Chapter 64

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

After leaving Niu Chunsheng and Lin Xiaofang's convenience store, Li Xiulan bought some home-style dishes at the market, then took a small four-wheeler at the street entrance back to Shangou Village.

It was eleven o'clock at noon, and she started busying herself making lunch.

Just then, Liang Yuanchao walked in with a dark face.

"Xiulan, didn't I tell you not to go around blabbing about getting the demolition compensation? How come you're still going around blabbing?"

Liang Yuanchao's opening words carried the tone of confronting a culprit.

Li Xiulan was stunned, a bit dumbfounded:

"I didn't go around blabbing, I didn't tell anyone!"

Liang Yuanchao immediately rebuked angrily:

"You're simply lying through your teeth! If you didn't go around blabbing, how would Li Yunxia know about this! This morning she came to the Village Committee Office to question me! Why could you get the demolition compensation early, but she and the other villagers can't! She even demanded I give an explanation!"

Li Yunxia's sudden questioning gave Liang Yuanchao a massive headache.

The reason he had been unwilling to advance the demolition compensation to Li Xiulan was precisely because he feared opening this floodgate would be uncontainable, and other villagers would follow suit and come demanding it from him!

And now it was perfect, this worst-case scenario had actually come true!

Li Yunxia is the owner of the Village Entrance Convenience Store, and the village entrance is the intelligence hub of the whole village; now that she knows, it probably won't be long before it spreads throughout the village!

When that happens, everyone will come questioning together, and Liang Yuanchao won't know how to handle it!

"Could it be that when I called my husband, she overheard?"

Only then did Li Xiulan react, her face full of surprise and shock.

"How could you say this on the phone right in front of her! You're going to get me killed!"

Liang Yuanchao gritted his teeth over this, yet was helpless.

He was practically driven to tears of frustration by Li Xiulan's stupidity!

"She was quite far away at the time, and was greeting customers at the convenience store, I thought she wouldn't hear..."

Li Xiulan felt guilty in her heart; she knew this was indeed her responsibility.

But things had come to this, and she didn't know how to remedy it.

"Village Secretary, it's all my fault; you say what do we do? If it can be remedied, whatever you have me do, I'm willing!"

Liang Yuanchao thought for a moment, then said:

"How about this: next time Li Yunxia comes to find me, you come over and help me testify, say I didn't give you the demolition compensation early, say the words you said to Wang Zhanggen were all fake, the purpose was to make him send money back quickly to build the new house — can you do that?"

Li Xiulan hurriedly nodded:

"Mm-hmm, then I'll do as you say! Hope we can fool Li Yunxia!"

Li Xiulan's words had just fallen.

At this moment, a burst of footsteps came from outside the courtyard!

Speak of the devil — it was Li Yunxia arriving!

Li Yunxia had just pushed open the door and saw Li Xiulan and Liang Yuanchao together; her face immediately revealed a trace of strangeness.

"Yo, what a coincidence! Village Secretary, didn't expect you'd actually be at Sister-in-law Xiulan's home!"

Her words were sarcastic, seemingly insinuating.

Liang Yuanchao was immediately displeased, knowing what she meant.

Last time Liang Yuanchao gave Li Xiulan a ride back to the village on his motorcycle, it had stirred up no small amount of gossip.

"Li Yunxia, what are you doing here?"

Liang Yuanchao's face full of displeasure, he issued a challenge.

"Village Secretary, I came to Sister-in-law Xiulan's home, naturally to find Sister-in-law Xiulan for something; could it be you can come to Sister-in-law Xiulan's home but I can't?"

Li Yunxia's mouth is simply like it has blades installed; every sentence she speaks cuts into the heart, making both Liang Yuanchao and Li Xiulan feel very uncomfortable inside.

"Yunxia, what business do you have with me?"

Li Xiulan hurriedly asked.

Li Yunxia said:

"Since the Village Secretary also happens to be here, that's even better; let's all lay our cards on the table! Sister-in-law Xiulan, earlier you called your husband at my convenience store, saying you got the demolition compensation early — what's that about?"

Li Yunxia is just over twenty, exactly the age that can't keep a secret, which is why she asks so directly, not caring at all about Li Xiulan and Liang Yuanchao's feelings.

She even added sarcastically:

"Could it be the village rumors are all true? Everyone says Sister-in-law Xiulan you and the Village Secretary have a thing going on."

"Don't listen to their nonsense! Pure fabrication!" Li Xiulan flared up at this; she had suffered plenty from village gossip before, never expected something like this to happen again.

"Then what exactly is going on?" Li Yunxia pressed.

Liang Yuanchao coughed twice, said to Li Xiulan: "Xiulan, you hurry up and say, what exactly is going on? I never gave you the demolition compensation early, so why did you say that to your husband on the phone? Isn't that slandering me!"

Li Xiulan reacted, hurriedly following the lie Liang Yuanchao had just woven to hoodwink Li Yunxia:

"The Village Secretary indeed didn't give me the demolition compensation early; that was all to trick my husband. He hasn't sent money back in half a year, so I thought to use building a house as an excuse to make him send money back. That's how it is, not what you're thinking!"

"Really like that?" Li Yunxia frowned, somewhat disbelieving: "But I heard you previously refused to agree to demolition no matter what, yet recently you agreed! Your new homestead land has already been allocated; don't tell me you still haven't agreed to demolition!"

Once Li Yunxia said this, Li Xiulan didn't know how to answer.

Her previous refusal of demolition had caused a huge uproar, almost the whole village knew, and it even cost her the Village Entrance Convenience Store.

Now she suddenly agrees to demolition again; there must be a reasonable explanation, otherwise not only Li Yunxia, but the other villagers too will think the worst.

"I did agree to the demolition, but it was because, because…"

Li Xiulan stammered for a long time, unable to explain.

"Could it really be like what's being said in the Village! Sister-in-law Xiulan, you're a mother of three children—how could you have no bottom line just to get the demolition compensation early! How can you be so shameless!"

Li Yunxia's words were very harsh.

It made Li Xiulan feel very uncomfortable.

Liang Yuanchao flew into a rage:

"Li Yunxia, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! Li Xiulan and I are innocent, and I didn't give her demolition compensation early! Believe it or not!"

Li Yunxia was very unhappy after being snapped at like that by Liang Yuanchao:

"Village Secretary, you're angry now? You won't give me an explanation, right? Fine, we'll see!"

After saying that, Li Yunxia turned around and left in a huff.

Li Xiulan and Liang Yuanchao watched her departing figure, both unable to help but worry, not knowing what Li Yunxia would do.

"Li Xiulan, Li Xiulan, you've really killed me! Sigh!"

Liang Yuanchao sighed hatefully and also left Li Xiulan's home.

He returned to the Village Committee Office, working in low spirits, thinking of the things his wife Zhou Aidi had once said to him, unable to help but feel a mix of emotions, changing from previous disbelief to gradually believing.

Zhou Aidi had once told him that Li Xiulan was a Slut, a Fox Spirit/Seductress, a Jinx/Star of Misfortune!

He didn't know if Li Xiulan was a Slut, nor if she was a Fox Spirit/Seductress, but she was absolutely a Jinx/Star of Misfortune!

Ever since he, Liang Yuanchao, got involved with Li Xiulan, he hadn't had a single good day—the demolition matter had left him in a terrible mess, he was misunderstood by his own wife when he went home, and now he was misunderstood by Li Yunxia!

However, these were not the most serious!

When he got off work and returned home from the Village Committee Office, he discovered that Li Yunxia had actually brought a large group of Villagers to his Home to demand an explanation.

Li Yunxia was also fanning the flames in Zhou Aidi's ear:

"Sister-in-law Aidi, if you ask me, Village Secretary either has something going on with Li Xiuyun, or he gave her demolition compensation early—otherwise how could Li Xiuyun agree to sign the Demolition Agreement! I just went to ask Li Xiuyun, she said she didn't receive the demolition compensation, so the possibility of them having something going on is even greater! When Village Secretary comes back later, you have to ask him clearly what's going on!"

Other Villagers followed along in agreement:

"Exactly, exactly! This matter must be cleared up!"

……