Since that wrongful arrest incident, Gu Changwu has frequently treated Constable Zhang and his men to meals and drinks, and their relationship has remained quite good.
Upon hearing this, Meng Zhao's first reaction was, "Is anyone injured?"
"We don't know yet. Gu Yun just sent the person to Fukangtang."
Meng Zhao steadied himself and quickly calmed down. "Second Uncle, don't panic. Let's go to the clinic first to ask about the situation."
Meng Zhao hurried back to her residence, changed into some neater clothes, and as soon as she arrived at the entrance of the clinic, Gu Yun spotted her and went up to ask, "Sister-in-law, you're back."
"Hmm, how is he? How serious are his injuries?" Meng Zhao asked anxiously.
"Three people went, and when they came back, they all had injuries. They've been treated and bandaged up. The doctor said the injuries weren't serious and they'd recover in a few days."
Hearing that everyone was alright, Meng Zhao finally felt relieved and went inside to check on the three injured people, listening to their account of what had happened.
It turns out that a couple of days ago, two villagers from Shagang Village said they had about 400 to 500 jin of potatoes at home. Since the families were all elderly and they didn't have a cart, they wanted to ask them to come and collect the potatoes.
When they entered the village today, everything seemed fine at first, but after they had just filled two baskets, a few people stopped them and said that the potatoes from their village were no longer for sale.
The three men immediately became angry. They wouldn't have bothered making the trip for such a small amount of potatoes in the first place. They only came because they saw how inconvenient it was for the workers to go to the workshop. Now, not only did they not receive the potatoes, but they also made a wasted trip. They were unwilling to accept this, so they started arguing. Later, when things got heated, they started fighting. It's unclear who started it, but anyway, they started hitting each other.
Meng Zhao asked, "Did you injure anyone?"
Li Heidou, the leader, shook his head. "We wanted to, but there were too many of them, so we had no chance. When we ran away, they were all still fine."
"Do you know who the people who stopped you from loading the truck were?"
One of the workers said, "I heard other people in the village call the foreman Liu Laisheng."
Meng Zhao thought for a moment, making sure he hadn't heard of the name before, and nodded, saying, "Okay, I understand. I've already paid for the medicine. You all need to rest well. You were injured while working for me, so you'll still get your wages during your recovery period."
After saying that, he glanced at Li Heidou, whose injuries were not serious, and said, "Come with me to Shagang Village again."
When they first entered the clinic, the three workers were all dejected. They were injured and probably wouldn't be able to work for the next few days. Their wages were calculated on a daily basis, and every day they rested meant one less day's pay. Their wives, children, and elderly parents were counting on this money to make a living.
Besides, they can't work now. What if the employer dislikes them and kicks them out?
Unexpectedly, Madam Meng was so kind and righteous. Not only did she pay for their medicine, but she was also willing to pay them wages. They really made the right choice in coming to this workshop.
After the group met with Constable Zhang and explained the situation, Meng Zhao said, "You are usually very busy with official duties, and it's really troublesome for you to come with us."
Officer Zhang waved his hand, "It's alright. Now that a conflict has broken out among the villagers, it is my duty to find out the truth and give everyone justice. This is my responsibility."
Meng Zhao brought Li Heidou over so that he could identify who had assaulted them. He had thought they would need to search for them, but it turned out that the people were already waiting for them.
The people of Shagang Village trembled in fear when they saw Meng Zhao arriving with the head constable. "Brother Laisheng, why did they bring a head constable? Are they really going to arrest us and throw us in jail?"
Liu Laisheng inwardly cried out in alarm. His eyes darted around, and he turned to the man and hurriedly said a few words. The man then quickly ran away.
“Officer Zhang, it was him. We were carefully storing the potatoes when he suddenly appeared and snatched them from our hands. We didn’t agree, and he even beat us up. My two brothers are still lying in the clinic, unable to get up.”
As soon as Li Heidou saw Liu Laisheng, he became excited and hurriedly complained to Constable Zhang.
Officer Zhang's face was cold and stern as he scrutinized Liu Laisheng with eyes as sharp as a hawk's. "Was it you who led the villagers to beat up those people?"
Liu Laisheng remained calm and put on an extremely aggrieved look, saying, "Officer Zhang, don't listen to this man's nonsense. We've already said we won't sell the potatoes, but they still insisted on loading them onto the truck and taking them away. When we disagreed, they started beating people and injured several of our villagers."
Upon hearing this, Li Heidou was so angry he almost fainted. "You're talking nonsense! There are three of us and a whole bunch of you. How could we possibly hurt your people?"
“Officer Zhang, we are just ordinary people. When others attack us, how dare we fight back? If you don’t believe me, I’ll call the people over, and you’ll see.” As he spoke, he winked at the crowd.
Officer Zhang glanced at Meng Zhao. This was different from what he had just said. If the two sides were to fight, the matter would be difficult to judge.
Knowing that Constable Zhang was in a difficult position, Meng Zhao didn't stop him. He lowered his voice and asked Li Heidou, "Tell the truth, did you injure anyone?"
"No, they were all fine when we left, and we didn't see any injuries." But seeing Liu Laisheng's nonchalant attitude, she hesitated and whispered, "It's also possible that there were too many people and we didn't notice. I remember I did throw a few potatoes out, but I don't know if they hit anyone."
As they were talking, several villagers came over. Some had bruises on their lips, some had cuts on their foreheads, and their faces were all bruised. Liu Laisheng quickly said, "Officer Zhang, take a look. These are the injuries they caused."
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