A woman in her 70s marries a rough-looking man; her plump wife is too delicate and alluring.

He Zhaoyang looked at him.

"When you wrote that complaint, you weren't thinking about helping me, nor were you thinking about how I'm your daughter. All you were thinking about was how to make me suffer. Now that the written conclusion hasn't even been released, you're coming to me asking for money. Do you think that's appropriate?"

He Weiye held the cigarette between his fingers and took half a step forward.

"It's okay if you don't believe me. But think it over. The longer this drags on, the more the villagers will spread the rumors. By the time the results come out, even if they say you're fine, the rumors will be out of control. It won't do your Sheng family any good right now."

He Zhaoyang did not back down, but looked at him.

"Isn't this the story you spread? Everyone in the village knows how you've treated me. Let's see who ends up getting hurt."

He Weiye's expression changed visibly, as if he had been told something.

He sneered, "Fine, you're stubborn. We'll wait and see. When the conclusion comes, your reputation will be ruined, and it will be detrimental to the Sheng family. When you come begging to me then, it won't be a matter of a hundred dollars."

"Also, when Sheng Yuze doesn't want you anymore, don't come crying to us. We don't have a daughter like you."

He turned to leave, but He Zhaoyang's voice came from behind him.

"Once the conclusion is reached, it will be copied to the brigade. Then the whole village will know that your report was fake. Then you can come to me and say it was a misunderstanding, and we'll see who begged whom."

He Weiye left without a care in the world, completely ignoring what He Zhaoyang had said.

In his eyes, this matter was already a foregone conclusion, and He Zhaoyang would definitely be punished.

For the next two days, He Weiye did not appear at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative.

But the rumors circulating in the village became increasingly outrageous.

Some say He Zhaoyang has been detained by the county authorities, some say she is under investigation, and others say she committed murder.

When He Zhaoyang went to the river to wash clothes, several women squatting by the river saw her coming and their voices noticeably lowered.

He Zhaoyang wrung out the clothes and put them in the basin, then stood up and walked back with the basin in his hand.

As he passed by those women, he said, "The county's conclusion will be out in a couple of days. I didn't make a mistake."

After He Zhaoyang left, there was a moment of silence, followed by hushed voices.

On the afternoon of the third day, people from the county came.

It was the same staff member as last time, holding a brown paper envelope, standing at the gate without coming in.

He handed the envelope to He Zhaoyang.

"The written conclusion is ready; I'll send it to you."

He Zhaoyang took it, opened it, and glanced at it. It was written in black and white, stamped with the official seal.

The sign read: "After verification, the reported content is untrue."

There is another line of smaller text below.

"It is recommended that the whistleblower apologize to the person being reported."

After reading it, she folded the paper neatly and put it back in the envelope, then looked up at the staff member.

"Did you copy it and give it to the brigade?"

"It's been copied. It'll be posted this afternoon."

He Zhaoyang nodded.

"Thanks."

The young man didn't linger and turned to leave.

He Zhaoyang ran happily to Sheng Yuze, "The conclusion is in: the report is false. The brigade will post it this afternoon."

Sheng Yuze looked at her and gently patted her head. "Okay."

In the evening, He Zhaoyang made a special trip to the vicinity of the brigade.

Sure enough, a new notice was posted on the bulletin board, which stated the results of the investigation into the allegations made by He Weiye, Liu Aiyun, and others against Comrade He Zhaoyang.

It clearly states that the allegations are untrue.

People passing by stopped to watch; some whispered a few words, while others glanced at it and walked away.

In the following days, He Weiye and his group tried to ambush He Zhaoyang, but Sheng Yuze interrupted them each time.

Sheng Yuze threatened, "If you dare to show your faces in front of Zhaoyang again, I will send you directly to the police station."

He left after saying that, leaving He Weiye to curse him.

*

Time flies, and early winter has arrived in the blink of an eye.

In the afternoon, He Zhaoyang was eating sunflower seeds and sunbathing in the yard.

Someone banged on the courtyard gate from the outside.

He Zhaoyang opened the door, and a man in a gray Zhongshan suit stood there, holding a kraft paper envelope.

He glanced at He Zhaoyang and asked, "Is this Sheng Yuze's house?"

He Zhaoyang nodded.

He handed the envelope to He Zhaoyang, saying, "This is the exoneration notice for Comrade Sheng Huaimin's family. It was approved by the county and officially issued."

"Mother! Sister-in-law! Brother! Grandma!"

He Zhaoyang shouted, "The Sheng family has been exonerated!"

Qin Meng stood at the door, her apron falling to the ground.

Grandma Sheng came out from the inner room and stood at the door, leaning on her cane.

Sheng Yuze came out of the kitchen and stood next to He Zhaoyang.

Sheng Yuze opened the envelope, read the contents incredulously, and nodded after confirming that everything was correct.

Qin Meng stood by the table for a while, then turned around to wipe her tears.

Grandma Sheng wept with joy.

The man said, "You can pack your things now. Commander Sheng will be reunited with you in a few days. Congratulations!"

The news of the Sheng family's exoneration spread throughout the village.

Those who have daughters all regret not letting their daughters marry Sheng Yuze.

Those who have offended the Sheng family live in constant fear.

Those who used to avoid the Sheng family started crowding around their doorstep.

They called her Sister-in-law Sheng more affectionately than anyone else, as if they had never avoided each other in the past.

Aunt Liu's voice was louder than anyone else's when she washed clothes by the river.

"I told you the Sheng family would turn things around! Look at them!"

When He Zhaoyang and Sheng Yuze went out to buy things, they ran into He Weiye, who was bragging to someone.

He Weiye squatted there and talked to someone.

He had a cigarette between his fingers, looking smug, as if everyone at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative should be able to hear him.

"My in-laws! Commander Sheng! From now on, we're city people! Do you know what kind of family my daughter married into? You all laughed at me back then!"

He talks as if he's the commander.

Someone nearby responded, while others remained silent.

He Weiye exhaled a puff of smoke and waved the cigarette between his fingers.

"If you ever need anything in the future, just come to me! It's a piece of my mind!"

He Zhaoyang pulled Sheng Yuze past him without stopping.

He Weiye saw her and raised his voice even higher.

"Zhaoyang! Tell your father-in-law that once we're settled, your mother and I will go to the city to have a look!"

She then flattered Sheng Yuze, saying, "Son-in-law, I knew you could do it."

He Zhaoyang stopped.

She turned around and sneered, "When you wrote the letter of complaint, why didn't you say you were my father? When you spread rumors about me, why didn't you say I was your daughter?"

He Weiye ignored He Zhaoyang's words and continued to chuckle, "Oh, we're family, no need for formalities. Dad was just confused before, but you didn't cause any real harm, did you?"

He Zhaoyang sneered, "How can you be so shameless?"

He Weiye was about to curse when he said, "You..."

Sheng Yuze stood in front of He Zhaoyang.

He Zhaoyang said from behind Sheng Yuze, "Since you say we're family, and we're moving right now, why don't you come and help?"