"Okay, okay, let's all go and get back to work." The village party secretary asked everyone in the village to disperse.

The two men began to speak well of Li Hongwei: "If there is any problem in the future, we can discuss it among ourselves and don't let the superiors know. Look, our village has lost face just now."

This was the first time that Li Hongwei was spoken well of by these two arrogant village officials.

"I didn't do it on my own accord. They forced me to do it. How much money can I have?" Li Hongwei felt aggrieved: "When I came back from the fields, my house was turned upside down. It was like a garbage dump, with garbage everywhere."

"Don't say I have no money. Even if I have money, should I let the thieves steal it?"

Liu Lanxiang's mother, Mrs. Liu, was also a scheming person. She went over and said, "Old Fifth, my son-in-law is right. We can't start this. It will never end."

"Either the east family's dog is missing, or the west family's chicken runs away, and not even a hair can be found."

"Tell me, why have the chickens in your two families never been lost?"

Old Lady Liu is related to the village chief and is also older, so it’s okay to call the village chief “Old Five”.

The village chief coughed and said nothing.

The village party secretary became anxious. Wasn't this clearly accusing the two of them of protecting the deadbeat?

"Sister-in-law, how would I know? Maybe the thief thought my chickens were not fat enough, or maybe my dog ​​ran too fast."

The village chief almost couldn't hold it in and couldn't even tell a lie.

Old Lady Liu said, "No matter what your reason is, other people's houses in the village are often lost. Think about it, if this kind of atmosphere spreads, others will think that our Lijia Village is a den of thieves. Will young men be able to marry in the future? When the girls in our village grow up, will anyone dare to marry them?"

Nowadays every household has children. The village head and the village party secretary all have sons and daughters. A den of thieves?

How ugly this sounds.

The two exchanged glances. They knew very well who had been drinking and playing cards with Lao Laizi during this period.

"Okay, okay, fine, sister-in-law, don't worry, I will take care of this matter for you." said the village chief.

Old Lady Liu nodded: "Okay, I knew that my votes for you two were not in vain."

The village chief and the village party secretary nodded repeatedly.

Old man Liu, who has passed away for several years, was a good-tempered and gentle person. All matters big and small in the Liu family were decided by old lady Liu. The old lady was ambitious and worked hard, tightened her belt, and sent all seven children to school.

The Liu family's children are also very hardworking. If something hadn't happened to the sixth child, leaving them with no money to support him, Liu Lanxiang and her younger sister Liu Juxiang might have become teachers like their three older sisters.

Now that the children have become successful, the old woman can also stand firm.

"Hongwei, then you pack up your house. We have some things to do in the village office, so we'll leave first." The village chief quickly found an excuse to leave.

Wait until these two people leave.

Old Lady Liu then said to Liu Lanxiang and Li Hongwei, "Be more careful. It must be the old man who did it. He was not a good person when he was young. He persuaded the young people in the village who had no brains to do those sneaky things."

Then he said to Li Yutong: "Stay away from those young people in the village who do not do the right thing."

Li Yutong nodded: "Grandma, I understand."

"Mom, I'll take you there." Liu Lanxiang said hurriedly.

"Don't send me off. Home is just a few steps away. Just clean up the house yourself and do what needs to be washed." said Old Mrs. Liu.

After Liu Lanxiang sent her mother, Old Lady Liu, and her brother's wife away, Li Hongwei said to Li Yutong, "You are so brave. How could you come up with such an idea?"

He is an honest man and has never told a lie in his life. He was just acting and it made him feel uncomfortable all over.

"Dad, I have no choice. If we don't owe you so much debt, the thief will come here every day to steal because you two are working in the fields."

Li Yutong is not afraid of losing money, she is afraid of what might happen: "What if one day, someone comes to steal again, and one of you sees it, and one wants to run away, and the other wants to catch him, and they pull and tug, and you get hurt, what should I do?"

Li Hongwei looked at Li Yutong in surprise. It seemed that his eldest daughter had become more and more cunning as she grew older.

Liu Lanxiang didn't care about this matter and hurriedly asked Li Hongwei: "What's going on with the 100,000 yuan loan? Is it true?"

One hundred thousand! It’s going to cost her her life.

What should I do if I can’t pay it back?

I just bought a house and have already spent 20,000 yuan.

"Mom, they are lying to us. We are from the village and we don't have anything. The people in the credit union won't give us a loan." Her mother is honest and her emotions are easily shown on her face. "I didn't tell you just now because I was afraid that you would be noticed."

Liu Lanxiang also knew this problem of hers. When she heard that this was not the case, she was greatly relieved: "That's good, that's good, but you must not take out a loan. Our family can't afford it."

Li Yutong nodded quickly.

One hundred thousand yuan is too much for her mother. It is the kind of money that she cannot pay off in her lifetime. How can she not be scared?

It is said that the village chief and the village party secretary took advantage of the darkness when no one was paying attention and quietly went to Lao Laizi's house.

It's still the same as before, late at night and still haven't gone to bed, seven or eight people are playing cards and shouting in the room.

"Xiaowei, you are only a teenager. Why are you hanging out here? Your mother doesn't care about you?" The village chief pushed open the door and became angry when he saw a hairy child in the house.

When Xiaowei heard this, he quickly threw down the cards and ran away.

Lao Laizi came up with a big smile: "Brother, you are here, and the village party secretary is here too, hurry up and sit down, sit down, and have some tea."

Neither the village chief nor the village party secretary wanted to sit down. Everyone in the house was smoking. Under the dim light bulb, a mouse ran out from the corner, but no one noticed.

We are so poor, and we only have this rotten table and rotten chairs.

"No, no, I came here to tell you something."

The village chief complained about the dirtiness. The house was filled with cigarettes, as if there was a boiling pot. The smoke was so thick that one could hardly open his eyes when he entered the house.

"What's the matter, big brother? Tell me." The old man bullies the weak and fears the strong. He is 48 years old and knows that if he wants to survive in the village, he has to rely on the village chief.

The village chief has a cousin who is a captain in the Ministry of Public Security. He also has a relative who works in the county government, and he dare not offend him.

"The county is going to evaluate civilized villages. Each village that is selected will be rewarded with 2,000 yuan to be used for village construction. Lai Zi, you are a member of our Lijia Village. Tell me, shouldn't you also make some contributions?" said the village chief.

The old man nodded quickly: "Of course, of course, you tell me what to do, and I'll do it."

The village chief nodded in satisfaction: "I won't ask you to do anything. Just be honest and don't go too far in the next two or three months. That's all."

Lao Laizi understood clearly that the suspicion was directed at him.

Although he felt gloomy in his heart, he still had a smile on his face.

"Okay, okay, I know."

Seeing that he had agreed, the village chief led the village party secretary out.