Meeting the old village chief's gloomy, murderous gaze, Ye Guo gritted his teeth. "Two thousand yuan, my foot! They haven't found a single penny!"

Seeing their stubbornness, the old village chief sneered, "Red Army! Call the police! Two thousand yuan is enough for these thieves to eat peanuts!"

Hearing repeatedly the phrase "thief's bone peanuts," Liu Xiatian, who considered himself innocent, was the first to lose his composure, pointing wildly at Ye Guo and the others and shouting:

"It was them, they were the ones who planned to steal Ruan Xianxian's money. I came along out of curiosity to see what was going on. Captain, Captain, you have to believe me, I really didn't take a single penny."

“Liu Zhiqing is right. We all discovered Ye Guo’s suspicious behavior and wanted to follow him to stop him, but when we arrived, we found that Ruan Zhiqing had no money in his bag at all, it was just newspapers.”

Now that things had come to this, the Jiang brothers unanimously shifted the blame, stating that there was no money in the bag at all, to which Liu Xiatian nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Ye Guo gritted his teeth, his bloodshot eyes memorizing every hateful face, and lowered his head deeply.

"It was me, it was me who had evil intentions! But Captain, you have to believe me, there really was just newspaper in that bag."

Complete denial is impossible, so they might as well insist that there was no money in the bag at all.

The captain looked suspicious. Ruan Xianxian said, "Then let's call the police. Two thousand yuan. I'm counting on this money to live the rest of my life. If I lose the money, I'll be done with this."

Xiang Hongjun turned his gaze to Xiang Nuan: "You ride your bicycle to the county and ask the police for help."

Xiang Nuan nodded and was about to leave.

Seeing that they were serious, Ye Guo panicked completely, "Don't call the police, don't call the police!"

"Ruan Xianxian, you know perfectly well whether there's money in that bag or not. I was out of my mind this time. You didn't lose anything, so I'm willing to apologize and compensate you, how about that?"

"Yes, yes! Xianxian, I shouldn't have bullied you when you first came to the countryside. I was wrong. I apologize as long as you don't report it to the police. I won't do it again!"

The villagers' pointing fingers and stares, as if it were something dirty, drove Liu Xiatian to the brink of collapse.

They clung to Ruan Xianxian's trouser leg, crying and begging for mercy.

Jiang Wenli knew perfectly well that Ruan Xianxian had set up this trap, and even if the police came to investigate, they probably wouldn't find anything. He didn't want to go to jail, and filled with regret and fear, he could only beg for mercy.

Just as Ruan Xianxian was about to say something, the accountant, covered in sweat, ran over excitedly from the village office.

"Captain! Captain! Great news! Leaders from the provincial capital have come to deliver a letter of commendation to Ruan, the educated youth from our village!"

The accountant was doing the accounting in the team today and didn't participate in the mountain activity. When he got closer, he realized something was wrong, and his voice gradually weakened.

What... People from the provincial capital have come? And they've come to deliver a letter of commendation to Ruan Xianxian?

Ye Guo and the others collapsed completely, their eyes glazed over, muttering, "It's over! It's all over!"

The captain grabbed Ruan Xianxian excitedly, "Little Ruan! What did you do? You managed to get people from the province to come? Quick! Come with me to meet the leaders."

"I haven't gotten my money back yet!" Ruan Xianxian reminded her. What happened? She guessed that the letter of commendation that Feng Lao had promised her on the train had arrived, and the timing was just right.

A slight smile played on her lips.

Xiang Hongjun's excitement instantly cooled; his murderous gaze pierced Ye Guo and the others, his roar sending a shiver down their spines.

"Where's the money? Hand it over now! Do you want to be stuck in jail and eaten like peanuts?"

Liu Xiatian was on the verge of tears; they really hadn't received a single penny!

The village chief frantically winked at Xiang Hongjun, and the villagers whispered reminders not to report it to the police. With the commendation letter from the province, this year's advanced brigade was a sure thing!

Even if the quota for the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University doesn't go to their own family, the extra fertilizer approved can really affect every family's harvest next year.

Someone, seemingly the first to do it, kicked Ye Guo to the ground, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him up, demanding, "Where's the money? Hand it over!"

He was both anxious and afraid when a strong, muscular man, over six feet tall, lifted him up in mid-air with one hand.

Then several more people came up and started punching and kicking the four of them, forcing them to pay money.

Some of the older women pulled Ruan Xianxian aside to comfort her, promising to help her find the money and telling her not to worry.

It's fair to say that the person involved was completely calm, but the villagers of Pingtou Brigade became incredibly angry!

Such a big thing happened, and then a leader from the province happened to witness it...

Comrade Ruan, who was commended by the organization, was bullied in the brigade. He can forget about being named an outstanding brigade this year, and he can forget about being named one for the next few years.

The men were beaten and screamed in agony, but they refused to reveal where they had hidden the money!

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, he closed his eyes tightly to the Red Army.

His status as a retired soldier necessitates that the case be reported to the police for severe punishment.

However, his position as the captain of the brigade prevented him from completely disregarding the collective honor.

In the end, justice prevailed. Just as he was about to tell his daughter to report to the police, the village chief approached Ruan Xianxian before he could speak.

"Girl! What do you have to say about this?"

"You need to understand that you are now part of the brigade, and you will spend the rest of your life there getting married and having children. Making a big fuss about this won't do you any good."

"Take my advice, can we settle this privately?"

This was half persuasion and half threat.

Ruan Xianxian seemed to be shocked. She bit her lip and finally spoke, "I don't have to report it to the police, but they must compensate me for my losses."

The four protested, "We didn't receive any of your money at all."

Seeing that she was finally willing to talk, the village chief was overjoyed. But seeing that the four people were still stubborn, he waved his hand and said, "Send a few people to search the house."

"Dig three feet into the ground and find Ruan Zhiqing's money!"

The four struggled, resisted, and cursed... but in the end, they could only watch helplessly as the villagers rushed into the house and ransacked it.

“Ye Zhiqing found 31 pieces here.”

"Liu, the educated youth, received 7 yuan."

"The Chiang brothers are 98 years old."

The brigade leader, seeing the pile of odds and ends the villagers had found, roared, "Aren't you going to confess? Do you really want to go to jail?"

The four were anxious and angry, but to no avail.

"Captain! Don't keep the leaders waiting," the accountant urged.

Just as the enraged captain was about to send the group to the police station, Ruan Xianxian, who had just sighed softly, stepped forward:

“I lost money, and I should bring the thief to justice, but now it concerns the selection of an outstanding brigade, and I can’t let the whole village suffer because of my own mistake.”

"How about this?" she said, seemingly deep in thought, raising her clear, bright eyes.

“These four people must write a confession, detailing the circumstances of their theft of my money today, the amount stolen, and the number of people involved.”

He paused, then continued, "After writing the confession, write an IOU specifying a timeframe for repayment, with all income earned during that period prioritizing repayment."

This includes any financial income obtained through any means, including work points, grain, betrothal gifts, and dowry, until the debt of 2,000 yuan is paid off.

Oh, right! There's one more rule: no one should slack off or maliciously delay payment.

Furthermore, I request that all the leaders witness and sign the IOU, as stated above, and I can temporarily refrain from reporting this to the police.