After saying this, Zhou's mother was about to take Zhou Xiang and Ling Ran away.
After listening to what several people said, Liu Pinli understood the whole story. It was not like what his father said, that people were deliberately targeting him. Instead, he had made a big mistake.
Seeing that Zhou's mother and the others were about to leave, he quickly stepped forward to apologize to Zhou Xiang, otherwise he might not be able to open his mouth next time.
"I'm sorry, Zhou Xiang!"
Zhou Xiang turned around and asked, "How do you know me and recognize me?"
"I know your father, so I guessed your identity and name."
Zhou Xiang nodded. "You're very smart, but it's a pity you didn't use it in the right place. I forgive you. You're just on vacation now, so you have to learn from your father's lesson."
Liu Pinli nodded. She didn't expect that the little girl was more generous than herself and even reminded her.
After they left, she went to the manager and said, "I'm sorry, manager, I've caused you trouble. I've realized my mistake. I shouldn't bring personal grudges into work and affect the company's reputation. Please forgive me this time."
The manager nodded. "Then you must submit a 200-word self-criticism when you come to work tomorrow morning. This afternoon is considered personal leave, so the 20 yuan must be deducted from your salary."
“Okay, okay, thank you, manager, thank you!”
It’s okay to deduct my salary to count it as personal leave, as long as I can keep my job. My family of five depends on this salary!
The manager also left. Liu Pinli looked at her father and said, "Dad, just think of it as early retirement. I'm your replacement. Don't think about it anymore. I did nothing wrong. I saved you!
If you can't stay at home, find something else to do. If you feel embarrassed, you can make baskets at home. You can sell them for some money and pass the time."
Old Liu looked at his sensible daughter and nodded, "Okay, Dad will listen to you."
Ling Ran followed Zhou Xiang, humming. Zhou Xiang turned around and asked him what was wrong.
"Why did you forgive that woman so easily? She should have been taught a lesson."
"Her family is miserable enough. Although her father should be punished for his mistakes, looking at her family's situation, this is probably the only job he can get. If she messes up again, it will be gone.
People are more likely to hold grudges, and it's better to resolve a feud than to create one. At least the conflict between her father and my mother has been resolved."
Zhou's mother touched her daughter's head and said, "She did the right thing, so she should forgive her."
Ling Ran was like a deflated balloon. The little girl didn't want to care about it, and she couldn't cause trouble anymore. She couldn't let the conflict between her aunt and that Old Liu escalate, so she could only vent her resentment on Li Wei.
Li Wei, who was being forced by her mother to do her winter vacation homework, shuddered.
In the following six months, whenever Ling Ran came back and Li Wei's clothes were hung out to dry, they would be inexplicably cut.
The Li family knew who did it, but since they didn't catch the person on the spot, they had to give up. Li Wei's clothes could only be washed and dried from Monday to Friday.
Otherwise, they would be hung in the bathroom to dry. In the days before washing machines, wet clothes would remain dry for several days.
Zhang Hong took the opportunity to teach her daughter a lesson, "Next time you cause trouble, don't say I didn't mend your clothes. Mend them yourself."
Li Wei had never been bullied like this before. She had only heard about other people's families being bullied before. Now it was her turn. It felt really bad.
Ling Ran, who was having fun: Humph, even if I am reborn, I will still be the devil who cannot be provoked.
Zhou Xiang looked at Ling Ran who was still following him, "Aren't you going home yet?"
Ling Ran shook his head, "No, I want to go to her workplace with my aunt. It's bound to be lively and exciting."
Mother Zhou looked at Ling Ran, not understanding what he meant.
"Auntie, let me go to work with you! Someone will definitely go to your workplace to investigate. Principal Li won't let this rumor go. If someone doesn't come today, they'll have to come tomorrow."
"Okay, let's go together! Let's see if those gossipers are still gossipy after this."
Ling Ran happily skipped and jumped behind Zhou's mother and Zhou Xiang. This was a great excuse.
The three people returned to the fertilizer warehouse and opened the door. After a while, three people really came to find out what was going on.
The person who came was the logistics staff of the primary school.
He went straight to Zhou's mother and said, "Hello, this is Zhou Xiang's mother, right? I'm the logistics director of the town primary school, my last name is Wu. May I ask if you have any grudges with anyone?"
"Hello! Hello! In this courtyard, we are all colleagues. Minor frictions are bound to occur, but there are no major grudges or enmities."
Zhou Xiang continued, "Just go to every household and ask them who they heard it from. Once you record and calculate, you'll know who said it first."
Upon hearing this, Director Wu looked over in surprise. "You must be Zhou Xiang! That's a great idea! With this method, I should be able to get results soon. You're worthy of being a student who got full marks. You're really smart."
After saying that, he took two assistants to check door to door.
Zhou Xiang shook his head. Alas, such a simple thing still requires someone to teach. No wonder it can only be logistics. Why did Principal Li send such a person?
Director Wu had never taken on an investigation task before, and thought he would have to solve cases like in novels! Unexpectedly, he met Zhou Xiang, who gave him a good method. Even more unexpectedly, Zhou Xiang positioned him as a logistics specialist.
Director Wu took his assistant and visited each family, asking them who told them the story. The assistant quickly took notes, and after eliminating them one by one, he found Chen Yulan, who had been mentioned by more than a dozen people.
Ling Ran, who had been following and watching the fun, didn't believe it was this woman. Based on what the little girl said, he also knew that it was Zhong Ling who said it first.
Ling Ran was followed by a group of people. Everyone wanted to know who spread the rumor that caused everyone to be interrogated.
Chen Yulan opened the door and saw a group of people standing at her door. She didn’t know what was going on!
When he heard about the cheating rumors, he said disdainfully, "Some people say she cheated, I just followed their lead. Besides, anyone would be suspicious if she suddenly got a perfect score after having above-average grades before."
The crowd also started buzzing.
Director Wu clapped his hands and told everyone to be quiet or leave.
After the crowd quieted down, Director Wu said, "Your few random guesses have had a huge impact. The whole county knows about it. Moreover, Zhou Xiang was brought to the Education Committee and answered the questions again in front of more than 60 people. He still got full marks in all four subjects. There is no possibility of cheating.
Your words have affected the reputation of the school and Zhou Xiang. The school arranged for us to investigate and bring back the rumormongers. Please come with us!"
The crowd was in an uproar. Zhou Xiang took the test again and got full marks again?
Has the cheating incident reached the county level?
What about me, the one who spread the rumor? Will I be criticized by my employer?
Chen Yulan is usually not very noticeable, but I didn't expect that she is a rumormonger.
Chen Yulan held onto the door frame, not letting go. "It wasn't me, it wasn't what I said."
"But your attitude just now is very similar to what you said, so please come back with us to investigate."
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