Song Yan walked ahead, and Li De's wife followed behind. "Aunt Li, why do you seem a little unhappy?"

"No, I'm not upset." Li De's wife was currently very conflicted.

"Aunt Li, do you also feel the same way I do? That Widow Wang is acting a bit strange?"

"How did you know?" Li De's wife's eyes nearly popped out of her head in shock. Had she also sensed something was off between Widow Wang and Li De? The Wang and Li families had no connection, so why would Li De recommend Widow Wang? And then there were the villagers' rumors about Widow Wang's immoral behavior, and the fact that Li De hadn't touched her in over a year.

Li De's wife's face showed not surprise, but shock. Song Yan didn't want to frighten her. "I just felt that Widow Wang was acting a bit strange today. No, I'll go back and check again." Without further ado, Song Yan pulled Li De's wife back...

The chances of catching Widow Wang in her evil deeds are less than 50%. But Song Yan still wants to try; she feels that Widow Wang's hatred for her is too intense, and she might not be able to resist.

Song Yan pulled Li De's wife to peer through the window. Widow Wang, acting suspiciously, first went to the doorway to look around. Anyone with a brain could tell something was wrong from her actions and demeanor. Once she was sure Song Yan and the others had left, she opened the pot lid, took out a package, and sprinkled it on the fish.

Widow Wang never imagined that Song Yan was climbing through the window.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing? Are you trying to poison me?" Song Yan rushed in shouting, spilling the package the widow was carrying all over the stove. "Help! Help! Someone's poisoning me!"

Li De and the brigade leader were both at the brigade headquarters; the word "poisoning" was terrifying. Plus, the custodian, Wang, had also rushed over.

"When did I poison you? Don't make false accusations."

Song Yan: "Aunt Li, we were the two of us who saw it. Widow Wang took something out of her bosom and sprinkled it on the fish, right? Look, it's all here." Nowadays, people eat coarse salt. There was a patch of it on the stove, and you could tell it was salt grains.

When asked, Li De's wife nodded.

Li De was quite angry. "What are you doing here, woman? Go home." He showed no respect for his wife whatsoever.

Li De's wife was stunned; she couldn't understand why Li De had snapped at her.

Song Yan wasn't about to tolerate him. "Accountant Li, what do you mean? You're not letting Aunt Li talk about Widow Wang? Widow Wang has already done it, and you're not letting anyone talk about it? Are you protecting her?"

"Widow Wang has already done it, and you won't let people talk about it? You're protecting her!" This remark provoked Li De's wife. "I saw it with Song Zhiqing. Widow Wang was just putting something on the fish. I'm telling the truth. How can you not let me speak? You want to protect Widow Wang."

Li De was so frightened that he dared not reply. He pointed at his wife for a long time without saying anything.

The captain picked up something from the stove, tasted it, and confirmed it was salt. "Explain yourself! What's going on? Why did you put salt in?"

Widow Wang was momentarily at a loss for words. "I was afraid it would be too bland, so I added a little more salt."

Song Yan: "I've already added the correct amount of salt for steamed fish. If you add it again, how can it still be eaten? I've caught you wrong. If I hadn't, I would have ruined the fish."

Li De's wife said, "So many fish! And so much salt in there, it'll all be ruined. Why are you wasting food like that?" She was a frugal person, and the thought of so much food ending up unpalatable from being too salty broke her heart.

Men tend to overthink things. The captain looked at everyone in the room without saying a word; he was clearly angry.

Song Yan: "Widow Wang, are you trying to sabotage the electricians? Are you trying to sabotage national construction?"

Accusing her of sabotaging national development was no small matter, and Widow Wang dared not accept it. "I didn't. It's just a handful of salt, how could it cause any damage?"

Widow Wang knew she couldn't do this job anymore; she'd offended the brigade leader. Li De, on the other hand, was easy to deal with—she could just appease him later!

Li De: "Too much salt just means it's a bit salty. How can you say it's sabotaging national construction? You can't just make such a blatant argument about Song Zhiqing."

Song Yan: "Accountant Li, why did you recommend Widow Wang for the job?"

Li De felt a little flustered under his wife's piercing gaze. "Didn't I see that Widow Wang was very efficient at her work?"

"When have you ever seen her work efficiently?" Song Yan immediately followed up with another question.

"How dare you speak like that?" Li De stammered.

Song Yan: "You said you saw it yourself. I'm just asking you when you saw it. What part of my story can't I say?"

The brigade leader said, "Alright! Widow Wang didn't cook properly, three yuan fine. 30 centimeters deducted. You don't need to help in the kitchen anymore. Your wife will help today." The brigade leader was older than Li De, so he called Li De's wife "sister-in-law." After saying that, the brigade leader left.

Widow Wang slunk away. The others didn't stay either.

Li De's wife isn't stupid; it's obvious she testified for Song Yan, which angered Li De. Besides, couldn't she tell who Li De was protecting?

This matter could be a big deal or a small deal. The way the brigade leader handled it is a case of minimizing the issue. Widow Wang certainly doesn't have that much influence. So whose influence is she considering? It's conceivable that the brigade leader probably knows something about it.

After rinsing the salted fish to remove the salt particles, Song Yan put it back in the pot. "Aunt Li, you keep the fire going. I'll go see if I can pick any mushrooms."

Song Yan continued to exercise in the space as usual. The space gradually expanded; the more things were sent out, the faster it grew. The fewer things were sent out, the slower it grew. Now it was dozens of times larger than it was initially, and it was completely filled with plants. When Song Yan returned, he carried two baskets of mushrooms.

At noon, they enjoyed fragrant steamed fish, refreshing eggplant, and delicious mushroom soup. After lunch, there was a basket of cantaloupes. Normally, cantaloupes shouldn't be growing in people's gardens at this time of year. But Song Yan's garden was exceptionally well-tended. They had a fresh batch of cantaloupes to pick, and they even gave them away for free. The electricians were overjoyed with their meal. Why was the Qingshan Brigade feeding them so well? Wasn't it to get them to work faster? To finish before the autumn harvest, so as not to delay it! During the harvest, they needed more than ten strong laborers a day, and the brigade leader was frantic. The electricians put down their bowls, sat for a short while, and then immediately started working. They couldn't just eat for free!

The electrician foreman joked with Captain Wu, "The food at your brigade is so delicious, we don't want to leave."

The brigade leader said, "Your next destination is Hexi Brigade, right? We're quite close to Hexi Brigade. To be honest, we can't afford to provide you with all that meat and fish all the time. But our Song educated youth cook vegetables, and they taste incredibly delicious. I can't speak for other places, but if you work in Hexi Brigade, I'll bring you a vegetable dish every day!"

"Sure thing! Captain Wu, you're really generous! Don't worry, I'll definitely get the job done well." The electrician foreman patted his chest and assured him.