Chapter 148 Something Happened

Liu Zhixia caught a glimpse of Lu Huaiyuan huddled in a corner, trembling as if he had lost his soul.

He is probably responsible for this accident.

She grabbed a young man who was picking fruit and asked in a low voice, "What exactly happened?"

The young man wiped away a bead of cold sweat: "Gu Mansheng said she'd give five yuan for each one picked. There were only a few growing on that cliff, and everyone was scrambling for them. Logically, with proper securing and ropes tied around them, there shouldn't have been any problem lowering them down, but who knew... the newly bought rope actually broke!"

"The rope broke?"

Liu Zhixia's heart skipped a beat. She remembered Shen Yi mentioning that Old Xu had also fallen off the cliff because the rope had broken.

"Was it worn down by a stone?"

The young man shook his head: "It doesn't look like it. The break isn't near the rock; it looks more like... it couldn't withstand the force and broke off on its own. You'll know if you go and take a look."

Liu Zhixia thanked her and immediately rushed to the scene.

Sure enough, the fracture was uneven, which was definitely not caused by friction or cutting.

Aunt Zhou rushed over, picked up the broken rope and examined it: "What's wrong? Has someone tampered with it?"

Liu Zhixia shook her head: "It's a quality issue. If it were cut with a knife, the break would be very clean. This rope looks thick, but it can't bear any weight at all."

Aunt Zhou examined it carefully, her brows furrowed: "Strange, it looks quite sturdy, how come it can't even support a person's weight?"

Liu Zhixia lowered her voice: "Auntie, this rope is crucial evidence, we must keep it safe."

Aunt Zhou suddenly realized: "That's right! You should quickly put these away and take them back. We still need to go down the mountain to find someone."

"good!"

Liu Zhixia called for a helper to collect all the broken ropes and send them back to the brigade headquarters to be locked up.

With the help of the neighboring brigade, the villager who fell was quickly found.

Three were seriously injured, and two died on the spot.

In the village, this was already a catastrophe.

Once everything had settled down a bit, Aunt Zhou immediately convened a village-wide meeting.

The open space was packed with people, filled with cries and chatter.

When Aunt Zhou walked onto the stage with a solemn expression, the entire audience fell silent instantly.

"Captain! Sister Zhou! You have to stand up for us!"

The deceased's family members knelt down with a thud, hugged Aunt Zhou's legs, and wailed, "My son just got married and is pregnant! How are we supposed to live like this!"

Another family member cried uncontrollably, "My husband is gone too! There has to be an explanation! We can't let him die in vain!"

The family members of the seriously injured also cried out. Although the person was still breathing, the bottomless pit of medical expenses in the hospital and the possibility of permanent disability were the last straws that broke the camel's back.

Aunt Zhou suppressed her grief, comforted the family members, and then turned to glare angrily at Gu Mansheng, who stood by, seemingly unconcerned.

"Gu Mansheng! The accident happened during a job you organized, so you must take responsibility!"

Gu Mansheng, however, acted as if nothing had happened, slowly and deliberately taking out a stack of papers covered with red handprints.

"Look carefully! This is a disclaimer! It's written clearly in black and white: I am not responsible for any accidents that occur during the picking process! Even if you sue me, I'm in the right!"

These words were like adding fuel to the fire, causing an uproar in the room.

The deceased's family rushed forward like madmen, ready to fight to the death. Although Lu Huaiyuan was also afraid, he gritted his teeth and stood in front for the sake of his future, taking several solid punches.

Aunt Zhou quickly led people to pull the family members away, her voice hoarse from shouting, "Don't be impulsive! Hitting people won't solve anything! Let's get to the bottom of this first!"

The villagers glared at Gu Mansheng, their spittle nearly drowning her.

"They really are ruthless capitalists who eat people alive! Human lives mean nothing to them!"

"Back then, Aunt Zhou tried her best to persuade you, but you wouldn't listen and even laughed at us for being timid. Now look what's happened, they just walk away after something went wrong. Now you know how dangerous it is, right?"

Accusations, insults, and sarcastic remarks filled the air, creating utter chaos.

Aunt Zhou suppressed her anger and stared intently at Gu Mansheng: "Two lives! Three seriously injured! You're just going to say you're not going to care?"

Gu Mansheng sneered: "I made them sign the waiver because I was afraid something would happen. They knew there was danger when they signed it. Didn't Captain Zhou try to stop them from going? They insisted on going, that was their own choice! They're adults, they have to pay the price for their greed!"

Aunt Zhou's heart sank.

With this agreement in place, pursuing legal action to seek compensation would be extremely difficult.

Just then, Liu Zhixia, who had been silent all along, suddenly reached out and snatched the agreement from Gu Mansheng's hand, quickly glancing through it.

As she finished reading, a meaningful smile appeared on her lips.

Gu Mansheng watched Liu Zhixia pretend to examine the agreement and smiled contemptuously: "Finished reading? I can teach you if there are any words you don't recognize."

Liu Zhixia ignored her sarcasm and handed the agreement to Liu Xuejun: "Fourth brother, you're more educated, help me check if it says that we are not responsible for any 'accidents' that may occur?"

Liu Xuejun read it carefully and nodded in confirmation: "Sister, that's exactly how it's written."

“Very good.” Liu Zhixia’s gaze swept across the room, her voice clear and bright. “What if I said that this incident was not an accident at all, but deliberate? Would this agreement then be null and void?”

The entire room fell silent instantly, and all eyes turned to him.

Aunt Zhou exclaimed in shock: "Not an accident? It was deliberate?!"

Gu Mansheng rolled her eyes and said disdainfully, "Don't treat everyone like fools. Everyone saw the rope break; it was jagged and uneven, clearly indicating it broke due to insufficient load-bearing capacity. This was an accident! Don't try to pin it on someone else!"

Liu Zhixia picked up a piece of broken rope and calmly said, "It was definitely not cut with a knife. But if the rope itself is of poor quality, then it's a man-made accident caused by your supplying substandard tools!"

"You're making baseless accusations!" Gu Mansheng exclaimed angrily. "The rope is brand new! How could there be a problem?"

"Whether there's a problem or not, we'll find out once we try it."

Liu Zhixia calmly picked up a rope that hadn't been used yet and tied both ends to two wooden sticks.

He handed one to Liu Xiangyang and the other to Lu Huaiyuan.

"Lu Huaiyuan, take the stick and pull it back with all your might."

Lu Huaiyuan accepted it with a bewildered expression.

Liu Zhixia whispered a few words in Liu Xiangyang's ear, and Liu Xiangyang understood immediately, assuming a horse stance as steady as a rock.

"Let's begin. Lu Huaiyuan, although you're a frail scholar, you're still a grown man. If you can't even move my brother who's standing still, people will laugh their heads off."

Liu Xuejun chimed in from the side, "Sis, you think too highly of him! He's never even lifted a hoe before, how can he compare to our brother?"

Lu Huaiyuan was so enraged that his face turned red and his neck bulged. He roared, "Don't look down on me! I'll show you what I'm made of today!"

With that, he hoisted the rope onto his shoulder, gritted his teeth, and charged forward with all his might.

Gu Mansheng suddenly realized Liu Zhixia's intention and shouted in alarm, "Stop! Stop!"

It's too late.

There was a crisp "bang" sound!

The rope snapped instantly.

Lu Huaiyuan, who was exerting force, lost his balance and flew out like a rolling gourd, falling flat on his face!