Chapter 48
When Chu Jiujiu and the others arrived, screams were heard from Zhou Xiaohe's house.
The big black dog was taken away by Captain Zhao. Chen Dahong, relying on her brute force, kicked open Zhou Xiaohe's door and rushed in aggressively. She grabbed Zhou Xiaohe's hair and dragged her out like a dead dog. Chen Dahong had been doing farm work for years and was stronger than any man. She was not gentle with women, and Zhou Xiaohe's long hair, which she was proud of, was immediately pulled out in large handfuls, causing her to gasp in pain. But that was not the end of it. Chen Dahong dragged her out of the house and was ready to drag her all the way to the team headquarters.
The woman's miserable screams instantly attracted a group of people. They were all a little at a loss as to what to do when they saw the scene before them.
"Dahong, why are you pulling her hair?"
"That's right, Dahong. If you hurt her, the captain will blame you later."
Although these people all wanted Chen Dahong to let Zhou Xiaohe go, their words were malicious, but they were actually thinking about Chen Dahong. Among these onlookers, there were many who had a good relationship with Zhou Xiaohe, or had received favors from her, but they all stood by and watched, and even thought it was dirty to call her name.
Chen Dahong was worried that no one would ask, so he grabbed Zhou Xiaohe's scalp with his calloused hands and told the group of people what he had just told his second aunt. Everyone was dumbfounded after hearing what he said.
I thought being an adulterer was the most shameless thing Zhou Xiaohe had ever done, but I didn't expect that she could be even more shameless!
Zhou Xiaohe felt like Chen Dahong was about to pull her scalp off. She bared her teeth, but still tried to excuse herself, "I didn't do it! Chen Dahong, don't slander me!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Dahong exerted even more force, wanting to grab her hair and lift her off the ground. "You didn't have it? How dare you say you didn't?! Didn't Chen Erzhu have the twenty yuan you gave him? Doesn't Chen Sanzhu know about this? Zhou Xiaohe, you're such a vicious person! I just argued with you for a few words, and you took away my work points. Now you want to ruin my reputation!"
At this point, she turned to everyone and said loudly, "Everyone, listen to me! Zhou Xiaohe did it on purpose when she erased my work points last time! She used illness as an excuse, but she really just wanted me to go hungry! Let's all go to the brigade headquarters and see. This is definitely not the first time Zhou Xiaohe has done this. Let's have the scorekeepers take out the old scorebooks and look through them one by one to uncover all the sins Zhou Xiaohe has committed!"
Everyone was just shocked when they heard what happened first. After all, Zhou Xiaohe was targeting Chen Dahong, and after all he said, it had nothing to do with them. But the next incident was closely related to the entire village, and everyone responded immediately after hearing it. Some people were almost furious just by hearing it, and they didn't need any evidence. They directly believed what Chen Dahong said. Looking at Zhou Xiaohe again, their eyes were filled with anger.
Someone spat at her, right on Zhou Xiaohe's face. Zhou Xiaohe's whole body froze. She looked at the person who spat at her in disbelief, and her eyes unconsciously revealed a bit of resentment.
The man was startled, then he laughed and quickly called out to the people around him, "Look, look! Zhou Xiaohe is glaring at me. Oh my god, she wanted to kill me just now, but unfortunately, you don't have that chance!"
His companion rushed home and took out the rope that they had used to tie up pigs in the past. He walked up to Chen Dahong and said, "Sister Dahong, use this to tie her up. You must be so tired of pulling like this all the time. Come on, come on, give us a hand and tie a pig's trotter buckle for her!"
A group of people rushed over, and Zhou Xiaohe knelt on the ground in humiliation, her hands tightly tied behind her back. During this time, she raised her eyes and saw the three children standing outside the crowd. In fact, when she heard what Chen Dahong said just now, she had already realized that her conversation with Chen Sanzhu yesterday had been heard by Chu Jiujiu, and this was Chu Jiujiu's revenge on her.
That day on the mountain, after Zhou Xiaohe found out that it was Chu Jiujiu who did it, she hated Chu Jiujiu so much that she really wanted to break her thin neck the next second. However, now, she found out again that it was Chu Jiujiu who harmed her, and she couldn't hate her anymore.
Because she was afraid.
Rather than hating the person who brought her to this point, she was more afraid of the jail time that awaited her next.
He was taken to the brigade headquarters covered in dust. The brigade leader had already been invited out by Chen Dahong's parents, and his second aunt had also come. He felt very unbelievable when he heard what his second aunt said.
No way, Zhou Xiaohe...how could she do such a thing?
But then he thought again, if he had not seen Chen Sanzhu and Zhou Xiaohe coming out of the thatched hut one after another with his own eyes, he would never have imagined that Zhou Xiaohe, who seemed to be filial and family-oriented, could actually do such a thing as stealing someone.
The captain was in a mess. He was afraid of wrongly accusing Zhou Xiaohe and wronging Chen Dahong. Moreover, if this was true, it would be too terrible.
No, Zhao Qianjin must be called over.
He turned his head and told Chen Jiefang: "Hurry up and go to the militia company and call Qianjin. Zhou Xiaohe is his wife, so he has to come over no matter what."
Chen Jiefang nodded quickly. Just as he was about to leave, he turned back and asked, "Captain, do you want to bring Chen Erzhu with you?"
The captain slapped his forehead and said, "How could I forget about him? Bring him here! Bring him here too! Let's figure out what's going on today!"
Before Chen Jiefang turned around, Zhang Qingfa asked again, "Captain, Chen Erzhu has been called here, but where is Chen Sanzhu?"
Captain: "What does this have to do with Chen Sanzhu?"
Zhang Qingfa: "He and Zhou Xiaohe have that kind of relationship, maybe he knows about it."
Captain: “…”
How can one describe the chaos?
Rubbing his brow, the captain waved his hand tiredly, "Jiefang, go get Captain Zhao and Chen Erzhu. Qingfa, go find Chen Sanzhu. That bastard, we don't even know where he's hiding."
The two deputy captains went out, and the captain was pacing anxiously in the room. Over there, Chen Dahong's mother was wiping her tears, and Chen Dahong's father was sighing continuously, which made the captain want to sigh as well.
Although Chen Dahong has a bad temper, she is not a reckless person. She can speak with details and evidence, so this matter is most likely true. It is scary. A vicious person like Zhou Xiaohe has lived in the same village with them for more than ten years. It is too terrifying!
A short while later, Chen Dahong arrived at the team headquarters with Zhou Xiaohe in tow. As soon as she stepped through the threshold and opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, the team leader interrupted her: "Deputy Captains Chen and Zhang are out looking for people. They'll bring Chen Erzhu and Chen Sanzhu here soon. Don't worry, Dahong. If this is true, I'll definitely take care of it for you."
So please, auntie, please don't ever say things like "I'll die by hitting my head against the door" again.
After hearing this, Chen Dahong shut up silently and walked aside to comfort her parents.
The victim was sitting here, while Zhou Xiaohe was tied up and kneeling on the ground. She lowered her head, said nothing, and no one knew what she was thinking.
Chen Jiefang came back the fastest. The militia company was not far away, and Captain Zhao was training the militia in the company. Chen Jiefang was cautious and did not tell him what had happened specifically. He only said that the captain asked him to take Chen Erzhu to the team headquarters.
Captain Zhao was also a very honest person. He didn't ask any questions and then brought Chen Erzhu over. It was not until he entered the door and saw Zhou Xiaohe kneeling on the ground with disheveled hair that he was stunned.
Zhao Qianjin hadn't seen Zhou Xiaohe for three days, but during those three days, he couldn't stop thinking about them. Every word Zhou Xiaohe said that day was like a knife, stabbing his heart, making him feel guilty and painful. It was true that Zhou Xiaohe had let him down, but he also let Zhou Xiaohe down.
So, he thought, why not just let it go.
Divorced women have a bad reputation, and she is old, so it would be difficult for her to find someone else. It would be better to just leave it as it is. After all, they have been nominally husband and wife for more than ten years, so the next few decades won't make a difference.
If this hadn't happened, he would have gone home in a few days. He wouldn't have mentioned this matter again, and neither would Zhou Xiaohe. Slowly, their lives would have returned to their previous peace.
Unfortunately, this word is a false proposition.
Zhao Qianjin asked: "What's going on?"
Zhou Xiaohe's shoulders trembled when she heard his voice. Chu Jiujiu had nothing to do with what was happening here, so she stood outside the house like everyone else. Seeing Zhou Xiaohe's reaction, she blinked slightly.
Chen Dahong hated Zhao Qianjin and his wife. When she heard Zhao Qianjin asking what was going on, she immediately retorted, "You tell me what's going on? Ask your good wife, Captain Zhao. You're the captain of our village's militia, but you knew there was a beast in your house? She wants to kill me. If I die, what will happen to my parents? How will my parents-in-law survive? She wants to kill our whole family!"
Chu Jiujiu: “…”
At first, the goal was to kill Chen Dahong alone, but not long after, the inflation became so severe that it threatened to kill their entire family.
But it's true.
The captain glanced at Chen Dahong with a headache. He walked over and told Captain Zhao what had happened. After he finished speaking, without even looking at Captain Zhao's expression, he turned around and asked Chen Erzhu, "Chen Erzhu, I have a question for you. Tell me the truth. Was it Zhou Xiaohe who asked you to go to Chen Dahong's house?"
Chen Erzhu has been beaten every day these days, and his already poor brain has become even worse. He looked at the captain blankly, as if he didn't understand what he meant.
Zhou Xiaohe didn't hear his answer, but she finally felt relieved. She spoke in a hoarse voice, "I said, I didn't."
"Just because I'm with other men, you think I'm the one who did all the bad things?"
Zhou Xiaohe's voice grew increasingly hoarse, sounding extremely desperate. "I'm also a human being. You're slandering me like this, aren't you afraid of divine punishment?"
Chen Dahong: "Bah! New China doesn't believe in ghosts and gods. Even if there really is a God, you can rest assured that he will definitely kill you first!"
After saying that, Chen Dahong ran to Chen Erzhu and said, "Chen Erzhu, is there someone behind you? Tell me now. If you tell me, the captain will let you go!"
Captain: “…” He didn’t say that!
Having said that, he did not refute and just looked at Chen Erzhu silently. However, after listening to him, Chen Erzhu still looked confused. He looked at Zhou Xiaohe who was kneeling on the ground, but never opened his mouth to speak.
Chu Jiujiu watched anxiously. In a flash, she remembered that Chen Erzhu had reacted last time because Han Shengyi had threatened him that he would be shot. She rolled her eyes and suddenly spoke loudly, "We can't let him go, Captain! Don't we have to keep him and shoot him?"
Chu Jiujiu's voice was definitely the voice that Zhou Xiaohe hated the most. When he heard her speak, Zhou Xiaohe turned his head away instantly. At this time, Chen Erzhu heard the word "shoot to death" and squatted down in fear. In the past few days, someone had always waved a gun in front of him, and his spirit was on the verge of collapse.
"Don't shoot me! You, you shoot her! She made me do this. She gave me money and asked me to find a wife. She's so mean. If I don't do it, she'll let Sanzhu beat me up!"
Zhou Xiaohe and Chen Sanzhu had conspired in the past, and when they finally asked Chen Erzhu for help, Chen Erzhu said that she was particularly fierce. In fact, it was something that happened in the past, but after he said it incoherently, it seemed as if Zhou Xiaohe not only bribed him, but also threatened him.
Zhou Xiaohe opened his eyes wide and screamed, "No! You're lying, I never did that. Why did you want to hurt me?"
Chu Jiujiu frowned as she watched this. Even at this time she still didn't forget to find a way to clear herself of the matter. She was truly an indestructible cockroach.
The ghost lingers.
Hearing her scream, Chen Erzhu became even more frightened and wanted to bury his head in his crotch. Seeing this, Chen Dahong immediately pointed at Zhou Xiaohe and said, "Okay, you still dare to quibble! Fine, I see you won't give up until you reach the Yellow River. Where's the scorekeeper? Has he found the scorebook?"
The scorer came back with a thick stack of scorebooks. These scorebooks were placed in the village archives. It was called an archives room, but it was actually a storage room with all kinds of things in it, including files, farm tools, and large wheels replaced from tractors. Every year, the scorer would throw the scorebooks in after recording them. Who would have thought that there would be a time to pick them up again? With everyone's help, he finally found all the scorebooks for the past four years. As soon as the scorer walked to the door, he heard Chen Dahong calling him.
He quickly came over with the scorebook. "Here it is, from 1966 to this year, it's all here. Zhou Xiaohe only helps out during the busy farming season, so you just need to flip through those few pages."
After that, the scorer helped to find the date. Chen Dahong and several young people who could read worked together to find something wrong in the scorebooks. Seeing this, Chu Jiujiu also ran over. The team leader wanted to ask her to stay aside, but Chu Jiujiu raised her head and blinked her eyes to tell him that she had been to school and could read. The team leader was struck by a realization and stopped stopping her.
Chu Shao also walked over, but Han Shengyi's status was not good enough, so he just watched from the side.
Soon, someone started shouting, "There's a black spot here! Look, there's a mark on it, and it says 2."
"Oh my god, two work points were wiped out in one go!"
"Wait, I have some too. This number doesn't look right. There were so many at the beginning, but why are there five missing at the end..."
"Oh! I see. She added a dash under the 7, and it became a 2!"
"What year is yours from?"
"66, what about you?"
"I'm 68."
Onlookers: "..."
Zhou Xiaohe, you are getting more cautious every year. At the beginning, you changed five work points for others. Later, you were afraid of being discovered, so you changed them half at a time. You are really amazing!
After Chu Jiujiu heard the difference in years, she put down the one from 1967 and turned to look at the one from 1968. Sure enough, this time she finally found it. It was the same one as Chu Shao's, with the number changed from 1 to 0, and there was more than one.
Chu Jiujiu quickly raised it up and showed it to Chen Dahong. Chen Dahong looked at it for a long time before he understood what she had done.
She quickly told everyone about Chu Jiujiu's discovery. At this moment, a woman suddenly rushed up and tried to tear Zhou Xiaohe's mouth. "I'm going to fight you! Zhou Xiaohe, I treated you as a good sister, and this is how you treat me? I gave you so many eggs, and you ate them all! Give them back to me, give me back my work points and my eggs!"
One mistake can be said to be unintentional, but what about dozens of mistakes piled up for four consecutive years?
What's more, the "error" here is to change a good number into another one. For this, can Zhou Xiaohe also say that she did this because she was too seriously ill?
The commotion over there had distracted everyone here, so they didn't notice Chu Jiujiu pick up the scorebook she had just finished this year and quickly flipped to the page where Chu Shao's work points had been altered. She took a deep breath, suddenly opened her mouth, and shouted at the top of her lungs: "Chu Shao! Look! Your work points have been altered too!"
Chu Shao: “…”
His acting skills were not as good as Chu Jiujiu's or Han Shengyi's. After hearing Chu Jiujiu's shocked voice, he frowned for a second and asked, "Where?"
Chu Jiujiu's voice was so penetrating that it almost resonated with the head. In an instant, everyone looked at her. She pointed at the mark of the alteration and continued loudly, "It's right here. Look, she changed your one and a half centimeters into half a work point. Oh my God!"
Putting down the scorebook, Chu Jiujiu ran to Zhou Xiaohe in disbelief: "Aunt, didn't you say that you loved Chu Shao and me the most? Why did you do this? You and our mother are good friends. It was you who took her up the mountain on the day she had the accident. How could you do this!"
Zhou Xiaohe: “…”
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