Chapter 7: You Wretch!

The crowd fell silent, each wearing a strange smile as they slowly dispersed.

Shen Zhiyu’s recent battle had truly made her a household name in the village.

Some believed she had reached her limit and could no longer endure, while others thought she was simply pretending to hold on no more. Opinions varied, both good and bad.

But Shen Zhiyu paid no mind to the outside chatter; if she couldn’t hear it, it simply didn’t exist.

There was no work in the fields at the moment; the village was only calling folks out to weed here and there, which was relatively easy.

Yet Shen Zhiyu did not go.

Since marrying Qi Huan, she hadn’t set foot in the fields.

After all, her previous life had married her off precisely because she was not meant to work the land.

Unfortunately, Shen Zhiyu had no knowledge of why her previous self had come to the countryside, nor much about her natal family. Even the book merely mentioned them briefly.

It was said that the Shen family once arranged a letter of introduction for her to return to the city, but the letter was burned by Qiao Qian, who also wrote to the Shens saying Shen Zhiyu was married and that they should cease contact.

Shen Zhiyu could not recall when this had happened.

All she could do was write a letter back to her family.

She had no memory of her natal family’s situation, so she would have to find out for herself.

If they turned out to be decent people, she wouldn’t mind having more family. If not, she wouldn’t hesitate to cut all ties.

After finishing the letter, Shen Zhiyu went out again.

Although the post office was still within the commune, it was located about eight hundred meters ahead at a fork near the entrance to Hanjia Village—a few minutes’ walk.

What surprised Shen Zhiyu was that as soon as she arrived, the postman called out to her with a letter.

“Thank you!”

She took the letter, glanced at the one she had just written, and ultimately sent it off.

Back home, she tore open the envelope and emptied its contents onto the table—scattered money and bills, and a thick stack of letter sheets. Shen Zhiyu was at a loss for words.

Her previous family truly was generous!

They had put money and bills inside the envelope without worrying about them being stolen.

After tidying the money and bills, she picked up the neatly folded letter. The first page was a letter of introduction to return to the city!

The Shen family had secured her a formal position at a food factory in the city. With this letter, she could return there.

“So this is the letter of introduction that Qiao Qian burned!”

Recalling the postman’s hurried demeanor when leaving the post office, Shen Zhiyu pieced together the truth.

The postman first delivered letters to the commune before going to the villages below. Although Hanjia Village was nearby, it was not the first stop for mail delivery.

Qiao Qian must have taken advantage of her job at the supply and marketing cooperative to intercept the letter.

Not only the letter of introduction but also the money and bills in the envelope!

There is a saying: when you find a cockroach in your house, your home has long been infested.

Qiao Qian couldn’t have foreseen this—she wouldn’t know about the letter of introduction hidden inside. The truth was likely that she intercepted many letters addressed to Shen Zhiyu, possibly all of them.

Thus, in the previous self’s memory, her family abandoned her, which was why after divorcing Qi Huan and being cast out, she was left homeless and eventually froze to death beneath a bridge.

“Bastard!”

“Wretch!”

“How can such a wretch get a second chance?”

Shen Zhiyu was furious to the point of bursting!

But she quickly calmed down.

A wretch reborn, hoping for a smooth life—what nonsense was that?

At that moment, Shen Zhiyu realized why she had entered this story.

She was here to uphold justice!

After reading the letters, Shen Zhiyu confirmed that her family had sent many letters over the years, but she had never replied. They guessed she still harbored resentment.

“Qiao Qian, playing dirty, huh?”

“Fine, fine, today I’ll teach you a lesson!”

After securing the money, bills, and letter of introduction, Shen Zhiyu gathered the letters and envelope and headed straight to the post office.

She found the post office director and laid the letters before her.

“Director, can you explain this?”

“My family says they have sent me many letters over the years, but so far, I have only received this one!”

“What about the other letters?”

The post office director was a woman in her forties named Chen Hongxing, wearing black-rimmed glasses. She looked stern and was naturally annoyed by Shen Zhiyu’s questioning.

But after hearing everything, she was stunned.

Although their commune was not small, mailing letters was an expensive affair these days. People rarely wrote unless urgent; telegrams were sent instead.

The educated youth received many letters.

Chen Hongxing knew of Shen Zhiyu; after all, the name was unique.

She recalled that Shen Zhiyu’s family had frequently written to her.

“Shen Zhiyu, don’t be upset. I will verify this immediately!”

“Indeed, there have been many letters for you over the years, and our postmen always delivered them promptly. If you haven’t received them, there must be some misunderstanding!”

“However, the postman just left. Can this wait a bit?”

“Director, I’ll follow your lead!”

Shen Zhiyu had no intention of clashing with the director; she still hoped for justice.

“Director, you don’t know how I’ve felt all these years, thinking my family abandoned me. I lived cautiously in the Qi household, afraid of making a mistake and being cast out!”

“Could the Qi family have intercepted my letters?”

“That’s hard to say.”

Chen Hongxing was troubled. How could such a thing happen?

If the postman delivered the letters to the Qi family, that would be one thing, but what if something else was going on?

“I’ll make a call.”

Growing increasingly uneasy, Chen Hongxing contacted the commune office and instructed them to stop the postman when he arrived and bring him back at once.

Within ten minutes, the postman Wang Zhigang, sweaty from running, returned in a hurry.

“Director Chen, what’s the matter that you had me rush back in such a hurry?”

Wang Zhigang complained, “In this scorching heat, do you think I’m not hot?”

“Wang Zhigang!”

Chen Hongxing’s face tightened as she called his name.

“Straighten your attitude!”

“I’m questioning you on behalf of the organization. You’d better answer honestly!”

Wang Zhigang was taken aback, reflecting on his recent conduct. He had been diligent and had done nothing wrong.

“Go ahead, ask!”

He immediately stood at attention.

“I want to know, over these years, did you deliver all the letters addressed to Shen Zhiyu?”

“Of course!”

“Those letters were handed over to someone in their village—Qiao Qian from the supply and marketing cooperative helped deliver them!”

Wang Zhigang answered without hesitation.

“Director, is there trouble?”

“Shen Zhiyu, you haven’t received your letters, have you?”

Wang Zhigang’s eyes widened. This was serious—he might even get implicated!