Chapter 39
Let’s go back two days.
The noise bothered the whole family, especially Cheng Jin, who would burst into tears at the slightest provocation, much to the family's dismay. Tao Zhi and several neighbors went to the neighborhood committee to demand an explanation, but they said the situation was legal and they had no right to intervene.
Tao Zhi was so angry that she wanted to do it herself, stretch her muscles, and take the man to the hospital.
Fortunately, Wen Xu brought a stack of information. The more Tao Zhi flipped through it, the brighter her eyes became. She said to Wen Xu, "This is a sure thing."
Tao Zhi's best friend, the principal of her hometown, called to urge her: "There's only one month left, why don't you let Cheng Man come back to study for the exam?"
Coincidentally, Cheng Man’s tutors all resigned one by one, so she could leave at any time.
Tao Zhi had no attachment to this city. Somehow, City S became her favorite, so she started to consider moving.
The board factory had officially been handed over to Dongshan Village, and Cheng Hui and Cheng Xing's work had come to an end. They were bored staying in the city, so Tao Zhi asked them to go back with her to spend some time with their father and sister, and to spend some time with their children.
Except for Sister Chen from the kitchen and the young man Zhao Zihao, everyone else resigned. Tao Zhi generously paid them three salaries, and everyone was delighted.
So, after Zhao Zihao sent his family back to the county town, Tao Zhi and Sister Chen were the only two people left in the villa.
On the day when the news was making headlines, it was late at night and the place was quiet, even the dogs were not barking, but the phone at Tao Zhi's house rang.
Tao Zhi picked up the phone and said "Hello" twice, but the other party didn't respond and hung up.
Just as Tao Zhi was about to fall asleep, her phone rang again. She rolled over, unwilling to answer. But the person on the other end wouldn't give up, calling and calling, the ringing ringing non-stop. Tao Zhi got up and just picked up the phone when a barrage of curses erupted from the other end.
"Click", this time it was Tao Zhi who hung up first. She put the receiver aside and didn't put the phone back on.
Without the annoying ringtone, I was finally able to have a good sleep.
The next morning, Sister Chen came in and saw Tao Zhi. Without saying a word, she took Tao Zhi and left.
When they reached the gate, she pointed at the wall and said, "Look."
A rooster with its head twisted off, its neck limp and tilted to one side, had somehow gotten caught on a branch. The wind blew and it swayed, looking quite scary.
The flowers that were swaying on the branches, so beautiful and gorgeous, are now bleeding dark red blood, like a silent warning.
Sister Chen leaned in and sniffed it, "It's chicken blood."
Tao Zhi was very calm. She went back to the house, took out her camera, took a few pictures of the tree, and then walked to the gate to see what was waiting for her outside the wall.
As expected, the outer wall was splashed with red, which flowed out in patches. Coupled with the messy footprints on the ground, it looked like some kind of crime scene.
Tao Zhi was helpless: "Call the police."
Familiar faces, familiar procedures, Tao Zhi has become very familiar with it, and everything seems so normal.
That night, Tao Zhi rested as usual. She unplugged the phone line and slept until dawn.
As soon as she went downstairs in the morning, she ran into Sister Chen, who had dark circles under her eyes and was slumped on the sofa, yawning constantly.
"Didn't you sleep well last night?" Tao Zhi was confused.
Sister Chen was also surprised: "Teacher Tao, didn't you hear it last night?"
"What did you hear?"
Sister Chen stood up and said, "The window was smashed."
Then she pushed open her door, pointed at the sparkling glass outside the window and said, "I was sleeping soundly last night when suddenly there was a loud noise that woke me up. I heard ticking, as if something was knocking on the window. I opened the curtains and saw a large piece of glass sliding down. It almost scared me to death."
Tao Zhi looked out the window. What Sister Chen said was right. She turned around and went upstairs.
When Cheng Xing opened the door, a gust of wind blew in her face like two slaps. The glass window, nearly half the size of the wall, was shattered. The wind rushed in, sending objects flying everywhere and causing papers to rustle on the table.
Tao Zhi went downstairs again. In a corner of the garden, the ground was covered with broken glass. The finest pieces, in the sunlight, looked like crystal clear teardrops.
Tao Zhi's fists hardened. Some people really only remember the food and not the beating. Their methods are as vulgar as ever. Do they think this kind of thing can scare her? Dream on!
There have been wars of words in the newspapers every day recently, and every newspaper is filled with smoke of war. Some people do not take the opportunity to hold on to their official hats, but even have the leisure to come out and cause trouble for others.
Since some people are not afraid of being investigated, Tao Zhi is ready to add fuel to the fire.
Anyway, everyone in her family was back home, and that was her territory. She had nothing to fear even if the king of heaven came. Tao Zhi was now completely relieved. She could finally let go and have fun.
Tao Zhi went to the landlord and said, "Sister Yin, I'm afraid there's no room for me."
Sister Yin was shocked. "What happened?"
Tao Zhi lowered her head, tears streaming down her face like pearls from a broken string. She sobbed, "We businesspeople are very particular about feng shui. I immediately fell in love with your house and thought it must be a prime location. You see, I signed a three-year contract."
It’s been less than a year, Sister Yin must remember it.
"But Sister Yin, our family has never had a good life since we moved in. My son's factory was sold, my daughter was forced to drop out of school, and now even someone came to my house and smashed the windows. If the aim had been a little off, I'm afraid I would be dead now." Tao Zhi said sobbingly.
"What? Someone is smashing the window?" Sister Yin immediately understood the key point.
"Yes, it happened last night." Tao Zhi looked very scared.
Sister Yin couldn't sit still any longer: "I'll go with you to take a look."
As soon as she reached the courtyard wall and saw half of it painted red, Sister Yin's pupils began to constrict. Then she entered the garden, and the rooster was still hanging there, bobbing up and down, which frightened Sister Yin. She patted her chest to calm her nerves, turned her head and looked at the house. The hole in the half-open window on the second floor ignited her true anger.
"Xiao Tao, you...you...what on earth did you do?"
When talking about this, Tao Zhi's tears started to flow again.
"Sister Yin, the news these past two days has been circulating everywhere. Have you seen it?"
"The one from the Education Bureau?"
Tao Zhi nodded gently: "My daughter is the victim."
"Where is she? Let me see."
Tao Zhi couldn't stop feeling sad: "The whole family, young and old, were forced to return to their hometown."
Sister Yin wanted to ask, "Why didn't you go back?" Then she thought, since the case hadn't been decided yet, maybe they had to keep someone here. If Tao Zhi went back, no one would rent her apartment. So, Sister Yin changed the subject: "Did you call the police?"
Tao Zhi choked up several times: "I reported the incident as soon as it happened, and the police came. But Sister Yin, let me be frank. Since my daughter got into trouble, because I called the police, our family has become what it is today." She couldn't help sobbing after saying this.
Sister Yin's words were choked to the point of choking. She had originally blamed Xiao Tao, believing it was all her fault. But after hearing what she had heard in the newspaper, she knew it wasn't Xiao Tao's fault. The mess around here showed that the person who had done something wrong hadn't repented, completely disregarding the law and acting recklessly.
Sister Yin comforted Tao Zhi: "I'll take care of catching the thief. You can just stay at home and relax."
Tao Zhi's eyes welled up with tears: "How can I trouble you?"
Sister Yin patted her and said, "It's not a big deal. My child is in charge of this."
Tao Zhi sniffed and said in a muffled voice, "Sister Yin, thank you in advance. I'll treat you to dinner next time."
Sister Yin waved her hand and pointed at the courtyard wall: "No need to eat, I'll have someone come and clean up next afternoon."
Tao Zhi saw her out and said, "I'll tell you as soon as I have good news."
Sister Chen was standing by and was amazed. Only then did she realize that Teacher Tao's decision not to let her clean up had such a purpose.
Seeing her like that, Tao Zhi smiled and explained to her, "Think about it, anyone who can live here is either powerful or rich. Sister Yin doesn't even like this place and rents it out, so you can imagine her family background. What's more, she's an old lady who was born and raised here. Not to mention anything else, her relatives alone could be counted as a whole. Those people bullied me because I was from another place, thinking I had no one to rely on, and they didn't think about why I paid such a high price to rent this house."
Sister Chen nodded in confusion.
Tao Zhi smiled and said, "Besides, for a woman, showing weakness appropriately is not a bad thing."
She took out the small hoe she used to plant flowers and said calmly to Sister Chen, "This chicken has done a lot of good things. Let's chant the mantra for it and then bury it."
**
The lawyer Tao Zhi had met previously introduced her to a colleague with experience and connections, a senior lawyer with a near-unbeatable record in litigation.
Under the guidance of their lawyer, Wen Xu and Officer Yuan achieved significant breakthroughs in their investigation and evidence collection. Wen Xu's keen sense of touch enabled him to anticipate danger, while Officer Yuan's agility ensured their safe escape. Working seamlessly together, the two leveraged their strengths to obtain crucial information time and again, ensuring that every piece of evidence was sourced legally and readily available.
With the help of a lawyer, Tao Zhi submitted a criminal appeal to the court, accusing Director Guo's daughter Guo Ying of intentionally injuring Cheng Man and causing her skull fracture, and attached all medical evidence and a list of witnesses.
At the same time, they accused the police station of poor handling of the case, reported the case handlers for favoritism and abuse of power, and asked their superiors to supervise the case.
Officer Yuan's niece and other classmates who had been bullied also joined together to sue Guo Ying.
The students whose places were replaced also took Secretary Sun to court.
Tao Zhi researched newspapers and found two journalists covering politics and law who were renowned for their investigative reporting. She asked a reporter she had worked with to connect her with them, and she got their work phone numbers.
As soon as she got home, she started making calls. "Hello, Reporter Song. I don't know if you've been following the news a few days ago, but I'm the person involved in the allegations of bribery against Director Sun from the Education Bureau. I have evidence of Director Guo, Director Sun's husband, abusing his power, embezzling money, and bribing. It includes photos, recordings, and written testimony. Are you interested?"
Reporter Song's heart was pounding. This was big news that had landed right on his doorstep.
"But," Tao Zhi changed the subject, "I can't guarantee whether there will be retaliation once this news comes out."
Reporter Song thought about the editor-in-chief's attitude. He didn't even have the chance to get his story published, let alone whether he would retaliate. His mind raced, and he actually found someone. Reporter Song calmed Tao Zhi down, "I'll make a call. Keep this news for me."
Tao Zhi was also very happy, "No problem."
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