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Ning Mancang was so angry at his youngest son that he felt a tightness in his chest. Pointing at his son who was walking away quickly, he yelled, "How dare you talk like that, you idiot? Are you even speaking human language? If I had known you were this kind of person, I would have drowned you in a chamber pot when you were born. You stupid thing who forgot his mother after getting married!"
Ning Jin let him curse, walking away without looking back. This only fueled Old Man Ning's anger. His eyes scanned the ground, and he picked up two clods of dirt, angrily throwing them at his heartless son, but he was too agitated and missed.
"Dad, that's enough, people are watching, stop yelling." Ning Lao Er pulled the old man back, stopping him from making a fool of himself.
"He's become arrogant and doesn't respect us anymore. For the past two years, he's been driving a sports car and has been away from home for long periods. Who raised Ping An? Wasn't it your mother and me who raised him?" Ning Mancang said indignantly. He never thought his youngest son would challenge his authority.
Ning Lao Er glanced at his younger brother, who was quickly disappearing from sight, and didn't respond to the old man's words. Thinking it over carefully, Xiao Wu hadn't taken advantage of the family at all. He was taken away by his grandparents before he was even a year old, and during the most difficult years of his life, he never came home for food. Compared to him and his eldest brother, Xiao Wu only had the dilapidated house left to him by his grandparents, but he hadn't asked his parents for money to marry either of his wives. He understood this in his heart, but because Xiao Wu took less from the family, he received more. Like this time when the family property was divided, his parents hadn't even thought of Xiao Wu, and he hadn't mentioned it to his eldest brother either.
"Let's go. Anyway, I rarely see him. If he doesn't want to help, fine. I'll just make a few more trips. Don't be angry." Ning Lao Er lowered his head to comfort the old man. If he hadn't seen his mother give birth to Xiao Wu with his own eyes, he would have suspected that Xiao Wu was adopted and that she treated his daughter better than his youngest son.
Ultimately, their relationship was shallow, and Ning Mancang, in a fit of anger, put the matter out of his mind, thinking that if they didn't want to associate with each other, then so be it; he didn't even think much of that family anyway.
"Hello, officer. I'd like to ask about the child abduction incident that happened a few nights ago. I'm the man from that family. I just got home and found out about it. Yesterday, the Xu family mother and son even came to my house to block the door and yell at me." Ning Jin took out a pack of Liqun cigarettes, opened it on the spot, and distributed it to everyone present.
Cigarettes are a rarity for heavy smokers. A middle-aged policeman took one, smelled it, and tucked it behind his ear. He said, "It's true that you wanted to snatch the child to sell, but Xu Laosan said he didn't climb over the wall at night to steal the child. His family also said he entered the town the afternoon before. The Cai siblings also said the delivery time was the afternoon before. Go back and ask your wife and child if there's any 'misunderstanding' in this."
"Stealing a child isn't enough to get a criminal sentence?" Ning Jin was a little flustered.
"It's enough, but he insists he was slashed and didn't climb over the wall to steal the child." To be honest, they were almost certain Xu Laosan was telling the truth because he was so detailed. But they couldn't find any evidence, and the story about Er Ya had already spread far and wide. Su Yu was in the newspapers, so investigating further wouldn't benefit anyone. Besides, several children injured someone, and he was the one who snatched the child first. Even if he didn't climb over the wall to steal the child, what could he do? He still couldn't escape the charge of child trafficking. That's why this matter has been dragging on without a resolution.
“He knows he won’t get a good outcome, so he’s trying to drag innocent people down with him.” Ning Jin handed out the rest of his cigarettes before finding out that he might be locked up for a while or sent to a farm for several years of reform.
He left the police station with a smile, but his face darkened as soon as he stepped outside. The punishment was too lenient; the rest of the Xu family might be secretly pleased, and they might cause trouble for Su Yu and Xiao Yuan again while he was away. He went to the school to find Ping An, telling him he had something to do at noon and wouldn't be home for lunch, and asked him to let his mother know. Then he went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy two packs of cigarettes, put them in his pocket, and headed to the Hongqi Brigade.
He found out where Xu Laoda worked, but when he got there, he didn't look for him. Instead, he told the people at his workplace what the Xu family had done, and then went to his superiors to report Xu Laoda for participating in the sale of his deceased second brother's son, implying that he had questionable conduct.
"Comrades, you all know that Xu Laoda's job was bought with Xu Laoer's life. Now he, along with his mother and younger brother, are trying to steal his nephew to sell for money. The police have already arrested Xu Laosan and the people who wanted to buy the child. How can your unit still employ people with corrupt thoughts and bad behavior?" He looked at Xu Laoda, who was running over with a bruised and swollen face, and continued, "Yesterday, he and his mother went to his remarried sister-in-law's house, blocked her at home and cursed her. They bullied women, took their money, and sold their children. This is living in the pre-liberation era, treating women and children like livestock to be bought and sold."
"Don't talk nonsense to me. I didn't know anything about what the third brother did. If I had known he did such an inhuman thing, I would have crippled him and wouldn't let him go." Xu Laoda hurriedly came to pull Ning Jin away, smiling apologetically at his leader while trying to drag him away.
"Pah!" Ning Jin shoved him against the wall, pointed at his bruised face, and said to the onlookers, "Look at his face, that's from the beating I gave him. He forced his remarried sister-in-law to change her story and rescue his third son who had stolen a child by climbing over the wall, and now he claims he didn't know anything about it. Leaders, see his true colors, he's a petty, vicious, and wicked person. You dare to employ someone like that? Is the unit short-staffed?" He pointed to the people around him and continued, "Any relative you could pick would be better than Boss Xu."
"Shut up!" When it came to work, Old Master Xu's eyes reddened, the veins on his hands bulged, and he gritted his teeth as he pushed Ning Jin out. Ning Jin followed his force and walked out the door. As soon as he was pushed out, Old Master Xu shouted, "If you don't believe me, just wait and see. Xu Laosan and the Cai siblings are still locked up in the police station, being interrogated by the police. Xu Laoda and his mother won't get away either. In the end, the whole family will have to go to the Great Northern Wilderness to farm."
As they exited the quarry, Ning Jin forcefully slammed the nearly exhausted man to the ground, threateningly saying, "I just got out of the police station. You family, just you wait. Once the police get information out of Xu Laosan, none of you will escape. Do you really think you can get away with it by sticking your guns on him not breaking into the house at night to steal the child?" Ning Jin leaned down and whispered, "Even if I have to peel off a layer of skin, I'll send you all in." He was implying that he had bribed officials and pulled strings.
"Brother, the child is fine. We won't go to your house anymore. Let it go. Making a scene won't do anyone any good. Let us off the hook. We'll never interfere in Xiao Yuan's affairs again." Old Xu said softly, but his mind was racing. Today's commotion had made his work quite troublesome. For the past few days, he had been explaining that he didn't know what the third brother had done. Just when things had calmed down, this man had caused a scene again.
Ning Jin pondered, wondering whether these words were credible.
His silence gave Xu Laoda hope. He got up and offered a cigarette with a fawning smile. Even after being refused, he didn't get discouraged. He said, "Really, I'll keep an eye on my mother from now on and make sure he doesn't go to your house anymore. We don't need any more children. Xiao Yuan can stay with his mother; we don't want him." As he said this, he remembered Su Yu's insistence on changing her household registration before she remarried. To increase his leverage, he continued, "Didn't Xiao Yuan's mother want to change Xiao Yuan's household registration? Come on, let's go now. I'll take you to the village secretary, and we can change the registration on the spot."
Ning Jin raised his eyelids, staring intently at him, his thoughts unclear. It was obvious he hadn't made up his mind, or was deciding whether to continue causing trouble. Taking advantage of his confusion, Old Xu grabbed his arm and pushed him away, hurriedly trying to pull him back to the village. "I'm not lying. Come on, let's get it done now. We don't care whether Xiao Yuan's surname is Xu, Ning, or Su. He's still young. If he changes his surname to yours, no one will doubt that he's your biological son when he grows up." He was making empty promises to Ning Jin, all for the sake of a stable life.
“You’re right, but…”
"As long as I'm right, there's nothing to worry about. Let's go quickly. Our village secretary is quite busy; it's not easy to find him."
Old Master Xu wished he could drag Ning Jin away, afraid that he would change his mind again. That brat Xiao Yuan was useless to him. He had only stopped him from transferring his household registration to make Su Yu unhappy. The Xu family was not short of sons and grandsons. If one died, he would lose one, but there would be many more. He would not lack children and grandchildren to visit his grave after he passed away.
"Is the village secretary home? I need to talk to you." Ignoring the barking old dog, Old Xu pushed open the door and went straight in. When he saw the village secretary come out, he quickly said, "Uncle, this is Xiao Yuan's stepfather. He's here to transfer his household registration. Can you stamp this for me so he can move the child's household registration and go to the town to work for the government?"
"Your mother's side..."
“She has no objection. No matter how far the child goes, he is still a member of the Xu family. We, as elders, should always consider his well-being.” Old Master Xu interrupted again, pulling one of them by the hand and leading them outside. “Come on, let’s hurry to the team to get a stamp, so as not to delay this young man’s lunch.”
"Zhang Zi is at home. If you've made up your minds, I'll write the certificate now," the old man said, looking back and forth between the two of them.
That would be perfect. He couldn't bear to waste even a second. He had to get rid of this troublemaker and rush back to the quarry to explain to his superiors that his job was easy and that many people were envious.
Ning Jin was clutching a piece of homework paper with a bright red stamp on it. Xu Laoda was carrying him back to town. Seeing the look on his face that said he wished he never saw him again, Ning Jin stopped and said, "I did go to the police station this morning."
"Brother Ning!" Old Xu exclaimed in shock. "I've already given you Xiao Yuan's household registration, why are you going back on your word?" As he spoke, his face tightened, and he looked furious, as if he had been tricked and wanted to jump up and hit someone immediately.
“Listen to me, what’s the rush? No matter how you look at it, I’m the one who’s losing out. If I were truly ruthless, I’d bribe my way into jail for you and your mother. The job and money Xu Lao Er got in exchange for his death all went to Xiao Yuan. Whether he transfers his household registration or not is up to him. I know Xu Lao Er left Xiao Yuan a house, which is worth a lot of money.” Ning Jin wasn’t going to take advantage of him. Seeing his face turn panicked and his mouth open and close but he didn’t say anything, he continued, “But Su Yu and I both have jobs, and we don’t care about the ten or so yuan a month at the quarry. I don’t want to push things too far, but the police are fair and just. Your third son has money, a house, children, and a family. If he goes to the farm for a few years of reform, do you think he’ll be afraid that his wife will remarry with her family’s wealth? Aren’t you worried that you’ll treat him the same way you treated your second son?”
“We all know the truth. He can’t possibly escape any punishment. Once the results are in, it’s hard to say whether he’ll go back on his word and drag you down with him. You’re brothers, you know what kind of person he is.” Ning Jin said, folding the paper and putting it in his pocket. “From now on, keep an eye on your mother and don’t let her cause trouble for Su Yu again. I won’t bother with your work anymore. I hope we won’t have the chance to meet again. Take care of yourself.”
Ning Jin started his journey back to town. After all that commotion, he was still hungry. Reflecting on the whole affair, he admired himself more and more. Tsk tsk, Su Yu was truly his mentor; spending time with smart people had made him smarter too. He'd learned to use work to threaten Boss Xu from Su Yu. He'd originally planned to use work to force Boss Xu to go to the police station and accuse Boss Xu of cheating. He hadn't thought about Xiao Yuan's household registration. Who knew plans would change so drastically? And the changes were even more perfect than expected. The best part was that he didn't get himself into any trouble. If Boss Xu was a little more ruthless, he might even think he was a soft-hearted, cowardly good person.
After returning to town, he went to a state-run restaurant for a bowl of vegetarian noodles. Instead of going home, he went straight to the street outside the police station and squatted there for half an afternoon in the cold wind. Finally, he saw Boss Xu with a righteous look on his face. He had only been in the police station for a short time, and when he came out again, he looked relaxed.
Ning Jin rubbed his face, got up, grabbed a piece of paper, and headed towards the police station. He bumped into Boss Xu and frowned at him. Sure enough, Boss Xu stopped him. "Brother Ning, are you going to change Xiao Yuan's household registration?" he asked nervously.
What's going on here?
"Sigh, I told a lot of lies to get Lao San off the hook before. After hearing what you said today, I've realized that people have to be a little selfish. Only when you're doing well can you take care of your brothers. That's why I'm here to tell the police the truth. Lao San should reform himself properly in the future. I hope he'll remember his lesson and come back to be an honest person." Boss Xu sighed deeply.
Ning Jin glanced at him, turned her face away with disdain, and walked towards the police station without saying a word.
"Pah, what a piece of trash! You think you can look down on people? If I were born to work for the government, would you, a piece of trash, be threatening me?" Old Xu cursed and swore as soon as he saw the man enter the police station.
Two days later, Xu Laosan's case was settled, and he was sent to a Northwest farm to reclaim wasteland for ten years. The Cai siblings were released after being detained for two or three months.
Su Yu secretly sighed at their good luck; if this had been delayed for another twelve years, there was a 90% chance that anyone who dared to commit this crime would have lost their life.
With Ning Jin and other matters settled, he handed Xiao Yuan's household registration to Su Yu, saying, "Here, Xiao Yuan's household registration has been transferred. I didn't change his surname; it's still Xu. It's good to keep it as a memento."
Su Yu was surprised and shocked to learn what he had done. This man was too transformative. He didn't complain about what she had done, but instead followed in her footsteps. She was busy with things at the orchard and had only written an anonymous letter to report Boss Xu.
She cupped his face in her hands, pouted her lips, and kissed him, making a loud "mwah" sound.
"Huh!"
"ah--"
The two turned around and saw two little brats standing at the door, oblivious to the fact that they didn't know how to cover their eyes.
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