The moment the finance bureau chief raised his hand, the murmurs in the crowd died down at once.
The villagers straightened instinctively, their eyes fixed on him with renewed anticipation.
His previous announcement had already stirred their spirits. For rural families who lived by work points alone, the chance to earn actual money was no small matter, it was, in many ways, the difference between mere survival and a slightly easier life.
Sensing their attention, the official allowed a brief pause before continuing, his tone steady and deliberate, "Comrades," he said, "a detached troop from the Baicheng Military Unit was assigned to our Taonan County several months ago for field training. To further their training and conduct extended drills in deep forest terrain," he went on, "they have selected this village as their temporary base, due to its proximity to the northern mountains and the surrounding deep forests. The soldiers will begin stationing here from next week."
He turned slightly toward Commune Director Chen Deshun and added, "The commune has already allocated land for the construction of their temporary encampment."
Then, facing the villagers once more, his expression softened into something almost reassuring.
"This arrangement will also bring benefits to all of you." He let that sentence hang for a moment before elaborating, "The soldiers will not only conduct training and drills, but will also assist with agricultural labor when possible. This means additional hands in the fields… and, naturally, more harvest at the end of the year."
A low murmur of excitement began to build again.
"And furthermore," he continued, raising his voice slightly, "the county will allocate additional funds as relief support to your commune. These funds may be used to improve village amenities."
That was the final push. The crowd erupted into cheers once again. For people who had spent their lives wrestling with scarcity, these promises struck directly at their deepest needs.
Soldiers stationed in the village meant security. Additional labor meant hope for a better harvest. Relief funds meant possibilities, like tools, repairs, perhaps even improvements to the small and poorly equipped village clinic.
Some villagers were already whispering among themselves about borrowing from the commune, pledging future work points in exchange for lone.
Amid the crowd, Chen Meilan's face lit up with rare joy, "Baicheng Military Unit?" she said, turning to her children. "Isn't that where your father is stationed? Do you think they might know him?"
Li Jianmin's eyes brightened immediately, "Yes, Mother," he said eagerly. "The one leading the unit here is Comrade Gu Zhenhua." He turned excitedly toward Li Shuying, "Does that mean he will be stationed here as well?"
Li Jianhua frowned slightly, recalling the man they had met earlier that day, "Comrade Gu Zhenhua?" he asked. "Is he the same officer we saw this morning?"
Li Shuying gave a small nod. But she said nothing more. Her gaze remained fixed on the finance bureau chief.
And in her eyes there was no excitement, only cold clarity and disgust. Because she could see through it all. The sequence was too deliberate to be coincidence.
First, an impossible grain quota, so heavy it crushed resistance before it could rise. Then, carefully presented "benefits," wrapped in official language and collective slogans.
Policies attributed to the county government… as if they were acts of benevolence.
But Li Shuying knew the truth. These arrangements were standard procedures tied to military troop deployment. They were not favors but necessities.
And more importantly, this entire chain of events had been set in motion because she had asked Gu Zhenhua to relocate his temporary unit here. That had been the root.
Yet now, the county cadres stood at the forefront, claiming credit, reshaping the narrative, and using it to bind the villagers more tightly to their demands and to extract more.
He Baogen's face was flushed with excitement as he turned to his mother, his voice filled with determination.
"Mother, don't worry," he said eagerly. "This winter, I will work twice as hard. I'll earn more work points in the fields, and I'll also join the reservoir and road construction teams. I can earn money there." His eyes brightened as he spoke of the future, "Then we can send little sister back to school."
Widow He's weathered face softened, pride and hope lighting her expression, "Yes… yes," she nodded, her voice warm with rare happiness. "Not just you, I will go as well. These old bones can still work. I will save up your bride price, and we will make sure you marry soon."
At that, He Baogen immediately grimaced, almost recoiling, "Mother," he said, frowning, "I'm not getting married so soon. Don't you know I've been trying to find work in the county? I will only marry after I obtain an urban household registration."
Widow He's expression darkened instantly, her earlier joy replaced by irritation, "You stubborn boy!" she snapped. "Stop dreaming about that urban household nonsense. Everyone knows how hard it is to get a city job. You are only delaying your life!"
He Baogen straightened, his tone turning firm, though still respectful, "Mother, don't you trust me?" he said. "I've been trying my best to get work in the county. I won't delay things for long. Once I secure an urban household registration, I will take you out of this village. You won't have to bend your back in the fields anymore. We will eat state rations… live properly."
For a brief moment, silence lingered between them. Then a sharp, mocking laugh broke through the air.
"Hah! Hah! Hah!" The sound was loud, grating, and dripping with ridicule. Everyone nearby turned instinctively.
Not far away stood Wang Chunhua, flanked by Sun Guifeng and Zhao Hongmei. Their expressions were anything but kind.
The moment Li Shuying saw them, her gaze turned cold. A sharp edge of fury rose within her. She had yet to settle accounts with Li Guofu and now, these people had come forward of their own accord.
Whether Wang Chunhua knew of her son's actions or not, Li Shuying held no illusions. This woman was not innocent. In her previous life, and even now, she had been complicit in far too much.
Meanwhile, Wang Chunhua was still laughing, her hand slapping against her thigh as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world.
"Aiyo, Widow He," she sneered, her voice rough and shrill, thick with the coarse bluntness of a village woman, "what kind of foolish brat have you raised? Listen to him, talking big like a county cadre already!"
She cast a scornful glance at He Baogen from head to toe. "Urban household registration?" she scoffed loudly. "With what? Your two empty hands? Or that patchy brain of yours?"
She snorted, "You can't even fill your own belly properly, and you dare dream of eating state grain? Bah! Don't make people laugh their teeth out!" Her laughter rang out again, sharp and unpleasant.
Beside her, Sun Guifeng covered her mouth lightly, though her eyes gleamed with amusement, "He Baogen," she said with a chuckle, her tone feigning mildness but carrying clear mockery, "don't take it the wrong way, but you haven't even properly finished middle school, have you?"
She tilted her head slightly, "And yet you speak of working in the city? Ai… you must have eaten something bad to be having such wild dreams." She let out a soft laugh.
He Baogen shifted uneasily under the weight of those words, his face flushing with embarrassment.
Widow He, however, was not one to swallow humiliation. Her temper flared instantly. With a sharp motion, she spat toward Wang Chunhua's feet and snapped, her voice trembling with fury, "You shameless old hag! Who are you to look down on my son? He may not be educated, but he walks a straight path. Unlike some people..."
Her eyes flashed with contempt as she jabbed a finger in Wang Chunhua's direction, "Why don't you look inside your own house first? The filth there is enough to choke people!"
Wang Chunhua's face darkened at once, her eyes narrowing into slits, "Humph!" she scoffed, planting her hands on her hips. "Filth or not, my Guofu will still get his high school diploma this year. He'll step into the county and find himself a proper job." Her lips curled into a mocking sneer. "Unlike your son, running around like a stray dog, bowing his head, knocking it on the ground at every door just to beg for scraps of work. Ai, ai… even thinking about it makes my heart ache with pity." Her tone was cruel, every word deliberately sharpened.
Widow He's face turned pale, then flushed red. Because this time Wang Chunhua had struck at a truth too painful to deny.
Year ago, in desperation, He Baogen had indeed tried to secure work at the county steel factory. He had blocked the path of a senior cadre and, in front of others, knelt and kowtowed, pleading for even a temporary position.
What had been meant as a private act of desperation had not remained private. A villager had witnessed it. And soon, the entire village had known.
Widow He's hands trembled as she tried to speak, "You… you..." But no words came.
Seeing her falter, Wang Chunhua's smirk deepened, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes, "See? Nothing to say now, eh?" she drawled. "This is what you get for wagging your tongue about my Guofu behind my back."
She waved a dismissive hand, "Bah, I didn't come here to dirty my mood arguing with a cursed widow who drove her own husband to the grave."
Her words were venomous, spoken with the casual cruelty of someone long accustomed to trampling others. Then, as if suddenly remembering her true purpose, she turned her gaze toward Chen Meilan.
"I heard," she said, her tone shifting into something sly and probing, "that your children came back from Baicheng… and brought quite a few good things with them?"
Chen Meilan stiffened, caught off guard. Her eyes widened, and she stammered nervously, "T...that… I… we..."
Wang Chunhua clicked her tongue impatiently and spat to the side, "Stop bleating like a goat!" she snapped. "If you have something, bring it out and show it." Her gaze turned sharp. "Don't forget, Li Guoqiang is still part of the Li family. Whatever he earns, whatever he brings back, it belongs to the whole family. His brothers, his nephews they all have a share." Her meaning was clear, blunt and shameless.
Behind her, Sun Guifeng stood unusually quiet. The memory of the last confrontation still lingered fresh in her mind, and she had no intention of stepping forward recklessly again.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced toward Li Shuying and froze. The girl's gaze was fixed on Wang Chunhua, cold and unblinking and it made Sun Guifeng's heart tighten. Uneasy, Sun Guifeng instinctively took a step back.
Not far away, Zhao Hongmei stood in stunned silence. Her attention was no longer on the argument. It was entirely on Li Shuying.
Earlier that morning, when Ma Zhenzhen and Xu Lanlan had mentioned that Li Shuying looked different, she had dismissed it without a second thought.
But now seeing her with her own eyes, zhao Hongmei felt her breath hitch.
How… was this possible?
Just a week ago, Li Shuying had been thin to the point of frailty. Her cheeks hollow, her complexion pale and sallow, her entire figure carrying the unmistakable signs of malnourishment.
But now, her face was slightly fuller. Her skin carried a faint, healthy glow. Even her bearing seemed different, steadier, sharper… almost unrecognizable.
It was as if, in the span of a few days in Baicheng she had become an entirely different person.
No… this can't be.
Zhao Hongmei's fingers tightened unconsciously at her sides, her nails digging into her palms.
Her gaze flickered, and unbidden, a memory surfaced in her mind, of the Li Shuying of her previous life.
At twenty-four, Li Shuying had possessed a quiet, arresting beauty that people could not ignore. Her features were refined and balanced, her eyes clear and deep like still water, calm on the surface, yet unfathomable beneath. Her skin, once dulled by hardship, had turned smooth and luminous, carrying a natural glow that required no adornment.
Her posture was straight and composed, exuding a restrained elegance shaped by years of endurance. Even her presence alone drew attention, not loud or flamboyant, but steady, dignified, impossible to overlook. When she spoke, her voice carried a gentle firmness that made others instinctively listen.
That image clashed violently with the girl before her.
Zhao Hongmei's expression darkened. A sharp, poisonous jealousy rose in her chest, twisting into something ugly and uncontrollable. Her gaze locked onto Li Shuying's face, and for a fleeting moment, a vicious urge surged through her to scratch and ruin it. Destroy that face before it could bloom further.
Her breath grew uneven. Almost instinctively, she closed her eyes for a brief moment and called out within her mind.
"System… what is going on?" Her tone was sharp, edged with suppressed panic. "Why is Li Shuying becoming beautiful? Just a few days ago she looked dark and sallow, now she's completely transformed!"
A mechanical chime echoed in her consciousness. The system's voice was emotionless, steady, almost indifferent.
[Ding… Host, please remain calm. Target Li Shuying possesses exceptionally strong fortune and destiny luck. External changes in her appearance and condition are a natural manifestation of her rising fortune.]
Zhao Hongmei's eyes widened slightly.
"What do you mean strong fortune?" she snapped inwardly. "Isn't that luck supposed to be mine?"
[Host has already initiated the Luck Extraction Protocol. However, current progress is insufficient.]
Her brows knitted tightly.
"Insufficient? I've been following your instructions!" she retorted. "I've already built a connection with Tang Yulan. That was one of the tasks, wasn't it?"
[Affirmative. Establishing a favorable relationship with Tang Yulan is one of the preliminary tasks. However, completing a single task is not enough to significantly reduce the target's luck.]
Zhao Hongmei's irritation flared.
"Then what do you expect me to do? I'm already doing everything I can!"
[Host must maintain consistency in task completion. Only through continuous interference in the target's interpersonal network, opportunities, and reputation can her luck be gradually extracted. As the extraction progresses, the target's fortune will decline. Simultaneously, the host will receive proportional enhancement, improved appearance, increased charm, and greater personal fortune.]
Those words should have reassured her but instead Zhao Hongmei felt a chill creep into her chest. Her gaze shifted back to Li Shuying.
If this was after she had already begun interfering, then just how much luck did Li Shuying originally possess? A flicker of unease surfaced.
For the first time doubt crept into her heart.
"What if…" she murmured inwardly, her voice trembling slightly, "what if I can't succeed?" Her breathing grew shallow. "What if I fail to extract her luck… and instead..."
Her thoughts halted, but the fear remained, heavy and suffocating, "...What if I end up ruining myself instead?"
Meanwhile Chen Meilan felt her heart tighten at Wang Chunhua's words. It had always been like this.
Every time her husband brought something back from Baicheng, no matter how small, no matter how hard-earned it never truly belonged to their family for long. The main Li household would come, demand, argue… and eventually take it away.
Her gaze shifted instinctively to Li Jianmin and Li Jianguo. The two boys stood slightly behind her, trying to hide their feet, their new liberation shoes half-concealed beneath their worn trouser hems. A pang of heartache struck Chen Meilan.
Before she could say anything Wang Chunhua had already noticed. Her sharp eyes narrowed, and she let out a loud, scornful snort, "Oi! Look at these little beasts!" she barked, her voice shrill and cutting through the crowd. "Where did you dig up the nerve to strut around in such fine shoes?"
She stepped forward, glaring openly at the boys' feet, "Liberation shoes, ah? From the city, no less!" she scoffed, her lips curling with disdain. "And what about your own uncle Guofu? Still wearing patched-up cotton rags on his feet!" She spat to the side, her voice rising, "Have you no shame? No sense of propriety at all?"
Turning sharply, she jabbed a finger toward Chen Meilan, "And you, Chen Meilan! Is this how you raise your children? Hah? Teaching them to climb over their elders' heads?"
Her tone grew louder, deliberately drawing attention, "Feeding them well, dressing them fine, while their own uncle suffers like a beggar? You've really grown bold, haven't you?"
Before Chen Meilan could respond, Wang Chunhua suddenly slapped her thigh with a loud smack and began wailing exaggeratedly.
"Aiya! Aiya! Come and see, everyone!" she cried out, her voice echoing across the gathering. "Look at this unfilial bunch!" She pointed again at the boys. "Wearing expensive city shoes like young masters, while their uncle is still dragging his feet in torn cotton scraps!"
Her voice turned sharper, more venomous. "This is what happens when a woman like Chen Meilan teaches her children, no respect, no manners, no understanding of family hierarchy!"
She continued beating her thighs dramatically, drawing more and more attention, "Everyone, come judge this for yourselves! Tell me, since when did younger ones get to enjoy before their elders? Since when did nephews step over their own uncle's head like this?"
Her eyes gleamed with a mixture of malice and triumph.
Because she knew in a place like this, words spoken loudly enough could easily become truth. And once the crowd began to murmur it would no longer matter what was right. Only what seemed right.
And that little bitch Li Shuying? Wang Chunhua's eyes turned malicious as she glared at her and internally cursed, let's see if she does anything this time.