Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Tsk tsk, it seems they haven’t drunk enough…
It was the old flowerpot placed in the corner of the yard, which was smashed into pieces with a shovel by the people brought by Ma Qiudong.
"Aren't we discussing this properly? What's the point of just coming up and smashing things?"
Thinking of the friendship they had when they were studying together as children, and the fact that it was his own daughter who stole his things, Shen Shansheng always spoke politely.
As a result, the hammer hit him and completely shattered his good temper.
"Negotiation? You have to be able to negotiate properly." Ma Qiudong's voice rose a few notches. "You said five hundred yuan, but you said you would only give two hundred. Is this the attitude of a proper negotiation?!"
Wang Dongmei explained: "We didn't say we would only give you 200. We are just asking you if 200 is okay. If you think it's too little, we can make up for it."
"Make up? I don't think you guys want to make up."
"You just want to shirk your debts. You stole things and refused to pay for them. You are a family of filthy people who are not worthy of being seen in public!"
"Uncle, what else are you talking to them about? If they don't pay, we'll smash it!"
The people brought by Ma Qiudong looked strong, but they had pig brains on their shoulders and their IQ was even lower than his.
They had just started discussing something when they started smashing things. After all, this is a civilized society. What's the difference between what they did and that of the village thugs, bandits and bullies?
Without waiting for Ma Qiudong to speak, the men behind him picked up their hoes and smashed the dining table in the yard.
Bang!
The dining table, which had been used for six or seven years, was not sturdy to begin with, and it broke into two pieces in an instant after being hit like that.
There were water tanks, medicinal herbs hanging on ropes to dry, dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen, and a few people even rushed into the house and smashed the TV. For a moment, the yard was filled with crackling sounds.
Are you here to ask for an explanation? Oh, it's clearly the Japanese invaders who have come to raid the village!
Hearing the clanging and smashing sounds coming from the Shen family, the surrounding neighbors thought that robbers had come, and they all took weapons from their homes and rushed to help.
Looking at the entire Qinghe Village, who hasn't asked Shen Wanshan to treat their illness? Who hasn't asked Shen Shansheng for help when there's something wrong? And Wang Dongmei has been a pillar of support for women, so in the eyes of the villagers, if something happens to the Shen family, it's their own family that's in trouble.
After a while, a group of people gathered outside the gate of Shen's courtyard, and no one came empty-handed. The youngest child was holding a wooden sword in his hand with a menacing look.
"What's up? What are you doing?"
"Which village are you from? Are you here to cause trouble?"
"You come up and smash things. Do you really think you are the ruler of our village?"
The people from Qinghe Village had fierce voices, but when they entered the door, no one rushed to attack. Instead, they questioned their actions in a harsh voice.
"What? You should ask your father, the village chief, and his daughter!"
Ma Qiudong was just worrying that the incident wasn't serious enough. Seeing that all the capable fighters in Qinghe Village had gathered at the door, Ma Qiudong immediately stood on tiptoe and yelled at them, "They are thieves! The whole family is a bunch of thieves who steal things and won't pay for them!"
"I just took a piece of ice and gave you the money, but you asked for five hundred right away. This is blackmail!" Wang Dongmei didn't even look at him and responded strongly.
As she said this, she brought the bowl of manure water over for everyone to see.
"Look, come and take a look. I have to pay 500 yuan for a bowl of toilet water! If this isn't extortion, what is this?"
I don’t know if it was because the atmosphere in the yard was too tense, which caused the temperature to rise a bit. When Wang Dongmei brought the bowl over, the stench seemed even more pungent than before.
It's very smelly, and there's a foul odor from being exposed to the sun for too long during the day, which looks particularly weird mixed with the fragrance.
Ma Qiudong: "What toilet water? This is the magic water given to me by Xiantian Dou Mu Zi Guang Jin Zun Mo Li Pu Tian Da Sheng Yuan Ming Dao Mu Tian Zun!"
I have to say, Ma Qiudong couldn't even memorize a simple multiplication table, but he could memorize such a long list of names of gods... It's really hard for him.
"Go ask around and see how many people my medicine has saved! How many people can't afford it even if they have money!" Ma Qiudong glanced at her with contempt, "Only people like you who don't know the value of it would treat it as toilet water."
Some people present had bought Ma Qiudong’s “magic medicine” before. They had never seen the raw materials and only remembered that it smelled strange. After seeing it with their own eyes today, they felt that they had been cheated, but they didn’t want to believe that they had been cheated.
"Do you know how many people I didn't treat today because you stole the medicine?!"
Speaking of this, Ma Qiudong had more to say, "Oh yes, and your old man, who pretended to be sick in order to jump the queue during the day. Do you know how many people were delayed by you?"
Ma Qiudong spoke righteously and awe-inspiringly, and for a moment, everyone's eyes turned to Shen Wanshan and Shen Miao.
They are all from the same village, and they couldn't believe that the grandfather and grandson of the Shen family would do such a thing.
Stealing other people's things? Usually when he encounters patients with financial difficulties, he will just give them medicine for free; pretending to be sick to jump the queue? Shen Wanshan has always been solemn and self-restrained, and it doesn't seem like...
Why on earth is this happening?!
Ma Qiudong thought he was standing at the highest moral point and was very unyielding in his words. When he noticed that the villagers looked at his family with more disbelief and a little contempt, a smug smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
“In that case, call the police.” Shen Wanshan said calmly, “Call the police to handle this matter.”
Shen Wanshan was completely disappointed with Ma Qiudong. Their behavior could no longer be described with the simple word "shameless".
Since he wants to make a big fuss, let the police come and judge the matter.
"If the police ask me to pay compensation, I will definitely pay you every penny. But since you smashed my house, you can't escape without buying or replacing the things you should buy."
"middle!"
Ma Qiudong agreed straightforwardly, as if he was 100% sure that the police and Zhenli would be on his side. "Let's go, call the police. This is the first time I've seen someone so excited after stealing something."
As soon as they mentioned calling the police, Shen Shansheng and Wang Dongmei immediately walked to the front.
"Magic medicine"? They still don't believe it. The police can't see that he is using "sewage water" to short people!
*
Qinghe Village was only about ten miles away from the nearest police station in the city. After a phone call, six or seven policemen arrived within a few dozen minutes and took away the people brought by Shen Miao, Shen Wanshan, and Ma Qiudong.
Whether the matter is big or small depends mainly on the value of this "magic water".
If it was really valuable goods, Shen Miao would have to stay in the police station for more than ten days for stealing. But if it was really fecal water from the toilet, not only would Shen Miao be fine, but Ma Qiudong would also have to be prosecuted for selling fake medicine to deceive people and making illegal profits.
That night, they all spent the night in the police station.
After completing the statement, he had to take the so-called "magic water" to the research institute, so he spent the next morning at the police station.
This was Shen Miao’s first time in a police station, and even though she was sure she was innocent, she still couldn’t help but get scared when she heard the sound of the handcuffs on the police’s waists colliding when they walked.
Shen Wanshan, who was sitting next to Shen Miao, was calm and composed from beginning to end. After all, he was a man who had experienced decades of ups and downs. He sometimes closed his eyes to rest and sometimes stretched his muscles. He did not feel any restraint staying in the police station.
It was almost noon when Wang Dongmei and Shen Shansheng came to visit them with food.
"I just asked the person on duty, and he said that we might not be released until tomorrow." Wang Dongmei said as she opened the lid of the lunch box. Only one night had passed, but her face seemed to have a few more wrinkles.
Listening to Wang Dongmei sighing, Shen Shansheng poked Shen Miao viciously, “Look at what you have done, you have caused such a big mess.”
"You don't have to talk about her here."
Shen Wanshan spoke up to block the anger of Shen Miao's father. He was also a father, and he was superior in seniority, so there was no room for Shen Shansheng to speak. "I think Miao Miao did a good job. If we really find out something, we can be regarded as getting rid of harm for the people."
It is said that doctors are kind-hearted, but yesterday Shen Wanshan experienced the consequences of being too kind.
He should be tough and confront Ma Qiudong and expose his fake face, otherwise he will really think he is capable.
"Let's wait for the results from the research institute. If it goes well, we might be able to go back tomorrow morning. If it goes slowly, we might have to wait a few more days."
As they were talking, they saw a policeman coming back from outside with a bag of lunch boxes and walking towards the room where Ma Qiudong and the others were being held.
The lunch box was bought from a restaurant, and it was freshly cooked rice. When they passed by outside, they could smell the rich aroma of rice. Unlike the rice brought by Shen Shansheng and Wang Dongmei, although it didn't cool down during the hot weather during the ride, it had lost its freshly cooked aroma and the dishes were average.
"Here, here, take two!"
"No, no, I'm at work and can't accept things like that."
"How does this count as collecting things? You helped me buy food, so it's only natural that you smoke a couple of cigarettes. It's not money."
"Then I'll take one and win, thank you uncle."
"This cigarette is great, the taste is real!"
"Yes, someone from my village brought it back from a business trip in the south. It smells really good."
After all, he is a businessman, and Ma Qiudong can chat with people wherever he goes.
After only one night in the police station, he started to talk to the policemen in charge of guarding him. He said that thanks to their care, he would treat them to a meal after he got out.
The sounds of chatting and laughter from next door were endless, and occasionally there was a whiff of cigarette smoke wafting over. They didn't seem to be cooperating with the investigation, but rather seemed to be here for tourism.
"If you have any problem, remember to call the village and your father and I will be there soon."
"middle."
The visiting time was almost over. When Shen Shansheng and Wang Dongmei were about to leave, several other policemen suddenly came in from outside in a hurry, holding reports in their hands.
"Ma Qiudong? Is Ma Qiudong here?"
Hearing someone calling him from outside, Ma Qiudong hurriedly responded, "Hey, here, in this room!"
He didn't seem to be answering the police, but more like showing off to Shen Miao and Shen Wanshan next door. His smugness could be heard clearly through the wall, as if he was afraid that others would not know to let him go.
The man was in a hurry, his face was as cold as ice, it didn't look like anything good was going to happen.
Sure enough, within two minutes of walking to the next room, he heard Ma Qiudong's fierce resistance.
"Where are you going? Aren't you going to let me go home?"
"You are suspected of selling fake drugs. We need to investigate in detail. Please come with us."
"Fake medicine? What fake medicine? Go and find out how many people my medicine has cured! Why do you say it's fake medicine?"
"The test report is out. You don't have any function that can cure diseases."
"Report? What report? You don't have to tell me so much, I just didn't break any law!"
"Whether it is illegal or not is not up to you to decide. Just come with us and accept our investigation."
"I won't go! You are wrongly accusing me! I won't go!"
Soon, Ma Qiudong was brought out, and the tall and strong men who came with him were also taken away.
Because they came together yesterday, in addition to causing trouble, we also need to conduct a further investigation into how much they know about the "fake drugs" issue.
He got what he wanted, all thanks to Ma Qiudong's vivid and moving narration when he was taking the statement yesterday.
As soon as he arrived at the police station last night, Ma Qiudong kept emphasizing how valuable the "magic water" bestowed upon him by "the Xiantian Dou Mu, the Purple Light Golden Zun, the Moli Pushian Great Sage, the Yuanming Dao Mu Tianzun" was.
He said it was a priceless treasure, more precious than the Tai Sui, and that he would not sell it even if some wealthy businessman offered 10,000 yuan... Hearing him talk about this "magic water" as being so valuable, the police naturally treated it with great caution.
Not only was the importance of the case raised by three levels, it was also reported to a higher-level local bureau.
But just a few hours ago, when they got the results from the research institute, their desire to solve the case was completely dashed.
"Look carefully, E. coli, fecal coliforms, urobilinogen, skatole... these are all things found in feces. No substances related to drugs were detected. And you still say this is not feces?!"
In order to get Ma Qiudong to cooperate, the leading police officer wanted to slam the test report into his face. "You'd better tell the truth when you go to the police station. Maybe we can give you leniency. If you still refuse to cooperate like you are now, we can only deal with you strictly."
Since it was found that this "magic water" was not valuable, Shen Miao's crime of stealing was naturally not established, but the matter was not over yet.
Stealing expensive and valuable medicines is a major crime, and illegally selling counterfeit medicines is also a major crime, and the crime is more serious than theft.
After all, according to Ma Qiudong himself, he has saved at least thousands of people by selling this "magic water". Even if he only charges one dollar per person, it is not a small amount. What's more, there are people who like it so much that they will buy it again and again...
I don’t know how other people who have drunk this medicine would react, but at least the people who came with Ma Qiudong, when they heard that this “magic water” was actually feces, they all felt nauseous, and some even vomited out their overnight meals.
Tsk tsk, it seems that they must have all drunk this "magic medicine".
After leaving the police station, Ma Qiudong and his companions were taken away in a police car. The police who stayed behind said that if he was really convicted of selling fake drugs and making illegal profits, not only would his illegal gains be confiscated, but he would probably have to spend several years in jail.
Shen Miao and Shen Wanshan sighed that Ma Qiudong had brought this upon himself, while slowly walking out of the iron gate. They thought they would have to stay in this square room for another night, but they didn't expect that they would be able to return home safely with their parents.
Before leaving the police station, when Shen Shansheng followed the police to register and go through the formalities, Wang Dongmei once again warned Shen Miao: "You, please don't mind such trivial matters in the future. It's okay this time, but there's no guarantee that there won't be trouble next time."
In her opinion, Ma Qiudong's current fate was due to his many unjust actions, but it was also because Shen Miao was too worrying that she got involved in this trouble.
If she hadn't been idle and asking around, she wouldn't have been involved.
God has eyes, and sooner or later he will take Ma Qiudong away, so Shen Miao doesn't need to worry about it.
Seeing that Shen Miao did not respond, Wang Dongmei poked her forehead with her finger, “Did you hear me? Don’t bother with idle matters, don’t talk nonsense…”
“Don’t listen to the gossip,” Shen Miao continued to say the second half of the sentence, and at the same time, he arched his nose and said, “I know, I won’t do it again in the future…”
Usually Shen Wanshan often emphasized these words to her, but today when Wang Dongmei warned her, he didn't say anything.
Although he did not like to meddle in other people's affairs, his medical ethics did not allow him to turn a blind eye after witnessing the abuse of traditional Chinese medicine.
So this time, he didn’t blame Shen Miao.
When they came out of the police station and were about to go home, suddenly two or three people who had been squatting under a tree ran towards them.
"Excuse me, excuse me, are you the person involved in the theft of the 'magic water' yesterday?"
"We are not the parties involved, but the victims." Shen Shansheng frowned unhappily.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
The person who spoke was a woman who looked to be in her early thirties. She had a pen and paper in her hand. The two men next to her were also carrying black backpacks. They looked like reporters from a newspaper or TV station.
Shen Miao was guessing their identities when the woman took out her press card from her pocket, "Don't be nervous, we are reporters from the city TV station. We just want to find out the truth of the matter. Can we interview you?"
"Wasn't Ma Qiudong just captured? You..."
Bang!
Shen Miao just raised her hand to point out the direction the police car was leaving, when Wang Dongmei’s slap landed on her arm.
"Have you forgotten what I told you just now?!" Wang Dongmei glared at her and warned her sternly.
Rubbing her arms, Shen Miao lowered her head unhappily and swallowed back the rest of her words.
When turning around, Wang Dongmei coldly replied for Shen Miao: “You should ask the police about these, we don’t know anything.”
The reporters in the city were all very sharp, and their noses for sniffing out gossip were much more sensitive than Shen Miao's. The police hadn't revealed anything yet, but they had already smelled explosive news.
They also knew that the police could not tell the media specific details before they had thoroughly investigated the incident, but in order to grab the front-page headlines, they waited at the door of the police station to see if they could get some information from the people involved in the incident.
It’s a pity that Wang Dongmei stopped him, otherwise Shen Miao might have said it out loud…
*
After returning home, Shen Miao originally thought that the matter would just pass, and the subsequent investigation could be left to the police, but Ma Qiudong's wife Luo Fenglai was also a difficult person.
I heard that Shen Miao and Shen Wanshan were released, and her husband was still staying in the police station. He brought people to mess up the place early the next morning.
Probably because he was afraid of being arrested like Ma Qiudong, Luo Fenglai did not ask anyone to take action. Instead, he called a group of old women in the village to block the Shen family's clinic.
The fattest one sat in the middle of the gate, the slightly thinner one leaned against the door, and the rest followed Luo Fenglai and sat on the village road eating melon seeds, spitting out the melon seed shells all over the door of the clinic.
It was the busy farming season, and there were not many people in the village. Coincidentally, no one came to the clinic for treatment, so Shen Wanshan didn't pay much attention to it. He just sat at the door and didn't bother to pay attention to them.
They thought that such "cold violence" would force Shen Wanshan and others to beg for mercy, but they didn't know that if they continued like this, they would be the only ones to suffer.
Seeing the sun getting hotter and hotter, Shen Wanshan in the room fanned the fan in his hand and said to Shen Miao: “Tell them to go back. It’s useless to stay here. If you want to wait, go to the city police station and wait.”
"middle."
Just as Shen Miao was about to go out, Shen Wanshan added, “Don’t tell them about the test report yet. You’ll naturally tell them after the police have finished their investigation.”
It is enough for the police to prove that they are innocent, and it is not their turn to interfere in what happens next.
There will be a chance for a turnaround before the matter is over. We cannot jump to conclusions. What if the report is wrong? What if the test shows something wrong? So, whether it is a good guy or a bad guy, the police should be the ones to deal with it. There is no need for ordinary people like us to get involved.
Shen Miao nodded, and kindly brought out a pot of water to quench their thirst, and then persuaded them to go back.
"Aunt, you should go back. The police will naturally send him back after the investigation. It will be useless for you to sit at the door or even live in my house."
When he realized that he had forgotten to take the cup and was about to go back to the house to get it, Luo Fenglai suddenly shouted, "Why did you come back so early? You must give me an explanation today, otherwise this matter will not be over."
Shen Miao had just promised Shen Wanshan not to tell anyone, so she had to hint, “Uncle Ma was arrested for selling fake medicine, and when I came back, he was sent to another police station, until…”
"Pooh!"
Before Shen Miao finished speaking, Luo Fenglai spat back, "What fake medicine? Why do you say he sells fake medicine? You are just talking nonsense!"
"How can it not be fake medicine? The police took the water away for testing and proved that it was not medicine. What does it have to do with me? It's not me who said that."
"Then who knows if you put anything else in my 'magic water'?" Luo Fenglai said unreasonably.
As she said this, she glanced at Shen Miao with a look of contempt and disgust, “Oh~ I see, you must be jealous of me and deliberately added something to the water to frame me!”
Shen Miao: ???
No, is she sick? Who is so stupid as to accuse them?
It was obvious that they wanted to make this ill-gotten gain, but were accidentally discovered by outsiders.
This is not an injustice, it is retribution.
Just as Shen Miao was about to curse back, the aunt next to her chimed in, “It’s obvious at first glance that Ni’er isn’t a good person.”
"That's right," the fattest aunt continued, "You've opened a clinic, how could she not be jealous of your family? People like this will get their comeuppance sooner or later!"
Shen Miao curled her lips, lightly kicked the small stone under her feet, and said lightly: “Indeed, Uncle Ma has already suffered retribution, and the next one to suffer retribution will probably be your turn.”
"What did you say?!"
The weather was dry, and Luo Fenglai was not a good-tempered person to begin with. He did not lose his temper because of the company and persuasion of so many old sisters. Therefore, Shen Miao's lightly ironic remark directly ignited her anger.
"Don't be angry, don't be angry."
"Calm down, we can't do anything."
Fortunately, the other aunts were still rational and pulled Luo Fenglai back in time, so the matter was not made worse.
The aunts persuaded her while taking out a thermos, pouring a cup of light brown liquid into her hand, "Don't be impatient, it's not worth it to get yourself angry. Let's wait here today and we must wait for an explanation."
"Don't worry, we'll all be with you, let's see who can outlast the other!"
Shen Miao didn't even need to look, just by smelling the strange smell, she knew that the thermos contained boiled manure water with other medicinal herbs added.
It was not enough for herself to drink, so Luo Fenglai also shared some with her old sisters.
"Drink some, I put some chrysanthemum in it, it helps to reduce internal heat."
"No, no, this medicine is very expensive. I'd rather not drink it."
"You're welcome, drink some and replenish yourself, we still have to fight him to the end!"
Shen Miao was thinking about reminding them at first… Haha, she really shouldn’t have any sympathy for them. After all, how could anyone who could sleep in the same bed with Ma Qiudong be a good person?
So now, let them drink more.
Seeing that it was getting late, thinking that her parents were still working in the fields, Shen Miao thought about going home to cook. When she packed up her things and prepared to go home, she saw a few policemen walking towards the clinic from a distance, followed by a few reporters who she met at the door of the police station yesterday.
Seeing the police coming, Luo Fenglai and her friends swarmed over like flies.
"Comrade police, comrade police, when will Lao Ma be released?"
"I'm telling you, Old Ma is innocent. It's the Shen family who are responsible for this! You better investigate!"
"Yes, it's all Chen's fault. You arrested the wrong person."
The police didn't want to listen to their complaints. They raised the pen and paper in their hands and motioned them to move away. "We are here for business. Please move aside and don't interfere with our work."
"Okay, okay, we'll give in."
"You go first, go first."
After they all left, the police looked around at them and asked, "Who among you is Ma Qiudong's wife?"
"I."
Luo Fenglai raised his hand and took a step forward. "What's wrong? Police comrade."
"Do you still have the samples of the fecal water?" the police asked her directly. "I just went to your house and your son said that Ma Qiudong hid all the cooked fecal water. Do you know where he hid it?"
Luo Fenglai was confused. "Powdered water? What is powdered water?"
"Shit, the shit from shit, not the powder from chalk."
Leaning against the wall, Shen Miao crossed his hands in front of him and slowly repeated what the police had just said, "The fecal water is the water you just drank, the water you boiled with chrysanthemums. The police comrade asked if you knew where he hid the rest."
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