Chapter 593 - 592: What Is a Reporter (Part 2)

Aunt Qin left the factory gate and returned to the hospital to continue her shift.

She was back in body, but not in spirit. A gloomy cloud hung over her, putting her in a terrible mood.

She already had a high-and-mighty attitude at work. Her demeanor would improve for well-dressed people, and she’d even greet important figures with a smile, but she never had a kind look for the country bumpkins.

Ignoring people or snapping impatiently at them was just a normal part of her job.

Ask one too many questions, and she’d berate you impatiently. Cursing people out was common for her. But no one ever complained—the only ones who suffered were the country bumpkins she yelled at.

Aunt Qin looked down on those ignorant, penniless country bumpkins and never gave them a second glance. Her sense of superiority was long-established.

Of course, her attitude wasn’t considered a problem, as plenty of others at the hospital acted the same way.

In her foul mood, Aunt Qin did as she always did: she impatiently lost her temper with a country bumpkin and hurled a few curses at him.

In the past, the people she cursed at would just endure it, even if they were left trembling with anger or driven to tears. Nothing ever came of it, so Aunt Qin acted with impunity.

Who would have thought that this time she’d run into a man with a terminal illness, a man teetering on the very edge of a complete breakdown.

The man came from a poor background and was no stranger to neglect and contempt. He was used to enduring it, but being humiliated again at a time like this, he simply couldn’t hold it in any longer.

Finally, on a sudden impulse, the man stabbed Aunt Qin.

"You want to curse me? You want to look down on me? I’m already dying, and you still treat me like this! Let’s just die together! Let’s die together!"

Aunt Qin never, ever imagined things would turn out this way. The intense pain left her unable to process what was happening.

When she finally snapped out of it, amidst a chorus of screams, Aunt Qin shoved the man away. In doing so, the knife was pulled out.

Blood gushed out, and Aunt Qin finally collapsed heavily to the ground.

Everything that followed was chaos.

Just as Aunt Qin was being rushed away for emergency treatment, Aunt Li arrived at the hospital. She saw the scene and was so frightened that she fainted on the spot.

A kind bystander quickly helped her to the side, but with all the commotion, no one paid her any further attention.

The man who had stabbed Aunt Qin was highly agitated. Shortly after she was wheeled away, he collapsed as well.

Su Li interviewed several people, including patients, doctors, and nurses.

Since Aunt Qin was injured right inside the hospital, she received prompt medical attention. After a harrowing ordeal, she managed to pull through.

She was filled with hatred, of course, but it was useless. She had suffered that wound for nothing.

The man himself was a critically ill patient, so the police could neither arrest nor punish him.

Aunt Li didn’t return to Xinghua Village until the next day, her face still deathly pale.

She had been frightened out of her wits.

It took another two days for her to regain some of her composure and start walking around outside again.

Everyone in Xinghua Village had heard about Aunt Qin getting stabbed, and the rumors were flying. When Aunt Li finally emerged, everyone’s curiosity got the better of them, and they couldn’t resist asking for details.

Aunt Li told the villagers everything she knew, breaking down in tears as she recounted the tale.

Just as they were all talking, they saw Tang Yuanxiao approaching, pushing Mrs. Tang in her wheelchair.

Tang Yuanxiao and his mother were preparing to leave and were making their rounds to say goodbye. Since they didn’t know when, or if, they would ever be back, he was pushing Mrs. Tang to visit the homes of the families they had been close with.

The moment Aunt Li saw them, her face fell.

They had once been good neighbors, but had a falling out over Qin Shanshan. In the days since the Tang family had returned, Aunt Li and Mrs. Tang had frequently traded loud, indirect insults.

Since their houses were right next to each other, every word was audible.

"Serves him right for being cheated on! Even his own grandson isn’t his blood! And you, you deserve to be paralyzed! It’s all karma! Ptooey!"

Seeing Mrs. Tang, Aunt Li immediately seized the opportunity to let loose.

"What kind of mother raises that kind of daughter? Shamelessly throwing herself at men to sleep with them! Ptooey! Who would want a filthy thing like that! Your whole family is rotten! Serves her right, getting stabbed! It’d be better for everyone if she just died!"

Mrs. Tang immediately fired back, matching her venom.

"Mom." Tang Yuanxiao’s expression was grim. With a helpless nod to the crowd, he quickly pushed his mother away.

The Tangs’ appearance shifted the crowd’s focus. They gossiped about the Tang Family and Mrs. Tang, and inevitably, the conversation turned back to Su Li.

News that Su Li had left in a car had already spread throughout Xinghua Village.

The villagers were green with envy. "...Getting to ride in a car. But someone like her? Even if she gets a ride in a car, she’ll never find a good man."

"Exactly. And she’s dragging that kid, Tang Mo, along with her. She’s a complete idiot. Any man who’d want her must be a good-for-nothing. What kind of future could he possibly have?"

"A divorced woman... But then again, she’ll have a golden-ticket job once she graduates. The government assigns jobs to college students."

The envy in her voice was palpable.

"She’s not going to be a teacher, a doctor, or a nurse, and she’s certainly not a factory worker. Can they even assign her a job?"

"Who knows? Didn’t someone say she’s going to be a reporter?"

"If it were me, I’d become a teacher or a doctor. Even being a nurse is good. Why a reporter? Who even knows what that is."

"Exactly! Is that as good as being a teacher? Or a factory worker?"

The villagers chattered on, full of scorn. After looking down on her for a while, they finally felt a bit better, their envy not quite so sharp.

Their jealousy vented, the villagers watched the sun go down. Seeing it was about time, they rushed home to make dinner. Afterward, they all started heading toward the village chief’s house.

Quite a few people were already at the village chief’s house. The adults were in the main hall shooting the breeze, while the children ran wild in the courtyard.

People trickled in, carrying their own stools. They greeted one another, then set down their seats and settled in.

They all had a reason for gathering at the village chief’s house: he owned a television.

Two years prior, a small hydroelectric power station had been built near Xinghua Village, using the river’s current to generate electricity.

The village chief had fought hard to get it built. The hope was to finally have electric lights, just like people in the city, and to stop using kerosene lamps. But the station generated very little power.

After much back and forth, only the village committee office got electric lights. Then, the chief had a line run to his own house.

That was all the power the station could supply. Any other family that wanted electricity would have to wait.

At first, the villagers had their complaints. But those complaints vanished after the chief went all out and bought a television.

The entire village came to marvel at the novelty. It was only a black-and-white set, but they were more than satisfied.

From then on, everyone gathered at the chief’s house to watch TV. They got hooked on the drama series, and during the busy farming season, many would get upset or even throw a fit if work made them miss an episode.

To keep up with the shows, some people wouldn’t even bother making dinner until after the broadcast. Others would show up with their rice bowls in hand, eating as they watched.

Since it was the first month of the new year, no one was particularly busy, so things were less frantic. People simply came early to stake out a spot.

In any case, whether it was commercials or the news, they would watch without blinking, completely captivated.

Aunt Li came to watch as well. She had just walked in and sat down when she suddenly heard someone shout.

"Huh, why does that person look so familiar?"

"Isn’t that Su Li? How did she get on TV?!"

"How did Su Li get inside the TV?"

Instantly, everyone at the chief’s house, whether in the courtyard or the main hall, surged toward the television, their eyes glued to the screen.

They rubbed their eyes in disbelief. The Su Li on the screen was, unmistakably, their Su Li.

Su Li... Su Li was really on TV.