Lin Ye then entered the restaurant, nodded to Luo Hao, and stood in the crowd, waiting for his chance to act.
"Brother, I really didn't sell the pheasant to the restaurant. If you don't believe me, you can ask the people here. I just came here to eat," Luo Hao tried his best to explain.
He was also tall, with a square face, single eyelids, and thick lips, giving him an honest and kind appearance.
Another middle-aged man, who looked more shrewd and was probably a purchasing agent for the state-run restaurant, also pleaded with a tearful voice: "Comrades, you can't wrong an innocent person! We are under a unified purchase and sales system, how could we possibly buy things from them? I don't even know this person!"
Lu Wanqing immediately recalled the figure that had flashed past the restaurant entrance earlier; it seemed to be Zhou Ling.
It's likely that she saw Luo Hao's deal and called the militia over.
In those days, people lived a hard life and inevitably had to sell some of their belongings, all out of necessity.
Zhou Ling's father, being the brigade leader, naturally didn't understand the hardships of ordinary people and only felt jealousy when others made money selling goods.
Lu Wanqing gave Xueqiu a look, and Xueqiu understood immediately. It slid off Zhao Xiaolan's arms, wiggled its bottom, and ran towards the kitchen with its short legs.
Elaine Chao frowned, like a child who had lost a toy.
Lu Wanqing comforted her for a while before she calmed down.
It seems that Grandma really adores this little guy!
“Militiamen, after all this talk, didn’t you see the transaction?” Lu Wanqing turned her attention back to the militiamen and suddenly spoke up.
The militiaman turned to look at her and frowned.
Lin Ye quickly pulled her to his side and solemnly said, "Without any evidence, you're framing people like this. Don't think that just because you have a little power, you can do whatever you want."
The crowd chimed in, "That's right, you guys are too arrogant. Last time, an old lady sold just a few eggs from her own farm, and they dragged her to the police station and tortured her for hours."
The militia members didn't expect to encounter such a tough crowd, and their attitude became arrogant:
"Do you want to rebel? Anyone who dares to say a word will be arrested! Whether you have any evidence or not, a search will tell you." A militiaman said arrogantly.
Lu Wanqing blinked, looking on with amusement, "Then go ahead and search!"
After all, it was the kitchen of a state-run restaurant, so they had their reservations. But after being spurred on by Lu Wanqing, they actually went.
Luo Hao looked a little nervous when he saw them go in. He wondered if the pheasants had been properly collected. If they were found, he would be sentenced to at least three to five years for speculation.
A few minutes later, several militiamen slunk out, stared at Luo Hao with astonished eyes for a few seconds, and then pushed through the crowd and left angrily.
The militiamen left, and the crowd gradually dispersed.
The purchasing agent, emerging from the kitchen, looked suspicious: "The pheasants were clearly left there, how come they disappeared as soon as the militia came in?"
Luo Hao said, "Look again. I won't dare to do business with you again next time."
I heard that pheasant meat is delicious, so I thought I'd buy a few to try. Who knew I'd run into this? If I'm caught, I'll be punished, and it will also implicate the restaurant. The consequences would be unimaginable.
"Found it..." came the excited voice of the purchasing agent from the kitchen.
The storm had finally passed.
Snowball, back in Zhao Xiaolan's arms, accepted Lu Wanqing's approving pat: "Snowball is great, I'll give you a meat bone when we get back."
Luo Hao punched Lin Ye in the chest, glanced at Lu Wanqing, raised an eyebrow and said, "Your educated youth wife is back?"
Lin Ye punched him back: "Call me sister-in-law!"
Luo Hao greeted Zhao Xiaolan and Lu Wanqing politely, then said very righteously:
"Have you eaten yet? Thank you for speaking up for what was right earlier. Lunch is on me!"
He sold a few pheasants for more than 6 yuan. Now that he was rich and powerful, Lin Ye didn't stand on ceremony with him.
After everyone was seated, Lin Ye asked his mother and Lu Wanqing what they wanted to eat, and each of them ordered a dish.
Seeing Lin Ye's humble attitude, Luo Hao smirked. This kid was always aloof and sparing with his words, but he never expected him to have such a gentle side.
They ordered several dishes, including stir-fried pork with chili peppers, stir-fried eggs with wood ear mushrooms, stir-fried lettuce, and tomato and egg soup, as well as several bowls of rice, filling their bellies to the brim.
"Why did you buy so much stuff? You even bought a pot. Are you splitting up?" Luo Hao asked, glancing at the bags Lin Ye had bought.
Lin Ye was still diligently eating: "It's already been divided up."
"They should have separated long ago. Your auntie only knows how to exploit you, she doesn't even let you eat your fill!" Luo Hao said with great satisfaction.
Lin Ye's brows twitched. He had tolerated it before mainly because he didn't want to take his mother to the fields. Now that he had a wife, he couldn't let her suffer.
"Haozi, do you know any way you can get red bricks and cement? I need to build a stove," Lin Ye said after finishing his meal and putting down his chopsticks.
In those days, red bricks and cement were in such short supply that even if you had the money, you couldn't buy them without connections.
Luo Hao's eyes darted around. "We should be able to get some, but not too many. The controls are too strict, and you need an industrial permit."
“I have industrial permits. How many can you get? We’ll take them all,” Lu Wanqing said eagerly.
Besides building a stove, she also wanted to pave the floor with cement. If possible, she also wanted to build another room so that her mother-in-law could live separately from them. Although there were two beds, it would be inconvenient to do anything in one room.
In fact, she was overthinking it. The red bricks and cement that Luo Hao got were just enough to build a stove, and there was no extra at all. But that's a story for another time.
After dinner, Luo Hao helped Lin Ye carry half of the luggage. The group then wandered around and bought some more things before heading back to their team at the agreed time.
Luo Hao and Lin Ye were both tall, and they carried those things with great speed.
Lu Wanqing and Zhao Xiaolan didn't need to carry anything; they just followed behind.
After getting on the tractor, the group chatted while waiting for the others to gather.
From afar, Lu Wanqing saw Zhou Ling walking over timidly, arms crossed.
Her hair was messy, as if she had been bullied, and upon closer inspection, her clothes at the neckline appeared to be torn.
As soon as she got on the bus, she clutched her clothes, hunched her shoulders, and buried her head, completely unlike her arrogant demeanor when she first arrived.
"Zhou Ling, what's wrong with you?" He Shujuan asked warily.
Zhou Ling didn't even look up, trying to remain calm: "It's nothing, I just tripped and fell."
She couldn't very well say that she had almost been sexually assaulted by a scoundrel.
Everyone knows that while it's a crime for someone to act like a hooligan, the victim will also be gossiped about and might even have trouble finding a husband in the future. She's not stupid enough to get herself into trouble if the hooligan isn't caught.
Yu Guangzhong watched as Lin Ye doted on Lu Wanqing and bought her so many things, and she couldn't help but feel extremely jealous.
Hehe, don't be too happy yet. She has already sent a letter to the capital. From now on, Lu Wanqing can forget about getting any relief from her family!
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