"I'm here to inspect the work, so naturally I can't give advance notice," Qin Mi said with a smile.

The captain's mind was on high alert. Had someone gone over his head and reported something to Director Qin that he didn't know about?

But he handled all the village affairs perfectly!

"If you have anything to report, you can come to me." Qin Mi waved his hand. "Everyone, come with me to the brigade headquarters." Then Qin Mi had the brigade leader lead them to the brigade headquarters.

Upon arriving at the brigade headquarters, Qin Mi had the brigade leader bring out a table and benches, and took out paper and pens. He then sat down side by side with Wen Xi, handing the paper and pens to Wen Xi and asking her to help him take notes.

Just then, a thin, haggard-looking couple walked over with four children who were as thin as bamboo poles. A glimmer of hope flashed in the woman's eyes. "Director Qin, you said that we can report anything to you. After we report it, will you help us deal with it?"

"I will handle it accordingly," Qin Mi said.

Things that can be resolved on the spot should not be left until tomorrow; things that cannot be resolved should be discussed in a meeting when we get back.

Upon hearing Qin Mi's words, the couple immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Qin Mi, pleading, "Director Qin, you must help us! We really can't go on living..."

Qin Mi looked at the captain, who quickly went over to help the two men up. Qin Mi asked, "What do you have to report?"

Wenxi, who was standing next to her, also picked up a pen and prepared to start taking notes.

The woman wiped away her tears and said sorrowfully, "The children's grandparents are trying to drive our family to our deaths. They've always been biased, favoring the eldest son and mistreating the second. When the eldest and second sons got married, their dowries were worlds apart—the eldest's dowry was many times ours. Later, we couldn't stand their favoritism anymore, so we made a scene, separated from the family, and moved out. We built our own house and it took us several years to pay off our debts. Even this year, we haven't even solved our basic needs, and they're already complaining again. They come to our door every day demanding money for our retirement, but the eldest son's family doesn't have to give us a single penny..."

“Director Qin, tell me, are there any parents like this in the world? They're all your children, why can't you treat them all equally?” The woman pulled the children to the table. “Director Qin, look at them, look at these children! Are they even human? They're all starving! These children are as thin as bamboo poles. I'm so afraid they won't survive to grow up…”

Qin Mi turned to look at the captain, "Captain, haven't you dealt with this matter? Otherwise, why are you letting people come to cause trouble every day?"

The captain wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead. "Director Qin, this is someone else's family matter. It's not appropriate for us to interfere."

"Is that so?" Qin Mi sneered. "Then I'll trouble you, Captain, to open your eyes wide and see how I handle this. I'll also trouble you to call the person involved over here."

After waiting for a while, the man's parents and his elder brother's family arrived. They looked at Qin Mi with somewhat evasive eyes, after all, they did not expect Qin Mi to come suddenly, let alone that Qin Mi would handle such trivial matters.

"So you're the ones making the second son's family pay for their retirement while the eldest son's family doesn't have to? You're so biased towards the eldest son, is the second son not your biological child? Tell me, did you steal the second son or abduct him?" Qin Mi slammed his hand on the table, staring at the elderly couple in front of him with a serious expression.

The elderly couple were so startled by the sound of Qin Mi slamming his hand on the table that they knelt down on the ground. "Director Qin, we haven't done anything illegal. Our second child really is our own."

"Since they are your own children, why are you abusing the second son's family? Are you blind? Can't you see that these children are starving to death?" Qin Mi rebuked angrily.

Wen Xi hadn't expected Qin Mi to get angry, but his anger was overflowing with a sense of justice, and the matter was indeed outrageous.

The eldest son's family had ruddy complexions and broad shoulders, while the second son's family were frail and delicate, as if they could be blown over by a gust of wind.

Isn't the difference obvious?

“Since the captain can’t handle this matter, then I, Qin Mi, will handle it today. Since the eldest son’s family doesn’t need to pay for retirement, it means you don’t need retirement money for the time being. So the second son’s family won’t need to pay for retirement money in the future either. If you insist on paying for retirement money, the second son will pay the same amount as the eldest son. But this money is for your retirement, not for others. You are not allowed to spend it on your son or grandson.”

"Also, when we divided the family property before, I don't think the second son got anything, right? Now, in front of me, let's redistribute the property properly and fairly."

Qin Mi slammed his hand on the table again, startling the captain so much that he nodded repeatedly.

Qin Mi said to the second son's family, "If your parents or your eldest brother and sister-in-law come to your door to cause trouble and don't treat you fairly, just write to our department and I will arrange for someone to come to the countryside to handle it."

The second son and his wife were moved to tears. They pulled their child down to kneel and kowtow to Qin Mi, but Qin Mi quickly stopped them, saying, "Captain, take them back quickly to tally up their property and redistribute the family assets."

Seeing that Qin Mi was genuinely there to help them, everyone was eager to try.

After finishing with the first matter, Wenxi turned to the second page of the notebook to prepare to register the second matter.

At this moment, a woman who looked haggard but was clearly not very old walked out of the crowd. She looked even more haggard than the second son's wife, and she walked with a swaying gait, as if she might fall at any moment.

When she arrived at Qin Mi's desk, she slumped down and burst into tears, her shoulders shaking violently. She looked so pitiful that Wen Xi couldn't help but feel her eyes well up with tears.

In those days, life was tough in the countryside, especially for women and girls. Many girls were treated as tools by their brothers. Before marriage, they worked at home; when they got married, they helped them earn dowries; and after marriage, they were constantly exploited by their maternal families…

After the woman had finished crying, Qin Mi asked in a deep voice, "Comrade, what do you need to deal with?"

"Director Qin, I've been married for four years and still don't have a child. Without even going to the hospital for a checkup, my mother-in-law has convinced me that I'm infertile. She forces me to drink all sorts of weird medicines, even talisman water, and she curses me every day, calling me a hen that can't lay eggs. I have to do the work for the whole family of more than ten people, but I only get one meal a day, which is just a bowl of clear soup with no rice in it. Even a healthy person would have their body ruined if treated like this."

"Director Qin, I really can't stand this kind of life anymore. I really want to die and end it all, but I can't bear to leave my parents. I haven't even properly taken care of them yet. I..." The woman said, then covered her face and broke down in tears.