Chapter 16 Chapter 16 "You worked hard last night, please make up for it..."

Wanna talk about something?

Jiang Qiuyue thought of this sentence in her mind, but she immediately suppressed it. Instead of having an awkward conversation, it would be better to just lie there.

Lin Zhengrong was not sleepy either, not because he was used to his bed, but because the bed smelled too good.

In the past, he would just rinse with water when taking a bath, and never put on soap. But today, Beibei specially gave him soap, "Mom said that only good children can use soap when taking a bath, and she will like us if we smell good."

The fresh scent of soap lingered in his nostrils. He just turned over and saw Jiang Qiuyue moved. He was even less sleepy now.

The moonlight was dim. Lin Zhengrong opened his mouth but swallowed his words back.

The children are all asleep, it would be bad to wake them up.

They just lay there like that. After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Qiuyue slowly relaxed and began to feel sleepy.

At the same time, behind the vegetable garden wall, two dark shadows were lurking under the wall stealthily.

"Xiaoxiao, are we really going to do this?" When the time came to take action, Lin Sanzhu hesitated.

Lin Xiao clicked his tongue, "Third brother, don't tell me you're scared. Didn't we agree to set the fire at night? Lin Dazhu and Jiang Qiuyue have treated us so badly, what else are you afraid of? Think about what happened between you and Xiaomin, wasn't it because Jiang Qiuyue wanted to take the family's money that you broke up?"

When Xiao Min was mentioned, Lin Sanzhu immediately felt hatred. It was all Jiang Qiuyue and his elder brother's fault, otherwise he would have been able to get engaged to Xiao Min tomorrow.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Sanzhu told himself that everything was fine, he would just set the fire and run away.

"Okay, let's do as agreed!" Lin Sanzhu asked his sister to squat down, "You will meet me later, but don't let anyone find out."

"Don't worry, Third Brother. It's late at night and everyone is asleep. Who would come out to see us?" Lin Xiao just wanted to burn down Jiang Qiuyue's house as soon as possible to teach them a lesson.

Lin Sanzhu stepped on Lin Xiao's shoulders and sat on the wall. A gust of cold wind blew and he suddenly shivered. "Xiaoxiao, what if something happens to someone?"

"Stop talking nonsense. What could happen? Don't they have legs to run?" Lin Xiao was thinking that Jiang Qiuyue and the others deserved what happened. Who told them to be so heartless?

Lin Sanzhu jumped into the yard and walked towards the house carefully in the moonlight.

It was my first time doing this, and I was nervous. I found the place where the straw was stored, and carried it to the door to pile up.

He prepared oil, and as long as he poured it on, the fire would start instantly.

Taking a deep breath silently, his heart beating in his throat, Lin Sanzhu squatted on the ground. Just as he took out the matches, a dark shadow suddenly appeared behind him.

Before he could react, he felt a pain at the back of his head, his eyes went dark, and he fainted.

Lin Zhengrong had been in the army for so many years that he was extremely sensitive to the surrounding environment. He was not sleepy to begin with, so when he heard some movement near the wall, he got up to take a look.

Jiang Qiuyue heard a "bang" and came out from behind the door, "He wants to set fire to us!"

How evil must one's heart be to do such a thing?

"Tsk!" Lin Zhengrong put his finger on his lips and pointed behind the wall, indicating that there were people supporting him behind the wall.

Jiang Qiuyue came over, her arm touching his. She asked softly, "What should we do now? Tie up Lin Sanzhu and take him to the captain?"

"No hurry, they dared to do such a thing, I have to teach them a lesson first, it's not enough to just send them to the captain!"

Feeling the different temperature coming from his arm, Lin Zhengrong felt that he was a little hot tonight. "Go to sleep peacefully. Leave this to me."

Hearing Lin Zhengrong's words, Jiang Qiuyue couldn't sleep at all. She curiously asked, "What are you going to do?"

Lin Zhengrong leaned close to Jiang Qiuyue's ear, whispered a few words, and then habitually patted Jiang Qiuyue's shoulder. When his hand dropped, he realized that Jiang Qiuyue was not his comrade-in-arms, but he did not retract his hand.

"Go back. The children will panic when they wake up and see no one."

Jiang Qiuyue knew she couldn't help, so she tiptoed back to her room. She was nervous when she heard Lin Zhengrong say someone was coming, but now she felt relieved when she heard Lin Zhengrong say he was there.

At this time, Lin Xiao, who was outside the wall, was getting impatient. She stood on tiptoe but couldn't see what was going on inside the wall.

What's going on?

It's been so long, isn't it that Third Brother is just too slow?

Lin Xiao shouted "Third Brother" in a low voice, but there was no response.

Nothing should happen, right?

It shouldn't be like this.

It must be that the third brother is slow and hasn't lit the fire yet. It's really frustrating.

Lin Xiao looked around, trying to find a stone to rest her feet on, but at this moment she saw a tall figure suddenly appear in front of her.

Before she could even scream, Lin Zhengrong knocked her unconscious.

Lin Zhengrong carried one person in each hand and led the two people to the big river behind. He tied the two people's hands and pressed their heads into the river.

"Gulu Gulu"

Lin Sanzhu woke up first, but then the river water rushed into his nose and throat. He tried to struggle frantically, but a strong hand held his neck.

Just when he thought he was about to suffocate, the other party pulled him out of the river.

"Cough, cough!" Lin Sanzhu covered his throat and coughed and vomited wildly. He heard his sister's voice, who was also coughing.

"Lin...Lin Dazhu, are you going to kill someone?" Lin Xiao had already seen who it was. Her hands were tied tightly. She glared at Lin Dazhu fiercely, "Kill me if you dare. I won't let you go even if I become a ghost!"

What?

Is it the eldest brother?

Lin Sanzhu finally realized what he had just done and found that his hands were tied. He couldn't run away and was so scared that he peed his pants.

He doesn't want to die!

"Xiaoxiao, stop talking nonsense!" Lin Sanzhu cried and begged for mercy, "I was wrong, I really know I was wrong, big brother, please don't kill me, it was Xiaoxiao who instigated me to do it."

He hasn't married yet and he doesn't want to die.

Lin Zhengrong ignored the two men and repeatedly pushed them into the water, calculating the time before pulling them out.

After going back and forth like this five times, Lin Xiao's psychological defenses were broken.

"Brother, I was wrong too. Please stop it. I really don't dare to do it again."

It was so uncomfortable. The river water rushed into his nose several times. Lin Xiao thought he was going to die.

Of course Lin Zhengrong would not believe that these two people really admitted their mistakes, they were just afraid that he would really kill them.

He grabbed the two men by the neck, his voice colder than the river water, "Wrong? Not necessarily, Lin Sanzhu, Lin Xiao, you are really brave, if I didn't let you know fear, I would have lived for twenty years in vain!"

"Brother, I really regret it!" Lin Sanzhu cried and begged for mercy, but before he could say anything more, he was pushed into the water again.

Lin Zhengrong knew that letting a person run away was the most painful thing. He repeated this for an unknown period of time. When Lin Sanzhu and the other two had no strength left to struggle, he finally dragged the person ashore.

Lin Sanzhu and Lin Xiao were lying on the ground like dead fish, with nothing in their minds. When they saw Lin Zhengrong standing in front of them, they both trembled subconsciously.

"If you do that again, I'll make you into water ghosts!" Lin Zhengrong kicked the two men, "Get up!"

Lin Sanzhu didn't even dare to cry out loud, it was too scary, he thought he was really going to die.

He covered his mouth and couldn't calm down for a long time, but he had to endure it and get up.

It was already dawn, and Lin Zhengrong asked two people to follow him. When Lin Sanzhu heard that they were going to the captain, he was really scared this time, "Brother, please let us go! I won't dare to do it again. You have already taught us a lesson, can you not send us to the captain?"

Lin Sanzhu didn't even dare to think about the consequences of going to the captain.

But Lin Zhengrong would not be soft-hearted. If he was not there, and Qiuyue was the only one at home with the child, if something happened, three lives would be at stake!

Lin Sanzhu and Lin Xiao were deliberately plotting the murder. If he wanted him to let them go, he’d just dream on!

Lin Zhengrong grabbed Lin Sanzhu's neck and if they refused to leave, he would drag them away.

Lin Sanzhu was still crying and begging on the way, but when he entered the village, he dared not make a sound for fear of being seen.

Lin Xiao was so exhausted from scolding that she just shouted "Help" a few times near her home, but her parents didn't hear her.

After taking the two men to the captain's house, Lin Zhengrong produced the evidence of Lin Sanzhu's arson and explained what had happened.

"You little bastard, you are no good. Luckily, you are here, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous!" Hu Haizhi got angry when he saw Lin Sanzhu and his sister, but then he breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, nothing happened, otherwise the reputation of the village would be ruined. "Lin Sanzhu, Lin Xiao, our village hasn't seen anything like this in many years. I really want to dig out your hearts to see how evil you are."

"Captain, no...it didn't succeed." Lin Sanzhu still wanted to defend himself. He wanted to set fire, but he didn't want to kill Jiang Qiuyue and the others. He just wanted to burn down the house so that Jiang Qiuyue and the others had no place to live.

Moreover, he was knocked unconscious before he could even light a fire. He had been tortured for a whole night and felt that it was enough.

"Just forget about it if it doesn't work?"

Hu Haizhi was so angry that smoke was coming out of his head. He slapped Lin Sanzhu hard several times and said, "That's because you were caught. If you hadn't been caught, wouldn't you have succeeded? If you really set the fire and someone died, you would have been shot too!"

"And you!" Hu Haizhi looked at Lin Xiao, "Sanzhu said that this was your idea. How can you be so vicious as a teenage girl? You have watched Beibei and Nannan grow up. If anything happens to them, can you sleep well?"

After cursing, Hu Haizhi and Lin Zhengrong sighed, "Fortunately, you had the foresight to make the decision. These two little beasts in the Lin family are really not human!"

Lin Zhengrong glanced at Lin Sanzhu and his sister, and the two of them trembled subconsciously. This was exactly what he wanted. "Captain, this is how it is. You can decide how to deal with it."

"We will definitely criticize them in front of the whole village!" Hu Haizhi assured Lin Zhengrong, "If they dare to do such a thing, I will make them pay the price!"

Lin Zhengrong is a soldier. If he doesn't handle this matter properly and Lin Zhengrong is dissatisfied, how can he continue to be the captain?

As for Lin Zhengrong, he had already taught Lin Sanzhu and his sister a lesson. Handing the person over to the captain was a way of giving face to the captain. After all, they lived in the village and had to maintain a good relationship with the captain.

And he also knew that since he had said so, the captain would not let Lin Sanzhu and his sister off easily.

When he returned home, he saw the smoke rolling out of the chimney. Lin Zhengrong felt the homely atmosphere and a smile appeared on his thin lips.

"Dad, you're back!" Lin Beibei didn't see her dad when she woke up in the morning, and thought he had left again. "Mom said you went out, what did you do?"

Lin Zhengrong touched his son's head and said, "Let's go out and exercise. Do you want to come with me?"

"Okay!" Lin Beibei also likes his father. He has a father now, and other children can no longer say that he has no father. And his father is very strong, stronger than anyone else in the village!

Jiang Qiuyue steamed sweet potatoes and eggs in the pot and had a simple breakfast. If Lin Zhengrong hadn't come back all night, she would not have slept well and would not have gotten up so early.

After breakfast, Lin Zhengrong went to kill a chicken, and Jiang Qiuyue grabbed a handful of wild mushrooms and soaked them in warm water.

After blanching the fresh chicken, just add cooking wine and ginger to stew. Because it is an old hen, it needs to be stewed for a longer time. After covering the pot, Jiang Qiuyue stretched her waist and heard the village radio broadcast, asking everyone to gather at the village committee square.

Jiang Qiuyue heard Lin Zhengrong talk about what happened last night and felt that she couldn't miss such excitement.

After adding wood into the stove and closing the gate, the family of four ran into Wang Chunhua and others who were also going out.

Wang Chunhua got angry when she saw Lin Zhengrong. Only someone as ungrateful as Lin Zhengrong could say such a thing as breaking off an engagement. She said in a weird tone, "Humph, it's so early in the morning. You're really unlucky to run into some unlucky people."

Lin Erzhu was also annoyed. There was no benefit in breaking off the engagement. Dabao hadn't eaten eggs for a long time. "Yeah, let's go faster and don't stay with this kind of person."

"Auntie, you guys need to hurry up, otherwise it will be too late and boring if you go." Since the engagement was severed, Jiang Qiuyue stopped calling her mom and said with a mocking smile.

"It's none of your business. We can walk however we want!" Wang Chunhua said angrily, pulling her second son to walk faster. "Why don't I see your brother and sister? I didn't see them at breakfast, and I don't see them now. Where did these two go?"

Lin Erzhu was also puzzled, but his sister always loved to play, so it was possible that she took his third brother out. "It should be Xiaoxiao who took his third brother to catch cicadas."

"It's already daybreak, why haven't you come back yet?" Wang Chunhua was a little angry. They were all young kids, so what was the big deal of not going home so late at night?

"Mom, don't worry. They are so old, how can they get lost?" Lin Erzhu was not worried. "They went far away while catching cicadas. They are smart and may come back soon."

Thinking about it this way, Wang Chunhua also felt that this was the truth, and she became curious about why the captain broadcast the assembly.

When they arrived at the square and saw Lin Sanzhu and Lin Xiao with big-character posters hanging on them, the family thought they were seeing things. After repeated confirmation, Wang Chunhua rushed over.

"Who did it? Who the hell did it? Stand up in front of me!" Wang Chunhua stood on the stage and saw that her son and daughter looked pale. She wanted to untie the ropes for them, but was pulled away by Hu Haizhi.

"I did it, what do you want?"

Hu Haizhi got angry when he saw Wang Chunhua. "Do you know how brave they are? They actually dared to set fire to someone's house. If someone died, they wouldn't be here to be criticized!"

"What?" Wang Chunhua didn't react.

Lin Fugui asked, "Is this a mistake?"

Hu Haizhi said that he was right. "Dazhu caught them in person at night, and they admitted it themselves. I said, Uncle Lin, our lives are not easy. I understand that your family wants some money from Dazhu. But if you can't get the money, you won't do such a wicked thing, right?"

Set fire to people?

Are Lin Sanzhu and Lin Xiao so brave?

When the villagers heard what Hu Haizhi said, they couldn't believe it. No one had thought that Lin Sanzhu and his sister could do such a thing.

The way they looked at the Lin family changed from scrutiny to disgust. The people around Lin Fugui stepped back one after another, as if they had seen something dirty.

Jiang Qiuyue's family of four arrived at this time. When they saw Lin Zhengrong coming, they all asked what was going on.

Lin Zhengrong told him what happened last night, and Lin Fugui glared at him, "They are young and ignorant, you can just beat them up, nothing happened, do you really have to arrest them and criticize them? Lin Dazhu, you are so ungrateful!"

"Should we let them go if nothing happens? If they succeed in setting someone's house on fire, wouldn't it be too late to catch them?"

Jiang Qiuyue said immediately, "And it was Dazhu who was at home yesterday. He has sharp hearing and was the one who discovered Lin Sanzhu and his sister. If it was just me and the two children at home, when the fire started, we wouldn't be able to escape and we would be dead now!"

If the fire doesn't burn yourself, you will never feel pain, so Jiang Qiuyue said this deliberately.

Everyone’s house is built with great difficulty, not to mention that there are people inside the house.

When the villagers looked at Lin Sanzhu and his sister again, their eyes became ferocious.

"Village chief, we can't let them off so easily. If they don't repent, who will be in trouble?"

"Mrs. Niu is right. Lin Sanzhu and Lin Xiao are too bad. Beibei and Nannan are only five years old, yet they dared to set fire to people. They must be arrested and sent to labor reform!"

"Yes, first criticize and then reform through labor!"

"Smash you two bastards to death!"

…

Someone started throwing stones and the rest followed suit.

Stones of all sizes fell on Lin Sanzhu and Lin Xiao, and soon, Lin Sanzhu's forehead was broken.

Lin Xiao cried for help, "Mom and Dad, please save me, I am in so much pain. My third brother and I didn't do anything to them, why are you doing this to us?"

Wang Chunhua went over to block her youngest son and shouted for them to stop. "What are you doing? They are still young and ignorant!"

After hearing her say this, some people got even angrier, "Twenty years old is still young. When I was twenty, my son would already call me dad!"

Lin Fugui went to beg Hu Haizhi, "Captain, please make them stop. If they continue like this, Sanzhu and the others will be crushed to death!"

Lin Erzhu and Qian Li didn't dare to say a word for fear of getting into trouble.

Hu Haizhi saw that the fight was almost over, so he asked everyone to stop. "I asked everyone to come here today to tell everyone that our village will never tolerate any criminals."

Everyone applauded and said yes.

Hu Haizhi continued, "Comrade Jiang Qiuyue is right. If Dazhu hadn't been there yesterday, the mother and her two children would have been in real danger. I have already discussed this with the village committee and will have Lin Sanzhu and Lin Xiao criticized here for three days before sending them to the farm for reform!"

"Okay!" Everyone said yes together.

Seeing Lin Fugui coming over again, Hu Haizhi spoke first, "Uncle Lin, I advised you to discipline your family members. But you just didn't listen to me. Now that something has happened, it's useless for you to plead with me. There's no need to say more. The matter has been decided and I will not change it."

Lin Fugui's knees went weak and he almost fell to the ground.

How could this happen?

Everything was fine before, but why is it like this now?

It all started with Jiang Qiuyue stealing the eggs. When looking at Jiang Qiuyue, Lin Fugui's eyes were filled with hatred, but he quickly put it aside and knelt down in front of Lin Zhengrong.

"Dazhu, I know you hate us for treating Qiuyue and her son badly. But over the years, we have worked hard even though we have not made any contributions. For the sake of your mother and me, please let Sanzhu and your sister go and don't let them go to labor reform. I kowtow to you, please!"

He is Lin Zhengrong's father. No matter how bad he is, he has knelt down to Lin Zhengrong. He doesn't believe that everyone is still on Lin Zhengrong and Jiang Qiuyue's side.

Lin Zhengrong half-closed his eyes, and the villagers surrounded him and Lin Fugui in a circle.

Some people discussed it in a low voice, and some older people whispered that Lin Fugui and his wife did raise Lin Zhengrong.

But after everyone talked about it, no one came out to persuade Lin Zhengrong and Jiang Qiuyue.

Jiang Qiuyue knew that Lin Fugui was trying to blackmail her again. Lin Zhengrong couldn't open her mouth. After all, the Lin family didn't raise her. She stepped forward and said, "Uncle Lin, we can't just let this go. Sanzhu and Lin Xiao committed a crime and should be punished. Otherwise, if anyone commits a crime in the future and comes to beg for mercy, wouldn't that mean they can kill people?"

At this time, a woman stood up. Jiang Qiuyue saw that it was Zhou Cuicui again and raised her brows slightly.

"Qiuyue, you're making it sound too serious. Actually, you guys are fine. Why are you holding on to it?"

Zhou Cuicui only said bad things about Jiang Qiuyue, "Dazhu is a soldier, you are so petty, don't affect Dazhu's reputation."

"Sister Zhou, what does it mean that you care so much about my man's reputation?" Jiang Qiuyue hadn't noticed it before, but now she discovered that Zhou Cuicui glanced at Lin Zhengrong from time to time.

Zhou Cuicui blushed, "What can I mean? I am just considering your family. Am I wrong? You are a family after all. Would it be too harsh to kill you all?"

"I'm sorry, we broke off the engagement yesterday. As for this family member, if you like, I'll give it to you." Jiang Qiuyue sneered.

"Yes, I'll give it to you." Lin Zhengrong said cooperatively, and then looked at Lin Fugui who was kneeling on the ground, "I said yesterday that not destroying your house was my biggest concession. It's you who didn't educate your child well. You should blame yourself."

The matter came to an end. Jiang Qiuyue said that there was still chicken soup stewing in the pot and asked Lin Zhengrong if he wanted to go home.

Lin Zhengrong smiled and said yes, and the family left without looking back.

It was only after returning home that Lin Beibei asked what labor reform was.

Jiang Qiuyue explained earnestly, "People who do bad things will be taken away for labor reform. There will be endless farm work to do every day, and they won't have enough to eat. So we have to be good people and we must not do bad things. Do you understand?"

Lin Beibei nodded vigorously, "I will definitely be a good child." He grabbed his sister's hand again, "Nannan too!"

Lin Nannan nodded, and the two of them smelled the aroma of chicken soup in the pot and looked into the pot at the same time.

Jiang Qiuyue opened the lid of the pot, and the rich aroma of chicken soup wafted in instantly. She added a small amount of salt and tasted it. The old hens raised at home were different.

"One bowl for each of you. Blow on it before drinking." After serving the two children chicken soup, Jiang Qiuyue served another bowl to Lin Zhengrong. "You worked hard last night and haven't slept yet. Hurry up and drink more."

Lin Zhengrong took the bowl, which was still hot. He suddenly thought of what Chen Guowei said, "You don't know how good it is to have a wife and children and a warm bed. When you go home and see your wife, you'll know what I mean."

The chicken soup tasted sweet and fresh. Just as he finished drinking it, Jiang Qiuyue gave him another piece of chicken.

"Eat it while it's hot. I'll add some noodles and use chicken soup as the base. It will definitely be delicious." Jiang Qiuyue was greedy just by saying it.

Wash two cucumbers, smash them, add chili peppers, vinegar, and sugar, and eat them with chicken noodle soup later, so you won't get sick of it. She also fried a bowl of pickled cabbage, which she had eaten a few days ago, and she had to fry it a few more times to make it fragrant.

Lin Zhengrong sat in front of the stove, taking over Lin Beibei's job. Lin Beibei was still a little unhappy until Jiang Qiuyue called him to pick vegetables, then he ran out happily.

"It's time to eat!"

Everyone had eaten chicken before, so they weren't that hungry this time. There weren't many noodles, so each person had a bowl. Jiang Qiuyue was afraid that Lin Zhengrong wouldn't have enough, so she added, "There are still noodles in the pot. If you don't have enough, you can help yourself."

The noodles were sprinkled with green onions as a garnish. Jiang Qiuyue picked up a piece of sauerkraut and mixed them together. After taking a bite, the aroma of the chicken soup filled her mouth. At the same time, the sauerkraut cut through the greasiness of the fat, which whetted her appetite.

Lin Zhengrong was also very satisfied with the meal. He finished a bowl of noodles in just a few chopsticks. He had a big appetite, and when he finished serving the noodles, Jiang Qiuyue was already full.

After he sat down, Jiang Qiuyue suddenly looked at him and asked, "By the way, has Zhou Cuicui ever had any thoughts about you?"

“Ahem!”

The noodles choked his throat, and Lin Zhengrong's face turned red. He quickly shook his head and said, "She and I have nothing to do with each other!"