achieved her goal, immediately darkened her expression.

It was her soft, cute, and innocent little cousin who stood beside her. After Ye Qing left, she suddenly spoke.

"Cousin, this Ye Qing seems a bit hard to mess with. Maybe it's best if you keep your distance from her in the future."

There was another sentence on the tip of Yin Shuang's tongue that she swallowed back.

Just when Li Juan had been chattering non-stop with Ye Qing, for some reason, Yin Shuang had sensed a dangerous aura emanating from Ye Qing. That was why she had instinctively stepped in front of Li Juan.

However, that dangerous aura quickly dissipated, as if it had been her imagination all along. Yin Shuang couldn't quite figure out what had happened, so she didn't mention it to Li Juan.

But she trusted her intuition. After all, she had relied on it to avoid many disasters throughout her life, and she believed this time would be no exception.

This Ye Qing was definitely not as weak and easy to bully as she appeared on the surface!

"What do you know? Ye Qing is dull and timid, easy to fool. Just be a little nice to her, and she'll eagerly become friends with us!"

Li Juan dismissed Yin Shuang's warning.

After all, she had already gathered all the information about Ye Qing from Ye Hong.

Ye Hong's description of her younger sister boiled down to three points: she wouldn't say a word even if hit with a stick, was honest and easy to bully, and could be easily manipulated with small favors.

In Ye Hong's mouth, this sister was a fool who could be molded and manipulated at will.

Li Juan had even witnessed Ye Qing being scolded by Ye Hong until she cried, yet she didn't dare say a word in response. So, Li Juan had full confidence in what Ye Hong had said about Ye Qing.

Just yesterday, the allocation plan for the educated youth by the revolutionary committee had been finalized. In secret, Li Juan had met with Ye Qing's father and Ye Hong and reached an agreement.

The Ye family had promised Li Juan that if she played some small tricks on Ye Qing during the trip and taught her a lesson, they would reward her with fifty yuan.

Li Juan's family was of modest means, and the resettlement funds for her countryside trip had already been tightly controlled by her mother, intending to give her only twenty to thirty yuan for personal expenses. So, this fifty yuan offered by the Ye family was quite a temptation for Li Juan.

Li Juan had agreed on the spot and confidently pledged that she would carry out the task without leaving any loose ends.

However, what Li Juan hadn't anticipated was that despite her meticulous preparation and rehearsed conversation tactics, her first encounter with Ye Qing had ended in failure, with her face getting slapped right away.

Fortunately, she had already confirmed from the reception office of the revolutionary committee that both she and Yin Shuang were assigned to Wusong City's Jiaotan County along with Ye Qing. So, even if Ye Qing wasn't responding to her now, it didn't matter.

The train ride from Shen City to Wusong City would take over fifty hours. She had plenty of time to plan, and it would be perfectly fine to make her move once they were on the train.

Thinking of this, a look of determination appeared on Li Juan's face.

Ye Qing had already seen through Li Juan's tricks. She hadn't acted only because Yin Shuang was watching, and Li Juan hadn't directly provoked her yet.

But if Li Juan dared to cause trouble on the train, Ye Qing would definitely strike back hard and give her a lesson she'd never forget!

At that moment, Ye Qing was in a hurry because she urgently needed to verify something.

She had gone to the silk factory but was stopped at the entrance by a security guard on duty.

"What do you want?"

The guard in the security room poked his head out, eyeing Ye Qing warily.

Ye Qing calmly smiled and took out two wild kiwis from her bag, handing them to the guard.

"Uncle, I'm here to see someone. Could you please help me call Li Rulan, an auntie from your factory's logistics procurement department?"

The guard glanced at the wild fruits Ye Qing offered and didn't immediately relent.

"What do you need to see Auntie Li the procurer for?"

Ye Qing pretended to be simple and honest as she smiled.

"I'm a villager from Xiangyang Village outside the city. We're backed by She Mountain, and the wild fruits there are about to ripen this year."

"With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, I assume the factories are preparing welfare for the workers?"

"So, I was wondering if your factory still needs any supplies. Do you accept chestnuts, kiwis, pine nuts, and other wild fruits? If you do, our village can organize people to gather them from the mountain."

The guard was momentarily stunned by her words.

He looked at the two dull-looking kiwifruits in his hand, given to him by Ye Qing, and asked curiously:

"Are these the kiwifruit you were talking about? Picked from the She Mountains?"

Ye Qing, with a face full of eager smiles, replied, "Yes, these are the ones! You can give them a try, sir. Our wild fruits from the mountains may not look very appealing, but they are really sweet!"

The security guard was skeptical but still peeled the soft skin and took a bite.

As soon as the flesh touched his tongue, the sweet juice filled his mouth, instantly captivating his taste buds.

Good heavens, was there really such delicious food in the world? What kind of divine fruit was this?!

He immediately widened his eyes and, fearing that Ye Qing might run away, urgently instructed her:

"Don't move from here. I'm going to find someone to help you right now!"

Without wasting any time, the security guard dashed into the factory, disappearing from sight within moments.

It was no wonder the security guard was so excited. These days, every factory was short of supplies. The silk factory struggled every year to come up with solutions for festival welfare, but the procurement department's efforts always fell short, leading to disgruntled workers who complained bitterly.

The security guard also received the factory's welfare each year and hoped that this year's gifts would be more decent. Now that someone had come offering fruits he had never tasted before, and they were so incredibly delicious, he didn't want to miss this chance to shine in front of the leaders.

Ye Qing's real purpose, of course, wasn't to sell wild fruits to the silk factory.

She just wanted to meet Li Rulan in person to confirm whether what she knew was indeed true.

However, seeing the security guard's excitement, Ye Qing suddenly felt that the idea she had just made up might actually be quite good.

If she could leverage the festival welfare distribution in various factories, she might be able to make a significant profit before going to the countryside.

But there were many loopholes in this plan. Without the help of an insider, it would be easy to get caught.

Although she was greedy for money, she valued her life more. In this era, it wasn't suitable to be too conspicuous. Only by making money quietly could she survive to the end.

The security guard was gone for nearly twenty minutes.

Ye Qing had been standing at the gate, a little worried that if Father Ye saw her, it would cause trouble.

Fortunately, she had timed her visit well. It was a little after two in the afternoon, and the factory had just resumed work. The workers were busy with production, and no one had slipped out of the workshop to slack off.

After twenty minutes, Li Rulan finally arrived, albeit slowly.

Perhaps feeling a bit embarrassed for making Ye Qing wait so long, the security guard followed behind with an awkward expression.

Li Rulan was indeed as described in the book—graceful and charming, yet delicately touching. Even though she was in her late thirties, it was clear she was a beauty.

But Ye Qing wouldn't be swayed by Li Rulan's beautiful appearance.

Knowing the plot well, she understood that this woman was undoubtedly a treacherous beauty.

As soon as Li Rulan saw Ye Qing's shabby attire, a hint of displeasure flashed in her eyes, but she still smiled warmly.

"Are you the young girl that Xiao Zhao mentioned, who can provide us with wild fruits? What kind of wild fruits? Can you show me?"

Ye Qing nodded and took out a few chestnuts and kiwifruit from her satchel, handing them over.

This satchel had been used by Ye Zhi Gao before. He had thrown it away after it got torn in a fight. The original body had picked it up, washed it, and patched the holes with scraps of cloth. However, Ye Zhi Gao had found the patches too ugly and refused to use it, so the satchel became the original body's schoolbag.

Because it had been used for so long and Ye Qing had been running around in parks and the She Mountains recently, the satchel had gathered a lot of dust and looked rather dirty.

Li Rulan couldn't help but feel disgusted at the sight of the satchel and was equally dismissive of the fruits Ye Qing offered.

In her eyes, although the silk factory wasn't one of the top factories in Shen City, it wasn't so shabby as to give wild fruits as employee welfare. If the procurement department accepted these, the workers would surely laugh when they received them.

So after taking a cursory glance at the ugly fruits Ye Qing handed her, she casually tossed them onto the security room table.

What she was really interested in were pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese raised in the countryside.

If she could get her hands on those, the Mid-Autumn festival welfare for the factory would definitely be the best in Shen City. If the workers were happy, they would surely praise her, the head of the procurement department. With a good reputation, she could then go and coax Deputy Factory Manager Yang for a promotion, sealing the deal.

With her ambitions rising, Li Rulan's smile became even more gentle as she asked softly:

"Girl, does your village raise any pigs, chickens, ducks, or geese beyond the plan this year? We don't want these wild fruits, but we'll take as many pigs, ducks, chickens, and geese as you can provide."

Hearing this, Ye Qing couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

This woman was really greedy, looking down on the mountain fruits and wanting big fish and meat instead. How shameless!

In the planned economy era, the number of livestock allowed to be raised by each production team was limited. Moreover, with food scarce, people couldn't even feed themselves, let alone the animals.

This woman dared to dream big, wanting as many pigs, ducks, and chickens as possible. What nonsense!

Inwardly cursing, Ye Qing still had to put on a pure and innocent face. Seeing that Li Rulan didn't want the fruits, she immediately drooped her head, looking disappointed as she shook her head:

"No, all the pigs in our village were taken by the acquisition station. The villagers haven't eaten meat for a year."

Hearing this, Li Rulan lost patience with the young village girl and turned away.

Fortunately, Ye Qing had already achieved her goal, so even though Li Rulan had given her a cold shoulder, she wasn't upset. Instead, she smiled and said to the security guard beside her:

"Uncle, thank you so much just now. These chestnuts and kiwifruit are for you. Take them home and let your family try them."

With that, Ye Qing took out all the kiwifruit and chestnuts she had brought with her and stuffed them into the security guard's arms before leaving satisfied.

As she walked away from the silk factory, Ye Qing began to mentally review the situation.

In the morning, although she had successfully registered her parents for the Xinjiang support program at the revolutionary committee, in Ye Qing's view, the chances of success were only 50-50.

Such an outcome was definitely not satisfactory to Ye Qing.

What she wanted was for both her father and mother to go to the Great Gobi Desert. If her father managed to escape this time, she would be in a bit of a time crunch, and it wouldn't be so easy to deal with him again.

However, she couldn't find any dirt or weakness on her father, and for now, she couldn't think of any brilliant scheme that would strike with certainty. So, she had no choice but to take this gamble.

But after meeting Li Juan and Yin Shuang, and realizing that she had traveled not to a normal historical timeline, but to a period novel world, Ye Qing's mind suddenly lit up.

Not being able to catch her father's weakness was not a problem. She could create one!

After all, she had binge-read this koi-blessed sweet romance novel from start to finish. She was thoroughly familiar with the plot.

In the novel, Li Rulan, the stepmother of the female lead, had been secretly cheating on her husband before the movement broke out. When the female lead's father accidentally discovered her infidelity, this ruthless stepmother, fearing her husband's revenge, decided to go all out. Together with her lover, they framed the female lead's father, using the political movement to send him to prison.

Then this woman started to play the role of a suffering, devoted wife.

No matter how others advised her, she refused to divorce and insisted on raising the children alone, even after her husband was sentenced to life imprisonment. She successfully deceived everyone around her, including the female lead, who was completely played by her stepmother.

The stepmother's true face was only revealed much later in the novel, when the female lead's father, due to meritorious service, had his sentence reduced and was given a chance to leave prison.

But that wasn't the point.

The key point was a particular plot in the novel that involved a medical fact, which triggered Ye Qing's professional instincts, making her remember it vividly.

After Li Rulan started her affair, fearing an unwanted pregnancy, she secretly went to the hospital to get an IUD without her husband's knowledge.

After the female lead's father was imprisoned, Li Rulan became even more reckless, continuing her affair in secret. But somehow, the IUD failed, and she got pregnant!

This was a complete disaster for both Li Rulan and her lover.

To avoid being discovered, they tried everything to abort the baby, but nothing worked.

Eventually, the lover came up with a plan to transfer Li Rulan to another location. She rented a house outside of Shanghai and stayed there for several months, secretly giving birth before returning to the city.

The child was sent to an orphanage and later adopted by the lover, which led to a series of dramatic events.

Ye Qing had been shocked when she read that part!

The common misconception that an IUD guarantees contraception is indeed widespread. If it shifts or falls out, it can indeed fail and lead to an unexpected pregnancy.

This plot twist had surprised many readers, who felt they had learned something new.

Ye Qing had come to the silk factory to confirm this very detail.

If her memory served her right, shortly after Yin Shuang left for the Great Northern Wilderness, Li Rulan was temporarily transferred away from the silk factory.

This indicated that the timing of Li Rulan's unexpected pregnancy was around the time the female lead was sent to the countryside.

Ye Qing was a bit worried that her soul's travel to this world might disrupt the storyline and erase Li Rulan's pregnancy.

Fortunately, her fears were unfounded.

In the moment she handed Li Rulan a piece of fruit, she used her wood-element ability to probe and confirmed that Li Rulan was indeed pregnant.

It was still early in the pregnancy, probably only about a month along, and perhaps even Li Rulan herself hadn't realized it yet.

Once this was confirmed, Ye Qing felt a sense of relief. A huge weight was lifted off her shoulders, and a smile even crept onto her lips.

She was going to use Li Rulan's pregnancy!

Because she knew who Li Rulan's lover was!

It was none other than Deputy Factory Manager Yang, the very person Ye Hong's neighborhood committee director classmate was eager to curry favor with!

Besides the female lead's father, no one else knew about Li Rulan and Yang Wenchan's secret relationship.

In the 1960s and 70s, having an extramarital affair was considered a serious breach of conduct. If exposed, the punishment could range from public humiliation and criticism to even execution.

Yang Wenchan had a family of his own, and his position as the deputy factory manager was thanks to his father-in-law.

As long as his father-in-law hadn't retired, Yang Wenchan would never divorce his wife.

When Li Rulan got pregnant unexpectedly, Yang Wenchan first tried everything to get her to abort the child. When that failed, he quickly arranged for her transfer away from the factory.

Ye Qing had some doubts about whether the novel's description of Li Rulan's repeated failed attempts at abortion was actually true.

From Li Rulan's perspective, an abortion would offer her no benefits. It was in her interest to have the child.

After being an underground mistress for so many years, she must have had some ambition to move up.

But she knew very well that as long as her father-in-law was still in power, Yang Wenchan would never leave his wife.

So, after getting pregnant, Li Rulan decided to play her hand carefully. She chose to have the child first and worry about the rest later.

As long as she had the child, there would be a bond between her and Yang Wenchan, and he would never be able to shake her off.

It must be said, Li Rulan's plan was quite clever. If not for the female lead's father being released early from prison, she might have successfully risen through the child.

But according to the original plotline, it would be over a decade before the affair between these two was exposed.

Now that Ye Qing was here, she wasn't going to let things proceed according to the novel.

She planned to use a "borrowing a knife to kill" strategy, writing a denunciation letter in Ye Qing's father's name, accusing Li Rulan of having an illicit relationship and being pregnant with a love child!

Once this letter is submitted, Li Rulan will definitely be taken away for investigation. As soon as her pregnancy is confirmed, she will have no chance to deny it.

By then, even if Ye Qing's father claims the letter wasn't written by him, no one will believe him. It'll be like having yellow mud drop into his pants—whether it's shit or not, it'll look like shit.

With Li Rulan's cunning and scheming nature, she will definitely not expose Yang Wenchan. Instead, she will try to keep him out of the picture. After all, only if Yang Wenchan remains safe outside can he find a way to get her out of trouble.

This way, Yang Wenchan, as the Deputy Factory Manager, will come out of this incident without a scratch, completely unscathed.

When that happens, Yang Wenchan will definitely turn his anger on the person who exposed the secret, and Ye Qing's father will undoubtedly be hated by him.

As the Deputy Factory Manager of a large factory, it would be easy for Yang Wenchan to take revenge on a small workshop technician. It wouldn't even take direct action; a slow, lingering form of pressure would be enough to ruin Ye Qing's father!

By the time Ye Qing's father realizes he's being targeted by the leadership and can no longer continue working at the factory, his fate will likely be sealed—he'll have no choice but to leave his hometown and go to Xinjiang for support work.

Once the matter of Ye Qing's parents heading to the great desert in the Northwest is settled, that's when Ye Qing will drop another letter, exposing the affair between Yang Wenchan and Li Rulan. Yang Wenchan won't be able to escape then! That pair of scoundrels is destined to be nailed to the pillar of shame!

Of course, dealing with those two scoundrels is just a side benefit, consider it as Ye Qing doing a good deed, like a modern-day Lei Feng!

Ye Qing will never admit that she helped the female lead simply because she found the girl's dimples a little cute, and decided to take out the evil stepmother ahead of schedule.

Yes, in the world of a beauty dog, it's all about looks—there's no logic or principle, just beauty is justice and beauty is everything!