Twins from the 1970s, if you disagree, I'll slap you.

Chapter 7 Is she really a thief?

However, not everyone listened to Wang Xia's instigation; an older woman in the crowd stood up.

She frowned and said, "I've known Sister Sun for so many years. She's an honest and upright person, definitely not the type to steal. I believe she wouldn't do such a thing!"

Wang Xia immediately rolled her eyes and sneered, "Hmph! What's the use of believing her? It's not a holiday, why would she suddenly buy meat? Besides, her family ate plain noodles yesterday, what family can afford to go to such lengths? In my opinion, this meat must have been stolen!"

Her eyes darted around, and she added fuel to the fire, raising her voice a few decibels: "I also heard that things have been going missing from the textile factory's warehouse lately, and the finance office has had money stolen twice already. Maybe she's the one who stole it! Otherwise, where would she get the money to buy meat?"

These words immediately caused an uproar among the villagers, and their gazes towards Sun Yanhua changed.

"I heard that too. It's true that things went missing from the textile factory; a lot of stuff was stolen from the warehouse!"

"Could Sun Yanhua really be a thief? Otherwise, where does she get the audacity to be so extravagant?"

"Definitely! These days everyone's starving, who would eat wheat flour and buy pork every day for no reason? It would be strange if they didn't steal it!"

Sun Yanhua was both anxious and angry, her face flushed red, her hand clutching the pork trembling uncontrollably, her voice choked with sobs: "I didn't steal it! This meat really was earned with my own work points! You have to believe me!"

But at this moment, public opinion had been swayed by Wang Xia, and everyone was looking at Sun Yanhua with strange eyes.

Seeing that her chance was right, Wang Xia rushed forward and snatched the pork from Sun Yanhua's hand: "Give it to me!"

"Give it back to me!"

Sun Yanhua tried to snatch it back, but Wang Xia glared at her and shouted, "What do you mean, 'take it back'! This is stolen goods! I'm confiscating it!"

"I earned this meat with my work points, why are you confiscating it?"

Just then, an old man with gray hair walked out from outside the crowd.

He was the previous village chief, and he was highly respected in the village. His words always carried weight.

The old village chief glanced at the villagers who had gathered around him and said in a deep voice, "What are you all doing here?"

Upon seeing the old village chief arrive, Wang Xia felt as if she had found a powerful backer. She immediately squeezed through the crowd, rushed forward, and began to embellish her story: "Old village chief! You've finally arrived! Sun Yanhua stole a piece of meat, and I caught her red-handed! She still won't admit it!"

"I didn't steal it!" Sun Yanhua said firmly, tears welling in her eyes.

"It's you!" Wang Xia shouted defiantly, holding the pork in her hand. "This is the evidence! The evidence is right in my hands, what are you still trying to deny?"

Seeing Sun Yanhua's pitiful state, someone couldn't help but advise her, "Sister Sun, just admit you stole it, return it quickly, and don't do it again. In these famine years, it's understandable to steal a little when you're desperately hungry."

"That won't do! If everyone follows her example and steals, the village will be in chaos! She must be severely punished!"

Wang Xia stood to the side, a smug smile playing on her lips; she had successfully stirred up public opinion.

"Shut up, all of you!" The old village chief suddenly shouted, his voice not loud, but full of authority, and the noisy crowd instantly fell silent.

His gaze fell on Sun Yanhua, his tone softened, and he slowly said, "I can testify that the pork that Comrade Sun Yanhua bought was indeed exchanged for in the commune using her own work points."

"I also went to the commune to exchange things today, and I saw with my own eyes the work points she calculated. There's no mistake."

"Wang Xia, quickly return the pork to Sun Yanhua."

Wang Xia's face turned pale and then red, and she trembled with anger. She cursed inwardly: "That old man is such a busybody!"

Helpless, she had no choice but to return the pork in her hand.

Upon hearing this, the villagers realized that even the old village chief had testified, and that such a respected person would not lie.

"So that's how it is! I believe the old village chief; he never lies. We've wronged Sister Sun!"

"I knew it! Sister Sun is an upright person, how could she steal anything? It's all Wang Xia's fault for spreading rumors!"

"Wang Xia, you're really something! All you do all day is spread rumors and stir up trouble; not a single word of truth comes out of your mouth!"

Hearing the commotion outside, Lu Ye and Chen Dachuan, who were inside the house, came out to investigate out of curiosity.

Upon seeing Sun Yanhua surrounded by villagers and accused of being a thief, the two men's expressions instantly darkened.

When Chen Dachuan came out, he was still munching on a roasted corn cob.

Wang Xia happened to witness this scene, and as if she had seized upon a new pretext, she immediately jumped out and seized the opportunity to exaggerate, shouting in a shrill voice, "Look everyone! Sun Yanhua's family still has fresh corn cobs! At this time of year, the corn in the field hasn't even tasseled yet; it's not ripe at all!"

With her hands on her hips, she said smugly, "If you want to buy corn, you can only go to the supply and marketing cooperative in the county town, and it's very expensive! Where would Sun Yanhua get the spare money to buy these?"

"Hmph! Got the evidence, huh? This was definitely bought with stolen money! The evidence is conclusive, and she still wants to deny it?"

Chen Dachuan didn't bother arguing with her at all, so he stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face, sending her flying.

Seeing this, Sun Yanhua quickly went over and, looking at the half-eaten corn in Chen Dachuan's hand, asked seriously, "Xiao Chuan, where did this corn come from?"

Chen Dachuan explained, "Aunt Sun, these are work points I earned today from chopping firewood, which I exchanged for at the commune. They're absolutely clean!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Wang Xia covered her face, scrambled to her feet, and shouted, "You're just a kid, what work points would you have? How could you afford to exchange them for corn? You must have stolen it!"

The old village chief frowned and interrupted her sharply: "What do you know? Today in the commune, someone took on the task of chopping wood, did the work of ten people, and received ten times the work points!"

The villagers immediately erupted in excitement, whispering amongst themselves with curious expressions.

"My God! One person doing the work of ten people chopping wood? Is he even human? He's practically a superhuman!"

"Yeah, that takes a lot of strength! Does our village have someone that strong?"

"Old village chief, are you sure you heard me right? You've made enough for four people? That's terrifying enough for four people!"

While everyone was discussing, Chen Dachuan, who was standing at the back, was munching on a corncob with a smug look on his face.

The old village chief continued, "You heard me right, and I didn't misspoke. It's enough for ten people! This person is Chen Dachuan, the chubby boy from Sun Yanhua's family!"

"What?!" Wang Xia's eyes widened in shock, her face filled with disbelief. She screamed, "This is impossible! He's just a chubby boy, how could he have such strength?"

Chen Dachuan stopped chewing, slowly walked up to her, threw the empty corncob at her feet, and said coldly, "Wang Xia, have you forgotten what I told you yesterday?"

Wang Xia trembled with fright, instinctively covering her face with her hands and taking several steps back.

At this moment, Sun Yanhua sighed and said, "I was working at the commune today and I heard about Xiao Chuan chopping firewood. I know that the child must be exhausted today."

"That's why I gritted my teeth and used my accumulated work points to exchange for a piece of meat, hoping to nourish my two children."

"I usually can't bear to buy meat, but today is a special case. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding."

She then turned to Lu Ye and Chen Dachuan and continued softly, "Xiao Ye, Xiao Chuan, you don't need to do heavy work anymore. You're still too young and growing, so don't wear yourselves out."

Looking at Sun Yanhua's concerned eyes, Lu Ye and Chen Dachuan felt a warmth in their hearts, and their eyes involuntarily reddened.

The surrounding villagers were also moved and praised him.

"Sister Sun is such a good mother. She treats her two adopted children like her own. It's truly admirable!"

"Yes, these two kids are so sensible, they know how to help Sister Sun with the workload, and they're so capable!"

"Only a heartless woman like Wang Xia would bully Sister Sun's family every day. Da Chuan slapping her is too lenient!"

Upon hearing the words "slap her," Wang Xia instinctively covered her cheeks again, it had become a conditioned reflex!