Chapter 23
Zhao Hongmei looked at Cheng Xing's face in disbelief as if struck by lightning.
Once the seeds of doubt are planted, they will take root, sprout, and eventually grow into towering trees. The more she looked, the more panicked she became, as if the sky was about to fall.
Zhou Shangmin's hand holding the cigarette was shaking like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind, purely out of anger.
If the village's thirty worker quotas were lost because of these two idiots, Zhou Shangmin would want to tear them apart.
Furthermore, depriving someone of their wealth is like killing their parents. If the families who signed up knew about this, they would probably drown the mother and child in spit. He had the opportunity to work as a worker and improve his family's life, but if he had to go back to the fields to make a living, he didn't dare to think about the villagers' reaction.
Zhou Shangmin made a prompt decision. With a fierce look on his face, he forced out a few words through his teeth: "Call the police, call the police immediately."
The village cadre trotted out to make a phone call.
To be honest, Zhou Shangmin didn't want to do this either. He hoped to resolve this internally, as family disgrace shouldn't be aired publicly. But looking at Tao Zhi's attitude, if he didn't call the police first and waited for Tao Zhi to report it herself, it would be even harder to move on.
Zhao Hongmei wanted to go over to stop them, but the militia company commander grabbed her arm. She kept scratching the ground with her feet, but she couldn't move forward.
She cried and made a scene, shouting, "You can't call the police, village chief, you can't call the police."
Zhou Shangmin ignored her. He turned to face Tao Zhi, put on a big smile and said, "Don't worry, sister. I promise you that our village will never tolerate such indiscriminate and hurtful behavior. We will definitely give you justice."
They were all smart people. As soon as Village Chief Zhou made a move, Tao Zhi knew what he wanted, but she didn't show it on her face.
At this time, a white-haired old man stumbled in, carrying a bamboo basket on his back.
Tao Zhi was afraid that he would fall to the ground in the next second.
As soon as Zhao Hongmei saw him, she immediately stopped throwing a tantrum. She was now sincere, tears and snot streaming down her face as she pleaded bitterly, "Uncle Eight, please help take care of Dongzi. He's been cut by someone and there's blood all over the floor."
Tao Zhi took a look and saw that Dongzi had already stopped bleeding, but there were some bloodstains on the ground and his body, which looked a bit scary. As early as when the sickle cut Dongzi, Tao Zhi had already controlled the force.
She stood in front of Dongzi and said with a cold smile: "Let me remind you that he drew it himself. Don't try to put the blame on others."
Zhao Hongmei was almost mad: "Go away, don't block Uncle Ba's treatment."
"Want to treat his injuries? Sure, but you have to get past me first."
"What do you want to do?"
"It's very simple. Just answer a few questions and be honest. Don't lie."
Zhou Shangmin wanted to say, "Human life is at stake..." but was stopped by Tao Zhi's look.
Zhao Hongmei was furious: "My son is still lying on the ground. Can't you say it later?"
Tao Zhi's voice deepened: "If I hadn't been alert, maybe the person lying there now would be my daughter."
Tao Zhi's gaze was as sharp as a knife, as if tempered with ice. Zhao Hongmei couldn't help but shiver.
"What do you want to ask?"
Tao Zhi pointed at Dong Zi and asked, "What does he want to do with the sickle?"
Zhao Hongmei said impatiently: "Didn't you see it? You just want to teach them a lesson."
"What level of lesson?"
"How should I know that?"
Tao Zhi nodded: "That's right." She turned around and kicked Dongzi, who screamed "Ah".
Zhao Hongmei was furious: "What are you doing?" She burst out with a burst of supernatural power from somewhere and broke free from the control of the militia captain.
She rushed to Dongzi's side and checked his body up and down to see if he was injured anywhere.
Tao Zhi looked down at him and said, "Since you don't know, I can only ask someone who knows."
"Zhao Jun said, scratch the bitch's face," Zhao Hongmei answered honestly. She began to feel scared. Tao Zhi was a cruel and ruthless person.
Tao Zhi squatted down and looked into her eyes: "How much benefit did Zhao Jun give you?"
"Half of his savings."
"Oh~ How much is that?"
Zhao Hongmei looked around and saw no one coming to save her. She gritted her teeth and said, "Fifteen thousand."
Gasps echoed, shocking even the village officials. Fifteen thousand yuan—in a rural area, that amount would take at least ten years to save, even if there were workers in the family.
Fifteen thousand yuan is enough to build a house. It can be said that anyone with this amount of money can walk around the village with impunity. No wonder Dongzi is willing to take such a risk.
Tao Zhi then asked, "Did you get the money?"
Zhao Hongmei shook her head frantically: "No, no."
"You're working so hard even though you don't have money?"
"The money is all with Chen Xiaoyan. As long as we find her, we can get the money."
Tao Zhi sneered: "How are you going to take it?"
"Zhao Jun said that women will behave themselves after a beating. By then, her face will be all bruised, so how can she dare to run around?"
"One last question, did you really recognize the wrong person?"
Cheng Xing stood by the window, facing the backlight. The sunlight fell on her, as if covering her with a layer of radiance, making her look particularly bright and dazzling.
Zhao Hongmei nodded vigorously. "It's really not our fault for admitting our mistake. Zhao Jun always said that Cheng Xing was as thin as a bamboo pole, with not a pound of flesh on his face or body, and he looked miserable. Chen Xiaoyan is different. Her face is white and bright, not fat or thin, and her figure is very blessed."
Tao Zhi thought about it and realized that Cheng Xing was indeed a completely different person before and after the divorce.
"Just based on this, you can recognize the wrong person?"
"Zhao Jun said that Chen Xiaoyan has curly hair, likes to wear small clips, and likes to wear bell-bottom pants and small leather shoes. When I looked at it, I realized that everything matched. And she looked familiar. Didn't I make a mistake?" Zhao Hongmei still felt sad. She saw the money she had in her hands fly away.
When Cheng Xing heard this, he immediately took off his shoes and kicked them into the corner.
Tao Zhi now believed it. With their intelligence, it was not surprising that they had mistaken someone for someone else.
She stood up, loosened her grip, and signaled Uncle Eight that he could examine Dongzi.
Tao Zhi walked to the corner, picked up the shoes, and handed them to Cheng Xing: "Fashionable people wear them like this. She has never seen the world. Haven't you seen them in the city?"
Cheng Xing thought about it and agreed. She took the shoes, wiped her feet, and put them on again.
Tao Zhi acted as if she wasn't paying attention. She said casually, "Zhao Jun is so smart, how could he be deceived?"
When Zhao Hongmei heard her nephew being praised, she let down her guard and said viciously, "Chen Xiaoyan, that bitch, is using the pretext of marriage to demand this and that. If it's not available in the city, she has to go to the next town to buy it. Xiaojun is also stupid. He goes to work obediently whenever he's asked. When he heard the suit was ready, he eagerly took a bus to get it. But when he got home, everything was empty except for the bed frame."
Tao Zhi managed to hold back her laughter. She cleared her throat and asked, "What if it was stolen by a thief?"
Zhao Hongmei snorted, "The neighbors all said they saw Chen Xiaoyan hiring someone to move out. She said she was getting married and was moving in with her partner."
Those who cuckold others will always be cuckolded. Tao Zhi just didn't expect retribution to come so quickly. She had a hard time suppressing her laughter, so she turned around and covered her mouth with her hands to laugh secretly.
Zhao Hongmei felt relieved when Uncle Eight was around. She got so excited about chatting and gossiping that she couldn't control her mouth.
She asked Cheng Xing: "Why did Xiaojun want to divorce you?"
Tao Zhi shook her head at Cheng Xing and quickly continued, "At that time, Cheng Xing was working and his salary was very low, not even enough for living expenses."
Zhao Hongmei suddenly realized: "No wonder you were so thin back then."
She suddenly changed the subject: "Could it be that you are unlucky with Xiaojun? He said that his financial luck started to improve after his divorce."
Tao Zhi agreed with her: "That's possible. Did Zhao Jun tell us how he made his fortune?"
Zhao Hongmei beamed with joy: "Xiaojun has been promoted to truck driver. With salary and extra money, he can make around 1,000 or 2,000 yuan a month."
Tao Zhi scoffed. Zhao Jun could drive? Why didn't she believe it? If Zhao Jun had the money to learn to drive, she would take her head off and kick it like a ball. Perhaps this money came from selling Cheng Xing's dowry.
"But you just said that he has no money to eat?"
Zhao Hongmei cursed, "It was that bitch who sent a letter of denunciation, saying Xiaojun had coerced and bribed her, bullying her, a married woman. When the factory investigated, they found out she really hadn't divorced and that Xiaojun was living with her again. A lot of people knew about it. They couldn't hide it anymore, so the factory took Xiaojun to the police station, and he lost his job. This vicious woman, don't you think she deserves to die?"
Tao Zhi was overjoyed in her heart, but she couldn't show it, so she just kept agreeing: "Yes, yes, you're right."
Tao Zhi no longer cared about what Zhao Hongmei said next.
Dongzi's wound needed professional dressing, and he had been sent to the clinic. When the police arrived, they took Zhao Hongmei with them and then went to pick up Dongzi.
Tao Zhi and Cheng Xing, as the parties involved, as well as Zhou Shangmin and the militia captain, also had to go to the police station together.
There was a three-wheeled motorcycle in the village, and Village Chief Zhou suggested that he and Tao Zhiyi go over there.
Considering that Zhou Shangmin did not protect Dongzi, Tao Zhi readily agreed to Village Chief Zhou's request, mainly because she was fed up with that van.
After taking the statement, Village Chief Zhou asked Tao Zhi, "Sister, do you want me to take you home?"
Since they were already in the city, it would be very convenient to go home, so Tao Zhi waved her hand to refuse.
Village Chief Zhou rubbed his hands, a little embarrassed: "What about the recruitment quota?"
Tao Zhi pushed Cheng Xing forward: "You have to ask my daughter about this."
Cheng Xing pondered for a while before speaking, "Village Chief, let's proceed as usual."
Village Chief Zhou's heart had been hanging in the balance for a moment, but he was overjoyed when he heard this: "Hey, hey, thank you, Xiao Cheng. Don't worry, I will definitely help you manage these villagers and make sure they work hard. No one will dare to cheat or trip them up."
Cheng Xing's face flushed: "Thank you, Village Chief."
In fact, Tao Zhi had just instructed Cheng Xing to continue recruiting villagers. She said, "This is a great opportunity to win people's hearts. Don't miss it."
Moreover, upon learning of Zhao Jun's fate, Tao Zhi was so happy that she didn't even bother to hold Dong Zi responsible. Furthermore, Village Chief Zhou, who had been caught in trouble for no reason, and those innocent villagers were also at fault.
Tao Zhi noticed the village chief's discomfort and that he rarely interacted with the girl. She said, "We'll go back first. Take care, village chief." Then she strode away, and Cheng Xing and Xiao Liang hurried to follow.
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