Chapter 46: Fu Zhiqing is Not to Be Trifled With

Chapter 46: Fu Zhiqing is Not to Be Trifled With

Shi Wei was quickly restrained. He was initially shocked, then his face turned pale, and he struggled, shouting, "I'm innocent!" The Revolutionary Committee members had seen this kind of scene many times before, so they immediately pressed his head down and beat him until he became "docile," just as they had expected.

The other educated youths were terrified. When the Revolutionary Committee members told them to follow to the brigade headquarters, they all obediently complied.

Yang Qingqing walked at the very end, her face pale as a ghost.

The Revolutionary Committee members also took away a letter Shi Wei had not yet sent home. Comparing the two, it was almost certain that the handwriting in the old notebook and on Fu Mingze's textbooks was Shi Wei's, at least 80-90% similar.

Shi Wei, of course, denied it, especially the old notebook, which he claimed he had never even seen. But strangely, the handwriting in the notebook did resemble his, even more so than the writing on Fu Mingze's textbooks—

The writing on Fu Mingze's textbooks was something he had secretly added, but to distance himself, he had deliberately altered his handwriting, even trying to mimic Fu Mingze's style.

Unfortunately, it's easier to write poorly than well. Fu Mingze's handwriting was too good, and he simply couldn't imitate it.

As a result, the writing ended up resembling neither Fu Mingze's nor his own.

The problem was, one page in the old notebook contained the exact same content as Fu Mingze's textbook. This corroboration naturally led the Revolutionary Committee members to conclude that both were written by him!

Spreading counter-revolutionary rhetoric could lead to execution.

Only then did Shi Wei feel true fear. He broke down, shouting, "It wasn't me! I didn't write any of this! I'm a true proletarian! Someone is framing me, yes, someone is definitely framing me!"

He turned to Fu Mingze, who was standing nearby, and angrily pointed at him, "It's you, isn't it? You're trying to frame me! Fu Mingze, you want to kill me, don't you? How can you be so evil?!"

He then turned to the Revolutionary Committee members, "It's him, it must be him! He wrote those words, it has nothing to do with me! He's framing me!"

Fu Mingze calmly retorted, "I have no grudge against you. Why would I frame you?"

Shi Wei, likely in a state of mental collapse, turned and shouted at Fu Mingze, "What do you mean no grudge? How could there be no grudge? Yang Qingqing wanted to blackmail you by the stream, and I agreed to help her. I almost pushed you in, but you kicked me instead, sending me into the water. You must have noticed, you must have realized I was trying to push you, and you deliberately kicked me. You did it on purpose, I knew it all along, you bastard! You got me tangled up with that woman, Yang Qingqing..."

Beaten to a pulp by the Revolutionary Committee members, his face swollen and bruised, Shi Wei looked even more menacing, frightening the other educated youths standing nearby, who quickly stepped back.

Fu Mingze's expression remained unchanged as he calmly asked, "So this is your motive for framing me? You thought I kicked you that time, so you held a grudge and wrote counter-revolutionary slogans in my textbooks to frame me?"

Shi Wei seemed to have gone mad. He raised his voice, shouting, "It's Yang Qingqing! If you want revenge, why not go after Yang Qingqing?! She's the one who stole your soap, she's the one who tried to blackmail you by the stream, and she's the one who wrote the accusation letter! She's crazy! She said when she first arrived, she saw you with a stack of coupons, claiming you weren't really poor but just pretending. I told her she was delusional, but she wouldn't listen. She kept watching you, saying no matter what, she'd get you to be her boyfriend first. But you didn't take the bait, haha! So she started hating you, wanting to destroy you!"

The educated youths standing near Yang Qingqing immediately took several steps back.

Stealing soap, deliberately trying to blackmail someone by the stream, and when that didn't work, writing an accusation letter... This person was terrifying!

Issues of moral conduct and petty bourgeois behavior were bad enough, but to go as far as writing counter-revolutionary slogans in someone's textbooks—this was clearly an attempt to destroy someone!

Yes, with the old notebook as evidence, everyone had already suspected that the counter-revolutionary slogans in Fu Mingze's textbooks were likely written by Shi Wei. Now, with Shi Wei's outburst, they were 100% certain.

It was them, it was definitely them!

The two of them had conspired to blackmail Fu Mingze, and when that failed, they harbored a grudge and tried to destroy him!

Good grief, all because Yang Qingqing thought Fu Mingze had a stack of coupons.

What kind of madness is that? If Fu Mingze really had a stack of coupons, he would have exchanged them for money long ago! But the truth is, he didn't have any!

Living together, everyone had a rough idea. Fu Mingze was just a bit more fastidious, buying soap more frequently. The soap coupons were even exchanged for him by Zheng Jiamin, and sometimes it seemed like Zheng just gave them to him. Other than that, he hardly ever spent money, and no one ever saw him receive money from his family. He was visibly the poorest in the entire educated youth group.

Yang Qingqing must be out of her mind, absolutely!

Years later, when the educated youths present recalled the events of that day, they couldn't help but lament, realizing that Yang Qingqing indeed had some tricks up her sleeve. However, at that moment, no one believed such an outrageous speculation.

As the educated youths stepped back, Yang Qingqing was suddenly left standing alone. She glared at Shi Wei, her face pale with anger: "You're talking nonsense, you bastard! It was you who did all this; it has nothing to do with me. Don't you dare try to frame me!"

Deputy Director Wu looked at her: "Are you Yang Qingqing?"

She glanced at the clerk behind her: "Check her handwriting for a match."

Soon, the clerk brought over some of Yang Qingqing's letters from the educated youth group. Needless to say, the accusation letter was indeed written by her.

However, Yang Qingqing had a strong psychological resilience. At this point, she didn't deny writing the accusation letter: "As an educated youth, what's wrong with reporting suspicious individuals around me to the Revolutionary Committee? Fu Mingze is always flirting with Wang Qiutong. Is it wrong for me to suspect they have an improper relationship? Fu Mingze buys soap from time to time and washes clothes all day, wasting valuable resources. Is there anything wrong with me reporting his petty bourgeois tendencies? His textbook contains counter-revolutionary remarks, and I reported it to the authorities. There's nothing wrong with that!"

Wang Qiutong immediately stepped forward to scold her: "If you're crazy, go see a doctor. You're the one always making eyes at Fu Mingze, uh..."

After being glared at by Fu Mingze, Wang Qiutong quickly changed her tone: "No, it's you who's always eyeing Fu Mingze with ill intentions, and now you're trying to frame me. My relationship with Fu Mingze is purely that of revolutionary comrades, just like with every other educated youth. You're slandering me!"

Zhang Zhiqiang, as the leader of the educated youth group, felt it was his duty to speak up during such a significant event. He cleared his throat heavily and said: "Reporting to Deputy Director Wu and Deputy Director Sun, I am Zhang Zhiqiang, the leader of the educated youth group. I can testify that there is no improper relationship between Wang Ming and Fu Mingze. We share meals and living quarters every day, so we know this well. They barely even talk to each other."

If anything, Wang Qiutong was clearly closer to Zheng Jiamin.

Of course, Zhang Zhiqiang wasn't foolish and wouldn't say anything unnecessary at this point.

The other educated youths exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, and then weakly chimed in: "Yes, we can testify. Wang Ming and Fu Mingze don't interact much."

Zhou ManCang glanced at Shi Wei, who was still muttering, "It's Yang Qingqing, it's all Yang Qingqing's doing. Damn it, this woman promised to pay me if I helped her, but she still hasn't paid me." He then looked at Yang Qingqing, who was loudly proclaiming her innocence, threw the nearly finished cigarette on the ground, and stomped on it: "Deputy Director Wu, Deputy Director Sun, the situation is quite clear now. Fu Mingze was framed. The accusations of improper relationships are a rumor, and the counter-revolutionary remarks were also planted. As for the soap, buying an extra bar of soap doesn't make someone petty bourgeois, right? Can we let this matter rest here?"

Before Deputy Director Wu could speak, Deputy Director Sun adjusted his glasses and spoke first: "Team Leader Zhou, I disagree with your statement. Building socialism begins with the smallest details—every needle, thread, brick, and tile. If you use an extra bar of soap today, and I use an extra bar tomorrow, and everyone wastes resources without restraint, how can we ever build socialism? This isn't just about a bar of soap; it's about our style!"

Zhou ManCang wanted to say, "Bullshit! A bar of soap is just a bar of soap. Are you saying we can't build socialism without this one bar of soap?"

But he also knew that the Revolutionary Committee members wouldn't listen to reason. If they wanted to criticize you, even the smallest thing could be exaggerated.

Zhou ManCang frowned and sighed inwardly.

At least the accusations of improper relationships and counter-revolutionary remarks had been cleared up. Compared to those, the petty bourgeois tendencies issue was relatively minor.

"Then how about we hold a meeting in our brigade and have Fu Mingze make a self-criticism?" Zhou ManCang suggested.

Deputy Director Sun shook his head: "Since someone has reported it, we can't just let it slide. We'll take him back to the commune first."

Fu Mingze looked at him and said, "Deputy Director Sun, I bought that bar of soap to..."

Shen Moer, who was standing with the educated youths, suddenly interjected: "Fu Mingze, did you buy that bar of soap for me? Why haven't you given it to me yet?"

Fu Mingze, who had been calm all along, suddenly turned to look at Shen Moer, frowning deeply and signaling with his eyes for her to stop talking. Shen Moer glanced at him, stepped forward, and said: "Deputy Director Wu, Deputy Director Sun, I am a commune member of Yangliu Brigade and also a teacher at the brigade's elementary school. My name is Shen Moer. I previously asked Fu Mingze to buy a bar of soap for me. I think he forgot to give it to me after buying it. He was simply doing me a favor. Accusing him of petty bourgeois tendencies is clearly slanderous."

Deputy Director Wu looked at Shen Moer, smiled, and asked an unexpected question: "Are you the art teacher at Yangliu Brigade's elementary school?"

Shen Moer was taken aback but nodded: "Yes, I am the art teacher at the brigade's elementary school."

Deputy Director Wu nodded and didn't say anything more.

Deputy Director Sun stared coldly at Shen Moer for a while and asked: "The commune isn't far. Why didn't you go buy the soap yourself?"

Shen Moer met his gaze calmly: "As you said, it's just a bar of soap. Is it worth going all the way to the commune? Perhaps you've heard that two children from our brigade are going to the provincial capital to participate in a painting competition. This matter reflects on the honor of our brigade, the commune, and even the entire county. As their teacher, I've been focusing on tutoring them to improve their painting skills. During this time, I haven't been to the commune. If I needed something, I asked someone to get it for me."

Deputy Director Sun narrowed his eyes, glanced at Fu Mingze, and asked: "Then why didn't Fu Mingze say so from the beginning?"

Shen Moer smiled: "Today, there have been accusations of improper relationships, petty bourgeois tendencies, and spreading counter-revolutionary remarks—each charge more serious than the last. Fu Mingze is an honest person. He likely didn't want to involve me in this."

After a pause, she said, "But as a teacher, I must set an example and be truthful. Otherwise, how could I stand on the podium to teach and educate?"

Deputy Director Sun clearly wasn't ready to drop it and wanted to ask more, but Deputy Director Wu, who had been mostly silent, suddenly spoke up, "Deputy Director Sun, the painting competition is highly valued by the commune and the county. It is indeed necessary to create a good educational environment for Comrade Shen Moer. Since Fu Zhiqing was just helping to bring something, there is no issue of petty bourgeois tendencies. Let's end this matter here!"

Deputy Director Sun hesitated for a moment and then said, "Alright, but what about these educated youths...?" He wanted to take them all back for further interrogation.

Deputy Director Wu said, "Educated youths were sent to the countryside to support rural construction. I believe most of them are good. We just need to weed out the few bad apples among them."

Deputy Director Sun glanced at her and understood her meaning.

If this escalated, it would be hard to manage if the educated youths caused trouble.

"Take those two away," he finally said, pointing to Shi Wei and Yang Qingqing.

Shi Wei immediately jumped up and tried to run out of the brigade office, but he was caught by the revolutionary committee cadres after just a few steps. They slapped him repeatedly, twisted his arms behind his back, and shouted, "Stay still!"

Yang Qingqing trembled in fear, "I did nothing wrong! You can't arrest me! I'm an educated youth sent to support rural construction! I've met the Chairman in the capital! I'm the Chairman's most loyal revolutionary soldier! Ahhh, you can't arrest me! Let me go!"

"You, the Chairman's most loyal revolutionary soldier? What does that make us?!" A revolutionary committee cadre grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out.

Deputy Director Sun strode out with his chin held high, while Deputy Director Wu nodded slightly to Zhou ManCang before slowly following.

Only after the revolutionary committee left and Shi Wei and Yang Qingqing's curses faded did everyone finally exhale.

That was terrifying! Many thought to themselves.

In these times, the worst thing is to be targeted by the revolutionary committee. If Deputy Director Wu hadn't spoken up, Deputy Director Sun clearly wanted to take all of them away.

Suddenly, everyone felt a sense of having narrowly escaped disaster.

Zheng Jiamin, who had been cowering in the corner, quickly ran over to Fu Mingze and slapped his shoulder, "That scared the life out of me!"

Fu Mingze ignored him, frowning at Shen Moer as if wanting to say something. But seeing many people curiously watching them, he said, "Comrade Shen Moer, let's go to your place to talk with Zheng Jiamin and, um, Comrade Wang, the educated youth."

Zhou ManCang waved his hand, "Go, go, finish handing over the items, settle the money and ration tickets, and the rest of you, disperse, go back and get ready, those who need to work should get to work."

The group shuffled out of the brigade office.

The road was packed with commune members who had come to gawk at the commotion. Seeing Zhou Qingguo walking ahead with his little daughter, they asked, "Qingguo, what happened? Why did the revolutionary committee take away Yang Qingqing and Shi Wei?"

"They were seen hugging by the stream for a long time, but they never married. Did the revolutionary committee find out? I always said something bad would happen if they didn't get married."

"But I heard Shi Wei shouting that it was all her, that she wanted to kill Fu Mingze, and Yang Qingqing yelling that rebellion is justified and reporting is not wrong. It didn't seem like a marriage issue..."

...

Seeing the situation, Shen Moer quickly gave Fu Mingze and the others a look, then turned and walked toward the backyard of the brigade office.

By going around the backyard and through the back door of her house, they could avoid being caught by the villagers and questioned.

Soon, they reached the small house where the landlord's mother and son lived. Shen Moer noticed the door was slightly ajar, with a figure peeking through the crack.

After a moment's thought, she walked over and whispered, "It's about the educated youths, it has nothing to do with anyone else." Then she quickly walked away.

Soon, the sound of the wooden door gently closing came from behind.

Shen Moer sighed quietly to herself.

Things have been somewhat better these past two years, but during the peak of the movements a few years ago, the mother and son endured a lot of suffering. Hearing that the Revolutionary Committee members were approaching, they were probably terrified.

Although Shen Moer was their neighbor, she rarely saw them, even when they went to fetch water, which they probably did late at night when it was quiet.

She had seen the young landlord carrying manure during work shifts, and a few times, she saw village kids throwing dirt clods at him, calling him the spawn of a landlord.

She scolded those kids, who casually promised not to throw dirt clods at him again, but then turned around and threw weeds at him.

Shen Moer really couldn't understand. Even if his family background was problematic, and his father and grandfather had oppressed poor farmers, what fault could a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy possibly have? He wasn't even born when his family were landlords.

As they walked around to the other side, passing by a cow shed piled with weeds and trash, the nearly useless but usually closed wooden door of the cow shed was slightly ajar, like the young landlord's house. An elderly man with graying hair was peeking through the gap.

"Zheng Zhiqing, Yang Zhiqing made malicious reports, and Shi Zhiqing made malicious accusations. What do you think the Revolutionary Committee will do with them?" Shen Moer suddenly asked.

Zheng Jiamin, who was addressed, looked bewildered: "It's hard to say with the Revolutionary Committee; it depends on their whims."

Shen Moer nodded: "Then this matter shouldn't involve others in our brigade, right?"

Fu Mingze, who had been walking beside her, glanced at the slightly open door of the cow shed and cooperatively said: "These matters have already been clarified. Deputy Director Wu also said that as long as a few troublemakers are dealt with, they won't return to the village."

Shen Moer looked at him and smiled: "That's good."

The broken wooden door of the cow shed slowly closed.

Only after entering the Shen family's courtyard did Zheng Jiamin finally realize: "Comrade Shen Moer, were you just telling Old Wang in the cow shed that the Revolutionary Committee wouldn't bother others or him?"

Old Wang was the elderly man who lived in the cow shed.

Wang Qiutong teased: "Oh, you finally got it."

Zheng Jiamin scratched his head: "I just didn't catch on in time."

Since he admitted it himself, Wang Qiutong couldn't say much more, muttering "idiot" before running off to sit on a chair under the overhang.

It was really terrifying, almost being accused of improper relations between men and women. Thinking about being paraded through the streets with Fu Mingze, wearing broken shoes, made Wang Qiutong shiver with fear, her legs going weak.

"Please sit, I'll get you some water."

Shen Moer went into the kitchen to fetch bowls and pour water. Fu Mingze followed her into the kitchen, picking up the thermos to pour water while saying: "It was too risky for you to stand up like that earlier. What if they came to search your house for soap? They might have accused you of petty bourgeois behavior."

"Or, knowing your father works at the commune, your excuse wouldn't hold, as your father could buy soap."

Shen Moer looked at him: "My family has been poor farmers for three generations, and we are commune members. Generally, without evidence, they wouldn't dare to search our house. If it came to a confrontation, those few people couldn't handle the whole village. Besides, even if they searched, they wouldn't find anything."

Her father disliked the smell of soap and had bought a bar of scented soap, which was usually well hidden to maintain the appearance of poverty.

"As for my father working at the commune, he's usually too busy to shop, which is normal."

"It's still too risky. Deputy Director Sun is clearly not easy to talk to. If he got serious, it wouldn't be easy to fool him," Fu Mingze frowned. He was really scared when she stood up to speak.

"If I hadn't stood up, what would you have said?" Shen Moer asked curiously.

"The soap was bought to kill pests in the vegetable garden. Spraying a one to one hundred soap solution can kill aphids, whiteflies, and other pests," Fu Mingze glanced at her and calmly said.

Shen Moer: "..."

She really knew too little about the world, not knowing that soap could be used to kill pests.

Fu Mingze's excuse wasn't flawless, but it sounded reasonable, especially since they were working on some experimental fields recently. Moreover, this reason sounded like they were doing something beneficial for the country and the people. The Revolutionary Committee couldn't possibly stop them from killing pests for the crops, could they?

However, upon careful reflection, this person seemed to remain calm throughout, skillfully countering the accusations of the complaint without a hint of panic, as if he had been prepared all along.

Shen Moer stared at Fu Mingze for a few moments, a sudden idea striking her. She lowered her voice, leaned in closer, and asked, "Those counter-revolutionary remarks on Shi Wei's old notebook, they weren't written by you, were they? You had already noticed the extra words in the textbook, so... you just played along?"

Fu Mingze's eyes flickered slightly, and he couldn't help but smile at her curious and nervous expression.

"Wait, that old notebook wasn't Shi Wei's?!" Wang Qiutong exclaimed from the doorway of the kitchen, "You, you, Fu Zhiqing, did you deliberately write that and stuff it under his bed?!"

Indeed, she had known all along that no one in the educated youth group was a pushover, and Fu Zhiqing was the most formidable of them all.

Oh, no, we should first rule out Zheng Jiamin, that fool.