"Uncle Qingshan, Wang Biyun, a villager from Zhaojiagou, came to the town government this afternoon to report that the person who stole the trees in Zhaojiagou was Gutiezhu. The mayor sent us down to take the man back for interrogation." When talking about business, Qiao Aiguo looked serious.
Wang Biyun? Isn't that Tiezhu's wife? Zhao Qingshan was bewildered.
After hearing what Qiao Aiguo said, Tiezhu's mother's cry got stuck in her throat. Her open mouth and tears kept rolling down made her look helpless.
"So it was this damned bitch who did this!" Gutiezhu was furious. Since last year, Gutiezhu had only secretly sold trees twice. He sold one tree at the end of last year, carrying it across the mountain to Sanyang County. Last month, he sold four. Some brokers were passing through Zhaojiagou, and Gutiezhu happened to run into them and approached them to grab their business.
If his mother's body had not been unable to hold on any longer, Gutiezhu would never have set his sights on the trees in Daqing Mountain.
Tiezhu's mother is in poor health and needs good food to nourish her. Tiezhu's family is poor, so how can they afford to buy delicious food for Tiezhu's mother?
Before the Lunar New Year last year, Tiezhu's mother fainted again. Zhao Qingshan went to check her pulse and concluded that her health had deteriorated so much that she was practically on her last legs. Behind everyone's back, Zhao Qingshan told Gu Tiezhu to be kind to her, saying she wouldn't live more than three years. He then slipped two yuan into Gu Tiezhu's pocket, suggesting he buy her some good food.
Gutiezhu was heartbroken. His mother had never had a good day in her life. She only had three years left to live, and she was still very sick.
With Zhao Qingshan's two yuan, Gu Tiezhu bought his mother a few chickens to nourish her for half a month. Seeing his mother's health getting better day by day, Gu Tiezhu was so grateful to Zhao Qingshan that he didn't know how to express it.
After spending the two dollars, Tiezhu's mother held on for more than half a month and fell ill again.
Gutiezhu was a filial son, and to give his mother a good meal, he set his sights on the trees on Daqing Mountain. Deep in the mountains, there were many trees over a hundred years old. Even if he cut down one or two, if he was careful, no one would notice.
The first tree Gutiezhu stole sold for a dozen yuan, and after scrimping and saving for half a year, he still spent it all. Undeterred, Gutiezhu found an opportunity to cut down four trees in the mountains.
The last time Gutiezhu sold his trees, he'd heard that felled trees, left to air-dry for a month or two, fetched a higher price. Four trees would fetch around 80 yuan, enough for his mother to live comfortably for the remaining two years.
The moment he was handcuffed, Gutiezhu wondered if the tree brokers had been arrested and had given him up. He didn't resist. From the moment he did this foolish thing, he was mentally prepared. He had broken the law, and being arrested was just what he deserved.
Seeing Zhao Qingshan, Gu Tiezhu lowered his head in guilt. Zhao Qingshan was the village party secretary of Zhaojiagou, and Gu Tiezhu was a villager of Zhoujia Village. If he committed a crime, it would actually be a disgrace to the old party secretary.
Facing Zhao Qingshan, Qiao Aiguo must explain the reason for arresting Gutiezhu. As the village party secretary of Zhaojiagou, Zhao Qingshan has the right to know what exactly Gutiezhu has done wrong.
After hearing Qiao Aiguo say that Wang Biyun went to the town to report, Gu Tiezhu realized that he was not arrested because of those unfamiliar brokers.
At this moment, Gu Tiezhu felt so angry in his heart! He hated himself for letting the cat out of the bag and being seen through by that woman Wang Biyun.
Wang Biyun is truly cruel! He beat her a few times, and she's secretly plotting to kill him? The old secretary of Qingshan said at the last meeting that anyone caught stealing trees might be shot. It doesn't matter if he dies, but what about his mother? What about their two children? Wang Biyun has no regard for the affection between husband and wife, and he expects her to take care of her mother and children in the future? That's impossible.
"Leader! Could you have made a mistake? Wang Biyun is my daughter-in-law and the wife of my son Tiezhu! How could she report Tiezhu?" Aunt Gu raised her sleeves to wipe her tears, walked to Qiao Aiguo and asked.
Aunt Gu's face was filled with hope, as if she was trying to get a "no" out of Qiao Aiguo. Wang Biyun had been married to the Gu family for seven years, and Aunt Gu believed she had never been harsh on her daughter-in-law. Wang Biyun wasn't crazy, so why would she report her own man for stealing trees?
Facing Auntie Gu's hopeful face, Qiao Aiguo's heart was filled with sympathy. Mistakenly mistaking the informant? That was simply impossible. Qiao Aiguo had already thoroughly understood the informant's information before setting off. After all, he couldn't possibly lead the police to handle a case haphazardly, right?
Qiao Aiguo's heart was filled with emotion. He really didn't understand what was wrong with people these days. In one day, he had already encountered two incidents reported by his own relatives. With Wu Jinfeng, he could still say, "Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are natural enemies," but what was Wang Biyun's motivation? It takes ten years to build a relationship, and a hundred years to sleep on the same pillow. If a couple can't make it anymore, divorce is no big deal. It's better than wanting to send your partner to jail, right?
Zhao Qingshan and Zhao Youtian were also stunned. Wang Biyun, who looked so weak, had actually reported her husband, Gu Tiezhu, for stealing trees. They remembered that it had been clearly stated at the last village meeting that tree thieves would be severely punished.
Or...Wang Biyun wanted Gu Tiezhu to die? Zhao Qingshan shuddered when he thought of this. Zhao Qingshan remembered the last time Qiao Aiguo brought a few cadres to the countryside to investigate.
Zhao Qingshan recalled the handwriting on the letter of denunciation and realized it was clearly Wang Biyun's. Before Wang Biyun married, she was close friends with Zhao Yunxiang, and almost all of Wang Biyun's knowledge was from Zhao Yunxiang.
Last time, Zhao Qingshan only thought about a few people who had gone to school in Zhaojiagou, and missed Wang Biyun.
The road from Zhaojiagou to Sanhe Town is difficult to travel, and there is a section of mountain road that can only accommodate one person.
Zhao Qingshan asked Qiao Aiguo and the others to stay at his house for one night, and then took Gutiezhu back to town after dawn.
After consulting with several police officers, Qiao Aiguo nodded in agreement. The moonlight wasn't bright tonight, so traveling at night wouldn't be fast. It would be better to rest for a few hours at Zhao Qingshan's house and then escort Gutiezhu back to town at daybreak.
Just like that, at daybreak, Zhao Qingshan followed Qiao Aiguo and others to Sanhe Town.
At Zhao Guohui's house, everyone fell silent after hearing what Zhao Qingshan said.
Zhao Yunxiang was reminded of herself by the Gu Tiezhu incident. Thanks to her brother Zhao Guohui's thoughtful approach, who had secured the Qingshan Food Factory's authorization, she was able to escape. Otherwise, with Wu Jinfeng's ruthlessness, she would have reported Zhao Yunxiang for speculation and profiteering. Zhao Yunxiang would have been badly injured yesterday morning, if not dead.
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