Chapter 87 Questioning
Su Tong placed the firewood in the brazier high, applied hot towels to the wounds of the two old men, and said in a low voice after a while:
"I didn't think it through. I always wanted to change your living environment, but I didn't expect that even such a room would attract jealous eyes."
Lao Qi said, "That Li Sanleng is the nephew of Secretary Wu's wife, and is also related to the village chief Li Chuande. He has no skills and cannot do heavy work. His family is so poor that he couldn't even afford to build a house when he got married."
"It is said that he occupied a room in his wife's family's home because of the favor of the village chief and the party secretary. He had to look at his father-in-law's face every day and had wanted to move out a long time ago... Unexpectedly, he took a fancy to this house."
Su Tong stared at the flames and continued calmly:
"Li Sanleng dared to occupy the house, he must have received the approval of Secretary Wu. I was wondering why the house was built so smoothly at that time. I'm afraid that they didn't plan to let you live in it from the beginning. I thought things were too simple."
Lao Qi said: "It doesn't matter where we live, I'm just afraid that Li Sanleng will keep staring at you and cause trouble for you!"
Su Tong's eyes did not move, and he continued calmly:
"I will defeat anyone who troubles me! Anyway, everyone in the village knows that I am the nemesis!"
Early the next morning, Su Tong was awakened by the noise outside the door.
When I opened the door, I saw Lao Qi carrying a bedding roll and Lao Lin dragging his lame leg with some sundries, preparing to leave the yard.
"Where are you going so early in the morning?"
Lao Lin didn't say anything, so it was Lao Qi who spoke first, "Girl, let's... go build a shed next to the cowshed, and live here, we'll..."
Before Lao Qi finished speaking, he heard Secretary Wu shouting outside the door:
"Tong Ya! Are you awake?"
Lao Qi and Lao Lin looked at each other, unable to hide their panic. What they feared would come true.
Tong Ya smashed Li San Leng's window last night, and they have been worried that Li San Leng would hold a grudge and use class standpoint to make the matter worse. If he really wants to charge Tong Ya with the crime of harboring a criminal, no one can protect him.
Otherwise, they wanted to run away early in the morning, but they were afraid that if someone saw them, it would be hard to explain if Tong Ya took them in. As a result, they were caught red-handed.
Secretary Wu had already entered the courtyard while speaking, and behind him was a group of people, including Li Sanleng and six or seven other villagers, who looked like they were looking for trouble.
Li Sanleng's eyes swept over Su Tong and the two old men with contempt and he snorted coldly.
Su Tong, however, looked calm and said to Secretary Wu:
"Secretary Wu, you brought so many people here so early in the morning. Is there something wrong?"
“Tsk!”
Secretary Wu smacked his lips and said seriously:
"Tongya! You've been performing pretty well during this period, but today's situation is a bit tricky!"
"Someone reported that you defended Lao Lin and Lao Qi, two 'stinking ninths' and 'capitalist roaders', in public last night, and encouraged the arrogance of 'capitalism'. This is a very serious matter! I have no choice, so I brought everyone here to ask clearly!"
Su Tong sneered: "Someone? Who else could it be?"
"Li Sanleng! I did break the glass in your house. Even though you are not very agile, you are still a man. It's really ugly to be so eager to throw dirty water on me!"
Li Sanleng didn't expect Su Tong to go straight to the point. He wasn't afraid nor did he shirk responsibility. Even at this time, he was still so arrogant when he spoke. He jumped up immediately.
"Uncle! Look! Look! She admitted it! She admitted that she broke the glass!"
Su Tong said, "Why shouldn't I admit this? Not only did I smash your glass, I also wanted to remove your door. If you hadn't come early today, I would have gone to the team first."
Secretary Wu's face darkened and he said sternly, "Be serious! Comrade Wu Tong, since you have admitted it, you should explain your crime!"
As he said this, he gave a wink, and the people following him immediately surrounded him.
Su Tong lowered his head and smiled, saying: "Secretary Wu, I admit that I broke the glass. You haven't even asked me why I broke the glass, but you've already elevated it to the level of confession. This is not how the Public Security Bureau tries a case!"
"Why did you smash the glass? Just because I criticized the 'stinking old nine' and you wanted to vent their anger, so you smashed my glass. What else is there to explain?" Li San was stunned and wanted to jump up and down.
Su Tong glanced at Secretary Wu and said, "Secretary Wu, since you are here with everyone to ask questions, then Li Sanleng and I will confront them face to face and restore the true situation of yesterday. We can clarify whether we are guilty or not face to face. It just so happens that many of the people who came today were also present yesterday, so they are not afraid that we will tell lies."
Secretary Wu didn't know what Su Tong was trying to say, but after thinking about it, he realized that with so many witnesses, he really couldn't play any tricks.
It was better to explain it clearly, so that people in the village would not say that his position as an uncle was wrong, so he nodded.
Su Tong turned to look at Li Sanleng and asked, "Li Sanleng! What was the first thing I said to you when I came back last night?"
"The first sentence? How can I remember what the first sentence was? I forgot it a long time ago!"
Li Sanleng felt a little nervous when he saw Su Tong remained so calm. It was such a sure thing, he didn't understand where this girl got the confidence from.
"If you don't even remember, how can you convict me? Can I say you are framing me?"
"Think carefully! Don't miss a single word!"
Secretary Wu yelled at Li Sanleng.
This useless thing got stuck at the critical moment. That girl is right. How can we convict someone without confrontation?
Li Sanleng had no choice but to lower his head and recall seriously:
"Yesterday, I was about to hit the old man with a bench, and this girl suddenly jumped out and snatched the bench away. She, she openly defended the 'stinking ninth' and 'capitalist roader', and everyone saw it."
Several people nearby nodded.
"What I'm asking is, what was the first sentence I said to you?" Su Tong remained calm.
There was no need for Secretary Wu to remind him at this time. Li Sanleng continued to recall:
"You seem to be saying, 'It's the dead of night, and you're here beating people up! Aren't you afraid of embarrassing Secretary Wu?'"
"That's right! Exactly! I was out for five days, and the child didn't get better until yesterday afternoon. I could have come back today, but I was worried about the bullpen, and I was afraid that you might not be familiar with the situation and something might go wrong."
"When I rushed back overnight, I saw you holding a bench and hitting someone. I thought that Secretary Wu sent you to the cowshed for two days, which was at least to help me. I couldn't watch you make a mistake, so I rushed over to grab the bench and asked you that question again. Do you think I was wrong?"
"You, but you obviously stopped me because you were afraid that I would hit that old man!"
"It was pitch dark at the time, and I couldn't see who was on the ground. If I really wanted to do this for the two old men, why would I be afraid that you would embarrass Secretary Wu?"
"But, you..."
"Well, let me ask you this: when you told me that you were criticizing the 'stinky old nine', did I continue to stop you?"
Li Sanleng felt a little confused. This girl didn't stop him, but he didn't seem to do anything else...
Su Tong has already asked: "Yes or no? Don't tell lies!"
Li San was startled and blurted out, "No."
"Very good! You can all testify for me. I stopped him once without knowing it, and I never stopped him again!"
Su Tong looked around and before they could react, he continued:
"Then let's continue, Li Sanleng! Then what did I ask you?"
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