Chapter 84: The Field of Carnage

Lin Jingyue's eyes widened for a moment. This scoundrel, after all the evil deeds he’d done, actually had so much money. Wait—something wasn’t right. The weight was off. If it were all banknotes, why would it be so heavy?

Suspicion flickered in Lin Jingyue's heart as she parted the stack of bills. As expected, beneath them lay neat rows of gold bars. The box wasn’t large, about half a meter in length and width, but a boxful of gold bars like this was worth a fortune.

Lin Jingyue rummaged through the gold bars, and seeing nothing else inside, she finally stopped. She put the gold bars away and counted the cash again. Five thousand! Ha, that bastard, he'd hidden away a tidy fortune.

Lin Jingyue collected all the money without a trace of guilt. What she got was hers—after all, people without a conscience never cared about such things, as long as she didn’t actively rob or steal from others.

Back at the county, the prisoner confessed nothing else, but recounted Lin Jingyue’s actions in full detail, especially how she’d pressed him about his escape plan.

When the officers and Song Shiyun went to the Su family’s old house to dig, they found nothing but an empty pit. Song Shiyun’s mouth twitched fiercely.

“Chief, we saw that girl leaving with our own eyes,” Song Shiyun’s subordinate said, at a loss.

“It wasn’t her,” Song Shiyun declared suddenly, resolute.

His subordinate: “…Are you sure you know what you’re saying?”

“There must be someone else. She didn’t take it,” Song Shiyun repeated. Yet inwardly he sighed—Comrade Lin seemed certain he would cover for her.

With the teacher present…

The next day at Qingshan Brigade, the captain organized people to repair the reservoir. Those who went earned twelve work points a day.

The educated youth point sent Luo Jianhua and Du Jianguo, but to Lin Jingyue's surprise, Lin Xinjian and Sun Liangdong also went.

Lin Xinjian’s family couldn’t send money from home, so he had to earn food and support Lin Xinrou, which was a heavy burden. Sun Liangdong was forced by Chen Chunlan. That woman was truly ruthless—who knows what method she used, but Sun Liangdong followed along with a grim face.

“Jingyue, I’ve finished knitting your sweater and wool pants,” Xia Nan said, knocking and entering as Lin Jingyue sat on the kang writing.

She cradled the wool clothes she’d knitted for Lin Jingyue. Later, Jiang Xun had gotten more yarn, so Lin Jingyue asked Xia Nan to make two more sweaters and a pair of wool pants, which took quite some time.

“Do you want to try them on?” Xia Nan placed the clothes on the kang.

Lin Jingyue put down her pen, picked them up and measured, “No need, you took my measurements. They’ll fit.”

One had to admit Xia Nan was a talented craftswoman—the knitting was excellent.

“Have some candy,” Lin Jingyue grabbed a handful of tangerine segment candies and placed them in Xia Nan’s palm.

She had all sorts of sweets: fruit hard candy, tangerine segment soft candy, and White Rabbit milk candy. But she usually kept the White Rabbit milk candy for herself.

“Call me again next time you have something good like this,” Xia Nan peeled a candy and popped it into her mouth, eyes squinting contentedly.

“Of course, with your skills, you’ll always be invited.”

“I won’t bother you while you’re writing,” Xia Nan smiled, standing up, not even glancing at what Lin Jingyue was writing.

“I haven’t started yet, you’re not interrupting…”

“Big sister Lin, are you there?” Suddenly, Iron Egg and Big Wa’s voices echoed from the courtyard.

“Yes, come in,” Lin Jingyue called out.

The children looked around the yard, then ran to Lin Jingyue’s door. “Big sister Lin, here are some fried small fish for you.”

“Big sister Lin, I caught an eel.”

“Big sister Lin, we gathered some little shrimp.”

Each child held a battered basin—Iron Egg, Big Wa, Niu Niu, and Zhao Di.

“You went to the river?!” Lin Jingyue got off the kang and saw they had quite a haul. She immediately put on a stern face.

“No, no, it was by the reservoir. We couldn’t get the big fish, just these…”

Listening to their chatter, Lin Jingyue finally understood. Fish had been released at the reservoir; the big ones were divided among the brigade, and the small creatures were fair game for whoever could catch them.

The children had brought everything they’d caught to her.

“I can’t eat so much,” Lin Jingyue said, half amused, half exasperated.

“You can keep them in a bucket, Big sister Lin. I’ll give you my bucket,” Iron Egg said generously.

“…Aren’t you afraid your grandma will beat you?”

“Not afraid, getting smacked is nothing.”

…Clearly, he was used to it.

In the end, Lin Jingyue brought out a bucket for them to pour their catch into, and only then did the children breathe a sigh of relief.

They were truly afraid she wouldn’t accept it.

“Let me give you some candy,” she grabbed another handful of tangerine segment candies, intending to give two pieces to each child.

But as she turned around, the children were already running off at full speed.

From afar, their voices carried back, “Big sister Lin, we don’t want your candy, keep it for yourself!”

Lin Jingyue was left half laughing, half crying.

“The brigade’s children are all quite good,” Xia Nan said with a smile.

“Yes, they really are,” Lin Jingyue replied, withdrawing her hand.

A little later, the brigade’s loudspeaker blared, calling everyone to divide up the fish. The educated youth were included.

Lin Jingyue closed her door and prepared to join the crowd.

Jiang Xun and Zhou Yan returned from gathering firewood on the mountain, carrying a wild pheasant. They always seemed to bring something back from their trips.

Yesterday, Xie Yunzheng and the others had gone along; though they hadn’t caught anything large, they did get a silly roe deer, and everyone got a hefty piece.

The Sun family was once again wafting the scent of meat yesterday, and Aunt Liu had chuckled secretly for a long time.

“Are you coming along?” Lin Jingyue asked Jiang Xun.

He wore a blue work jacket for mountain trips, with a tank top underneath, bits of grass stuck to it, his forehead damp with sweat, yet he didn’t appear slovenly—something to do with his overall aura, with even a hint of wildness.

Damn, he was eye-catching.

“I’m coming. Let me wash my hands,” Jiang Xun squatted by the well to wash his face, his hair damp with water vapor.

Lin Jingyue withdrew her gaze and silently looked at the sky.

“I’ll join the fun, too,” Zhou Yan chimed in.

Jiang Xun…

“I’m coming as well,” Xia Nan said, grabbing a basket.

She figured she’d probably get a fish, and if not, she could buy one. There was so little oil and fat—it was pitiful.

In the end, nearly everyone from the educated youth point went, including Wang Xueping and Yang Ming.

With Yang Ming around, even though the brigade ostracized them, they didn’t dare go too far. Besides, the two kept a low profile, and with Lin Xinrou and Sun Tie Zhu’s drama, people’s attention had shifted elsewhere.

They walked together, not too close, not too far.

Lin Jingyue chatted with Xia Nan, then sensed a hush and looked up.

At the crossroads, Sun Zhiyuan and Sun Zhigang approached, just as Yang Ming and Wang Xueping arrived.

The atmosphere—awkward.

A battlefield!

Lin Jingyue’s interest was instantly piqued. She looked at Sun Zhiyuan, genuinely curious about his expression.

When Lin Xinrou’s plot succeeded, Sun Zhiyuan’s role was not insignificant.

A man, facing a swapped bride and swallowing his pride—even if Lin Xinrou threatened him, Lin Jingyue found Sun Zhiyuan lacking.

This was Qingshan Brigade, the domain of the Party secretary and the captain—how could anyone else run wild?