Rebirth in the 60s: A Path to Counterattack-Chapter 87 - 0. Turning the Reputation Around (3000+ Favorites)

In Shuzhen’s view, it was just a trivial matter, but the Su family remembered it deeply.

After all, because of her caution, not only did the Su family indirectly avoid a disaster, but they also suddenly gained two ways to bring revenue to the family.

The Su brothers didn’t have much education and couldn’t articulate the poetic sentiment of repaying a small kindness with a great one. But given the weight of the favor they received, they had to find a way to repay it.

Frequent visits and mutual help became the norm. freewebnoveℓ.com

Since helping Lianshan build his house, the eight protectors showed enough goodwill. Now, they were even more enthusiastic and proactive. They visited frequently and helped each other, stating publicly many times that Lianshan and his wife were like their sister and brother-in-law, comparable to Su Hongying and Liu Shouyi.

It was as if they were saying to everyone, "Keep your eyes open, don’t cause trouble for our sister and brother-in-law. If they are unhappy, it means you’re making the eight of us unhappy."

It frustrated Lin Yuanzhi immensely!

He had just told Lianshan to have the couple hurry and repay the old debt. But no sooner had he spoken than a huge wave hit him unexpectedly.

He didn’t get a cent of the money, but instead, his reputation was smeared as if with feces, giving off a foul odor from afar.

The most critical issue was those using the banner of the "Red Root Miao Zheng" faction, who were in reality lazy scoundrels who hadn’t saved even a day’s worth of provisions for eight generations but were labeled as the destitute and had gained a good status from it.

They actually gathered a bunch of old men and women to block his doorstep, asking if he wanted to emulate the heartless officials in operas, driving them, such honorable proletarians, to death to gain promotion and wealth.

Being surrounded every day by these trembling elders who definitely clung to any encounter, demanding answers, Lin Yuanzhi was nearly driven mad.

What answer could he give?

What dare he say?

It wasn’t just one family. If he reported them as backward elements not actively cooperating in debt settlement, they’d be taken away for education.

While dealing with the trouble, he could also set an example to establish his authority.

But now, with two or three dozen families involved, he couldn’t just arrest them all, could he?

If he did, would it not incite public outrage, leading them to beat him senseless? Even if the authorities asked, how could he explain it?

Catching a single example would be credited to him; two, he’d be seen as sharp-sighted; three, and he might barely make it as diligent and hardworking.

If such a small village was found with dozens of cases, wasn’t it clear that either his work was inadequate, or he was acting out of personal grudges?

Whether deemed incompetent or vindictive, either way, he was sure to lose his position.

Having finally clambered up to a low-ranking village official, enjoying the rare benefits of fourteen work points without working, and in charge of distributing jobs, calculating work points, grain, and money vouchers, Lin Yuanzhi was determined not to be demoted to an ordinary member.

Either way, since the Lian fellow married Liu Shuzhen, he was already on the opposing side.

Lin Yuanzhi figured he might as well focus on this one issue and breakthrough with them!

Before he could even think of how to press on and bring the Lian brothers in line, the damned fool at home had already betrayed him?

Caught off guard, he was left reeling, still puzzled over what spell Dai Honghua was under when the eight protectors pulled another stunt.

Come on, come on, did you think I’d be scared of you?

No matter how widely connected and brave your eight protectors are, ready to risk everything for friends, I’m not afraid!

Everyone has the responsibility to repay debts, and as a good socialist citizen, he should actively respond to the call; this was his job.

Lin Yuanzhi angrily pounded the table, yet he ultimately lacked the courage to point at Dai Honghua’s nose and demand answers or to confront Lianshan and his wife directly, insisting they repay the debt even if it meant going broke.

As things dragged on day by day, Lianshan and Shuzhen managed to sell all their inventory of hazelnut mushrooms and wood ears at a good price.

Along with those treated malva, cockscomb, impatiens flowers/petals, and the stems of Boston ivy, bringing in over two dollars and sixty cents.

The most important thing was that the couple even inquired at pharmacies and purchasing stations in the city, organizing a list of purchasing prices and processing methods for certain medicinal materials.

Upon returning, they spread the word throughout the village, and the members, energized, rushed into the mountains.

While walking and chatting, they all thought about things like siler root and Schisandra. Even the prickly old gooseberry (cocklebur) became a hot commodity, eagerly dug up by those idiots.

Well, Lin Yuanzhi, not well-read or knowledgeable, didn’t know that even cocklebur is good for dispelling wind-cold and clearing nasal passages, treating rheumatism, and relieving itching, making it quite an effective medicine.

It’s good for relieving the exterior, stopping pain, and promoting lung ventilation—a pretty useful plant!

But to the members, who constantly needed to spend money and were eager to earn it, its biggest advantage was that it was common, easy to find, and could be sold for cash.

Even if it was only a dime or two per pound, the small amounts added up!

Besides, the production team hadn’t started organizing the autumn harvest yet, so households with a bit of mobility took to the mountains and woods.

Whenever they found the herbs mentioned by Shuzhen and her husband, they carefully gathered them, properly stored them, and kept them ready to sell for a little extra household income.

Without needing to be told, members tacitly agreed to keep quiet, fearing that the herbs had low demand and wild supply wasn’t high. If the word got out, everyone in the surrounding villages would swoop in, quickly exceeding the demand, and cutting off this source of income.

The members didn’t understand what protecting the ecosystem meant but knew not to do anything that they couldn’t continue to benefit from.

They firmly refused to overharvest in one-time deals.

After bustling for several days, with Lianshan’s help, they sorted and packed the harvested medicinal materials, mushrooms, and wood ears neatly and transported them to the acquisition station in the city.

Leaving with empty baskets and returning with full sacks, each person looked at Lianshan with deep gratitude in their eyes.

In response, Lianshan just scratched his head and smiled, saying he was fortunate to have married a knowledgeable and kind-hearted wife thanks to socialism.

If not, with his nature of just working hard and vigorously, how could he have come up with such a clever idea?

But for his wife’s quick thinking and good intentions—worried that folks would have their money and vouchers deducted after the autumn harvest to repay debts, making life difficult for the family!

In order to clear Shuzhen’s tarnished reputation, Lianshan put in a lot of effort. Every time he was thanked or praised, he tirelessly corrected them, giving all the credit to Shuzhen and happily acting like a lucky fool riding his wife’s coattails.

And indeed, the effect was remarkably good.

Maybe it was genuine gratitude from those who benefited, or maybe it was the realization that Shuzhen was resourceful, fearing they might miss out on something good in the future if they upset her. In any case, overnight, all negative talk related to Shuzhen disappeared from the Liu family village, leaving only endless praise.

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