Zhou Sihai was taken aback. He Tiantian had the supporting documents, but hadn't mentioned them at all yesterday. Now she was bringing them all out, a whole stack of them, and he had also heard about them, along with the official letter from Nanshi, which was the most useful.

He Tiantian's elaborate scheme is clearly aimed at dragging him down, making it impossible for him to extricate himself, or even recover. Now, Zhou Sihai only hopes that Director Zheng will protect him out of consideration for his past hard work!

Director Zheng took out a document bag and said, "This is an official letter from Nanshi, confirming that everything Comrade He Tiantian said is true. After review by Huaishi Commune, it is indeed as stated in the letter. Therefore, the first letter of accusation is untrue. Comrade Zhou Sihai arrested people immediately without review, which is an incorrect working method. He is hereby criticized! Please have Comrade He Tiantian present her defense in the second letter of accusation."

Director Zheng seems to be trying to make a big show of it but then let it fall gently! He's only criticizing me, but he's not mentioning the suspension he said outside. Does that mean it's no longer valid?

He Tiantian stood up again and said, "The second letter slanders me and Niu Dajun for having an improper relationship. Comrade Niu Dajun and I have a purely platonic friendship, and Secretary Qi of Qijia Village and my good friend Qi Xiaoyan can testify to this."

“He Tiantian has been in Qijia Village for four months, and I can testify that her behavior has been perfectly normal,” Secretary Qi said, standing up before sitting down again.

Qi Xiaoyan also stood up and said, "Niu Dajun is my second brother Qi Rongjun's comrade-in-arms, and He Tiantian is my good friend. Every time Comrade Niu Dajun comes to my house as a guest, even if he sees Comrade He Tiantian, I am always there. They do not meet privately. As for the matter of Niu Dajun giving He Tiantian a ride, I can testify that the first time was when I was riding on Niu Dajun's bicycle with Comrade He Tiantian; the second time was some time ago when He Tiantian was rushing to catch the train and happened to meet Niu Dajun who came to the village to deliver a letter, so I asked him to give Comrade He Tiantian a ride to the county town."

After listening to these people's words, Director Zheng was certain that there was nothing between Niu Dajun and He Tiantian!

"Since Zhou Sihai has violated discipline by revealing the whistleblower, it will be dealt with later. Now that the whistleblower, Lin Xiaoru, has also arrived, let's hear from Comrade Lin Xiaoru about the situation." Director Zheng had a headache. He just wanted this matter to be resolved as soon as possible; the longer it dragged on, the greater the impact would be.

Lin Xiaoru stepped forward with a stiff upper lip and said, "We are both educated youth, and my starting point is to uphold the integrity of the educated youth. In my hometown, if unmarried men and women who are not related by blood are on the same bicycle, they are considered to be dating. I saw He Tiantian riding on the bicycle of postman Niu Dajun twice, so I thought that He Tiantian and Comrade Niu Dajun had a problem with their conduct, so I wrote a letter to report them."

Upon hearing this, everyone thought that Lin Xiaoru came from a feudal society!

That's utter nonsense!

"Do you have any witnesses?" Director Zheng asked. He had already punished Zhou Sihai and given He Tiantian justice. If he continued to side with He Tiantian in this Lin Xiaoru incident, it would look bad. Even if he couldn't openly help Lin Xiaoru, he couldn't completely suppress her for the sake of the commune's reputation and to encourage whistleblowers. Otherwise, if no one reported her in the future, what power would he, as the commune director, have left?

"Yes!" Lin Xiaoru was overjoyed. As long as these people let her speak, there would be a chance to exonerate her. She was afraid that they would convict her without even giving her a chance to speak, which would be the end of her.

Huang Jingli stood up shakily and said, "I... Lin Xiaoru and I are from the same place. In our area, there is indeed a saying that unmarried men and women who are not related by blood are dating if they are on the same bicycle."

Director Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. As long as there was a reason, it would be fine. He wrote a few lines in his notebook and said, "As the saying goes, customs vary from place to place. You can't be so arbitrary in the future. When you come to Taoyuan County, follow the customs of Taoyuan County. Don't mix things up and cause unnecessary misunderstandings. I'm giving you a warning first. Don't do it again."

A misunderstanding set the tone for Lin Xiaoru's report against He Tiantian.

Lin Xiaoru was relieved. There are still good people in the world. This Director Zheng is not bad. He Tiantian can't cover up everything!

"Yes, Director Zheng, I know I made a mistake. I will write a self-criticism when I get back and try to remember your teachings more deeply," Lin Xiaoru said respectfully, bowing to Director Zheng and the others.

Director Zheng nodded. Although Lin Xiaoru isn't a great person, she knows how to seize opportunities! That makes things easier!

"As the two parties involved, He Tiantian and Niu Dajun, what do you think?" Secretary Zheng asked with a smile. Although his attitude was good, everyone could see that Director Zheng did not want to punish the whistleblower, Lin Xiaoru.

Just as He Tiantian was about to speak, Niu Dajun stood up and said, "Director Zheng, Comrade He Tiantian and I are both unmarried. The whistleblower Lin Xiaoru's unfounded report and Zhou Sihai's unreasonable arrest have caused us great harm. The county will handle it itself, and we respect the commune and your decision. However, Lin Xiaoru and Zhou Sihai's actions have caused us significant reputational and psychological trauma. They must apologize to us and restore our reputations."

Niu Peng didn't say anything. As long as he was there, he wouldn't let his nephew suffer any injustice.

Although County Chief Liu was also present, it was only for collaboration. For this kind of matter, Director Zheng had to handle it himself; it was not appropriate for him to speak up.

Director Zheng thought for a moment, looked at Zhou Sihai, and Lin Xiaoru said, "Because you have caused harm to Comrade He Tiantian and Comrade Niu Dajun, you need to apologize. What do you think?"

Zhou Sihai had been by Director Zheng's side for a long time and was able to guess what Director Zheng was thinking. He stepped forward and bowed ninety degrees, saying, "I apologize, I was wrong, please forgive me!" Although Lin Xiaoru felt uncomfortable, if she stubbornly refused to apologize at this moment, He Tiantian and Niu Dajun would definitely not let it go, and in the end, she would still suffer.

Knowing when to yield, Lin Xiaoru stood up, bowed to He Tiantian and Niu Dajun and apologized: "I'm sorry, I was wrong. Please forgive me, considering that I was upholding the traditions of educated youth."

Lin Xiaoru's words are so beautiful!

He Tiantian smiled. If she didn't forgive Lin Xiaoru, then she wouldn't be upholding the traditions of educated youth!

On Thursday, with Secretary Qi and Old Man Qi handling things over there, she can deal with Lin Xiaoru.

"Hehe, it's important to uphold the integrity of educated youth, but we must also be realistic!" He Tiantian said in a deep voice. "Don't make baseless accusations without understanding anything, causing harm to innocent people! You have to make a self-criticism in front of the leaders, and you also have to make a self-criticism in front of the whole village when you get back to the village."

(To be continued.)