Zhao Zhenzhu explained, "Director Chen, my mother-in-law likes the taste of grains, and all the grains and eggs in the house are kept in her room. As long as she's not home, the door is always locked."

"Wow! Pearl is so cultured, she speaks so eloquently." Several villagers couldn't help but laugh.

Ding Ermei's stinginess and miserliness were described by Zhao Zhenzhu as "liking the taste of grain".

Thinking about it carefully, it's actually quite funny.

Ding Ermei's face looked very bad.

Knowing that the padlock on the door could serve as evidence that Zhao Zhenzhu hadn't stolen the eggs, Ding Ermei would never have confronted Zhao Zhenzhu first after returning home; instead, she would have unlocked the door first.

There was no point in trying to unlock it now, so Ding Ermei could only stare at the large lock on the door with a bitter and resentful expression.

"Aunt Ding, let's leave it at that! Pearl has been married into your family for so many years, and she has always worked diligently and lived an honest life. She would never do something like stealing eggs from your house," Chen Yufeng advised.

It's clear that Ding Ermei is in the wrong today. If this continues, she'll only lose even more face.

After all, they were relatives, and Chen Yufeng didn't want everyone to see Ding Ermei make a fool of themselves.

Besides, trying to mediate a fight is exhausting and a waste of breath. Chen Yufeng missed the tea and newspapers at the brigade headquarters.

Unfortunately, Ding Ermei refused to let Zhao Zhenzhu go.

“Eggs aren’t just in my house. I have several chickens at home, so I can get them right away,” Ding Ermei said, sticking out her neck.

"Aunt Ding, you can't just say things like that." The smile on Chen Yufeng's face disappeared.

"What...what nonsense did I say?" Ding Ermei was a little confused.

"You said Pearl stole four or five eggs today. How many chickens do you raise? How many eggs can they lay in a day?" Chen Yufeng stared sharply at Ding Ermei.

These days, you can't just raise as many chickens as you want.

There are regulations that each household can only raise three chickens.

Three chickens are definitely not enough. The family's oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, matches, candles, and other necessities were all purchased with the money from selling eggs.

So, the villagers came up with a solution.

Even though they hadn't separated their households, they counted their married son as a separate family. When registering the number of chicken-raising households in the village, they inflated the numbers.

The same applies to Zhou Fugui's family.

If the higher-ups don't come to inspect, the village officials won't keep a close eye on this. After all, they're all neighbors; raising a few more chickens is nothing wrong.

When the higher-ups come to inspect, the village officials will also tell everyone to hide any extra chickens they have.

These behind-the-scenes maneuvers, though everyone is aware of them, cannot be discussed openly.

You're all registered under the same household registration book and live under the same roof. How can you say you have as many households as you want? Are you kidding me?

With so many people watching the spectacle today, who knows if there are any people from other villages among them?

If the number of chickens raised by Ding Ermei's family is publicized, it will definitely attract targeted inspections from higher authorities.

At that time, not only will Chen Yufeng, the women's director, but also her husband, Zhou Dazhu, the village secretary, and all the village cadres of Zhoujia Village will be in trouble.

"My family raises... three, three chickens." Under Chen Yufeng's murderous gaze, Ding Ermei changed her story.

In fact, Ding Ermei's family raised eight chickens and could collect five or six eggs a day.

Before leaving home today, Ding Ermei had already collected four eggs from the henhouse.

There can only be two eggs left in the henhouse at most.

Did Jiaxiang really see wrong? Did Zhao Zhenzhu eat two eggs, not four or five?

Ding Ermei blinked, her head spinning, and the pain in her heart inexplicably lessened.

Chen Yufeng breathed a sigh of relief.

She was terrified, but thankfully Ding Ermei wasn't completely stupid.

“Your three chickens can lay five eggs a day? The eggs Zhao Zhenzhu ate today must have been given to her by her younger brother.” Chen Yufeng made the final judgment, clearing Zhao Zhenzhu of the charge of “stealing eggs.”

"But she also hit my Jiaxiang!" Ding Ermei was still unwilling to give up and wanted to make another connection, hoping to get Zhao Zhenzhu to pay up.

“I did hit Zhou Jiaxiang, but I didn’t do it for no reason.” Before Chen Yufeng could speak, Zhao Zhenzhu admitted to it.

"You vicious woman, you've almost made Jiaxiang deaf! You have to pay compensation!" Ding Ermei jumped up.

“Zhou Jiaxiang didn’t get any steamed egg custard, so he slapped Yunyun. I was so angry that I slapped Zhou Jiaxiang back,” Zhao Zhenzhu said.

Zhao Zhenzhu was well aware of the art of speaking.

After she said that, many people assumed that Zhou Jiaxiang had slapped Zhou Yunyun first, and that Zhao Zhenzhu had "retaliated" by slapping Zhou Jiaxiang back.

If Zhao Zhenzhu's daughter was beaten by Zhou Jiaxiang in front of her, then she would have a legitimate reason to hit Zhou Jiaxiang back.

“Ding Ermei, don’t be so biased. Zhou Jiaxiang is your grandson, and Yunyun is your granddaughter.”

"Zhou Jiaxiang is eight years old, right? Yunyun is only three. An eight-year-old is fighting with his three-year-old sister for a bite to eat. He's really something."

“Zhou Jiaxiang hit Yunyun in front of Zhenzhu, so he deserved to be hit by Zhenzhu.”

······

The crowd once again overwhelmingly sided with Zhao Zhenzhu and her daughter.

Ding Ermei was so angry that she was speechless.

He wanted to argue that Zhao Zhenzhu was wrong, but he didn't know where to begin.

Just then, a loud shout rang out from outside the "human wall": "Old woman Ding, you dare to bully my sister? Believe me or not, I'll make Zhou Bingchen take off those clothes and go home to farm!"

That roar was incredibly powerful.

The onlookers couldn't help but turn around and look.

Zhao Tianyu was seen standing angrily outside Zhou Fugui's gate, holding a bicycle in his hand.

It wasn't that Zhao Tianyu didn't want to go in; there were just too many people, and he couldn't get in even if he wanted to.

Half the villagers of Zhoujia Village came to Zhou Fugui's house today to see what was going on.

Those who arrived early were allowed into Zhou Fugui's house, while those who arrived late could only listen to the messages being relayed from inside. The relay was done one after another, without them getting tired of it.

Zhao Tianyu squeezed his way to his current position after a long time.

Zhao Tianyu was anxious, but he could only stand outside the door and peer out on tiptoe.

Not seeing Zhao Zhenzhu and Zhou Yunyun made Zhao Tianyu anxious.

Ding Ermei's voice could be faintly heard from inside. Fearing that Zhao Zhenzhu would be taken advantage of, Zhao Tianyu quickly shouted loudly to let the people inside know that he had arrived.

"Oh my gosh! Pearl finally has someone to back her up."

"Everyone, please make way so that Director Zhao can go in."

"Director Zhao, please come this way."

Villagers who knew Zhao Tianyu quickly helped clear a path so that he could enter.

Zhao Tianyu is the deputy director of the Taohua Town Supply and Marketing Cooperative. In the hearts of the villagers of Zhoujia Village, his status is even higher than that of the village party secretary.

When villagers go to town, besides visiting the purchasing station, their favorite place to go is the supply and marketing cooperative.

The purchasing stations sell agricultural products for money, while the supply and marketing cooperatives buy daily necessities. Both of these places are essential to visit.

At that time, the supply and marketing cooperatives were very powerful.

If you go to the supply and marketing cooperative with money to buy something, the clerk might not like you and just dismiss you with a simple "out of stock." But if you know someone at the supply and marketing cooperative, it's convenient to buy whatever you want.