Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 7 Li Lian's Attempt to Steal a Chicken Backfires
Li Lian was working in the field, and she was still angry about what happened last night when someone nearby struck up a conversation with her.

She immediately gave Lin Qin a good scolding.

"It's all because of that brat Lin Qin, who did those shameful things and made us lose face. She even dared to give me attitude. She's getting more and more outrageous!"

Upon hearing this, the woman became interested. "Lin Qin really cheated on me?"

Li Lian's eyes flickered; she neither nodded nor denied.

To outsiders, it seemed like such a thing was true, but Li Lian simply couldn't admit it.

Others came over to ask questions.

They surrounded Li Lian completely.

Li Lian loved the feeling of being fawned over and the center of attention. She cleared her throat smugly and sneered, "That brat seems quiet all the time, but I didn't expect her to be so wicked inside. Her clueless father is so protective of her, you can't even say a word to her. If this continues, who knows what kind of trouble that brat will cause!"

"Oh dear! We can't keep someone like that in our village. He'll corrupt the young women and wives in the village!" a woman said righteously.

Another person immediately chimed in, "That's right! Our village can't keep such a disgraceful creature! We have to go talk to Lin Yi; we can't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch!"

"Have you said enough?!" Lin Qingxiang's roar startled the group of old women.

When Li Lian turned around and saw Lin Qingxiang, she felt a little guilty and secretly wondered how much Lin Qingxiang had overheard.

But then Lin Qingxiang's hoe came crashing down just a hand's breadth from her feet.

"Ah!" Li Lian was so frightened that she fell to the side, clutching her chest in fear. When she came to her senses, she cursed, "Are you crazy?!"

Lin Qingxiang snorted coldly and pointed at Li Lian, "Let me tell you! We all know whether Lin Qin cheated on her or not. The police officers and the street director in the city aren't blind. You dare to spread rumors about something that didn't happen? I can get the brigade leader and the village head to deal with you!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" a woman asked, bewildered.

Lin Qingxiang glared at her angrily, "What else could it mean? What kind of good person is Li Lian! She's a heartless, rotten wretch. You all believe what she says? You're all pig-brains, stupid and dumb! No wonder she's being used as a pawn!"

A group of women were humiliated by Lin Qingxiang's scolding, losing all face and dignity.

After Lin Qingxiang left, they all went to settle scores with Li Lian.

At first, everyone was pushing and shoving each other, but it eventually turned into a brawl.

They each punched Li Lian twice to vent their anger.

When the brigade leader arrived, Li Lian was lying on the ground, wailing and crying, looking as if she didn't want to live anymore.

Lin Zhi arrived shortly after and rushed forward to help Li Lian up, asking, "What happened? Who beat you up like this?"

Li Lian cried even harder.

The final result was that the captain summoned Lin Qingxiang and the women who had assaulted him for questioning.

Lin Zhi was furious, but Lin Qingxiang was even angrier than him. As soon as he entered the door, he pointed at Lin Zhi's nose and cursed, "You good-for-nothing! You can't even control an old woman and you dare to let her out. Aren't you afraid someone will come knocking on your door and put a sack over your head!"

Lin Zhi's expression changed drastically. "Lin Qingxiang, what do you mean?" Lin Qingxiang grinned smugly and nonchalantly recounted Li Lian's fabrication that Lin Qin had cheated on him.

The captain's expression changed slightly. He had heard rumors that Lin Qin had cheated on him, but since it had only happened last night, he hadn't had a chance to ask Lin Yi for information.

"Lin Qingxiang, according to you, Lin Qin is innocent? This is no small matter!" The captain said with a serious expression.

Lin Qingxiang slammed his hand on the table with certainty, “Captain, if you don’t believe me, just send someone to the police station near Liu’s house to inquire! Lin Qin called the police last night, and I heard that even the street director went there. I reckon the whole street has heard about it now.”

This kind of thing is easy to find out with an investigation. What angers me is that we knew nothing about it, but Lin Zhi and Li Lian went to the Liu family last night. Today I even heard Li Lian spreading rumors everywhere, saying that Lin Qin cheated on her husband. You can ask them if you don't believe me.

The women who had been deceived by Li Lian all nodded angrily.

"Captain, we're not being unreasonable, we're just so angry! If Lin Qingxiang hadn't shown up in time, we would have gone to Lin Yi's house to demand an explanation. Li Lian is deliberately setting a trap for us!"

"Exactly, she's really vicious! She's making sure everyone's unaware of her intentions!"

Li Lian was furious and retorted loudly, "What did I mean? What did I mean? I didn't say anything. You're the ones who came up with your own ideas, what does it have to do with me? Did I say Lin Qin cheated on me? Did I even say those words?"

"What are you thinking? You just want Lin Yi's land and house because he doesn't have a son. Everyone knows it. Do you dare say you don't want Lin Yi's wealth?" Huang Guihua bluntly exposed Li Lian's scheme.

"You deliberately misled them!" Lin Qingxiang retorted, completely disregarding Li Lian's status as a woman.

The captain's gaze toward Lin Zhi and his wife darkened.

Lin Zhi was furious. He had no choice but to argue with them. Moreover, the longer he stayed, the more unpleasant Huang Guihua and the others said. He could only drag Li Lian away in a sorry state.

They wouldn't dare ask for any explanation.

Lin Qingxiang gave a smug sneer.

Huang Guihua and the others felt extremely embarrassed, so they told the team leader and went to work.

The captain patted Lin Qingxiang twice, speechless. "I know you're righteous, but you've really offended Lin Zhi and his wife today. Be careful they don't make things difficult for you."

"I'm not afraid of them! I have seven or eight brothers, and you, my cousin, are protecting me. If he dares to mess with me, I can kill that bastard!" Lin Qingxiang cursed, thinking that he would go to find Lin Yi later and remind him of Lin Zhi and his wife's scheme.

Within half a day, everyone in Shanglin Village knew that Lin Qin had been abused and framed by the Liu family, and that Li Lian had spread rumors about her.

Even the rumors about Lin Zhi scheming to seize Lin Yi's family fortune have become quite detailed and convincing.

Some of the more kind-hearted elderly people specifically approached Lin Zhi to question him, saying that since they were all from the same village, they should all be addressed as "uncle" according to seniority.

Lin Zhi was cornered at his doorstep and lectured, but he couldn't forcibly drive the person away. He was furious!
Li Lian fared even worse. The villagers already sympathized with Lin Qin, but Li Lian spread rumors at this time and offended several older women in the village. She could never shake off the label of being a heartless schemer who would cheat others out of their money.

After learning about the situation outside, Lin Qin hid at home and laughed loudly.

Lin Yi brought the fish soup into the house and called Lin Qin and Liu Yaya to come out and eat. Seeing Lin Qin's happy appearance, he couldn't help but shake his head, "If you don't have a brother, you will be bullied. Dad is useless and can't stand up for you. You can only bear it all by yourself."

Lin Qin was unhappy. "Dad, why are you saying all this? So what if I don't have any brothers? I'll stand on my own two feet! Although my second aunt is a scoundrel, she did say one thing right: I was too weak before, which is why others dared to bully me. From now on, I will stand up for myself, and I will repay anyone who makes me suffer tenfold or a hundredfold!"

(End of this chapter)