"Were they arrested by Pan Jiqing?"

Li Xiangdong had a bad feeling. Pan Jiqing was Pan Jiwen's cousin and the youngest son of his uncle. This man was different from Pan Jiwen. He was definitely a ruthless character who didn't talk much and was ruthless when he dealt with people.

“Yeah, you told us not to go to Panjiazhuang’s territory to catch Jin Chanyi, but Gai Feng insisted on going, saying there were too many there,” Guo Yuxi complained.

“Xizi, don’t blame women when something goes wrong. Just because Gaifeng said she was going, Erhu and Xiangjie went too? They must all want to catch more Golden Cicada Robes to exchange for money.”

Li Xiangdong dislikes the "femme fatale" theory, believing that any great achievements are attributed to men, while any mishaps are blamed on women.

"Second brother, Pan Jiqing tied Erhu, Xiangjie, and Gaifeng to a tree with ropes, saying they were sabotaging production and deliberately stealing peaches from Panjiazhuang Village. Your father has already taken Erhu and Xiangjie's father to Panjiazhuang."

"Did no one from Gai Feng's family go?"

Guo Yuxi curled her lips and said, "Gai Fengniang said that this naughty girl is disobedient every day, always running around outside, and does no housework. This time, let the people of Panjiazhuang teach her a good lesson and see if she will run around outside again."

"Second Brother, do you think Uncle Jin can bring Erhu and the others back? I'm a little worried. Let's go take a look." Li Guoqing pulled Li Xiangdong, who had just finished dressing, and tried to walk out.

"Wait a minute." Li Xiangdong thought for a moment, then tucked the axe from Uncle Yan's house back into his waistband and covered it with his shirt.

He tore the confessions written by Pan Jiwen and Pan Gazi from the ledger, folded them, and put them in his trouser pocket.

The atmosphere in the peach orchard of Panjiazhuang Brigade was tense.

Li Jin never expected that Pan Dachun, the usually smiling and timid captain of Panjiazhuang, would show him no respect whatsoever.

Li Xiangjie, Erhu, and Gaifeng, three children, were tied to a peach tree with thick straw ropes. In front of them, three wicker baskets were lying on the ground, with a few peaches at the bottom of the baskets.

This is the evidence of crime that Pan Dachun was referring to!

"Brother Li Jin, it's not that I'm being unreasonable, but look at this!"

As he spoke, he pointed to the half-green, half-yellow peaches, "These kids aren't just eating a few peaches, they're trying to ruin the livelihoods of everyone in my Panjiazhuang brigade!"

"If Jiqing hadn't discovered it early, these several large baskets would have been full! Brother, how many baskets of peaches can I harvest in my orchard? And this is only today; how often do we not see them?"

"No wonder the peach orchard's yield this year is more than a thousand catties less than last year. Brother, do the math. A catty of peaches costs four cents, so a thousand catties is more than four hundred yuan!"

"Brother, if I just let you take the peach thief away without a word today, how can I face the people of Panjiazhuang Brigade? I don't deserve to be the brigade leader!"

Pan Dachun's outburst infuriated Li Jin to the point of rage.

Li Jin sneered, "Brother Pan, that's an exaggeration. The children all said they were just playing around and came to the peach orchard to catch a few cicada nymphs. They didn't even touch a single peach! Who put those peaches there?"

As Li Jin spoke, he glanced at Pan Jiqing, as if to say, "You must have framed me, kid."

"Brother Pan said this year's yield is more than a thousand jin less. Does that mean the three kids stole more than a thousand jin of peaches from your Panjiazhuang brigade?"

“It’s not necessarily the three kids who stole it. Without an adult to teach them, what do kids know?” Pan Dachun added unhurriedly.

Li Jin was so enraged by his sinister words that he nearly vomited blood. "Are you saying I ordered it? I ordered the people from Lijiapo to steal peaches from your Panjiazhuang? You're making baseless accusations!"

"Whether it's accusations or not, there's readily available evidence, both witnesses and physical evidence."

Pan Dachun was no longer the docile person he used to be; his words were so harsh that they made Li Jin's lungs ache.

"Even if we send the three kids to the police station, these few peaches won't prove anything, will they? Even if we admit to being framed, we'll just pay you for a few peaches. Now that you've tied the three kids to the tree, what if something happens to their health? What are you going to do then, brother?" Li Jin said coldly, no longer being polite.

“Originally, I was thinking of giving you, my brother, some face. But since you’re willing to put aside your own family and turn yourself in at the police station, I won’t stop you. Jiqing, quickly untie the rope, take the basket, and let’s go with Captain Li.”

"Brother Jin, we can't go to the police station!"

"Captain, you can't go!"

Upon hearing Pan Dachun's sinister threat to send Li Xiangjie and the others to the police station, Li Xiangjie and Erhu's fathers became anxious.

Li Tang, Li Xiangjie's father, said anxiously, "Captain Pan, we live in the neighboring village, we'll see each other all the time, are you really going to be so heartless?"

“It’s not that I’m heartless, but these kids are undermining socialism and ruining our brigade’s peach orchard. We’ve earned more than two hundred yuan less this year than in previous years.”

In any case, Pan Dachun kept repeating the same few sentences: "They stole my peaches. Because of them, our brigade lost more than 400 yuan in sales. I'm going to send them to the police station. If I don't, I can't be the brigade leader anymore."

"Just tell me straight, how can you release these three children?"

Li Jin had no desire to argue with him anymore.

"Oh dear, if we sell less than four hundred yuan worth of goods, the accounts won't balance!"

Pan Dachun smiled, but his eyes were fixed on Li Jin without any real smile.

"You're really ripping me off! Four hundred yuan! How dare you ask for that much!"

Li Jin's face was so dark it looked like it was about to drip water.

He now understands why Pan Dachun had to break off relations so abruptly.

The story begins a few days ago when Li Jin went to a meeting in the county.

Besides attending meetings, Li Jin and his comrade-in-arms, Tang Yunping, deputy director of the Huichuan County Water Resources Bureau, also visited the director of the Water Resources Bureau and brought gifts to see the soon-to-retire old station chief of the Wudaohe Commune Pumping Station.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!