I Became Rich by Eating Melons in the Era of Literature (1970s)

　　Wang Shanxi didn't say anything this time.

　　He is not the victim, so it is not his turn to make the decision.

　　Gu Nianwei did not intend to ask for compensation. Her request was simple: "I hope that the rumormonger, Comrade Lin Weihong, will make a self-criticism in front of the whole village, and Comrade Lin Jianzhong will apologize for threatening me."

　　To be fair, both of Gu Nianwei's requests were not high. The team leader felt that Gu Nianwei was a reasonable educated youth. He looked around the crowd and fell on Lin Weihong in the corner.

　　"Manzhu's wife, what do you think?"

　　What does Lin Weihong think? Lin Weihong doesn't want to!

　　New China has been established for 20 to 30 years. Has any woman in Liushugou ever made self-criticism in front of the whole village? How is this different from the criticism and struggle that was popular in previous years?

　　"I don't want to. Why should I make a self-criticism? I introduced her to a guy with good intentions, so it's fine if she's not willing. Why are you saying all this nonsense? What did I do wrong?" Lin Weihong felt that she was wronged.

　　She felt that her kindness was taken for granted!

　　Why was she so eager to introduce a boyfriend to Gu Nianwei? Wasn't it because she was all alone? Wasn't she trying to find a home for her? Wasn't Lin Jianzhong good enough? He was a military officer in his thirties, and after retiring from the army, he was the director of a supply and marketing cooperative. He had a promising future, and there were many girls who wanted to marry him. If she didn't really like Gu Nianwei, how could such a good opportunity befall a girl like her who came from another place and had no one to rely on?

　　"Our Jianzhong became a battalion commander at the age of 30. Now he is the director of the township supply and marketing cooperative after retiring from the army. Would it be unfair to her if I introduced him to her?"

　　The more Lin Weihong thought about it, the angrier she became. All the good things about Gu Nianwei in the past disappeared at this moment. She suddenly became the person Lin Weihong hated the most, and even Zhao Chunhua was inferior to her.

　　"What an ungrateful person."

　　Lin Weihong's voice was sharp and unpleasant to the ear. After she finished speaking, Jiang Youtao asked, "Who are you talking about, you ungrateful person?"

　　"I'm talking about you guys, what's the matter?"

　　As soon as Lin Weihong finished speaking, some women laughed. Lin Weihong's face turned pale and blue, and she obviously realized that she had scolded herself.

　　Li Yunying and other educated youth had not received any professional training, so they couldn't help but laugh.

　　Jiang Youtao nodded with a smile: "Oh, so you also know that you are an ungrateful person. You are really self-aware."

　　Li Yunying secretly gave Jiang Youtao a thumbs up.

　　Wang Shanxi looked at Jiang Youtao with a hint of approval in his eyes. Zhou Zhenfeng moved a little further away from Jiang Youtao. Zhao Rongguang clapped his hands, applauding Jiang Youtao's theory of Li (TL: ethical concept/principle).

　　Jiang Youtao raised her chin, indicating that we should be humble and modest, as these are all the wisdom of our predecessors and are nothing insignificant.

　　Gu Nianwei's smile was about to come out, but she was forced to hold it back: "Captain, my request is already here. Whether you do it or not is up to you."

　　The captain looked at Lin Jianzhong. Lin Jianzhong took a deep breath and took two steps towards Gu Nianwei: "I'm sorry."

　　The tone was stiff and the voice was muffled, but even Xu Dashan, a country bumpkin, could hear the reluctance in the tone.

　　Anyway, this incident today has already offended Lin Jianzhong, so Gu Nianwei suggested offending him even more: "Sister Yunying, did you hear what Director Lin said? Why didn't I hear it clearly?"

　　"I didn't hear it clearly. Maybe it was too windy." The wind started to blow in the evening, just like now. The evening breeze after midsummer was even cooler than before.

　　Lin Jianzhong knew that Gu Nianwei was making things difficult for him, but he had no other choice. His apology was a tacit admission that he had threatened Gu Nianwei. But he was already in a difficult situation.

　　As long as he didn't find evidence that Gu Nianwei was engaging in speculation, he couldn't tell anyone about it, otherwise he would really be slandering her.

　　"I'm sorry." This time, Lin Jianzhong's voice was much louder, and even the people who were riding on their own lover's head and watching the fun could hear it.

　　The captain nodded and made the final decision on the matter: "Lin Weihong will make a self-criticism in public at the meeting on Monday the day after tomorrow. Okay, everyone, go home. It's dark now. Go home and eat or sleep. Go home."

　　The captain still has a very high prestige in the village, and everyone is happy to listen to what he says. The crowd dispersed, and Jiang Youtao and others also went back.

　　The captain pointed at Lin Jianzhong and said, "Come with me."

　　The captain took Lin Jianzhong to the team headquarters. As soon as the door was closed, the captain could no longer hold back his anger: "Jianzhong, what's wrong with you? Do you know how big the impact will be if this matter is not handled properly?"

　　The relationship between the educated youth and the villagers was already delicate. If it was not handled properly, the impact would be extremely bad: "You have been a soldier for so many years, I don't believe you don't know the seriousness of it. Do you know that if this matter is exposed, your job as director of the supply and marketing cooperative will be gone."

　　Supply and marketing cooperatives were in high demand in this era, and there were many people who wanted to be the director of a supply and marketing cooperative. That's why many people wanted to dethrone Lin Jianzhong, who hadn't even sat firmly in the position of director.

　　"I didn't expect things to develop to this point." Facing the captain, Lin Jianzhong was unexpectedly obedient.

　　The captain pointed at Lin Jianzhong with his hands shaking: "I've told you long ago that you should change your disdain for women. After all these years, you still ignore my words."

　　Lin Jianzhong did not refute the captain, and the two talked for a long time in the team headquarters.

　　The educated youth returned to the educated youth center, and Jiang Youtao and the others arrived at the dormitory. Everyone had a grim expression on their face.

　　Zhang Huihui was very angry: "Were we just letting it go so easily?"

　　Zhang Huihui is young and energetic. Her sense of right and wrong is still at the black-and-white stage, and she can't stand the darkness in the world.

　　Gu Nianwei, on the other hand, was more open-minded: "A powerful dragon cannot defeat a local snake. If our demands are too excessive, our lives in the village will be difficult in the future. We don't know how long we will have to stay in the village."

　　Villagers in this era are united, and the same is true for Liushugou. If their demands are too excessive, those who were kind to them in the past will instantly change their faces.

　　This is the truth, and Zhang Huihui understands it, but she just can't swallow this anger: "So we're just going to let him bully us for nothing?"

　　Zhang Huihui acted even more upset than Gu Nianwei, the person involved.

　　Gu Nianwei was in a pretty good mood because she found that when facing Lin Jianzhong, the feeling of being out of control was not obvious, and could even be ignored if she didn't try to experience it.

　　"Of course not. Just because we don't pursue it doesn't mean others won't." Jiang Youtao was pouring water while talking to Zhang Huihui: "Lin Jianzhong was transferred to the township supply and marketing cooperative and became the director. He was parachuted in. So, do you think the person whose promotion opportunity he snatched away don't hates him? If it were you, would you pay extra attention to this parachuted person?"

　　Jiang Youtao put the water to her lips, blew on it, and took a sip.

　　Gu Nianwei put the dagger she took out today back into the box: "Taotao is right, Lin Jianzhong will probably be in a lot of trouble in the future."

　　Li Yunying also nodded to show her agreement with what Jiang Youtao said: "Yes, you also don't need to be worried with Lin Weihong's family. Their family doesn't have that much say in the village."

　　Zhang Huihui just didn't understand what was going on, but Jiang Youtao gave her some pointers and she finally understood. But she still felt it was not enough: "She got it too good."

　　Zhao Yonglan came back at this time. She didn't attend the confrontation just now. She mixed in the crowd and watched the fun with the people of the Su family.

　　Zhao Yonglan was in a bad mood. Looking at the few people who seemed to be fine, she was furious when she thought of what she heard at the Su family. "You are really too impulsive. If you rashly go and make trouble, won't you make enemies with the villagers? What good will it do us if we make enemies with the villagers?"

　　"It's just a trivial rumor. Just let it spread. Can't you just ignore it? Is there any need to make such a fuss?" Zhao Yonglan is an egoist. If it doesn't affect her interests, she will just watch the fun from the sidelines. If it affects her interests, she will be particularly ashamed, annoyed and angry.

　　Jiang Youtao thought Zhao Yonglan was a wonderful person. She had all the qualities she hated. "That's a good point. Tomorrow I'll make up some trivial rumors about you and spread them out. Don't get angry or make a fuss then."

　　Gu Nianwei looked at Zhao Yonglan and said, "The lesson I taught you a few days ago was not profound enough, so you forgot the pain after the wound healed, right?"

　　It would have been fine if Gu Nianwei didn't say anything, but as soon as she started talking, Zhao Yonglan felt a dull pain in the place where she had been hit by Gu Nianwei, and her breath was choked.

　　Li Yunying complained about Zhao Yonglan's absence today: "Zhao Yonglan, let me tell you again, we educated youth are united. No matter how we quarrel among ourselves, we are united to the outside world. We have to face problems together. Only when we are united will others not look down on us and bully us."

　　Zhao Yonglan didn't take Li Yunying's words seriously. She thought Li Yunying was exaggerating. What could happen to her? She had been in the countryside for so long and got along well with the villagers. But it was different with the educated youth. They got along particularly unpleasantly.

　　Zhao Yonglan was happier than anyone else when she heard the rumors about Gu Nianwei. Today, she saw Gu Nianwei confronting Lin Jianzhong and offending Lin Weihong's family. She almost jumped up and clapped her hands. How could she help Gu Nianwei?

　　They were enemies who had just had a fight!

　　Zhao Yonglan felt that Zhang Huihui and Liu Yingjun were both fools. Not only did they not hide when they saw such things, but they also tried to get involved. They were simply sick.

　　Li Yunying saw Zhao Yonglan's disapproval. She didn't say anything else. This kind of thing requires voluntary participation. If Zhao Yonglan really doesn't want to, can they force her?

　　It's just that people are all about each other. When they were in trouble, Zhao Yonglan only cared about herself. When something happened to her, she couldn't wait to blame others for not helping her.

　　After Zhao Yonglan suffered a setback at the hands of Jiang Youtao and the others, she could only go and find fault with Zhang Huihui.

　　She first lectured Zhang Huihui for a while, then said to Zhang Huihui: "Lend me five dollars."

　　Zhang Huihui's eyes widened: "Have you used up all the money you brought?"

　　Although Zhao Yonglan's parents favored boys over girls, they were not bad to their daughter, Zhao Yonglan. This time when Zhao Yonglan went to the countryside, she brought the most money, more than 200 yuan in cash alone.

　　Zhang Huihui's family was not as well off as Zhao Yonglan's, so she only brought 80 yuan with her. After arriving in the countryside, she didn't have much to spend, so she had 60 or 70 yuan left.

　　Zhang Huihui didn't understand how Zhao Yonglan spent the more than 200 yuan.

　　"No, Aunt Yuemei said that her family is going to have a wedding and she is short of money, so she asked me to borrow some first. She will pay me back after the work points are calculated after the autumn harvest." The Aunt Yuemei that Zhao Yonglan mentioned is the daughter-in-law of the old party secretary of the village.

　　Zhang Huihui was speechless for a moment: "They've all been lent out?"

　　"Yes, otherwise why would I borrow money from you. Don't talk about all that nonsense, just lend it to me quickly. I will write to my mother to ask for money later. I will pay you back when she transfers the money to me." Zhao Yonglan didn't feel bad at all for lending money to Zhu Yuemei, but she felt uncomfortable when she thought about paying back the five yuan to Zhang Huihui.

　　"I don't have money." Zhang Huihui knew Zhao Yonglan's personality very well. When her friends lent money to Zhao Yonglan, she never paid it back. She hadn't even paid back the two yuan she lent to Liu Yingjun when she was in the fourth grade.

　　Zhao Yonglan was furious: "You have money, why don't you lend it to me? If you do this again, I will write a letter and tell my mother."

　　Telling it to her parents is Zhao Yonglan's trump card to threaten her friends.

　　Zhang Huihui was unmoved: "Go ahead and sue me. And by the way, tell your parents about the fact that you lent money to others."

　　Zhang Huihui just didn't believe that Zhao Yonglan was so happy to spend money outside, and her parents wouldn't be anxious if they knew about it.

　　Of course Zhao Yonglan didn't dare to say it. If she dared to say it, she wouldn't have come to Zhang Huihui to borrow money.

　　Zhang Huihui now felt disgusted when she saw Zhao Yonglan's face. She went to the yard to fetch some water, washed her head and face, and went to bed.

　　The rest of the people also finished washing up and went to bed.

　　Only at this time did Jiang Youtao have time to check the task panel.

　　The task of preventing the male and female protagonists from having a blind date has been completed, and the reward has been sent to Jiang Youtao's system backpack.

　　Jiang Youtao went to check on Gu Nianwei's awakening progress again. After what happened tonight, her awakening progress had increased from the original 25% to 50%.

　　Jiang Youtao was a little surprised: [ System, how come the awakening progress has increased so much this time? ] You know, the last time she prevented Lin Jianzhong from meeting Gu Nianwei, the awakening progress bar only increased by 5%.

　　How come she has awakened 24.5% all of a sudden? Is this reasonable? This is unreasonable?

　　The melon-eating system said: [ After system testing, Lin Wenping and Lin Wen'an's favorability towards the No. 1 female protagonist has dropped to 30%, and they have stopped thinking about her becoming a stepmother. ]

　　Jiang Youtao suddenly realized.

　　The book says that the three brothers Lin Wenping admired Lin Jianzhong very much. In their hearts, Lin Jianzhong was omnipotent. Gu Nianwei's refusal to marry Lin Jianzhong in public was considered ungrateful by the brothers. In addition, Gu Nianwei asked Lin Jianzhong to apologize to her twice, which was unforgivable in the eyes of the brothers Lin Wenping.

　　They have unilaterally announced that Gu Nianwei has lost the qualifications to be their stepmother.

　　Jiang Youtao finally felt relieved: [ Comrade, you can also detect favorability? Why didn't I know this before? ]

　　Melon eating system; [ You didn't ask. ]

　　Jiang Youtao clicked her tongue and stopped talking.

　　[ Ding ~~~ The melon coin balance has reached 100 coins. Would the host like to upgrade the system? ] The electronic sound of the melon-eating system is full of joy.

　　Jiang Youtao clicked on the upgrade agreement under the melon-eating system, and when she saw the first point, she clicked "agree" without thinking.

　　The upgraded melon-eating system not only rewards eating the protagonist's melons, but also rewards eating ordinary people's melons. Anyone who doesn't upgrade is a fool. As for the fact that she have to spend 100 melon coins, Jiang Youtao selectively ignores it.

　　As long as she pretends not to know, it's the same as if she never owned the money.

　　The system quietly went offline for upgrading. As the night deepened, Jiang Youtao fell asleep.

　　The next morning, Jiang Youtao and her companions went to work as usual, and the villagers' attitude towards them did not change. Xu Dazui even came up to Jiang Youtao to ask for details.

　　Even though they knew most of what had happened, after hearing Jiang Youtao tell it again, Xu Dazui and the other two were still very interested.

　　Jiang Youtao asked them after she finished speaking: "Such a big incident happened last night, why didn't Lin Jianzhong's family show up?"

　　The more Jiang Youtao thought about it, the more puzzled she felt. There were many villagers watching yesterday, but she had never seen any other members of the Lin family. Even Zhao Chunhua didn't show up.

　　Xu Dazui looked around and lowered his voice to the minimum: "There is a rumor in our village that Lin Jianzhong is not Lin Laozhuang's child. He was given birth by Zhao Chunhua with the team leader!"