The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

Bao Ya was taken back to the office and made to explain what she had just said. This matter was too serious and had to be reported to the higher-ups.

The story begins before the liberation, when Bao Ya's maternal grandfather worked as a shop assistant in a pharmacy in the city.

Once, he went with his master to see a wealthy family in the city for medical treatment. He didn't know what his master said, but he offended the family.

Fortunately, Zhou Fugui, the steward of the warlord's mansion, said a few good words on his behalf, thus escaping a disaster.

Later, as the outside world became increasingly chaotic, my grandfather returned to the village.

Right after liberation, Zhou Fugui brought an eight- or nine-year-old child to the village, saying that his family had suffered a disaster and he hoped that the village could take them in.

Grandpa, mindful of their life-saving grace, decided to let them stay in the village.

Zhou Fugui was shot in the waist at the time, but such things were common in those chaotic times.

The boy he brought, named Zhou Liang, was his sister's child. He was a dull and taciturn person who rarely spoke. It was said that he had been terrified after witnessing a death in the city.

Zhou Fugui injured his back and couldn't do much farm work, but because of his life-saving grace to his grandfather, the Su family often helped him out.

When he had free time, he would tell the children stories about the city, but the stories weren't free; they had to be exchanged for food.

The villagers knew he was having a hard time, so they didn't say anything. If one child gave him some food, a whole group of children would listen to him.

When Lin Baoya was little, she would often take the vegetable pancakes her family gave her to listen to his stories.

One day, a jeep came to Beishan Village, and Zhou Liang went to see it.

After that, Zhou Liang was locked up at home by Zhou Fugui and not allowed to come out.

When Zhou Liang came out again, he was a completely different person. He no longer listened to Zhou Fugui as much as before, and always stared at him like he was an enemy.

The first thing Zhou Liang said was pointing to the woman in the photo and speaking to Bao Ya:

"Look, this is the woman who killed my parents and grandmother."

She led a group of people into the governor's mansion and killed them all.

The woman in the photo is Liu Pingting, now known as Gao Lanzhi.

He continued to talk a lot after that, but Bao Ya was too young at the time and didn't quite understand what he was saying; she just listened to it as a story.

Later, perhaps because he talked too much, Zhou Liang pieced together the story in fits and starts. Bao Ya then heard about their family and that woman.

The woman's name was Liu Pingting. She was the eleventh concubine of a warlord. Because she was infatuated with an actress, the warlord caught them having an affair and then gave her to his subordinates like an object, where she was tortured half to death.

She was later rescued by the housekeeper Zhou Fugui and hidden in the small house he had bought. The two lived together like husband and wife for more than half a year.

On the eve of liberation, Liu Pingting led a group of people to the governor's mansion and killed everyone inside, including Zhou Liang's parents and grandmother.

At that time, the warlord and his family had already fled with their property, leaving only servants to work in the house.

No matter what they said, the group wouldn't listen and just kept shooting at them.

Zhou Liang was so frightened that he became mentally unstable. Zhou Fugui was shot but did not die, so he escaped with his nephew.

Later, Zhou Liang went to Beishan Village with a group of children to see cars, where he met Liu Pingting again. He immediately ran home, grabbed a sickle, and dragged his uncle to find her and take revenge.

To everyone's surprise, Zhou Fugui not only refused to let him go, but also locked him up, only releasing him after the woman left.

Those nights, his house was filled with shrill screams, like the howls of wild beasts. The villagers just assumed Zhou Liang had gone mad and didn't pay much attention.

Zhou Fugui treasured those photos like precious gems, but no matter where he hid them, Zhou Liang could always find them.

Whenever Zhou Liang stole it, he would point to the woman in the photo and tell her the story to everyone he met.

Even on his deathbed, Zhou Fugui said he wanted to put those photos in his coffin.

"What's your evidence? That Zhou Liang is still alive?"

After Bao Ya finished speaking, Political Commissar Gu immediately followed up with questions.

If Zhou Liang were still alive, it's uncertain whether his testimony would be reliable, given that he's a madman.

"No, they were all gone during the famine a few years ago."

Bao Ya said with some regret, "Thinking about it now, that child was quite pitiful."

"Didn't no one starve to death in your village?"

Wang Xiao couldn't help but ask, since he seemed quite familiar with the area.

"He didn't starve to death, he ate too much. When relief food was distributed, he took it home and cooked it all in one meal, and then he died from overeating."

Everyone fell silent after hearing this. During famines, people eat very little and have weak digestive systems. Eating too much at once can easily lead to bloating and even death.

Bao Ya felt that Zhou Liang was living a very painful life. He knew who his enemy was, but he just couldn't take revenge.

His only relative, his uncle, not only didn't hate the woman, but also protected her in every way.

He told everyone he was talking about it, but since he was mentally unstable, no one believed him.

Only Bao Ya, who was still very young at the time, could not understand it.

In the early stages, he was terrified by the murder scene and acted abnormally. Later, he was so miserable that he couldn't express his suffering and ended up depressed to death.

"How can you be sure the woman in the photo is Gao Lanzhi?"

"The mole at the corner of her eye is exactly the same as in the photo. Also, her husband, Li Changsheng, is from the Beishan Brigade."

When Bao Ya mentioned the mole at the corner of her eye, Commander Qin thought it was a bit far-fetched, but when Bao Ya directly called out Li Changsheng's name, he believed her a little more.

"Okay, get ready. We'll report this to higher authorities, and someone from the General Military Region will come to question you later."

Bao Ya knew what he was saying, since she couldn't leave anyway.

After the conversation ended, Fang Mingda went back with her. They were probably going to discuss countermeasures with Jiang Tao.

Her intuition told her that Fang Mingda and his group were not on the same side as the Gao family.

The original book states that Li Changsheng used his power to transfer Fang Mingda to a more remote place.

While Lin Baoya's actions certainly contributed to the female lead's troubles, the failure of the struggle was likely the greater reason.

As far as she knew, Fang Mingda had connections in Beijing and couldn't be transferred easily. Moreover, Jiang Tao didn't help Jiang Yuan when he was arrested, so there must be something wrong with that.

She didn't know much inside information and couldn't analyze anything. All she needed to know was that they weren't a united front.

It's impossible for the Gao family to have reached such a position without having enemies. Even if what I said today can't bring them down immediately, there's no guarantee that it won't be used by someone with ulterior motives in the future.

"Are those photos in Zhou Fugui's coffin?"

Fang Mingda tentatively asked Bao Ya. Bao Ya looked at him, pursed her lips, and didn't say anything.

That's evidence to bring down the other party, and it's also my trump card; I definitely can't just tell anyone.

"Why don't you have Wang Xiao find out who was having an affair with Gao Lanzhi in the back mountain that day? According to Zhou Liang, Gao Lanzhi led a group of people to the governor's mansion to kill people, but she didn't say that those people were soldiers."

Bao Ya thought about it carefully and said.

She racked her brains, recalling that Zhou Liang had only said it was a group of people, without specifying who they were. And those people were armed.