Turning her head, she saw Chen Liwan not far away. Children in the village her age would help at the team, picking up pig and cow dung to earn work points.
Chen Lishu quietly walked up to her and whispered a few words in her ear. Finally, she asked, "Can fourth sister manage it?"
"Don't worry, big sister. I guarantee I'll handle it well," Chen Liwan nodded her assurance.
Seeing her leave, Chen Lishu walked over to Chen Mantun and his wife.
"Lishu, what are we going to do? Your grandma, your grandma wants to ruin us," Wu Chunmei's heart pounded with fear as soon as she saw her daughter, and tears immediately streamed down her face.
Chen Mantun wasn't much better.
"If only we hadn't done this. What are we going to do now!"
Hearing Chen Old Lady still enumerating his 'crimes' in front, Chen Mantun's intestines were twisting with regret.
"If only your grandma hadn't asked me for money the other day, I would have given it to her. I..."
"Dad!" Chen Lishu couldn't help but raise her voice slightly at his flustered appearance. Chen Mantun looked up helplessly.
"Dad, Mom, thinking about anything else is useless now. We need to solve the immediate problem first. Also, listen to me, no matter what Grandma says today, you two must not admit anything. Stick to the story that she wanted money and we didn't have it, and she was just spouting nonsense out of anger."
"Can this... can this work? My heart is pounding, I feel like I can't even stand." Wu Chunmei whispered while crying.
"Whether it works or not, it has to work now. Otherwise, do you two really want to be arrested? What about little sister and the others?"
Chen Lishu looked at them calmly. At the same time, she warned herself that if she panicked at this moment, their family would be ruined. Given the personalities of Chen Mantun and Wu Chunmei, if they were defeated by Chen Old Lady this time, they would never have the courage to stand up again.
"Alright. Your mother and I will listen to you. We won't admit it even if we're beaten to death," Chen Mantun said. Although still somewhat hesitant, he was better than Wu Chunmei at critical moments.
"Mantun, are what Auntie said true?" The team leader, Sun Yuzhu, asked with a serious expression.
All eyes suddenly focused on them.
Chen Mantun and his wife had never been stared at by so many people. They swallowed hard and waved their hands, "No, nothing like that. We two work in the fields every day. Where would we have the time to do such things?"
"You son of a bitch, you dare to lie in front of so many people? You work during the day and go into the mountains at night to set traps. Save them up and deliver them to the town at night. You told me all this. Why are you denying it now? You coward!"
Chen Old Lady, agitated, pointed at his nose and scolded him, starting to spill the beans.
Hearing her speak so convincingly, the crowd estimated that the matter was very likely true.
"I really didn't expect such an honest-looking couple to do such things. How did we not realize it?" People began to whisper.
"Undermining socialism, harming collective interests, tell me, how much money have you two earned? You must spit it all out obediently. Otherwise, we'll put up a sign and drag you out for a parade!" Widow Liu suddenly darted out from the crowd, her expression furious as she spat at the couple.
Her two sons, hearing that there might be money to be shared, immediately came out behind her and, without question, moved to tie up Chen Mantun and his wife.
They had seen too much of this scene in previous years. Chen Mantun and his wife, terrified, had already shrunk their necks and dared not move.
"What are you doing? What business is it of yours? Stop buzzing around like flies everywhere. Let's see who dares to touch my parents!"
Chen Lishu, with a stern face, waved the sickle in her hand towards Widow Liu and her two sons.
This was not like a hoe; a sickle was also a knife, flashing with a bright, cold gleam. Widow Liu and her sons faltered slightly.
"Why are you being so bossy, you little brat? Your parents are occupying collective property, only caring about their own family and not the collective. Everyone has the right to speak. They must return the money they got." Widow Liu said, her neck stiff, standing a few steps away.
"What evidence do you have? Besides, catching a couple of rabbits is occupying collective property. Then, does everyone going up the mountain to cut grass and dig for vegetables count? Do your two sons fishing in the river count? Let everyone return what they've occupied, and then we'll talk about my parents' affairs."
"Lishu, you're twisting the facts," the Party Branch Secretary Zhang Changhe walked over, tapping the ashes from his tobacco pipe and tucking it into his waist.
"Collective property naturally belongs to everyone. But what your grandma is reporting now is that your parents caught wild animals in the mountains and sold them. The nature of the matter has changed."
"Yes, Secretary is right," Widow Liu nodded subserviently in agreement.
"Uncle Changhe, this matter can't just be whatever my grandma says, can it? I'm also reporting that she committed murder. Will the police arrest her then?"
Having been the Party Branch Secretary for so many years, he had never encountered someone so sharp-tongued. Zhang Changhe frowned, momentarily speechless.
"You useless good-for-nothing, a jinx. Why shouldn't what I say count? Your father did sell the rabbits. Not only that, but he also collected grain and sold it in the town before the New Year. He's engaged in speculation and profiteering more than once or twice."
Chen Old Lady, furious, rushed forward in a few steps, pointing at Chen Lishu's nose and scolding her.
Hearing Chen Old Lady's words, Chen Mantun's mouth felt bitter, and his heart sank halfway.
Looking at Chen Old Lady, he spoke with difficulty, "Mom, am I your biological son? Are you determined to destroy me?"
"How can you be my son!" Chen Old Lady said hatefully. "You are an ungrateful wretch. Not only that, but you are also a failure. If it weren't for your elder brother and Baozhu, the Old Chen family would have ended with you!"
These words were too hurtful. Chen Mantun and Wu Chunmei's bodies suddenly became like withered leaves falling in the autumn wind. Their eyes lost all their life.
"Auntie Chen, let's discuss things calmly," Zhang Changhe couldn't bear to watch and cleared his throat to mediate.
Chen Old Lady: "Now, you take people to search his house. There must be rabbits and pheasants left at home. If they're caught, drag them both to the Revolutionary Committee."
"Well, Yuzhu, and Maocai, you two organize two people to go and check Mantun's house," Zhang Changhe heard Chen Old Lady's words and turned to organize people to search.
Chen Old Lady suddenly looked triumphant, spitting at Chen Mantun and his wife, "Thinking of helping outsiders with money. Let's see if you two dare to disobey me again."
Chen Lishu glanced at her, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. She turned and said coldly to Zhang Changhe and the others, "You are going to search my house based on her one-sided word. Is there a document from above, or do you represent the public security comrades in enforcing the law? If neither is present, then if anything is missing from my house, who will be responsible?"
"Responsible for what? So many eyes are watching! Are you guilty? If things are found, we'll drag you along for a parade!" Widow Liu quickly chimed in.