Guo Sansheng straightened the stool, stepped on it again, and straightened the crooked banner. "Brother-in-law, do you think this is okay?"
After a few seconds of silence, Guo Sansheng repeated his question. Still no one answered.
He turned his head to look, only to find Director Ma holding a basket and looking at the chess piece in his palm. He patted the wall and said, "Brother-in-law, what are you doing standing there like an idiot? Help me check if it's crooked."
Director Ma immediately came back to his senses, put the basket next to his desk, and then looked at the banner.
He looked left and right, took a few steps back, and moved his hand, "A little to the left, that's it, that's it!"
Guo Sansheng took a pencil, marked it, and then picked up a hammer to start hammering nails. After the silk banner was hung, he jumped down to look at it, "Not bad, brother-in-law!"
He turned to look for his brother-in-law, but found that he had already sat back at his desk with a chess piece in his palm.
Guo Sansheng approached cautiously, muttering, "It's just a chess piece, what's so good about it?"
He was holding onto the table when he suddenly felt something under his feet. He looked down and found it was a basket of eggs. He was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out. He pointed at the basket and asked, "Brother-in-law, where did it come from?"
Director Ma rubbed his face and said nothing.
Guo Sansheng rolled his eyes, looked up at the banner, and suddenly realized, "Oh, it turns out that she not only sent a banner, but also eggs. This old lady is really a good person."
Director Ma gave him a cold look, which frightened Guo Sansheng a little. He swallowed nervously, "What, what's the matter?"
Director Ma rubbed his face. He was a pawn of others. How could he expect this silly boy to react so quickly? Good person? Haha, there is really no one better than her.
Guo Sansheng put the eggs on the table. Feeling their heavy weight, he couldn't stop smiling. He picked up an egg and sniffed it. It was still fresh. He leaned in front of Director Ma and said, "Brother-in-law, I have never seen a better person than her. In the past, you worked very hard to handle cases, and you sentenced one case after another. When the case was closed, the families of the prisoners would give you a pound of cabbage or a handful of green onions at most. It's really rare to give you a basket of eggs like this."
Director Ma couldn't stand his stupidity. He held his chin and glared at him, "Are you stupid?"
Guo Sansheng was a little confused. "What's wrong? Why am I stupid?"
Director Ma looked at him and asked, "So who benefits the most from this case?"
Guo Sansheng pursed his lips and thought for a long time, "It should be Deng Xingming. He has been cleared of the injustice. Speaking of which, this man is really unlucky. He was sleepwalking in the middle of the night and was mistaken for a rapist. If it weren't for my brother-in-law's keen observation, he would have been in trouble this time."
Director Ma raised his hand and said, "Don't flatter me anymore. I blush when I hear you." Then he laughed at himself and said, "With such a shrewd old lady, Deng Xingming can be cleared of all charges, not to mention being wrongly accused. Even if he really did do it, I think she can clear him."
He sighed heavily, "It really creeps me out the more I think about it."
If it was just a game of chess, he would at least know that the person sitting opposite him was his competitor, but in real life, there are people all around, and you have no idea who your opponent is. He could only find some clues from the results after the case was over. What a failure.
The more Guo Sansheng listened, the more confused he became. "Brother-in-law, I know you're upset. But the old lady not only gave her a banner but also eggs. I can't help but stand up for her when you slander her like this."
Seeing that his brother-in-law had actually turned his heart to someone else's, Director Ma was almost angry and laughed, "What do you know? You just speak up for others? You were bought off with a banner and a basket of eggs. Can you be more capable?"
Guo Sansheng put the eggs back into the basket and pouted aggrievedly, "I am your militia captain. I cannot be greedy, I cannot gamble, I cannot drink too much, and I cannot get too close to girls. I am no different from a monk. What else do you want? I tell you, if you continue to bully me like this, I will tell my sister! Let her fry eggs for you today, and you just watch from the side."
Director Ma pointed at his nose, his face turning green with anger, "You only know how to use your sister to pressure me. We are both grown men, and you complain to a woman, aren't you ashamed?"
Guo Sansheng was not angry at all when being mocked. Instead, he winked at him and said, "See, you are still afraid of my sister!"
Director Ma was made fun of by him and felt a little uncomfortable. He coughed and changed the subject. "I mean that old lady is not simple. She is not what you think. She is very thoughtful. I just taught you how to be a good person. How could I bully you?"
Guo Sansheng was successfully led astray by him, with a look of curiosity on his face, "Why is she so thoughtful?"
Director Ma asked him back, "Have you ever thought about who wrote the report letter, and where the diary came from?"
Guo Sansheng lowered his head and thought for a while, but still couldn't guess, so he shook his head honestly.
Director Ma pursed his lips and told him directly, "I'm telling you, it's that old lady!"
Guo Sansheng's eyes widened, and when he realized what was going on, he shook his head wildly, "How is that possible! Brother-in-law, I've noticed that since you became the director of the Revolutionary Committee, you've become more and more arrogant!"
Director Ma knocked on the table with the chess piece, "I lied? It may not be easy to work out this matter from the beginning to the end, but if you work it out from the end to the beginning, you can see that the only people who benefited are Deng Xingming and the old lady. You can see that Deng Xingming is a simple person. He is not very smart either."
Guo Sansheng couldn't believe it. "The old lady wrote a letter to report herself? Isn't she afraid that you will really lock her up?"
Director Ma laughed at himself. "That's why! She said such nice things to me before, saying that I was a good person and asked me to trust me. I was so excited that I tore up the letter of proof. I helped her to prove the case before it was even heard. Think about it, why didn't she wait until the case was over before letting me prove it for her? Because she knew that the two people were dead. What a good plan! Everything was linked together, and she figured out my thoughts."
Guo Sansheng tried to figure it out for a long time, so he counted the letters on his fingers to sort out the order, and suddenly asked, "Even if the letter of denunciation and the diary were sent by the old lady, where did she get the diary? An old lady like her cannot enter the military camp."
Director Ma had figured it out a long time ago. "I guess Du Lanqiu accidentally saw the diary when she went to look for Xue Zhijun. She was so angry that she killed him. The old lady probably knew Du Damei's identity a long time ago. She must also know that Du Damei went to settle accounts with Xue Zhijun. Du Damei never came back. She probably picked up the diary by accident when she went to look for her son. In order to clear her son's grievances, she sent it to me. Then I became her pawn."
Guo Sansheng clapped his hands and gave a thumbs up in admiration, "Brother-in-law, your analysis is absolutely correct. It makes sense and clear." He scratched his head, "According to what you said, this old lady is really amazing."
Director Ma glanced at him and said, "How could she become the factory director if she wasn't capable? She's as cunning as a sieve. No wonder Mr. Jiang said she was a novel chess player. Who would have thought that she would write a letter to report herself?"
Guo Sansheng was a little scared of the old lady. He cautiously suggested, "Brother-in-law, why don't we not fight for the top spot? Those two have the old lady's support. You can't even deal with the old lady. Now you're fighting one against three. You're bound to lose."
How could Guo Sansheng not know what his brother-in-law was thinking? The director of the Revolutionary Committee should have been the boss of the commune, but he was a local tyrant, while his brother-in-law was an outsider, so he was inherently at a disadvantage. He had been trying hard to establish his authority, but now it failed because he had met his match.
He was such a proud and arrogant person, he never submitted to anyone. Now he knows that there are always people better than you.
Director Ma crossed his hands against his forehead and rested his elbows on the table, looking as if he was deep in thought.
Just then, the door rang from outside, and Guo Sansheng hurried over to open it, "Sister, why are you here?"
A woman of about twenty-five or twenty-six walked in from outside the door. She had a pigtail, bright features, and a heroic air.
Director Ma stood up by the table and smiled at her, "Why are you here? I'm still working."
Guo Mingxia didn't say anything, but shouted at the door, "Come in quickly! Are you still a man if you don't admit your mistake?"
A boy about ten years old came in from the door, leaning on the door frame, his face red. He quickly glanced into the room and then lowered his head.
Director Ma looked kind and asked, "What's going on?"
Guo Mingxia walked up to him, twisted his ear, and pulled him in. Her voice was frighteningly stern, "Weren't you very impressive when you were fighting with those kids? Why are you pretending to be a coward now?"
Seeing his son shaking with fear, Director Ma felt extremely distressed and hurriedly pulled his wife away, "What are you doing? Just talk nicely, why are you using force? There must be a reason why our Xiaohao fought with others."
Guo Mingxia pinched her waist and snorted, "Ask him why?"
Ma Yunhao took two steps back in fear, "I..."
Director Ma patted his son's back and encouraged him, "Tell me, why did you fight with others?"
Ma Yunhao puffed up his chest and mustered up his courage. "Chen Yuliang brought a jeep to play with in class. I asked him to borrow it, but he refused and lent the jeep to someone else. I argued with him and we got into a fight."
Director Ma became more depressed as he listened.
Guo Mingxia was so angry that her mouth was twisted. "See, he is right. How can we not beat this child? It's not yours. It's their freedom not to lend it to you."
Director Ma slammed the table, his face livid with anger, "Did you really fight with someone? Where's your reasoning? Are you a bandit?"
Ma Yunhao was shocked, but he still held on to his body, pouted his lips, tilted his neck and said as if it was a matter of course, "Dad, aren't you the director? Can't you raid anyone's house if you want? Help me raid his house!"
Director Ma couldn't believe his ears. He looked up at Guo Mingxia and lost his temper for once. "What kind of nonsense are you teaching? Why would he think that?"
Guo Mingxia was even more shocked than him. "I didn't teach him that." She lowered her head, clasped her son's shoulders with both hands, and stared into his eyes with burning eyes. "Where did you learn that from?"
Ma Yunhao was a little scared by his mother's unprecedented severity. He shrank his neck and said loudly, "Yu Shengli, a classmate of ours, was like this. His father was the director of the Revolutionary Committee, and he said so. His father could raid anyone's house he wanted."
Guo Mingxia was so angry that she stamped her feet. "What nonsense are you talking about, kid? How can you just copy whoever you want? You only copy when you make a mistake, not randomly."
Ma Yunhao looked at his father in surprise, "Really? Then why was Mo Xiaofei's house raided? His family only has his grandfather, an old Red Army soldier who fought in the battlefield. Why did his house have to be raided?"
Director Ma was stumped by his son's question. The child is already grown up, and he doesn't have to believe everything he wants to say. He has his own understanding.
Guo Mingxia felt like she was going crazy. She squatted down and said righteously, "Son, Yu Shengli's father is not a good man, so he even raided good people's homes. But your dad is a good man, so he only raided the homes of bad people."
Ma Yunhao looked at his father suspiciously, "Really?"
Director Ma nodded, "Yes! Dad only raids the homes of bad people, not good people. Your classmate is not a bad person, so Dad will never raid his home."
Ma Yunhao said "Oh", and the emotion on his face was hard to tell whether it was disappointment or happiness, he was very conflicted.
Guo Mingxia looked him straight in the eye with a serious expression, "So it's wrong for you to steal your classmate's things. A good kid wouldn't do that."
Ma Yunhao lowered his head, blushing, and thought for a while before saying, "Then I'll go and apologize to him."
Guo Mingxia touched his little face and said, "Good boy!"
After Guo Mingxia led the child out, Director Ma sat back down and said, "Why would this child think this way? The Revolutionary Committee is specifically responsible for confiscating homes."
Guo Sansheng came over and said, "Should he also be responsible for digging graves?"
Director Ma looked up at him and was stunned for a moment.
Guo Sansheng saw that something was wrong with his brother-in-law, and asked hurriedly, "What's wrong, brother-in-law? Did I say something wrong?"
Director Ma rubbed his face and said, "You are not wrong. I am the one who is wrong."
Guo Sansheng didn't understand what he meant, but seeing that his brows were tightly furrowed with three vertical lines on his forehead, he didn't ask in the end.
Director Ma stood up and asked, "Shall we go to the countryside?"
Guo Sansheng nodded in agreement and looked up at him, "Brother-in-law, whose grave are we going to dig this time?"
If we don’t investigate the case, we’ll have to dig up the grave!
Director Ma: "..."
At Lao Wang's house, Qian Shulan was able to get out of bed. Deng Xingming came back from the county town and told her the news he had heard.
"After Uncle Jiang brought the evidence to the army, Xue Zhijun was expelled from the party. His previous honors were also lost. The army even held a special meeting, telling everyone to report their relationship and not to have two girlfriends at the same time."
Although the army would not spread the matter externally, it would still deal with it internally. If it were not for the purpose of clearing Deng Xingming's reputation, Qian Shulan would definitely hand the diary to the army.
Qian Shulan was quite satisfied. "That's good." She then asked, "What about his children and wife?"
Deng Xingming thought for a moment and said, "It seems that she has remarried. Mom, don't worry, that person remarried to another unit, there shouldn't be any problem."
Qian Shulan felt relieved, and then sighed, "It's just a pity that we can't get Du Lanqiu's ashes."
Du Lanqiu was a murderer, and her ashes were placed in a place arranged by the higher-ups. She had no right to claim them.
Sun Daqin cooked the porridge, and Deng Xingming hurriedly took it over, "Let me feed you, sister-in-law, you go and eat."
Sun Daqin quickly declined, "You just came back from the county town, you can eat first."
Deng Xingming shook his head. "It's okay. I'm not hungry yet. I've already eaten in the county town."
Sun Daqin had no choice but to let him go.
Qian Shulan wanted to reach out to take the bowl, "I can move now, I can do it myself. I don't need anyone to feed me."
Deng Xingming moved the bowl away and said, "Mom, let me feed you. I see you don't look very well. How about we go to the county town to have a look?"
Qian Shulan had no choice but to let him feed her. She smiled and shook her head, "I just have a cold and a fever. There's no need to go to the county town for treatment."
Xiao Min came over with a dish, "Uncle Qi, put some pickles in it. My grandma really likes this."
This is shredded mustard greens mixed with sesame oil, which tastes particularly refreshing.
Deng Xingming quickly put a chopstick into the porridge, then scooped a spoonful of porridge, which contained two mustard greens. "Mom, try it."
Qian Shulan took a sip of the porridge and tasted the mustard greens. "It tastes very good. The vegetables grown by our production team are getting better and better."
Sun Daqin echoed, "That's right. In the past, it was considered the best if we could grow 50 kilograms of wheat per mu of land. Now, the most we can grow is 120 kilograms. Fertilizing the fields over the years has indeed been effective."
Deng Xingming didn't know much about farming, so he was a little curious, "How do you fertilize the fields?"
Sun Daqin rolled herself a single pancake with pickles and replied with a smile, "Plant soybeans and spread fertilizer. The fertilizer we get from raising earthworms will be very good."
Seeing that she looked proud of it, Qian Shulan immediately smiled.
The author has something to say: I am not writing this to discredit soldiers, but I think there are scumbags in every industry. Just because he is a soldier, he cannot be considered a good man, and just because he drives a taxi, he cannot be considered a murderer. We should judge based on the character of the person.
I hope you don't misunderstand me. I'm really not trying to discredit the military. One scumbag can't represent the entire army, right
ps: Can I ask for nutrient solution from everyone? I really need it, really really need it! Little angels with nutrient solution please water me a little, thank you!!