"Put me down, I'm not going. I'm so old, and my health isn't good. Why should I go to the meeting?"
Just as everyone was lost in thought, the sound of a deaf old woman screaming came from the backyard.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, and wow! Good heavens, there was a deaf old lady sitting in a chair, being carried by four people, slowly walking towards the central courtyard, just like the Empress Dowager Cixi, so incredibly powerful.
"Deaf old lady, are you not feeling well? I see you have a strong voice, louder than most young people. Should I take you to the hospital for a checkup?"
Upon hearing Director Wang's words, the deaf old lady fell silent. They were all seasoned foxes, and she dared not play any more tricks. She chose to obediently shut her mouth.
With the last great deity returning to his position, Director Wang first looked around at everyone before speaking solemnly.
"I have only one purpose in coming to your courtyard today, and that is to visit Comrade Sun Dajiang."
These words caused an uproar in the audience.
“I knew it. Sun Dajiang must have done something wrong, and it must be something serious. I hope he doesn’t drag us neighbors into it.”
"What can we do? We don't want to share a hospital with someone like that. Now that he's in trouble, what does it have to do with us?"
"You guys are all talking nonsense! Can't you tell what's good or bad? If something happened to this old man, how could Director Wang possibly call him 'comrade'? Stop making things worse."
"..."
"..."
The Sun family members heard everything these people were saying. Sun Zhengguo was surprised to find that not everyone in the courtyard was a bad person; there were even a few families speaking up for them.
Especially Sha Zhu, whose analysis made a lot of sense, but some people kept quiet, such as Yi Zhonghai and Xu Damao.
Sun Zhengguo memorized all these faces, waiting for the right moment to repay kindness and avenge wrongs.
"Alright, everyone, stop arguing. Some comrades believe everything they hear and don't know anything about it. What I want to say today is that Comrade Sun Dajiang is a good comrade. He sacrificed his family for the greater good of the country's development..."
Director Wang spoke eloquently on stage for several minutes, and everyone in the audience fell silent.
It turns out these were all rumors. Sun Dajiang was not a corrupt official at all; he went to build the country. But what about the people in the compound?
Instead of being proud of it, they dragged it down and spread these rumors to disgust people.
Director Wang, whose throat was dry from talking, took a sip of tea and continued.
"I hope that those who spread rumors will come forward tonight and not take any chances, because we have been investigating all afternoon. If they come forward, we can reduce their punishment accordingly."
After Director Wang finished speaking, he winked at Director Li, who was standing to the side.
Director Li immediately understood and stepped forward to add to the explanation.
"I hope everyone will seize this opportunity. We will only arrest the ringleaders, and the rest will be dealt with leniently. I hope everyone will not be stubborn and refuse to see the truth."
After Director Li finished speaking, the crowd below looked at each other, and the old women who had been spreading rumors were trembling with fear.
Seeing that there was still no movement below, Director Wang was not in a hurry, because he already had a lead. If no one confessed, he would have no choice but to arrest people according to the list.
"Alright, don't say I didn't give you a chance. In the last three minutes, if no one steps forward, we'll arrest them based on the clues."
Director Wang had lost his patience and glanced at his watch before speaking.
This became the final straw that broke the camel's back, and the people who spread the rumors could no longer sit still.
Aunt Li from the backyard was the first to stand up and said tremblingly.
"Director Wang, I did spread rumors this morning, but I didn't know anything about it; I just heard it from others."
"Honey, I've told you off countless times with that lousy mouth of yours, why don't you ever learn to change? You've caused trouble today!"
When Mr. Li saw his wife stand up first, he was so angry that his toothache flared up. If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, he would have liked to slap her twice.
As Aunt Li took the lead in admitting her mistake, the other two, unable to sit still all night, stood up and admitted that they had spread rumors.
However, everyone's statements were consistent: they all claimed to be unaware of the situation and that they had only heard it from others.
Director Wang didn't say anything, but silently looked at his watch until three minutes were up. Then he stood up and said calmly.
"Arrest them!"
Several police officers and armed personnel, following prior intelligence, apprehended three more elderly women from the crowd and brought them to the front desk, one of whom was Jia Zhangshi.
"Put him aside and conduct a surprise interrogation right now. Find out who was in charge?"
At Director Wang's command, the six women were taken aside and interrogated in a surprise attack.
Seeing this, the people below didn't dare to utter a sound, afraid of attracting Director Wang's attention and being arrested again. Everyone sat there quietly, waiting for the final result.
In the end, the outcome was surprisingly quick, as all the blame was directed at one person: the infamous Jia Zhangshi.
All of them confessed to spreading the rumors, but they all pointed to Jia Zhangshi as the original rumor-monger.
At first, Jia Zhangshi tried to deny it, but the testimonies of the other five people all pointed to her, and no matter how she tried to argue, it was to no avail.
Director Wang was not surprised at all by the result, but instead said sternly.
"Jia Zhangshi, you really are something else. You've single-handedly stirred up trouble in this compound. First, you were imprisoned for three years for stealing meat, then you almost drove your wife to her death and had her sentenced to three months of labor reform. Now you're secretly framing others. What else wouldn't you dare to do?"
"Director Wang, I'm innocent! I just said it casually. I didn't ask them to spread rumors. What does it have to do with me?"
"Pfft!"
Director Wang was amused and continued speaking.
"You just said it offhand? Then why did you spread the rumors yourself? That rumor about being executed, it seems, came from you, didn't it? Do you think we're three-year-olds, being led by the nose by you?"
Indeed, once these words were spoken, Jia Zhangshi had nothing to say. The other women only spread rumors that Sun Dajiang was a corrupt official, but did not say anything about him being executed.
She alone, seemingly eager to stir up trouble, even added the rumor that Sun Dajiang would be executed.
The ringleader has now been apprehended, and Director Wang, Chief Li, and several other staff members discussed the matter for a few more minutes.
After the group finished discussing, Director Wang made a loud announcement.
"After our discussion, the people who voluntarily surrendered will go to the subdistrict office to undergo a month of labor reform starting tomorrow."
As soon as Director Wang finished speaking, the crowd below stirred up again.
"This is way too serious! Just for spreading a few rumors, he's going to be sent to a labor camp for a month."
"Hey! These ladies are lucky; they turned themselves in voluntarily. I wonder what will happen to the rest of them?"
"..."
"Quiet down!"
Upon hearing Director Wang's announcement, everyone quieted down, ready to see what would happen to the remaining people.
"As for the three women, Jia and Zhang, they will be handed over to the police station for trial, and finally transferred to the people's court. We await their fate...?"
Director Wang paused deliberately for a moment, then spoke loudly.
"Slandering meritorious officials will certainly result in imprisonment!"
After Director Wang finished speaking, he looked around, and the crowd below all lowered their heads, not daring to look him in the eye.
“Take them back to the police station.”
Then, Director Li waved his hand and gave the order.
"Ouch! I'm innocent!"
Jia Zhangshi's scream couldn't stop the two police officers. They handcuffed her and dragged her away.
Jia Zhangshi and the others were taken away, and Director Wang handed over the stage to Secretary Liu.
Officer Liu went on stage again to explain the harms of spreading rumors before finally adjourning the meeting.
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