Free Web NovelChapter 103: Chapter 103: Whitewashing
The moment Su Li returned home, Mrs. Tang told her that Qin Shanshan was back.
Su Li raised an eyebrow. "She has the nerve to come back?"
The answer was: she did.
Qin Shanshan certainly had the nerve to return. And not only did she return, but she came back swaggering, with her true patrons in tow, carrying bags of all sizes.
The reason Qin Shanshan was the only girl in the village able to attend high school wasn’t because of Aunt Li from the Qin Family.
She was able to attend school because of her uncle. He paid for her tuition and all her living expenses.
Qin Shanshan’s uncle and aunt were childless. They had an agreement with Aunt Li of the Qin Family that Shanshan would care for them in their old age.
Her uncle was a doctor and her aunt was a nurse. They weren’t short on money and had always doted on Qin Shanshan, treating her like their own child.
After the incident, Qin Shanshan went straight to her uncle’s home. When her aunt and uncle heard what had happened to her, they were furious and worried.
But anger was one thing; the priority was to get through the initial fallout and salvage Qin Shanshan’s reputation.
They wracked their brains, and with Qin Shanshan’s input, they finally came up with a plan.
There’s an old saying: once you’ve taken someone’s handouts, you can’t speak ill of them.
They put this very idea to use in a direct and clever way.
For Shanshan’s sake, her uncle gritted his teeth and decided to spare no expense.
That afternoon, no sooner had Su Li left to herd the cattle than they arrived back in Xinghua Village, bringing Qin Shanshan and their many bags with them.
They returned with great fanfare, making a show of it all the way. First, they went to the entrance of the elementary school and gave away notebooks, pencils, and erasers to the students.
Free things are always the most popular.
In no time at all, the news spread, and the entire village rushed over.
After handing out the stationery, they started holding a free clinic, offering consultations and medicine to the villagers at no cost.
As winter turned to spring, many people in Xinghua Village had caught colds. When they heard about free treatment, every last one of them came running.
Having been a doctor for decades, Qin Shanshan’s uncle knew the ropes. He acquired some medicine cheaply and gave out what he could.
Besides treating colds, they also attended to the elderly and treated external injuries, like the broken limbs some villagers sustained during the previous rains.
Hearing about this good deed, even Mrs. Tang was tempted to go. In the end, though, she didn’t—it was unclear whether it was because she had no one to help her get there or because Su Li wasn’t going.
In any case, when she told Su Li about it, she seemed to be fishing for praise.
"...Everyone in the village went except for me. People were telling me I should go, but I held firm and refused."
Beyond that, the aunt, being a nurse, began treating the village women for gynecological problems.
It’s a fact that most married women have such issues to some degree.
While the aunt was performing examinations and dispensing medicine, she began her campaign to clear Qin Shanshan’s name.
"...For those of us who’ve worked in hospitals a long time, we can tell if a girl is still innocent with just one glance. And for those we can’t tell, a quick checkup reveals the truth."
"Our Shanshan is still a young lady, you know. We could get a certificate to prove it anywhere. She was completely framed this time..."
Some of the women in Xinghua Village believed her, while others didn’t. But having accepted their charity, even the skeptics felt it was best not to say anything.
Since more than half the village had benefited from their generosity, no one cursed Qin Shanshan to her face anymore.
Although people still didn’t talk to her much, the days of them spitting and cursing at her in the open were over.
Qin Shanshan had gone all out this time, and with her formidable aunt and uncle backing her, her reputation-laundering campaign was halfway to success.
Qin Shanshan and her aunt and uncle’s original plan was not only to successfully clear her name but also to make Su Li suffer in the process.
But as they say, the best-laid plans often go awry.
Su Li... had become a substitute teacher at the elementary school. After she started teaching the children, more and more villagers began to speak up for her.
No matter how hard they tried, to their surprise, no one would speak ill of Su Li.
"Su Li is a teacher at the elementary school now..." In the end, that was the line they kept hearing.
Qin Shanshan was so angry she could spit blood. ’Su Li doesn’t know a damn thing! How can *she* be a teacher?!’
She cursed inwardly, but there was nothing she could do.
Of course, she was even more afraid to provoke Su Li or confront her face-to-face.
The last time, she had suffered a crushing defeat at Su Li’s hands that nearly ruined her life. She hated Su Li to the bone, but she also feared her deeply.
She hated Su Li, but she feared her more.
Qin Shanshan was working hard to clear her name and salvage her reputation, but no matter what she did, the incident would forever be a stain on her record.
Hadn’t everyone noticed that even Tie Niu wasn’t going anywhere near her?
Regardless of what the villagers truly thought or what they whispered in private, Qin Shanshan was like an unkillable cockroach, determined to get back on her feet.
"Where is she now?" Su Li asked Mrs. Tang.
"She’s gone again. Just left. Said the new semester is starting and she has to go back to school," Mrs. Tang replied.
That was precisely why Qin Shanshan had been in such a hurry to forcefully clear her name—the school semester was about to start.
There’s no such thing as a perfect secret. If word of her scandal got out at school, it would be a disaster.
Mrs. Tang continued to ramble on.
Su Li let out a breath.
Whether by design or coincidence, they had entered the village right after Su Li left and departed just before she returned.
In short, they had perfectly missed each other.
Su Li happened to be away while they were doing all of this.
Su Li was silent for a long time after that.
Aside from feeling disgusted, Su Li also felt a sense of unease.
In her previous life, her situation had been so miserable that she never managed to turn it around. Part of that was her own fault, but another major reason was that she had no family to speak up for her or help her out.
She didn’t have a good mother or brother, let alone good relatives. With no one to stand up for her, she ended up in that miserable state.
And what about Qin Shanshan? She had been caught red-handed, but because her family protected her, and because she had an aunt and uncle who would move heaven and earth for her...
...in the end, she could still clear her name and stand before everyone once more.
This was Qin Shanshan’s advantage. Her parents, her aunt, and her uncle were her unwavering support system—something Su Li hadn’t had in two lifetimes.
But... it didn’t matter.
It was better to rely on herself than on others. Su Li would rely on herself.
「The next day, March 1st, the new school year began.」
Su Li brought Little Tang Mo with her and officially began her life as a teacher.
On her very first day of work, bright and early, Su Li had to face someone—Zhao Wenming. frёewebnoѵēl.com
Zhao Wenming was also formally starting his position this semester.
Unlike a substitute like Su Li, Zhao Wenming was a state-appointed teacher with a government salary. In the entire school, only he and the principal held such positions.
When Zhao Wenming saw Su Li, his expression was quite a sight to behold.
Zhao Wenming, now wearing a new pair of glasses, no longer harbored any of his previous lecherous thoughts about Su Li. He had been thoroughly humiliated when caught in the act.
But his dislike for her had grown immensely.
He had been very unhappy when he’d first heard the principal hired Su Li as a substitute. He even went to speak with the principal specifically, insisting that Su Li was unsuitable for the job.
When asked why, he wouldn’t say, only vaguely claiming that Su Li’s moral character was questionable.
The principal simply listened with a smile and politely sent him on his way with a non-committal answer.
Zhao Wenming felt the principal was being obtuse, but he didn’t dare say anything more. After all, the principal was a veteran educator who had even taught him back in the day.
Unable to direct his dissatisfaction at the principal, Zhao Wenming aimed all his anger squarely at Su Li.
During the faculty meeting, Zhao Wenming tried to annihilate Su Li with a contemptuous glare.
Unfortunately for him, Su Li couldn’t even be bothered to look his way. She paid him no mind whatsoever.
