"Speak, what is all this about?" Zhang Changhe's expression was no better than the gloomy sky overhead.
"Which police station are you from? I'll have someone verify the situation."
Seeing his lie about to be exposed, the man panicked. Impersonating a police officer was a serious offense. If caught, he would surely be detained. Thus, the man seized an opportunity and bolted.
However, with people all around, how could they let him escape? He was quickly apprehended by some of the village youths and brought back.
Zhang Changhe, his face grim, said to the village security director, Zhao Shucheng, "Shucheng, take two militiamen to escort this man to the county police station."
Upon hearing that he was to be sent to the police station, the man's legs went weak, and he nearly urinated himself. Before anyone could ask, he stammered out everything, confessing like an opened bamboo tube, about how Liu Dabao had hired him to impersonate a police officer to scare Chen Lishu.
After hearing his confession, everyone's attitude towards Widow Liu and her son turned to utter contempt and scorn. To think they lived in the same village and were so wicked.
Zhao Xiao'e and Granny Zhao looked at Zhang Chunyan with disbelief. Noticing Zhang Chunyan's shifty eyes and her inability to meet their gaze, Granny Zhao finally understood everything. Enraged, she abandoned any thought of the money and, pulling her granddaughter along, stormed off.
"Mom!"
"Xiao'e, listen to me, I can explain..." Liu Dabao, seeing the woman he cherished leave without looking back, quickly hurried to chase after her, only to be stopped by Gu Xingye.
"Your business isn't settled yet, where do you think you're going?"
Liu Dabao glared, "Gu Xingye, don't push your luck too far. Do you really think I won't do anything to you?"
"Oh, look at you, boy, you've gotten brave. Come on, let me see what you can do to our fourth son!"
Gu Xingmin flicked away his cigarette butt, grabbed Liu Dabao by the collar, and due to the significant height difference, nearly lifted him off the ground.
"Mom, Third Sister-in-law, are you alright?" Gu Xingguo asked with concern.
The three of them had just returned from delivering grain when they heard about the situation and rushed over without even going home.
Chen Lishu shook her head, "Dad, Eldest Brother, we're fine."
Gu Shoufou nodded and turned to discuss with his in-law, Zhang Changhe, "Sorry to trouble you to make another trip. Since this is a matter between the two families, how about we settle it privately? What do you say?"
Widow Liu and Liu Dabao, upon hearing about a private settlement, felt a bit relieved, knowing the matter wouldn't escalate too much.
Living in the same village, it wasn't good to have the punishment be too severe or too lenient. Since Gu Shoufou proposed a private settlement, Zhang Changhe nodded, "Alright. I'll send someone to escort this person to the town's police station."
"Eldest, Second, Fourth, send their mother and son over too." Gu Shoufou said with a cold expression, nodding towards Widow Liu and Liu Dabao.
"On what grounds are you sending us to the police station? That bitch surnamed Chen owes money and hasn't repaid it. I was being lenient by dealing with her myself. I..."
Gu Shoufou completely ignored the clamoring of Widow Liu and her son, glared at his three sons, and said, "Are you all deaf? Do you want to listen to her spewing nonsense? Hurry up and drag them away!"
"Mom and Dad, my parents are waiting at the hospital. I'll go with Eldest Brother and the others." Seeing them about to leave, Chen Lishu informed Gu Shoufou and Li Xiulan.
Li Xiulan nodded, "Go quickly. If you're late, they'll worry."
Chen Lishu said a few words to Chen Liyuan and the others, then, carrying her bag, left with Gu Xingguo and the others.
Upon arriving in town, the Gu brothers, along with two other village militiamen, escorted the culprits to the police station. To save themselves, the men blamed everything on Liu Dabao. Liu Dabao, furious, retaliated, and the two of them bickering like dogs unearthed even more details. In the end, the police discovered that many villagers had reported missing items in the period before the Spring Festival, all of which were attributed to these two.
Now, neither of them could escape. They were both locked up, conveniently spending the New Year in the detention center.
After parting ways with Gu Xingye and the others, Chen Lishu first bought some groceries and made a simple meal at home. She then made some millet and red date porridge for Chen Mantun and took it to the hospital.
Being young and healthy, she stayed to look after him for the night. Wu Chunmei returned to her rented courtyard to sleep and would come back to switch shifts the next day.
Early the next morning, Wu Chunmei arrived with breakfast made at home. Chen Lishu ate a little and then went home.
Today, keys were to be handed over for the two newly purchased houses. She planned to go with Lin Qi to check the situation.
After washing up at home, Lin Qi arrived. The two of them headed to the house behind the department store first, which was closer.
Although the previous occupants had moved out, the place was still cluttered with miscellaneous items and garbage. Lin Qi wanted to start tidying up, but Chen Lishu stopped him.
"Just hire someone for two yuan to throw away the unwanted things later."
Lin Qi took a tour of the interior. The house wasn't large, and the layout wasn't very good. The bathroom was directly facing the entrance. After removing the curtain between the kitchen and the bedroom, the entire room looked even more chaotic.
"Sister Chen, how are you planning to renovate this place?"
"Let's get rid of the bathroom. If the plumbing is moved, it will likely get blocked frequently, causing trouble later. When I came just now, I saw a public toilet at the intersection, not too far away."
Due to the limited space, Chen Lishu had also given it some thought over the past two days and decided to use this shop as a专卖店 for lingerie.
"The renovation doesn't need to be too elaborate. A coat of white paint throughout. Besides the counter, there will be a fitting room along the wall and two rows of display shelves for customers to choose from."
"Here, embed a large mirror on the wall to enhance the sense of space. As for the lights on the ceiling, change them to fluorescent tubes for better brightness. The door also needs to be replaced with a wooden one that has a fence. This one is too old."
"Understood." Lin Qi noted down everything as she spoke.
Chen Lishu carefully inspected the room, feeling there was nothing else to note. She then locked the door with Lin Qi and they headed towards the train station.
Since this house would be used to sell clothing, the number of customers coming and going would be high. Chen Lishu was more mindful of the renovation.
The blocked-off doors and windows definitely needed to be opened, which was a significant amount of work.
Also, the cement floor inside wouldn't look good. However, laying floorboards would be uneconomical. Renovation materials were limited, and the only tiles available were mosaic, which were also difficult to work with.
But with Zhou Bin, who worked at the Materials Bureau, all sorts of renovation materials should be relatively easy to obtain.
The original partitions would also need to be removed to make the overall space feel more spacious.
As for the mannequins for the display area, achieving the realism of later models would be impossible, but they should try to get a couple.
After giving all the necessary instructions, Chen Lishu handed over all the renovation matters to Lin Qi.
As they exited the building, Chen Lishu was about to head home for a nap before relieving Wu Chunmei in the afternoon when she heard a somewhat uncertain voice calling from not far away, "Sister Chen?"
Chen Lishu turned her head and saw a girl of eighteen or nineteen standing not far away, looking at her with a puzzled expression.
Seeing the girl's round face, Chen Lishu said with some uncertainty, "Zhang Li?"