"We should go back first, or we'll arouse suspicion." Zhou Nianmei reached for the basket on the ground and nodded to Zhang Xuemei.
"Third brother will pick you up later, be careful."
Zhang Xuemei nodded and looked up. "Alright, sister-in-law and second sister-in-law, you can go back first!"
After they left, Zhang Xuemei changed her position and lay flat on the ground, a position that would block her view.
Close your eyes, feel a gentle breeze brushing past your ears, and hear the clear chirping of birds in the distance.
If it weren't for this situation, she really wanted to lie down and get a good night's sleep; it's such a rare treat!
Before Xu Minghan even got home, he saw a group of people gathered at the door. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly ran over.
"Here he comes, Xu Minghan is here. Just ask him, he definitely knows where Zhang Xuemei is."
Chen Chunfeng, with his sharp eyes, spotted Xu Minghan running towards them early in the morning and loudly addressed the family planning office staff.
Upon hearing this, Xu Minghan felt relieved, as long as Xuemei hadn't been caught.
"Are you Xu Minghan? Where is your wife? Someone reported that your wife is pregnant. You already have a daughter. Do you know that this is against the rules?"
The staff member stepped forward, stared intently at Xu Minghan, and reprimanded him sternly.
Xu Minghan glanced at his daughter in his mother's arms, and then saw his mother gently shake her head at him, which put his mind at ease.
He immediately replied, "No, that's not true. Who said my wife is pregnant? We don't even know it ourselves, there must be a mistake."
Xu Minghan's main strategy was to deny everything, since no one had been caught anyway.
The staff member frowned and looked at him with displeasure, "Where's your wife? Come out and let us see her."
"Oh, that's unfortunate, she's visiting relatives." Xu Minghan shrugged, knowing she definitely wouldn't be coming.
"Hmph, you think we'd believe you just because you say we're visiting relatives? We won't leave until we see them today."
"That's right, I even saw his sister-in-law hurrying home! She must have gone to inform Zhang Xuemei."
Chen Chunfeng pointed at Xu Minghan, then looked at the staff.
Granny Liu, holding the child, was displeased. "Granny Chen, how can you be so heartless! At least Minghan still calls you 'Auntie,' why do you have to report people? You've really lost your conscience."
Chen Chunfeng wasn't afraid of Granny Liu. He just snorted and said, "I'm just following national policy. It's your own fault. I'm doing this for your own good, to reduce your burden."
"You make it sound nice, but it's all about that little bit of money. We're all from the same village, and you don't even show any consideration. Be careful, or the ancestors of the Xu family might come looking for you in the middle of the night."
"You old hag, I..."
"Alright, alright, what are you arguing about? Go home and argue." A staff member interrupted them.
"Since you said your wife went to visit relatives, then call her back right away. We'll come again tomorrow. We must see your wife."
Xu Minghan nodded, thinking he would just try to get through today first.
Unsuccessful in catching them, Chen Chunfeng looked around but couldn't find Xu's other two daughters-in-law. He rolled his eyes and shouted, "Hey, where are your two eldest daughters-in-law? Did they hide with Zhang Xuemei?"
Upon hearing Chen Chunfeng's words, the staff immediately turned to look at Granny Liu, "Where are your two daughters-in-law?"
Granny Liu replied nonchalantly, "How would I know where they are? I can't exactly tie them to my belt."
"Hmph, look, the curtain clip is still here, but the person is gone. They must be hiding. Look carefully again, you'll definitely find them."
Of the group, Chen Chunfeng was the most agitated, jumping around and making a truly unpleasant face.
"Aunt Chen, are you looking for us?" Zhou Nianmei heard Chen Chunfeng's voice as soon as she approached. He was indeed looking for them!
Upon hearing Zhou Nianmei's voice, everyone parted to make an opening for her to come in.
"Where have you been? Where's Zhang Xuemei? Tell me now, or I'll smash your stove."
Chen Chunfeng stepped forward, grabbed Zhou Nianmei's arm, and threatened her.
Zhou Nianmei shook off her hand and retorted impatiently, "Do I need to tell you where I'm going? You're not my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law hasn't even said anything yet! You're just being nosy and meddling in other people's business."
"Hey, how can you talk like that? Your mother-in-law and I are of the same generation! And you still have to call me 'auntie'? Don't you have any manners?"
Chen Chunfeng grabbed Zhou Nianmei's hand again and shouted loudly.
Granny Liu handed the child to her third son, stepped forward and pulled Chen Chunfeng's hand away, saying disdainfully, "I think my daughter-in-law is right. You can't be too polite to some people."
When Chen Chunfeng saw that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were ganging up on him, he shouted to the staff next to him: "Quickly ask her, I think she must have hidden the person, it's obvious at a glance."
Before the staff could even ask, Zhou Nianmei immediately explained, "Dear leaders, please don't listen to her nonsense. My third sister-in-law went to visit relatives; she's not at home."
Besides, my second brother and sister-in-law and I just went up the mountain to pick some wild berries for the child. He's been asking about it for days. See?
As he spoke, he handed over the basket in his hand, which contained some wild berries, the kind of things that children like to eat.
After searching for half a day and walking a lot of mountain roads, the family planning officers were already exhausted and impatient to listen to their dispute. They just looked at Xu Minghan and ordered, "Alright, that's enough for today. Quickly call your wife back, and we'll come back tomorrow."
"Okay, okay, I know, don't worry!" Xu Minghan replied readily, as if he had really been wronged.
"Hey, you're leaving already? Aren't you going to take another look? Their third daughter-in-law really is pregnant, I..."
Chen Chunfeng was getting anxious when he saw that the family planning office was really going to give up, so he quickly spoke up to stop them.
"Auntie, we'll be back tomorrow, don't worry," the staff member reassured Chen Chunfeng.
"Well... me," Chen Chunfeng quickly walked a few steps to the leader's side.
The man nodded and replied in a low voice, "I understand. I'll apply for it for you when I get back. Also, remember to let us know if anything happens in your village. I've left you my phone number."
After receiving a satisfactory answer, Chen Chunfeng immediately looked up and smiled at Xu Minghan and the others, thinking that it was best not to let her catch her, since she was now considered a staff member of the township.
"Come on, third brother, let's go back inside." Granny Liu looked at Chen Chunfeng, spat on the ground, and thought, "She's truly heartless."
"Hey, what are you guys doing over there? You're not trying to talk things out, are you?!"
Chen Chunfeng watched as Xu's two daughters-in-law walked into the house and couldn't help but call out.
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