Although Zhou Fugui hit Ding Ermei that day, he was still very angry about Zhao Zhenzhu going back to her parents' home.

Which daughter-in-law, after arguing with her mother-in-law, immediately takes the children and goes back to her parents' home without saying a word?

Zhou Fugui planned to ignore Zhao Zhenzhu for a while.

Since Zhou Bingchen wasn't home, and Zhao Zhenzhu and her two children weren't eating at home either, they could save on food.

If Zhao Zhenzhu stays at her parents' house for too long, her younger brother and sister-in-law will definitely be unhappy. Then, if Zhao Zhenzhu wants to come back, Zhou Fugui will have Ding Ermei set rules for her.

After thinking it over, Zhou Fugui decided to go to town to find out what had happened, and then call Zhou Bingchen to ask him for a solution.

Zhou Bingchen knows many people. Even if he can't find anyone to help him, he still has his father-in-law, Zhao Qingshan.

Zhou Fugui pondered as he walked, and by the time he reached the town, he had made up his mind.

When Zhou Fugui inquired about Ding Ermei's arrest, oh my! Several versions of the rumors had emerged.

Some say that Ding Ermei went crazy and, seeing that the young policeman was handsome, took off her clothes on the street to seduce him, which is why she was arrested.

Some people say that Ding Ermei is crazy. She would rush up and snatch money from anyone she saw, and was caught red-handed by the police, which is why she was arrested.

Some people said that Ding Ermei not only robbed people, but also tried to dine and dash at the wonton stall. The stall owner's wife was furious, beat Ding Ermei up, and then called the police to arrest her.

Some people also said that when Ding Ermei went to eat wontons, she saw her daughter-in-law exchanging glances with the owner of the wonton stall, went crazy, overturned the wonton stall, and was arrested.

······

This is absolutely outrageous!

Ding Ermei is perfectly lucid; how could she be insane? And certainly not a lunatic.

As Zhou Fugui listened to these rumors, his face turned as black as if it had been soaked in ink for days before being pulled out.

Of course, those who spread the gossip didn't know Ding Ermei's name and referred to her as "an old woman from the countryside."

Zhou Fugui still felt his face burning.

Zhou Fugui lowered his head and tiptoed to the police station.

Above the gate of the police station is a huge national emblem, which looks solemn and dignified.

Zhou Fugui felt a little apprehensive.

Seeing Zhou Fugui peeking around in front of the gate, the gatekeeper, Old Dong, couldn't help but ask, "Hey, what's your name? What are you doing here?"

"I...I wanted to ask about my wife. I heard that she...was arrested this morning." Zhou Fugui said with a smile.

"What's your name? How old are you? What did you do to get in here?" Old Dong asked.

“Ding Ermei is fifty-five years old this year. I heard that she robbed people on the street and even...harassed the police.” Zhou Fugui said with difficulty.

"Teasing the police? Impossible, who would be so audacious as to dare to taunt the police?" Old Dong burst out laughing.

"I...I only heard it from someone else, I don't know the specifics." Zhou Fugui's face turned bright red.

"I'll ask for you, you wait here." After saying that, Old Dong picked up the phone on the table and dialed the office.

Zhou Fugui stared longingly at Old Dong.

Old Dong asked questions while laughing, then listened to the other person's words with "uh-huh" and "ah-ah".

A minute later, Lao Dong put down the phone and said to Zhou Fugui: "Today we arrested a woman named Ding Ermei. She caused trouble at the market and smashed someone's wonton stall. The stall owner asked her to pay compensation, but she refused and even tried to take the money from her daughter-in-law to pay the stall owner. When the police went to stop her, Ding Ermei scratched the police officer's face several times, leaving bloody marks."

Zhou Fugui was speechless.

Ding Ermei actually assaulted a police officer; where did she get the audacity?

Even if he was furious, Zhou Fugui couldn't just ignore it.

Ding Ermei's detention brought shame upon him and his children and grandchildren.

"Sir, could you please ask that injured policeman to put in a good word for my wife and get her released?" Zhou Fugui asked humbly.

"No way." Old Dong shook his head.

Although Zhou Fugui's address of "leader" made Old Dong feel somewhat lightheaded.

However, Lao Dong still has some self-awareness.

He was just a temporary gatekeeper, not even a police officer. How could Police Officer Geng possibly listen to him?

"Boss, please, please help me!" Zhou Fugui steeled his heart, took out a pack of "Daqianmen" cigarettes, and stuffed it into Lao Dong's shirt pocket.

A pack of "Da Qianmen" cigarettes cost 35 cents, and you needed cigarette coupons to buy it.

This pack of cigarettes was given to Zhou Fugui by Zhou Bingchen when he went home last year. Zhou Fugui was reluctant to smoke it, so he put it in his shirt pocket to save face when he went out.

"Old comrade, it's not that I'm unwilling to help, it's just that I really can't do this favor." Old Dong took out a cigarette from his pocket and stuffed it back into Zhou Fugui's hand.

Old Dong cursed Zhou Fugui inwardly for being so insensible.

Zhou Fugui should have offered him a cigarette before he even asked the questions. Now that he's finished, offering him one would have been perfectly acceptable for Old Dong.

Zhou Fugui, on the other hand, directly gave Lao Dong an unopened pack of cigarettes. If someone saw this, they would definitely say that Lao Dong was accepting a bribe.

Old Dong didn't want to lose this temporary job.

"Boss, please, my son is a military officer, he can't have a mother who's in jail!" Zhou Fugui and Ding Ermei, being a married couple, came up with exactly the same reason.

"Old comrade, I'm just a gatekeeper, not a leader. I really can't help you with this. But..." Old Dong frowned and paused.

"Master, please have a cigarette." This time, Zhou Fugui finally "sensible," tearing open the cigarette pack, taking out one, and even obsequiously taking out a match to light it for Old Dong.

After taking a satisfying drag on his cigarette, Old Dong gave Zhou Fugui a suggestion: "Do you have any relatives who know our police station chief? Or relatives of relatives, or friends of friends. Before this case is settled, have someone ask the chief to act as a mediator. I guess... it'll just involve apologizing to the injured Xiao Geng, paying for his medical expenses and buying him some nutritional supplements, and that might be the end of it."

“This…this…” Zhou Fugui hesitated.

Asking for help inevitably costs money, and medical expenses and buying nutritional supplements are another large expense.

So, even if you calculate it that way, it might not be possible to get this done for twenty or thirty yuan.

Should he try to spend money to get Ding Ermei out of trouble? Or should he let her stay in the police station for a few days to save on the expense?

Zhou Fugui became more and more conflicted the more he thought about it.

After Lao Dong finished speaking, he ignored Zhou Fugui.

Old Dong was only willing to offer advice to Zhou Fugui because Zhou had a military officer son. What Zhou Fugui did was none of his business.

Old Dong wouldn't go looking for trouble.

Seeing that Lao Dong was no longer responding, Zhou Fugui had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

Zhou Fugui decided to go to the post office to call Zhou Bingchen.

Whether it's about spending money or finding someone to help, Zhou Fugui intends to have Zhou Bingchen figure it out.

The post office phone counter was quite busy today; there was a queue.

Half an hour later, it was Zhou Fugui's turn to make a call.