Hearing that her eldest son had taken action, Grandma Yan gradually relaxed and sat down next to Yan Xiaonan: "My dear child, do you remember what your uncle said?"
Yan Xiaonan nodded: "Grandma, don't worry, Nannan is very smart, she'll remember."
Yan Daqiang, dressed in a crisp military uniform, stood at the entrance of the courtyard. His imposing demeanor silenced the chattering villagers who had been gossiping without a care in the world.
Only then did they belatedly realize that they had forgotten that the Yan family had a military officer, especially since this officer had selflessly helped their village protect their crops.
Yan Daqiang said to the village chief, "Village Chief Ma, I now fully understand what it means to pick up chopsticks to eat and then curse them after putting them down. Mushroom Village has given me a vivid lesson."
Village Chief Ma's face turned bright red, and his gaze towards his villagers began to turn fierce. The villagers all lowered their heads, but their desire for meat made them resentful.
Xuemei's parents, brother, and sister-in-law never expected that there was a soldier in the Yan family. If someone complained that they were bullying a military family, they would be in deep trouble.
The two older brothers and sisters-in-law took the children and retreated several steps, at least seven or eight steps away from their parents, as if they could escape that way.
Yan Daqiang saw this and sneered inwardly, thinking that this kind of scum dared to come and beg for money.
"You must be Chen Xuemei's parents. Which of you can tell me whether the twenty catties of cornmeal my mother gave you was from selling your own child or from my mother's dowry for Dongnan's marriage?"
Xuemei's father found it difficult to answer; a wrong answer could cause trouble. But he forgot he had a useless teammate. Xuemei's mother, without thinking, loudly proclaimed:
"It was that heartless old woman from the Yan family who tricked me into selling my girl with twenty catties of cornmeal. I didn't want to sell her, but I couldn't resist that old hag's deception."
When Yan Daqiang heard this woman dare to curse his mother as an old hag, his eyes turned fierce, and he couldn't hide the murderous intent on his face.
Xuemei's father was so frightened that his heart almost jumped out of his chest. He kicked Xuemei's mother in the lower back, making her scream. Just as he was about to curse, he heard Yan Daqiang's imposing voice:
"Yan Xiaoqiang, go to the town's public security bureau immediately to report the case. This couple is trafficking children. We have all the evidence, both witnesses and physical evidence. Have them come over right away." He then handed over his military officer's ID.
"Show this to the police officers; I am the one who reported the case."
Yan Xiaoqiang took the officer's ID card, carefully hid it in his inner shirt pocket, and rode his bicycle quickly toward the town.
Xuemei's mother regained her senses at this moment. Ignoring the pain in her back from being kicked, she quickly got up from the snow and prepared to escape.
Xuemei's father also reluctantly greeted Yan Daqiang, "We're going back, we're going back now." After saying that, he turned around and tried to run away.
How could Yan Daqiang let these two troublemakers off so easily? He took a step forward and, with a swift and decisive grappling move, knocked Xue Mei's father to the ground. With another forceful strike, he knocked him sprawled on the snow.
Southeast cleverly found a rope and handed it to Yan Daqiang. Yan Daqiang quickly tied Xuemei's father up tightly, making him unable to move at all.
Xuemei's mother was truly terrified at this point and cried out, "We're not selling our child! We're not selling our child! Old Mrs. Yan is kind-hearted; she said it was betrothal money, and there's even a written agreement!"
Yan Daqiang looked at Xuemei's mother: "Is this a betrothal gift, not selling a child?"
Xue Mei's mother nodded vigorously: "Betrothal gifts, betrothal gifts."
"So what are you here for today?" Yan Daqiang asked.
"We wanted to ask the Yan family for some rice, flour, pork, and such. We heard that a pig from Chenjia Village ran into the Chen family's house and you killed it, so we wanted to..."
The villagers of Mushroom Village finally realized they had been fooled by those two old bastards. The wild boar had come to their door on its own; how could they say that Yan Xiaoqiang had killed it? It was simply a case of confusing the issue.
While everyone was whispering among themselves, Yan Daqiang spoke up again:
"The report we filed earlier was to accuse you of child trafficking. Now that you admit it wasn't child trafficking but dowry, the charge for the report needs to be changed to accusing you of falsely accusing military family members."
The crowd gasped in shock. Back then, countless people sold their children for food, and even if you reported it to the police, they couldn't all be caught. At most, they'd only serve a year or two in jail.
But framing a soldier's family member is a serious crime. What are soldiers? They are people who protect the country. They fight to the death on the front lines, yet their families are falsely accused. This is an unforgivable crime.
Xuemei's parents were completely paralyzed at this moment. They wanted to throw a tantrum again, but when they met Yan Daqiang's cold eyes, they didn't dare to move an inch.
When the town's police station received the report, they took a look at the officer's ID and exclaimed, "Good heavens, a major general! A major general reporting a case is definitely a big deal!" The police captain immediately organized officers to go to the scene.
The police car arrived at Mushroom Village quickly. When the villagers saw the police car, they were so frightened that they made way for it. As soon as the captain got out of the car, he saw Yan Daqiang.
He quickly ran up and saluted. Yan Daqiang returned the salute and told the brigade leader everything. Dongnan also handed the brigade leader the original written agreement.
The captain knew these troublemakers very well and usually dealt with them with ease, typically locking them up for a few days to scare them off. But this time, he couldn't do that.
Looking at the couple on the ground, he felt they were even dumber than pigs. Their daughter was married to a major general's family member, and instead of showing respect, they dared to insult the major general's own mother. How stupid could they be?
This time you've met your match, so make an example of someone and set a good example. It'll help to change the atmosphere. Stop making a scene and acting like you're invincible generals.
With a wave of his hand, the two men were arrested and put into the car by the police officers. The captain saluted Yan Daqiang again: "Reporting, Major General, we will conduct a thorough investigation and will definitely complete the mission."
"Thank you for your hard work, comrades." Yan Daqiang returned the salute.
The police car left, but the captain's report to the major general terrified most of the villagers. They regretted what they had just said so readily.
One of the village elves spotted Xue Mei's two brothers and sisters-in-law, quickly grabbed a tree branch, and lashed it out at them, yelling, "You shameless bastards, get out of our village!"
Once someone took the lead, everyone realized what was happening. As a result, Xuemei's two brothers and sisters-in-law were in trouble. They covered their heads and fled to the village entrance, abandoning even their own children.
A group of villagers chased and beat them until they reached the entrance of Mushroom Village, where they stopped, cursing and swearing, "Don't let me see you again, or I'll break your legs!"
The two children left behind cried loudly. Dongnan went into the kitchen and took out two iron pancakes made from two kinds of dough, fresh out of the oven and still warm.
He handed the flatbread to the two children and told them to eat it as they walked towards the village entrance, where their parents would surely be waiting.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
