For a woman to be violated was a huge deal. Even decades later, in modern times, a woman who went through something like that would still be the subject of gossip.
In the eighties, if a woman encountered something like this, her life would be ruined, even though she was clearly the victim.
Those with a fiery temperament would have already killed themselves. Those who tried to cling to life would eventually be hounded by the stares and whispers until they wished for death. Public opinion and gossip were more than capable of driving a person to their grave.
Whether a young girl or a married woman, if they were violated, it was a fate worse than death, even if they didn't die.
Su Li's gaze was as sharp as a knife, stabbing straight at Qin Shanshan.
Qin Shanshan couldn't suppress a shiver. A panicked, fearful look crossed her face as she started slapping her own mouth. SLAP! SLAP! "I... I was talking nonsense. I'm just blunt, and I was startled by how you look, Su Li."
She looked so anxious she was on the verge of tears, but this time, no one comforted her.
Su Li watched her, her face an icy mask. The few young wives who had come along shot Qin Shanshan a hateful glare. One of them, a new bride with a round face and big eyes wearing a red cotton jacket, spat unceremoniously at Qin Shanshan.
"Ptooey! If you don't know how to talk, then keep your mouth shut. A young girl with such a vile mouth."
After scolding her, she walked over to Su Li and looked closely at her face. "Su Li, what happened to your face?"
A large bruise covered Su Li's left temple and forehead. There were specks of blood on the right side of her brow, and scratch marks on her neck. She also seemed to be in some discomfort, looking as though she couldn't even keep her legs pressed together...
Overall, Su Li looked a complete mess. After Qin Shanshan's outburst, everyone's heart had lurched. They couldn't shake the feeling that Su Li really did look like she had been... ruined.
The round-faced wife had already said half of what Su Li was about to shout. Hearing the question, Su Li finally withdrew her icy gaze from Qin Shanshan. She sluggishly touched her forehead. "It's nothing. Someone hit me yesterday."
After her casual explanation, Su Li looked coldly at Qin Shanshan. "Qin Shanshan, we were like sisters once, so there are some things I feel I should tell you. You're a young girl, a student, yet the words that come out of your mouth are more worldly than a prostitute's. People are going to suspect you're not going to school, but whoring yourself out in a brothel instead. You see a little injury on me and your first thought is that I've been violated. What in the world goes through that head of yours all day?"
Qin Shanshan's face went deathly pale for a second before flushing a deep, purplish red. "No, Su Li, I was just too worried about you! How could you say that about me..."
Just as she was about to start crying, Su Li cut her off impatiently. "Don't make a scene. That's no way to show concern. And you call that being 'blunt'? That's just twisted. Or have you been violated before? Otherwise, why would that be the first thing you blurt out?"
Qin Shanshan nearly choked. The round-faced wife and the others were also stunned, staring blankly between Su Li and Qin Shanshan, completely speechless.
What Su Li had said was shocking, yet they couldn't help but feel it made perfect sense. They were all married women and should have been more familiar with the idea of being violated than a young girl like Qin Shanshan. But none of them had thought of it, while Qin Shanshan had blurted it out immediately.
It was just too strange!
'Could it be that Qin Shanshan has really been through something? Has she been violated, or is she having an affair?'
It was a terrifying thought. The women all took a deep breath, and the way they looked at Qin Shanshan turned incredibly strange.
Qin Shanshan was sick with regret. She hadn't slept at all last night and was suffering from a headache and a foul temper. After finally psyching herself up to come find Su Li, she had run into a few people who'd greeted her with smiles and asked to come along. But these uncultured, illiterate village wives had been so lukewarm and indifferent toward her.
It only made her pent-up frustration worse. When she saw the state Su Li was in, she acted on impulse, wanting to take her anger out on her. But she had been rash and careless, and now Su Li had backed her into a corner with just a few sentences.
"I'm sorry, Su Li. My mind was all muddled. It's just... a classmate of mine went through something like this, so..." Qin Shanshan saw the looks in everyone's eyes and was truly scared this time. Terrified that her reputation and her entire life would be ruined, she quickly apologized and scrambled for an excuse.
Qin Shanshan kept her head down, her eyes filled with shock and fear. But beneath the lingering fear, there was also hatred—a bone-deep hatred.
Su Li watched Qin Shanshan with cold eyes. 'Even though I can't see her expression, knowing her as I do, I can guess what she's thinking.'
The atmosphere in the courtyard was tense. The round-faced wife glanced around. "Alright now. You're Caihua, right? Caihua, if you don't know how to talk, just stand aside and be quiet."
After speaking, she pulled Su Li to sit down on a bench with the others. "Have you eaten yet, Su Li?"
"I have. Have you all eaten?" Su Li avoided looking at Qin Shanshan—now dubbed Caihua—afraid she might burst out laughing. She knew Qin Shanshan hated that name more than anything, but right now, she was holding it in for dear life, not making a sound.
"It's still early. We just got back from gathering leaves on the mountain. As soon as we returned, her second aunt hurried us over to see you," a middle-aged woman next to them said.
"Gathering leaves" here meant going up the mountain to pile up fallen leaves, carry them back in large bamboo baskets, and spread them in the cowsheds and pigsties. The leaves provided warmth and bedding for the livestock to rest on and trample. Mixed with the animal manure, they eventually decomposed into the best kind of farm compost, which could be used to improve the soil quality and fertilize the fields for a good harvest.
Xinghua Village was located at the foot of a mountain, so it had few flat paddy fields. Aside from some terraced paddies, the rest of the farmland was newly cleared mountain terrain that desperately needed this kind of compost. Thus, the wives and women of the village were all used to going up the mountain first thing in the morning to gather leaves or chop firewood.
Farmers are always the most diligent people.
Su Li nodded, understanding what they meant. 'I just woke up, and they've already put in a full morning's work.'
"Su Li, you said someone beat you. Who was it? Did something happen?" the round-faced wife asked, shooting a glance at Qin Shanshan. Qin Shanshan didn't notice her gaze; she just pricked up her ears to listen in.
Su Li gave a faint smile. "Yesterday, Little Tang Mo and I went to the market in the county town and ran into human traffickers. They snatched Little Tang Mo, and they beat me when I went to get him back."
Su Li spoke calmly, without a hint of drama, but the story was so shocking that the other women were left stunned.
"Human traffickers? Su Li, you're saying you ran into human traffickers? And they beat you?" the round-faced wife exclaimed, clutching her chest in shock.
"Yes, that's where I got these injuries. Luckily, the police and some other people helped out, so Little Tang Mo is safe, though it was a close call. I carried him all the way back from town yesterday, and I was in such a rush to get home so my mother-in-law wouldn't worry. I was completely exhausted. I woke up today and my whole body is aching. My back and feet are especially sore."
As Su Li explained, she really wished she had a mirror to see what she looked like.
'When I got up this morning, I just ran my fingers through my hair and tied it back casually. I still have no idea what I actually look like. In this era, mirrors aren't exactly common.'
With Su Li's explanation, everyone understood why she looked the way she did, though they still found it hard to believe.
"How could you run into traffickers, and the police... This... this..." The round-faced wife's reaction was the same as everyone else's; they were half-convinced, half-skeptical. Qin Shanshan, however, didn't believe a single word of it.
'I know exactly how cowardly Su Li is. There's no way she could take on human traffickers. Could it be because I wrongly accused her of being a trafficker yesterday, so now she's making up this story to take the credit for something?' Qin Shanshan's eyes darted around as various speculations flashed through her mind.
'Maybe something really did happen to Su Li yesterday, or maybe she really was violated, and now she's just making up excuses. Or maybe she was actually trying to sell Little Tang Mo, but the police caught her before she could go through with it!'
'Whatever the reason, I, Qin Shanshan, will expose Su Li's true colors and drive her out of the Tang Family!'