Feigning surprise, she asked, “If I want money, I can just ask my mom for it; why would I ask Li Hui? Is she more generous than my mom?”
The educated youth were momentarily speechless at Ye Qiu’s words, as if implying that her family was relatively wealthy.
Li Hui’s face turned red with embarrassment upon hearing Ye Qiu’s words. “That’s a misunderstanding! I borrowed one yuan from Ye Qiu today, but I’ve already returned it!”
A misunderstanding? Why did she not say so earlier!
The other educated youth frowned upon hearing this, but still maintained unity against Ye Qiu.
“Then why didn’t you let us forage for wild vegetables in the village!”
“We also heard that you had friends robbing the package sent to Ji Chen’s house. It’s been said that you’ve been spending money freely lately; could it be stolen?”
Ye Qiu asked, surprised, “I don’t even eat wild vegetables, so why would I care who forages for them? Besides, we donated any excess wild vegetables my family had to the educated youth point.”
As she spoke, a look of suspicion crossed her face. “Besides, how do you know that Ji Chen’s package almost got lost? This is something only the two of us know!”
“You two, and dare to say it wasn’t you who stole it!” Li Hui retorted, her tone emphatic.
“My package didn’t get lost; it was Ye Qiu who helped me retrieve it!” Ji Chen shot an angry glance at Li Hui.
He then looked at Li Hui suspiciously. “Those robbers said they were tipped off by a girl. That wouldn’t be you, would it?”
Seeing the dubious gazes from everyone, Li Hui stuttered, “H-how could it be me? It wasn’t me!”
“How could I ever ask you for things? Everyone in the village knows we aren’t familiar with each other at all,” Ye Qiu replied sarcastically.
“Could it be that you wanted to steal from others and framed me for it? You’re just taking advantage of me because I’m not articulate. Anyway, you all have education and quick wits, so you can smear my name however you like. In the end, I’ll just have to take the blame; the village people all say I’m unreliable, but even if I’m not competent, I’ve never stolen anything.”
After listening, the villagers nodded in agreement. Although the Ye family was middle-class in the village, Ye Xu and Ye Mu pampered their son. Their food and toys were top-notch, with no need to envy others.
Li Hui was utterly stunned.
You’re not articulate and easy to bully?!
This… this is all her script!
She could only watch as Ye Qiu spoke half-illogically. “Never mind, I won’t hold this against you since you’re a girl and an educated youth, but you can’t wrongfully accuse me. Even if I was unreliable, I always took the captain’s words to heart. I even sent eggs and pastries to the educated youth point.”
“You… you were clearly plotting something unsavory!”
Li Hui truly wanted to reveal everything, but she understood that even if she did, she would just be dismissed as being unreasonable.
“Yes, the Ye family even divided their assets because they sent too many items!”
“Turns out they were sending things every week. Even if they only sent wild vegetables each time, that’s still quite a lot.”
“Ye Qiu grew up before our eyes; how could he ever do something petty?”
“No wonder he’s always wandering around the village with nothing to do; turns out someone’s sending him things!”
She wanted to speak up, but Ye Qiu didn’t give her a chance.
“With so many people in the village, you specifically targeted me. You must find me easy to talk to. I only gave your educated youth point things for free to keep the captain happy. Are you claiming that the educated youth point didn’t receive my items weekly? I can’t believe you’re such a pleasure-seeker!”
What free gifts?
Jia Yongyuan even gave him money today!
“It wasn’t me; it was your greed!”
“Shut up!”
The captain was fuming, his head practically smoking. This Li Hui really treated everyone as fools.
He suppressed his anger and said, “Li Hui, whether someone gives or doesn’t give, that’s their own business. If they decide not to give anymore, we can’t force them. In the future, don’t speak so carelessly about things you don’t understand, or it can lead to misunderstandings and escalate the situation like this.”
“Ye Qiu, since these items were given, cough, cough, they have been given; knowing that you’ve been striving to do good lately, please continue on this path.”
After the captain finished speaking, he patted Ye Qiu on the shoulder, sighed, and left.
What a good child, striving to be better recently, yet encountering such a disaster was truly an unfounded misfortune. Hopefully, it didn’t dampen his spirit.
The educated youth, hearing the captain’s words, felt embarrassed, wishing they could find a hole to hide in, under the odd gazes of the villagers.
“Ye Qiu, this was our fault, and we need to thank you for always sending us things.”
“We’re sorry, we…”
A few educated youth apologized sincerely, bowing solemnly before leaving, while Li Hui discreetly slipped away among them.
In the courtyard, only Ye Qiu and a group of villagers remained.
Ye Qiu stood tall, boasting, “I remember everyone’s kindness towards me. Just now you all spoke well of me. My family now has a small business; once I develop it, I will definitely remember everyone!”
Wow, this child, raised right, is still thinking of the villagers. Suddenly, the villagers looked at Ye Qiu with much warmer eyes.
Most villagers were simple, rarely boasting about themselves; easily caught up in Ye Qiu’s words, they praised him.
This child has truly grown up.
Ye Qiu delightedly informed everyone, “Of course! I plan on opening a factory in the future. When I do, all of you from the village can come work for me!”
The others thought: While you did something good today, at this point, they couldn’t pretend to praise him insincerely.
“Yes, yes, yes! We will definitely support you then!”
Ye Qiu, exhibiting leadership, sent the curious villagers on their way.
The village gossip would now have topics!
When Ye Mu returned by ox cart, the villagers watched her with unusually warm gazes, leaving Ye Mu perplexed.
“Today, those educated youth went to your courtyard to look for Ye Qiu with the captain!”
“Aunt, you must keep a close eye on your Ye Qiu! That female educated youth publicly claimed that Ye Qiu was pulling her around; if we hadn’t been clever, we would have been fooled by her!”
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