Chapter 41 Duck Eggs

Nan Zhiyi hadn't gone far when she heard a heated argument coming from ahead, interspersed with Wei Jun's raised voice: "We saw it first!"

Nan Zhiyi pushed aside the reeds and walked over.

Beside a slightly open puddle, Wei Guo and his friends were standing stiffly in confrontation with three boys.

Xiaofang protected the basket, and Xiaoling hid behind her in fright.

Several bluish-white duck eggs were scattered around the puddle.

The leader of the group was Li Qiang, the youngest son of Section Chief Li from the Logistics Department. He was tall and strong, with a fierce-looking face, and was the king of the kids in the family compound. He was accompanied by two followers who were about eleven or twelve years old.

"Bullshit! This place is mine, Li Qiang!" Li Qiang stood with his hands on his hips, spitting as he reached out to snatch the basket from Xiao Fang's hand.

Nan Zhiyi instinctively pulled Xiaofang and her sister behind her, shielding them with her own body: "Stop! Can't you be reasonable?"

Li Qiang was taken aback. When he saw that it was her, he was not afraid at all. Instead, he sneered and said with a contemptuous look in his eyes, "Oh, who do we have here? Isn't this Commander Gu's delicate little wife?"

His henchmen behind him also burst into laughter.

"Shut up!" Wei Jun, like an enraged leopard, rushed forward and glared at Li Qiang.

Li Qiang grinned, mimicking his father's drinking words at home: "Shut up? Who does your Zheng family think you are? You're just clinging to Commander Gu, aren't you? Too bad, Commander Gu probably won't be coming back this time! He's dead out there! Your Zheng family still wants to climb the social ladder? Bah!"

"You're talking nonsense! My dad said Commander Gu is the most powerful!" Wei Jun was so angry that his face turned red, and he rushed forward and rammed into Li Qiang's stomach.

"You little bastard!" Li Qiang cried out in pain and reached back to grab Wei Jun's hair.

Seeing that his younger brother was subdued, Zheng Weiguo rushed up and started fighting with Li Qiang.

Not to be outdone, the two henchmen quickly joined in, pulling the Zheng brothers along.

Unexpectedly, Xiaofang and Xiaoling also ran past Nan Zhiyi, wielding baskets and fingernails, and started hitting and scratching the three boys.

Xiaofang even bit Li Qiang's arm that was holding the basket!

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

Nan Zhiyi realized what was happening and, seeing that the Zheng siblings hadn't suffered any losses, grabbed Li Qiang's arm and said sternly, "Let go! If you keep spewing such vulgarities, I'll go ask Section Chief Li if the logistics department is specifically teaching kids to spread rumors, cause trouble, and insult active-duty officers?"

Li Qiang was momentarily stunned by her cold gaze and the mention of his father.

He never expected that his seemingly delicate wife could become so ruthless, nor did he expect that the usually well-behaved children of the Zheng family would go crazy.

Seeing that things were going badly, the other two henchmen shrank back and dared not move.

"Get out!" Wei Guo shouted.

Li Qiang clutched his bitten arm, his bravado completely gone. He glared fiercely, spat, and, accompanied by his two henchmen, grumbled and ran into the reeds.

The defenders of the country were panting heavily, their faces filled with the excitement of victory.

Xiaofang released her mouth, her face pale, still a little scared.

Xiaoling burst into tears.

Nan Zhiyi crouched down and gathered the girls around her: "It's alright, it's alright."

The duck eggs in the basket were intact.

The children gradually calmed down, picked up the scattered duck eggs, and started jumping for joy again.

On the way back, Wei Jun was still excitedly gesturing how to kick Li Qiang.

Xiaofang asked softly, "Auntie, are you really going to go see Section Chief Li?"

Nan Zhiyi shook her head and didn't say anything.

She looked at the carefree backs of the children's heads, and her heart felt cold and bitter.

Li Qiang's words were not something someone his age could say; they were merely parroting.

It seems this seemingly peaceful residential compound is rife with undercurrents...

Nan Zhiyi and the children dug up some tender wild vegetables for spring before leisurely heading back.

As soon as I approached the Zheng family's courtyard, I heard a shrill commotion.

A crowd had gathered at the entrance.

Li Qiang's mother and grandmother blocked the courtyard gate, spitting as they spoke. The short, stout Li Qiang's mother, hands on her hips, jumped up and down, pointing at Wang's sister-in-law and yelling, "You son of a bitch, relying on currying favor with the regimental commander's wife, stole my son's duck eggs and even hit someone! There's no law anymore!"

Grandma Li Qiang squinted her triangular eyes, slapped her thigh, and wailed, "Oh my! Look what she did to my grandson! His arm is all bruised! She has to pay! She has to pay! And her piecework has to be stopped too! Otherwise, this won't end!"

Li Qiang and his two henchmen stood behind, a smug look on their faces.

There was much discussion around:

"The Zheng family kids are usually quite well-behaved..."

"Honest? Well, you've climbed the social ladder!"

"Tsk, that commander's wife is so delicate, what kind of teaching can she do well?"

"You can't say that! The commander's wife is so generous; she even donated the TV!"

"Exactly! Can you really trust what that brat Li Qiang says?"

Sister Wang's hair was disheveled, and her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, clearly she had just been in a fight. Her face was red and her neck was thick: "Bullshit! I don't even need to think, it must be Li Qiang who failed to steal the eggs and is now framing my child! Everyone knows how well-behaved my child is in the neighborhood! It's your family that should be disciplining him!"

She was so angry that she tried to pounce on him again, but Sister Liu held her back tightly.

The scene was in complete chaos.

Even the regimental political commissar was alarmed, standing aside with a frown.

Nan Zhiyi parted the crowd and went inside.

She first looked at Sister-in-law Wang: "Sister-in-law, are you hurt?"

Wang's sister-in-law shook her head, panting heavily.

Nan Zhiyi then turned to Li Qiang's family: "Regarding the duck eggs, there are more than just our two families living by the river. Li Qiang, tell me, who found the duck eggs in that puddle first?"

Li Qiang, his neck stiff, declared: "Of course it's me!"

"Oh? There's a crooked willow tree on the east side of that puddle, and three big rocks stacked on the west side, right?"

Li Qiang was taken aback, and subconsciously nodded: "...Yes!"

"Wei Jun, where were Li Qiang and the others when you arrived?"

Wei Jun shouted, "They emerged from the reeds to the west! The duck eggs are under the willow tree east of the puddle!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Li Qiang said urgently.

"Then tell me, where exactly is the duck egg?" Nan Zhiyi pressed.

"Right...right by the water!" Li Qiang mumbled.

"Where by the water? By the rocks? Or under the willow tree?" Nan Zhiyi pressed closer.

"...Under the willow tree!" Li Qiang was caught in the trap.

"Didn't you just say you found it first? How come it's under the willow tree now? The Zheng family's child remembers the location very clearly."

Nan Zhiyi's voice was calm, "Also, Li Qiang, you called the Zheng family 'clinging to Commander Gu' and said that Commander Gu 'died out there.' Did you say those things yourself, or did you hear them from someone else?"

"I..." Li Qiang's face flushed red, and he panicked under everyone's gaze. "It was my dad... who told my mom at home!"

The crowd erupted in uproar!

Li Qiang's mother and grandmother turned pale.

"Section Chief Li is spreading rumors at home that an active-duty officer has died?" Political Commissar Yang's voice suddenly turned stern, his gaze sweeping across Li Qiang's family like lightning.

Grandma Li Qiang's cries were stuck in her throat.

Li Qiang's mother's legs went weak, and she almost sat down on the ground: "The child is just talking nonsense! Don't take it seriously! Don't take it seriously, Political Commissar!"

The truth has come out.

Li Qiang's family members have completely lost their arrogance.