After my stepmother was shot, I took my brothers to the countryside

When Zhang Qiang heard Lin Yu's words, his expression became a little flustered, and he quickly spoke out to persuade her.

"Forget it, Li Zhiqing, let's just forget about it. We can all live in the same room and sleep on the same kang. If Lin Yu heats the kang, we can stay warm too!"

When Li Ping heard what Zhang Qiang said, his face became even gloomier. He glanced at Zhang Qiang and said with disdain.

"Zhang Qiang, he mentioned the money. You didn't take it, did you? Let me tell you, this firewood was collected by everyone with great effort. It's not a favor to you alone!"

Zhang Qiang was choked by Li Ping's words. He looked at Lin Yu, then at Li Ping, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

The captain looked at the two people arguing, his brows furrowed, and he sighed and said.

"You are all educated youth here to support us. You should unite and help each other. Instead of arguing and even fighting whenever there's a conflict, as you are doing now."

The team leader advised earnestly, "You are not only affecting your own image, but also the image of the entire Youth League Institute!"

"Captain! I don't care if this looks good or not. We must make it clear today what he meant by paying money! We didn't see any money!"

Li Ping continued to insist, his face full of anger and dissatisfaction.

Lin Yu looked at Li Ping and said innocently.

"I did pay. Zhang Qiang told me that there wasn't enough firewood. If I wanted more, I had to pay. I would have frozen to death if I hadn't used it, so I gave him the money."

"Lin Zhiqing! You can't say that!"

Zhang Qiang hurriedly interrupted Lin Yu, and the panic on his face could hardly be hidden.

"I...I really gave you money. I remember it very clearly." Lin Yu insisted.

"Zhang Zhiqing, did you accept money from Lin Zhiqing?"

The captain turned to look at Zhang Qiang with a hint of sternness in his tone.

Zhang Qiang felt a little guilty when the captain looked at him, and he stammered.

"I...I did accept Lin Yu's money, but that was because we were running low on firewood, so I thought of using his money to buy some more firewood for our emergency."

"Buy firewood? Who do you plan to buy firewood from?" the captain continued to ask.

The captain's words made Zhang Qiang even more nervous. In the middle of winter, beads of sweat actually seeped out of his forehead.

Zhang Qiang knew that if he couldn't explain himself this time, he would lose his position as the leader of the educated youth team.

When Zhang Qiang was thinking about how to respond, he glanced at the crowd and saw Shen Nian standing in a corner watching the excitement.

Zhang Qiang was suddenly delighted and blurted out, "I was planning to go find the educated youth Shen to buy some firewood. With so many educated youth coming here all at once this winter, we've consumed a lot of firewood for cooking. Plus, we also lent out the firewood for the new female educated youth, so we're really running low on firewood. Without it, we'll be left starving!"

As soon as Zhang Qiang finished speaking, everyone present was surprised and turned their eyes to Shen Nian.

Shen Nian originally just wanted to sit back and watch the excitement, but she didn't expect that she would be involved in the end?

Who would have thought that Zhang Qiang would suddenly point the finger at her?

Shen Nian frowned, then took a step forward and said lightly.

"Zhang Zhiqing, when did I ever say I wanted to sell firewood? You never asked me about firewood."

"Shen Zhiqing, this is a bit unkind of you, isn't it? You have so much firewood at home, what's wrong with buying some for us? We are all educated youth in the same educated youth compound, we should help each other!" Zhang Qiang said anxiously.

Zhang Qiang's words made Shen Nian sneer. She looked at Zhang Qiang with a hint of sarcasm in her eyes.

"Zhang Zhiqing, you sound so easy. My brothers and I painstakingly carried the firewood for our home. Why should we give it to you for free? Go ahead and talk about your own business, but don't drag me into this for no reason. I'm just here to watch the fun!"

Shen Nian's words left Zhang Qiang speechless for a moment. He didn't expect Shen Nian to reject him so directly.

Although Shen Nian usually gives people the impression of being very strong, she is just a little girl after all. He thought that Shen Zhiqing would never easily reject him in front of so many people.

"Zhang Zhiqing, this is totally wrong of you! How could you dare to take the firewood from Shen Zhiqing's house? Shen Zhiqing's firewood is not enough for them to burn. Xiaoan and Xiaole still have to hand in their firewood for school!"

Aunt Zhang also spoke, and immediately the surrounding villagers started talking again.

"Of course, those boys in our family all hand in firewood for school. One is fine, but several is a lot!"

"Who says it isn't? Every year after the autumn harvest, families with children are like a scramble to collect firewood, fearing that they will be gone if they are too late."

"That's right! How dare this educated youth take someone else's firewood?"

"Shen Zhiqing, you...you can't be so selfish! We are all here to support this place. We should unite and help each other."

"I've seen you often go deep into the mountains. You can collect more firewood than us educated youth."

Zhang Qiang's face looked a little awkward, and he tried to defend himself.

"Bah! Shameless! I can't give you the firewood that Shen Zhiqing risked his life to collect in the mountains!"

"That's right! Zhang Zhiqing, a grown man, actually has such an idea!"

"You really can't judge a person by his appearance! He seems like a nice educated youth!"

Aunt Zhang San and Aunt Wang were talking to each other.

Shen Nian glanced at Zhang Qiang calmly and said, "Zhang Zhiqing, you keep saying we should help each other, but what about you accepting money from Lin Zhiqing? It seems like the other educated youth don't even know you've accepted the money, right? Zhang Zhiqing, you're making a mistake!"

At this time, there are people who use money to buy things privately or exchange things, but everyone does it secretly, and no one finds out and no one cares.

But it is obvious that Zhang Qiang's firewood does not belong to him alone, but he buys and sells it privately and even lets the parties involved tell about it.

Zhang Qiangbian was so frightened by Shen Nian's sudden question that his face changed drastically. He didn't expect Shen Nian to point out his problem so directly.

He hurriedly defended himself, "Shen Zhiqing, you misunderstood me. Lin Zhiqing gave me the money voluntarily."

Shen Nian sneered and said, "Zhang Zhiqing, you don't need to explain these to me. You should go and explain them to the captain and your fellow educated youth!"

Shen Nian's words caused everyone present to start whispering again, and their opinions of Zhang Qiang began to change.

Zhang Qiang felt a panic in his heart, he knew that he had really made a mistake this time.

Lin Yu stood aside, looking at this majestic girl who had never been defeated, with sparks in his eyes. This girl was very much to his liking!

Lin Yu looked at Shen Nian, his eyes flashing with appreciation and admiration.

Except for Lin Yu, everyone in the Youth League Institute stared at Shen Nian.

Why does Shen Zhiqing seem to be getting more and more handsome?

The skin seems to be whiter too?

Are you all from the same place?

Why didn't she get tanned like them during the autumn harvest, but became even whiter in the winter?

Moreover, every time he speaks and acts, he exudes a calm and unhurried temperament, which makes people convinced.

The captain watched this scene and nodded secretly in his heart. This girl Shen was not only pretty, but also thoughtful.

"Alright, alright, I've figured out what happened. Everyone, please stop gathering around and go away."

The captain saw more and more villagers gathering around and spoke out to disperse them.

Upon hearing this, the villagers dispersed one after another, leaving only the people from the Youth League Institute standing there.

The captain looked at Zhang Qiang and said in a deep voice, "Zhang Zhiqing, come with me."

Zhang Qiang's heart tightened, knowing that the captain was going to talk to him.

He glanced at Shen Nian, a hint of unwillingness flashed in his eyes, but he still followed the captain.