Chen Laotai's heart felt like it was bleeding at the thought of a perfectly good pig at home selling for over forty yuan.
Those two accursed brats deserved to be behind bars.
"Grandma, are you getting senile? Where else would my family sell our pig if not at the collection station?"
Chen Lishu's icy voice sounded from behind her, and Chen Laotai instinctively flinched.
"Third sister-in-law, you're back?" Gu Xingye's heart eased as soon as he saw her. He truly didn't know what to do if Chen Lishu hadn't returned.
"Mm," Chen Lishu nodded. "Thank you, Fourth Brother, for keeping an eye on things."
After leaving the collection station, she had ridden her bicycle all the way home. Although her legs were trembling from exhaustion, she had managed to arrive in time.
Chen Laotai turned her head. Seeing that it was indeed her, her clouded eyes flickered. She spat heavily at her, "How would I know that you two morally bankrupt scoundrels sold the pig elsewhere? The investigators have already clarified; your father is guilty of speculation and profiteering."
Thinking of something, Chen Laotai couldn't help but feel a sense of self-satisfaction. "You little brat, just you wait. After they arrest your father, you'll be next."
Chen Lishu sneered at her, "Then I'm truly sorry to disappoint you, Grandma."
As she spoke, she took a receipt from her pocket and handed it to the investigator, explaining, "I'm truly sorry. This receipt was with me after the pig was sold. My parents are timid, and perhaps they forgot about it when they were scared."
The investigator took the receipt suspiciously and glanced at it. Upon clearly seeing the name and handwriting, he handed the receipt back, "It seems today's matter was a misunderstanding. Since the report is unsubstantiated, we will take our leave."
"What do you mean unsubstantiated? How is it unsubstantiated? You're not even asking to look at that darned paper and you're not investigating further?"
Hearing the investigator's words, Chen Laotai became agitated. Her gaze towards Chen Lishu was as if she wanted to pounce and bite her.
"He clearly sold the pig to someone else. This bastard colluded with that dead girl to cheat our family out of the pig," Chen Laotai said resentfully, unwilling to accept it.
"Yes, comrade. I'm telling you, this Chen Lishu has engaged in speculation and profiteering countless times. Perhaps this receipt is fake too."
Seeing the investigators about to leave, Chen Baozhu, filled with anger and anxiety, stepped forward to block their path.
"Chen Baozhu, you must speak with evidence. Without any basis, anything you say will be considered nonsense," Chen Lishu's sharp gaze fell upon him as she spoke coldly.
"You are Chen Baozhu?" The investigator paused upon hearing Chen Lishu's words. Thinking that this person was the reason they had made a trip in the cold weather, his gaze towards Chen Baozhu turned hostile. "You wrote this anonymous complaint, didn't you?"
The investigator then flung the letter in his hand at Chen Baozhu. "Do you know that falsely accusing others can also land you in jail?"
Chen Baozhu was surprised that they directly revealed his writing the complaint. He stammered, "I..."
"Such a small matter that the village couldn't resolve, and yet you wrote a complaint letter within the same family, almost sending someone to the Public Security Bureau. How unethical!"
"You wouldn't understand. Everyone picks on the weak. They saw that people were easy to bully."
"..."
Chen Baozhu's face flushed as he listened to the crowd's discussion, his gaze towards Chen Lishu burning with a desire to devour her.
Chen Lishu's mood was similar to Chen Baozhu's. She believed she had never provoked anyone, yet some people simply insisted on opposing her.
If it weren't for the fact that she knew someone at the collection station and had rushed back in time, Chen Mantun might have faced a prison sentence. Perhaps worse, she would have been implicated as well.
If she didn't deal with Chen Baozhu today, her anger would not be appeased! With this thought, Chen Lishu turned her head and said to the investigator, "Comrade, I want to make a report too."
The investigator was taken aback. "What do you want to report?"
Chen Lishu looked at Chen Baozhu with a cold smile, and he inexplicably felt a pang of unease.
"I report him for speculation and profiteering. He did not sell the pig to the collection station."
"Chen Lishu, are you crazy?" Chen Baozhu stared at her in disbelief. If this private transaction between the two families was investigated, she herself wouldn't benefit.
Chen Lishu ignored him. "Comrade, this Chen Baozhu is my cousin. His family also raised pigs this year, but they never sold them to the collection station. They made a mistake themselves and then slandered others. I hope you can enforce the law impartially and punish him for both offenses."
"You little bastard, are you even human? That's your own cousin! You're reporting him?!" Upon hearing that Chen Lishu intended to report her precious grandson, Chen Laotai became furious.
"I don't have a brother like that. He even reports his own uncle. My family is timid, and we want to live a few more years."
Chen Lishu then looked at the investigator again. "Comrades, if you go and investigate his house, you'll know. There are no pigs in their pen, and they definitely can't produce receipts from the collection station."
"Is what she's saying true?" The investigator frowned and looked at Chen Baozhu.
Chen Baozhu's gaze faltered for a moment, then he resigned himself, "Comrade, my family's pig was indeed not sold to the collection station, but that's because the pig was too thin for the collection station to accept, so we sold the pig to Chen Lishu at a low price. We never intended to speculate or profiteer. If you don't believe me, the pig is still being kept in the Gu family's pen."
If she couldn't have it good, then no one else should.
Chen Lishu looked at him with a half-smile. "Brother, at this point, are you still trying to drag others down with you? When did I buy your family's pig? Who saw it?"
It got dark early in winter. It was already pitch black when she and Chen Mantun went over, and they hadn't encountered anyone on the road when they brought the pig back.
"Besides, the pigs in my mother-in-law's pen are their own family's pigs. The investigators have already verified that. You say it's your family's pig now; what were you doing earlier?"
Hearing Chen Lishu's words, the investigator's gaze fell on Chen Baozhu. "Yes, what were you doing earlier?"
Chen Baozhu was stunned. He had rushed home to report the incident and had no idea what had happened at the Gu family's house.
"I don't think there's any need to go over there. You'll have to come with us," the two investigators said, looking at Zhang Changhe. "Secretary Zhang, it seems we'll have to trouble you to find two militiamen."
Today, all the trouble was caused by Chen Baozhu. If something was truly found, would his daughter's wedding still proceed? Feeling annoyed, Zhang Changhe didn't delay and immediately sent someone to find the village security director and ask him to call two people over.
"You heartless wretch, that's your own cousin! If something happens to Baozhu, I won't live either!"
Seeing that he was being taken away, Chen Laotai pounded her chest twice. She couldn't catch her breath and her vision went black. This time, she had truly fainted.