Chapter 65: Threatening with Death

When Accountant Wu and his wife learned that their son would actually have to serve ten years in prison before being released, they instantly hated Li Shiro to the extreme.

Ten years later, by the time Wu Xiaofeng gets out, he'll be thirty, and having served time, who knows if he'll still be able to marry a wife.

So the two of them decided together to kidnap Li Shiro and make her Wu Xiaofeng's wife, wanting her to atone by serving as an ox and horse for their family.

Ten years later, if Wu Xiaofeng comes out of prison and still likes Li Shiro, then he will marry this woman.

If Wu Xiaofeng no longer likes her, then kicking Li Shiro out later would not be too late.

Accountant Wu and his wife thought this plan was excellent; Li Shiro had caused their son such misery, so why should their son suffer in prison while this woman gets off scot-free?

Every time they thought of their fine son, they blamed Li Shiro for his fate, and felt that unless they tore a strip of skin from her, they could not quell the hatred in their hearts.

After making their decision, they immediately summoned a large group of people from the Wu family and Wang Qin's natal family, mightily marching to the Youth Work Station, resolved that today, even if they had to kidnap her, they would bring Li Shiro back.

The Educated Youth at the Zhiqing Dian, seeing Accountant Wu arrive with a large entourage in an aggressive manner at the Youth Work Station, all hid in their rooms, afraid to come out.

This time, even Qi Zhiyong, who had always defended Li Shiro, did not step forward, after all, everyone knew that offending Accountant Wu would bring no good fruit in the village.

In the courtyard, only Li Zeyu was present, tightly shielding Li Shiro behind him.

Li Zeyu alone could not possibly make any difference against a dozen or so strong rural men.

Li Shiro's eyes were filled with deep resentment; she hated Accountant Wu and his wife, hated Su Ruo, and hated every single person at the Zhiqing Dian for standing by and letting her be bullied.

Wang Qin looked at Li Shiro with glee, already having decided how to torment her once she dragged this little slut back home.

Wu Xiaofeng's two paternal cousins came forward with ropes; although the Wu family had few people in the village, they were known for protecting their own, and since Li Shiro had caused Wu Xiaofeng such misery, they could not stand by.

A dozen or so people surrounded Li Shiro and her brother on all sides, leaving them nowhere to hide.

But just when everyone thought victory was certain, Li Shiro suddenly went mad, grabbing the sickle from the corner of the wall and desperately swinging it at the men holding ropes, preparing to bind her.

One of Wu Xiaofeng's paternal cousins, unable to dodge in time, was struck on the arm, blood immediately spurting out.

Li Shiro did not stop there; she continued to swing the sickle nonstop, cutting at others.

Everyone was shocked and frightened, scrambling to get out of the way, fearing they might be accidentally cut.

Until no one dared to step forward, Li Shiro, sickle in hand, shouted at the crowd: "Come on! At worst we all die together."

Everyone stared at Li Shiro in shock, convinced she must have gone mad.

Li Shiro was indeed mad; compared to marrying into the Wu family to live as a widow and still be tormented, she would rather perish together with these people.

"I tell you, wanting me to marry Wu Xiaofeng is absolutely impossible; if you dare to force me, I will take a packet of rat poison and kill you all!"

Seeing the ruthless determination in Li Shiro's eyes, everyone felt she was certainly capable of doing such a thing.

Accountant Wu's eyes were full of venom; he never imagined that at his age he would be manipulated by a little girl.

Just as the two sides reached a stalemate, the Battalion Commander rushed over.

Upon seeing the scene in the courtyard, the Battalion Commander was instantly startled; their village had barely been rated an Advanced Brigade, and they could not let these people ruin it.

The Battalion Commander immediately gave Accountant Wu a stern dressing-down: "You're still a village cadre! How could you lead in such an absurd act, still wanting to drag someone back to be your daughter-in-law? Are you a bandit? If this gets out, do you still want to keep your position as accountant?"

Upon seeing the Battalion Commander, Accountant Wu immediately withdrew his venomous gaze; at this moment he looked at the Battalion Commander with a face full of sorrow and suffering, appearing exactly like an old father who has endured great injustice.

Wang Qin then sat on the ground and wailed, crying over her son's hard fate and her own miserable lot, while angrily cursing Li Shiro for being shameless.

Compared to Li Shiro, the Battalion Commander naturally sided with Accountant Wu and his wife; moreover, he already felt that Li Shiro was in the wrong, and if this happened to him, he likely would not let Li Shiro off either.

He then advised: "Since things have come to this, making more trouble is useless; Li Shiro is determined not to marry Xiaofeng, and even if you abduct her back, it will end badly, only causing unrest in the household."

Accountant Wu knew that with the Battalion Commander present, today's matter would certainly fail; he could only nod and lead his entourage back.

However, as he was leaving, his gaze toward Li Shiro was like that of a cold, venomous snake.

The onlooking villagers, seeing there was no more excitement to watch and being scolded by the Battalion Commander, all dispersed.

However, whether villagers or the Educated Youth at the Zhiqing Dian, all were frightened by Li Shiro's recent act of hacking people.

At this moment, whenever they thought of Li Shiro, their hearts were filled with indescribable complexity—disdain, hatred, and above all, fear!

Everyone silently warned themselves to stay far away from Li Shiro from now on.

Li Zhaodi vividly recounted the incident to Su Ruo, and at the end she unconsciously patted her chest, saying: "I never expected that Li Shiro, who looks delicate and weak, would be so ruthless."

Su Ruo's lips curled into a cold arc: "If she weren't ruthless, she would probably have been completely devoured by those Wu family people, leaving not even scraps."

The Wu family mobilized so many people for this commotion, yet they gained no benefit and suffered a great loss; they will certainly not let it rest—just wait! There will still be more trouble between the Wu family and Li Shiro!

Su Ruo was right; Accountant Wu had summoned so many people to the Zhiqing Dian, yet he not only failed to bring back Li Shiro, but also had to pay ten yuan in medical expenses for his injured nephew, making him hate Li Shiro even more.

In the days that followed, he thought of ways to torment Li Shiro.

Although Accountant Wu, a Brigade Accountant, could not force Li Shiro to marry into his family, tormenting a rootless Educated Youth like her was still easy.

Accountant Wu first transferred Li Zeyu away, sending him to the neighboring quarry to dig stone—a job that is not only tiring but allows him to return only once every ten days or so.

With Li Zeyu gone, Li Shiro's life became even more miserable; what used to be a two-person job of carrying night soil now fell entirely on her.

Li Shiro not only had to carry the night soil, but also had to spread it in the fields, working ten or more hours each day.

Although she used to be somewhat of a cleanliness freak, after work she was often too exhausted to even wash up, just going straight to bed.

Over time, her whole room became stinky, and her body gave off a foul odor.

Moreover, since Li Shiro could not cook, she could only eat hard, unpalatable biscuits to stave off hunger.

Under such torment, in just half a month Li Shiro became sallow and emaciated, her hair a tangled mess from lack of grooming.

Coupled with her gloomy gaze, she seemed to have aged ten years, making her almost unrecognizable compared to when she first arrived in the countryside.

The day Su Ruo went out and saw Li Shiro, she almost didn't recognize her; knowing that in her previous life she had had this free maidservant attending to her, Li Shiro had suffered no hardship after going to the countryside, living like a little princess—how could she end up in such a sorry state?

As they brushed past each other, Li Shiro spat viciously: "Su Ruo, you're pleased to see me in this state, aren't you? Don't get cocky! One day I will repay all the humiliation I suffered today, and I will trample you into the mud and see you live worse than a dog or pig."

Su Ruo looked at her coldly: "Li Shiro, your current plight is entirely your own doing; you have no right to resent anyone."

"Want to take revenge on me? Fine, I'll wait! But now, having suffered karmic retribution, the one living worse than a dog or pig is you!"

After saying that, Su Ruo walked away, and Li Shiro let out a piercing shriek behind her.

Su Ruo knew that Li Shiro would not continue to tolerate being bullied by Accountant Wu without fighting back.

Sure enough, the next day Li Shiro took a bath, put on clean clothes, and went to the prison to see Wu Xiaofeng.