Chapter 158: That Punch Made Wen Zhuqing Cry Out in Pain

Not long ago, when Sheng Zexi was promoted to a regimental-level officer, Gu Jianing had already called home to share the good news, so the Gu family was well aware of it.

Now, as soon as Gu Yunzhou mentioned Sheng Zexi, everyone was immediately silenced.

The villagers also started speaking up.

“Back then, Officer Sheng came to propose in person and brought a generous betrothal gift. It shows how much he values Ningning and the Gu family.”

“That’s right. If he knew the Gu family was being treated like this, he’d be furious.”

“A regimental-level officer—that’s a pretty high rank.”

The people from the committee hesitated, their expressions uncertain. The leader stepped forward.

“But we received an anonymous report. We still have to follow procedure.”

At this point, Old Man Gu stepped up. “We understand your position and are willing to cooperate. You can follow the procedure, but please be gentle when searching.”

Old Man Gu knew that once these people showed up, it was nearly impossible to get them to leave.

He also knew, and had even seen before, how these people conducted searches—like a swarm of locusts, or bandits passing through.

He didn’t want his home to be turned upside down.

Seeing Old Man Gu agree, the leader breathed a sigh of relief.

“Alright, let’s do it that way.”

So, with Old Man Gu’s consent and the Gu family making way, the search team immediately went inside.

At this moment, the villagers crowded forward.

“Village Chief, how could you let them in?”

“Whoever reported you must be heartless, trying to harm you like this.”

“We shouldn’t have let them in. What if they find something…”

Old Man Gu stepped forward and addressed everyone: “Folks, you all know what kind of person I am. I have a clear conscience.” With that, he headed back inside, and the rest of the Gu family followed.

Old Man Gu was open and upright, but the villagers still whispered among themselves. If something really did happen, it would mean the Gu family had been framed.

But no one said anything more. They all followed in, wanting to see the outcome of the search.

Wen Zhuqing hid among the crowd, the corners of his mouth curling in mockery as he listened to Old Man Gu.

His gaze searched the crowd and quickly found Yang Manman.

Clutching that packet of medicine, he slowly walked forward.

Yang Manman followed her family inside, anxiously awaiting the result.

Even though her family had already discussed this last night and knew there shouldn’t be any problem, facing a scene like this still made Yang Manman nervous and uneasy.

Just then, someone behind her seemed to be in a hurry and bumped right into her.

The impact wasn’t that strong, but Yang Manman was caught off guard and stumbled to the side.

“Manman!” someone cried out. Gu Yunting, who had been by her side, quickly caught her.

“Are you alright, Manman?” Gu Yunting asked anxiously.

Yang Manman was startled, but thankfully she was caught in time. Seeing it was her husband, she felt relieved.

She knew that A-Ting had been by her side all morning.

“I’m fine.”

Once Gu Yunting made sure his wife was okay, his anger turned to the person who bumped into her.

He strode forward, grabbed Wen Zhuqing, and shoved him to the ground. He shouted angrily, “Comrade Wen, why did you bump into Manman? Did you do it on purpose? She’s pregnant! Are you trying to hurt her?”

Wen Zhuqing was stunned, lying on the ground.

He still hadn’t recovered from being pushed down by Liu Yuan earlier, and his bruised backside hadn’t healed yet. Now he’d fallen again, and the pain was intense.

Before he could react, Gu Yunting grabbed him by the collar, half-lifting him off the ground, and landed a solid punch on his cheek.

Gu Yunting hit him squarely with a punch.

That punch made Wen Zhuqing cry out in pain.

At that moment, the people around finally reacted and rushed forward to stop the fight.

Bao Shanyan also stepped in. “What are you doing? Why are you hitting people?”

Bao Shanyan didn’t know when Wen Zhuqing had slipped out to watch the commotion, but after all, Wen Zhuqing was her husband. No one but her was allowed to hit him—otherwise, it would be a slap in her own face.

Gu Yunting snorted coldly. “You should ask him what he did. Manman is pregnant, and he deliberately bumped into her. What if she had fallen? What would’ve happened to her and the baby? Was Wen Zhuqing trying to harm Manman and her child on purpose?”

“I saw it. Comrade Wen really did bump into Manman just now.”

“That’s right, Manman almost fell.”

“Goodness, with her belly so big, if she’d fallen, it would’ve been dangerous.”

Some people had witnessed the scene and now spoke up for Gu Yunting.

Any man would be furious if his pregnant wife was almost knocked over and put in danger.

Just giving Wen Zhuqing a beating was already letting him off easy.

Bao Shanyan glared angrily at Wen Zhuqing.

Wen Zhuqing finally realized so many people had seen what happened. He could only grit his teeth and say, “I didn’t do it on purpose. It was an accident.”

Bao Shanyan immediately echoed, “Yes, it was an accident.”

Gu Yunting snorted. “Just because he says it wasn’t on purpose, we should believe him? Luckily, Manman is fine. Otherwise, I’d beat him to death.”

With that, Gu Yunting led Yang Manman away to a quieter spot.

The others hurried to see the result of the search.

Bao Shanyan kicked Wen Zhuqing hard on the backside. “Get up, stop embarrassing yourself! Who told you to come out here?”

Wen Zhuqing yelped in pain again.

Bao Shanyan’s kick had landed right on his injured spot, and she was strong—it was no gentle kick.

By now, Wen Zhuqing was hurt on top of hurt, pain on top of pain.

Fortunately, some male educated youths from the commune saw this and came over to help him up.

As for the female educated youths, Liu Juan and the others didn’t dare approach.

If they’d had any thoughts about Wen Zhuqing before, now that he was married—and to someone as fierce and strong as Bao Shanyan, who was practically like a bandit or a madwoman—they didn’t dare get involved anymore.

Any feelings they had for Wen Zhuqing had long since vanished.

Even though Comrade Wen was good-looking, they still wanted to keep their lives.

“Useless thing.”

As he was helped up, Wen Zhuqing was scolded again by Bao Shanyan, who then ignored him and squeezed into the crowd to watch.

Wen Zhuqing watched Bao Shanyan’s retreating figure, then glanced over at Gu Yunting and Yang Manman in the corner. A trace of darkness and malice flashed in his eyes.

Soon, very soon.

As long as they found the banned books, he wanted to see how arrogant the Gu family could still be.

He looked forward to seeing them all panic in fear.

And that Yang Manman…

Wen Zhuqing stuffed the now-empty packet into his pocket."