The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

"Look at her, acting all slutty, and she still says she didn't cheat on him."

Ignoring her mud-soaked clothes, Widow Qin got up and started spouting nonsense at Bao Ya.

Hearing her words, everyone looked at Bao Ya.

Bao Ya's face was flushed, her neatly combed hair was a bit frizzy, and her dress, which was clearly new, had wrinkles.

This appearance is so similar to what happened just now. Could it be that Widow Qin was right?

Bao Ya felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by them. She had indeed been thinking about doing *that*, but they had interrupted her and ruined her good time. They were the ones in the wrong.

Thinking this way, Bao Ya, though lacking a clear conscience, spoke to Widow Qin:

"Widow Qin, are you sick? Which eye saw me cheating on someone?"

You yourself know to choose nighttime for your trysts, so why are other people so much dumber than you, choosing to do it in broad daylight just so you can ambush them in the house?

Everyone thought it made sense. Wasn't Jiang Yuan not home last night? Why did he have to come in the morning? If he was going to steal, he should have done it at night.

Widow Qin was furious. This time she had really seen it. Besides, what right did she have to accuse her of adultery without any proof? She hadn't caught her in the act, but she had.

"Stop with your sweet talk. I clearly saw that person climb over the wall. There are even shoe prints on the wall. You can't deny it this time."

At this point, Widow Qin put her hands on her hips with an air of authority and looked at Bao Ya triumphantly, waiting to see how she would deny it.

"If shoe prints on the wall mean someone's cheating, then your house would be a multi-story building!"

Bao Ya replied calmly that she wasn't afraid of anything. Even if they found the naked person in the house, it wouldn't matter, because she had her credentials.

This is just to keep Widow Qin company; I'm just killing time anyway.

"You, do you dare to let everyone into your house and take a look? If you have nothing to hide, then let everyone in and take a look."

"Why should I let you in to look? Who knows if you're trying to steal something?"

"If you won't let me in, you're hiding something."

"What if the person you're talking about isn't at my house? How about this: if you can't find them at my house, you give me fifty yuan, okay?"

When Bao Ya said she couldn't find anyone, she gave her fifty yuan, and Widow Qin immediately fell silent again.

She thought that if Bao Ya gave her fifty yuan, she could steal from whomever she wanted, and she would just pretend she didn't see it.

When the widow Qin stopped talking, some impatient people started stirring things up.

"Widow Qin, agree to her request. You saw it all anyway, we'll be your witnesses."

"Exactly, if they find anyone in her house, make her give you fifty dollars and then send it to the committee."

"That's right, just say yes. You'll get fifty dollars for free."

Looking at Bao Ya's confident expression, Widow Qin hesitated, wondering if the two of them had finished stealing and the man had run away from the backyard. But that didn't make sense either; judging by his skill in scaling the wall, he couldn't have been that fast.

Widow Qin glanced at Bao Ya with suspicion and saw that Bao Ya was looking at her with a smile.

"Have you thought it through? If you have, I'll let you in to see."

Bao Ya's nonchalant attitude made Widow Qin even more uneasy. She felt that the person must have run away, otherwise she wouldn't be so confident.

Jiang Yuan had already dressed and come to the yard. He heard what was being said outside clearly. He originally wanted to chase away the onlookers, but when he heard his wife betting fifty yuan with Widow Qin, he stopped in his tracks.

I carried the basin to the tap and washed my mud-covered clothes.

Outside, Bao Ya was still using sweet words to persuade Widow Qin to make a bet with her, and the onlookers joined in the commotion, resulting in a stalemate.

"What are you all doing here? Make way, let me through."

The monkey parted the crowd and arrived at Bao Ya's door, looking at everyone with confusion.

When everyone saw the monkey arrive, they stopped making a fuss and didn't leave; they just stood there watching. They felt that this guy would definitely be able to go inside and take a look.

The monkey's clothes had just been changed, and its hair was wet, indicating that it had just taken a bath.

Have you cooked at home?

He ignored everyone else and immediately asked Bao Ya, his familiar tone making it seem as if she owed him something.

"No, have your mom make it for you."

"My mom hasn't gotten up yet."

"Then let's eat at a state-run restaurant."

"The state-run restaurants aren't open yet."

As she spoke, she tried to push past Bao Ya and walk into the courtyard, but Bao Ya pushed her out.

"Don't cause trouble, this is catching someone in the act of adultery. Widow Qin, have you thought this through?"

Widow Qin was secretly glancing at the monkey, wanting to follow him inside to take a look. She was unsure of what to do, feeling that Lin Baoya was up to something, but she didn't want to give up such a good opportunity.

"Catch them in the act of adultery?"

The monkey belatedly turned to look at the crowd surrounding it.

"Widow Qin said that a man climbed over the wall and went in just now."

"Yes, she insisted that Bao Ya was hiding someone at home..."

……

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, and the monkey got the gist of it.

"What nonsense! She saw Jiang Yuan."

"How did you know it was Jiang Yuan? Didn't he say he went to the countryside to buy pigs last night?"

"Yes, we went together, and we're back now. Jiang Yuan, Jiang Yuan, come out here, they're framing your wife."

After saying that, the monkey shouted into the yard, wanting to get these people away quickly so that Bao Ya could make him something to eat; he was starving.

Seeing that his wife had no chance of getting the fifty yuan, Jiang Yuan shook his head and walked out.

"Did you need something?"

When everyone saw Jiang Yuan come out of the courtyard, they understood immediately; the widow Qin must have seen him.

"Why did you climb over the wall to get home?"

Widow Qin's voice became shrill. She had been speaking so confidently for so long, and it turned out to be Jiang Yuan. What did that make her?

"My husband Jiang Yuan wanted me to sleep a little longer and didn't want me to get up and open the door for him."

Bao Ya spoke to Widow Qin in a cheeky, high-pitched voice.

The sourness made Widow Qin's teeth fall out. She snorted at Bao Ya and turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, Bao Ya grabbed her hair and pulled Widow Qin back two steps.

"Widow Qin, how many times have I told you not to mess with me? Do you think I'm easy to bully?"

"Hey, let me go, let me go!"

Widow Qin twisted her body forcefully, shouting as she tried to grab Bao Ya's hand. Before she could even grasp Bao Ya's hand, Bao Ya let go on her own.

Because she used too much force, and the ground was slippery from the recent rain, when Bao Ya let go, Widow Qin fell a long way.

Bao Ya looked at the hand that had just grabbed Widow Qin's hair and felt extremely disgusted. The slippery touch made her wonder how long it had been since Widow Qin had washed her hair, as her hand smelled of human oil.

"Widow Qin, you're always seducing men, haven't you ever thought about cleaning yourself up first? You're filthy."

Bao Ya had lost the desire to hit Widow Qin. She turned around and ran home, where she went to the water pipe, lathered up with soap, and repeatedly washed her hands.

Bao Ya's reaction wasn't very harmful, but it was extremely insulting. Widow Qin got up from the ground herself and ran home, her face filled with grief and indignation.