These words were deeply hurtful, directly accusing Grandpa Su of playing favorites.
Grandpa Su, with full vigor, stated, "Kang Zhiqing, everyone in the village knows what kind of person I am. For so many years, I've always spoken for justice, not for my relatives. If Laizitou truly did anything wrong, we wouldn't shield him."
"Of course, if you did anything to wrong Laizitou, you won't be let off lightly either."
Grandpa Su had already heard the troublesome details from his son and daughter-in-law, and he knew that Kang Yiye had falsely accused someone.
But he didn't want his son to get involved. Such matters, even if nothing had happened, would still leave a stain.
The villagers held Grandpa Su in high regard. As he said, he was a fair person. Whenever families quarreled or disputes arose in the village, they would habitually ask Grandpa Su to mediate.
"Kang Zhiqing, if this old woman says something unpleasant, you keep saying Laizitou molested you, but look at your clothes!" Grandma Su scrutinized Kang Yiye from head to toe and chided lightly.
The villagers were already suspicious due to Grandpa Su's earlier words.
Upon hearing Grandma Su's words, they all looked Kang Yiye up and down.
It was true that Laizitou was disheveled, but Kang Yiye's clothes were neat, with only a few water stains. There was no trace of any molestation.
"Kang Zhiqing, if Laizitou molested you, he wouldn't just take off his own clothes and not pull at yours, would he?" a woman directly asked.
"Kang Zhiqing, are you stupid? Laizitou didn't even lay a hand on you, so why didn't you run? What are you shouting about here?"
"Why do I feel like something is not quite right about this?"
...
The villagers weren't all fools. After being reminded, they immediately sensed something was amiss.
Recalling Kang Yiye's poor reputation, they became even more disbelieving of her.
Kang Yiye hadn't expected both Grandpa Su and Grandma Su to step forward and help Laizitou.
She also regretted not having messed up her clothes and hair a bit more before people arrived.
"As a woman, how could I possibly molest a man? Heavens, how can I face anyone after this? I might as well die..."
Kang Yiye cried and made a great fuss, even repeatedly claiming she wouldn't live on, yet she made no move to do so.
Grandpa Su sneered inwardly and said, "Speak your grievances freely. I see the team leader has also arrived, let him preside over this."
Su Changjiu, who had just arrived, couldn't help but complain upon hearing Grandpa Su's words, "Seventh Uncle, you're going to cause me trouble."
"You are the team leader, you should preside over the overall situation," Grandpa Su said with a wry smile.
For matters like this, only the team leader's involvement would be convincing.
"Team Leader, you must uphold justice for me. I am a educated youth, sent from afar to contribute to Hongxin Village, not to be bullied."
Kang Yiye had taken the initiative, while Laizitou, who had been beaten half to death, had still not recovered.
"Everyone go to the village office. I will investigate this matter thoroughly and ensure no one is wronged!" Su Changjiu said with a stern face. "Our village has been running smoothly this year, and we were even hoping to be recognized as an advanced village, but you've ruined it all!"
Su Changjiu hadn't expected that his village, which he had always governed smoothly, would experience such a serious incident.
"I'm not going to the village office. Team Leader, if you don't uphold justice for me, a woman, and punish the hooligan Laizitou, then I won't live!"
Kang Yiye knew that at this point, her only option was to insist that Laizitou had molested her.
After all, in such matters, as long as the woman spoke, the man would have no evidence.
Grandpa Su exchanged a look with his son and daughter-in-law, then tugged at Grandma Su, and the family turned and headed back.
They would eat dinner at home first and then wait for news. Kang Yiye was a troublemaker, and this matter wouldn't be resolved quickly.
The Su family had a good dinner, and everyone ate happily, especially the children, who were overjoyed eating the rich leek pancakes.
After dinner, Grandpa Su waved for his grandchildren to go about their own business. Su Ciliang then took Su Xiaotian to Professor Chi.
Grandpa Su then assigned the eldest and second eldest to work in the private plots.
"Third son's wife, go and inquire about how the matter has been handled."
Liang Xiu took her half-sewn shoe sole and went out to gather information.
"Third son, I believe you are a good person, but now that you've attracted attention, you must be more careful in the future. If you fall into a trap, your life could be ruined!"
Su Laosan understood perfectly what his father meant.
He had learned a lot today. Laizitou had clearly done nothing, yet he was so wrongly accused.
"Father, don't worry. I will be extremely careful from now on and will absolutely not give anyone an opportunity!"
Good heavens, from now on, he would bring his wife with him whenever he went out. These educated youths were too terrifying!
Grandma Su couldn't help but curse Kang Yiye for being shameless a few more times.
Liang Xiu returned quickly, saying that a male educated youth was nearby. Hearing Kang Yiye cry for help, he went to investigate and saw some things. He was now coming forward to testify for Laizitou.
However, Kang Yiye insisted that the educated youth was coveting her and was in cahoots with Laizitou, refusing to admit anything else.
"Father, why don't I go and testify? Since someone is already testifying, it won't implicate me," Su Laosan said after some thought.
Grandpa Su sighed and said, "I was too selfish. Third son, one cannot betray their conscience. You go."
If he stopped his son from going out now, he would never have peace of conscience for the rest of his life.
Su Laosan immediately went out and headed towards the village office.
"Your father, when you go, say that you had just finished bathing and were tidying up when you heard Kang Zhiqing cry for help. When you went to see, you saw Laizitou go over, and Kang Zhiqing leaned into Laizitou herself. You felt it was inconvenient to watch further and went home," Liang Xiu chased after him and told her husband.
Although he was going to testify, they couldn't let people know that they had both seen the whole thing.
Su Laosan nodded, "I know. I definitely won't let myself get dragged into this."
"You go, I'll go find the team leader's wife and have a chat," Liang Xiu suddenly smiled and said.
There were some things that were inconvenient for them to handle directly, so it was better to find someone to pass the message along.
Su Xiaotian, who was studying at Chi Ge's house, was unaware of these matters.
The little girl was desperately absorbing knowledge, like a sponge, quickly taking in the information taught by the two teachers, and asking questions about anything she didn't understand.
Neither Chi Ge nor Du Tonghe had expected the little girl to perform even better in her studies than they had anticipated.
Beside them, Chi Yiyuan was also listening attentively to Chi Ge and Du Tonghe's lectures. He refused to believe that he was truly inferior to a little girl!