The early autumn morning mist hadn't yet dissipated, and a thin layer of white frost covered the field ridges of the Hongqi Production Brigade, making them soft underfoot and leaving a trail of footprints of varying depths. Lin Wanqiu, carrying a bamboo basket filled with fresh vegetables picked from her spatial storage, walked briskly towards Aunt Li's house. Dew dampened her trouser legs, bringing a slight chill, but it didn't dampen her spirits at all—since learning of Zhao Deshan and Zhao Jianjun's crimes, she and Shen Tingzhou had devised a detailed plan to meet with Aunt Li and Aunt Wang today to gather more dirt on Zhao Deshan.
Smoke was already rising from Aunt Li's chimney, and the aroma of corn porridge could be smelled from afar. As soon as Lin Wanqiu reached the gate of the courtyard, she saw Aunt Li wearing an apron, coming out of the house to greet her: "Wanqiu, you've finally arrived! Aunt Wang arrived a long time ago and is waiting inside."
"Good morning, Aunt Li." Lin Wanqiu walked into the house with a smile and saw Aunt Wang sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), holding a small notebook filled with many notes. "Aunt Wang, what are you writing down?"
"What else could it be? I just heard it from the old ladies in the village, about Zhao Deshan." Aunt Wang handed the notebook to Lin Wanqiu. "Look, this shows that ten years ago, when Zhao Deshan was the brigade secretary, he secretly allocated the best few acres of paddy fields in the village to his distant relatives; and five years ago, he also withheld a lot of the relief grain issued by the commune to buy a new bicycle for his son, Zhao Jianjun."
Lin Wanqiu took the notebook and carefully examined the records, her brows gradually furrowing. She hadn't expected Zhao Deshan to be so greedy, abusing his power for personal gain and harming the interests of his fellow villagers! "Are there any witnesses to these matters?"
"Yes!" Aunt Li chimed in. "The old accountant who was in charge of allocating paddy fields back then is still in the village. He knows this best. And about the relief grain, several families didn't receive their full amount of grain, and they are all willing to come forward as witnesses."
"Great!" Lin Wanqiu was thrilled. "These are all important pieces of evidence. As long as we can get these witnesses to testify, we can prove that Zhao Deshan abused his power. Coupled with the previous investigation into his collusion with smuggling gangs, we can make sure he can never recover!"
Just then, Shen Tingzhou pushed open the door and walked in. He had just returned from the county, his face showing some fatigue, but he couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes: "Wanqiu, Aunt Li, Aunt Wang, I've found an important clue!"
"What clue?" Lin Wanqiu quickly went to greet Shen Tingzhou and handed him a cup of hot water.
Shen Tingzhou took a sip of hot water, paused for a moment, and said, "Yesterday, I followed Zhao Jianjun in the county and saw him go to a pawnshop and pawn a gold bracelet. I later found out that the gold bracelet was one of the cultural relics stolen by a smuggling gang three years ago when we were on a mission!"
"What?" Lin Wanqiu, Aunt Li, and Aunt Wang were all stunned.
“That’s right,” Shen Tingzhou continued, “I’ve already spoken with the pawnshop owner, and he’s willing to testify. He even gave me the receipt for Zhao Jianjun’s gold bracelet. As long as we can find more evidence related to smuggling cultural relics, we can completely expose the crimes of Zhao Deshan, Zhao Jianjun, and Liu San!”
Lin Wanqiu took the voucher from Shen Tingzhou and looked at Zhao Jianjun's signature on it. She was filled with anger and hatred: "I never thought they would not only leak mission information and kill their teammates, but also dare to smuggle cultural relics. They are simply lawless! Tingzhou, what should we do now?"
“We need to speed things up,” Shen Tingzhou said. “I’ve already contacted Secretary Zhao, and he said he would report to his superiors and request that they send someone to investigate. Before that, we need to collect more evidence to ensure we’re absolutely certain. Wanqiu, you, Aunt Li, and Aunt Wang are responsible for collecting evidence of Zhao Deshan’s abuse of power in the village, especially finding the old accountant from back then and the villagers who didn’t receive relief grain, and getting them to write down their testimonies; I’m responsible for going to the county to continue tracking Zhao Jianjun and Liu San and finding more evidence related to smuggling.”
"Okay!" Lin Wanqiu nodded. "We will definitely gather evidence as soon as possible to prevent them from escaping!"
Over the next few days, everyone got busy. Lin Wanqiu, along with Aunt Li and Aunt Wang, visited each household in the village every day. At first, some villagers were still worried, fearing that Zhao Deshan would retaliate against them. Lin Wanqiu patiently explained to them that Secretary Zhao already knew about the matter and would protect their safety, and that only by bringing Zhao Deshan to justice could everyone live a peaceful life.
Under Lin Wanqiu's persuasion, the villagers gradually put aside their concerns. The old accountant produced the records of the paddy field allocation from years ago, which clearly stated that Zhao Deshan had allocated the best paddy fields to distant relatives; several villagers who hadn't received their full amount of relief grain also wrote testimonies, signing and affixing their fingerprints. Lin Wanqiu carefully put away this evidence, her heart filled with hope—with this evidence, Zhao Deshan's crimes would be compounded!
Shen Tingzhou also made new discoveries in the county. He followed Zhao Jianjun and Liu San and discovered that they frequently traded in the warehouse behind the "Xingsheng Grain Store." After they left, Shen Tingzhou sneaked into the warehouse and found a considerable amount of smuggled cultural relics and grain. He immediately took photos and also found an account book that detailed the smuggled goods and transaction amounts.
That evening, Shen Tingzhou returned home and handed the photos he had taken and the ledgers he had found to Lin Wanqiu. Looking at the dazzling array of artifacts in the photos and the densely packed records in the ledgers, Lin Wanqiu's hands trembled with excitement: "Tingzhou, this is wonderful! With this evidence, we can completely expose their crimes and seek justice for our fallen comrades!"
Shen Tingzhou grasped Lin Wanqiu's hand, his eyes resolute: "Yes, tomorrow I will hand over this evidence to Secretary Zhao and have him report it to his superiors. I believe it won't be long before those bad guys like Zhao Deshan, Zhao Jianjun, and Liu San receive the punishment they deserve!"
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