At first, Li Laosan used the same old tricks, pretending to be pitiful and wronged, refusing to admit that he had switched the mangoes, and even saying that Yin Susu was a paranoid person who had made a mistake.
"Advisor Yu, it's impossible for mangoes on a mango tree to be the same size. These mangoes are well-nourished and grew on the sunny side, so it's perfectly normal for them to grow better. This woman insists that I switched them. I really have a grievance but nowhere to seek justice."
Yin Susu argued her case forcefully and pointed out that the mangoes that Li Laosan had switched were actually his.
“Yu Yao, I really didn’t lie. These mangoes were picked from elsewhere. I’ve seen all the mangoes in this area, and the biggest one is only this big.”
As she spoke, Yin Susu picked up one of the larger mangoes and handed it to Yu Yao.
“Look at these mangoes that have been switched. Each one is a size bigger than this one. They definitely can’t be from this mango grove.”
Li Yuanqing stood up to speak for Li Laosan: "Comrade Yu, we can understand that this woman has never grown mangoes before and may misunderstand us, but what she said is just speculation and should not be taken seriously."
Li Laosan was originally worried that the brigade leader would expose him, but now that he saw that the brigade leader was on his side, his momentum immediately increased.
"The captain is right. Your comrades have misunderstood. These are mangoes from this mango grove. To say I switched them is an insult."
“Although I, Li Laosan, am a scoundrel, I have reformed. You women must apologize to me.”
Yu Yao walked to the basket, had someone pour the mangoes out of the basket onto the ground, and then used a twig to examine them.
There weren't many mangoes that met the criteria for the problem mango; there were about twenty or thirty in a pile of mangoes, and they were larger in color and size than the other mangoes.
If she hadn't known something beforehand, she probably would have believed Li Laosan's words and thought it was normal for the mango to grow big.
Yin Susu was so angry she almost cried, but no matter how hard she tried to prove it, she couldn't produce any evidence. There were no other people from the side business group nearby who saw it, only people from the Qingshuiwan Brigade.
Even if the people from the Qingshuiwan brigade saw it, they would only help their own brigade, not Yin Susu.
Just when the people from the Qingshuiwan brigade thought the matter would be dismissed as a misreading, Yu Yao spoke up.
"Li Laosan, you said you picked these mangoes from this mango grove, do you remember which tree and which spot you picked them from?"
Li Laosan's eyes flickered for a moment, then he nodded, "Of course I remember."
He glanced at the mango grove and casually pointed to the largest tree in the grove, "I picked it from that tree."
Yu Yao didn't even look at it, and coldly stared at Li Laosan, saying, "You're lying!"
Feeling guilty, Li Laosan said in a fierce but weak voice, "Why do you say I'm lying! I picked it from that mango tree, I remember it clearly."
“No,” Yu Yao interrupted him, saying directly, “These twenty or thirty mangoes are not from this mango grove at all. They were picked from the mango grove on the mountain at the east end of the village, the one that your Qingshuiwan brigade says is haunted.”
The moment the words "haunted mango grove" were uttered, the faces of everyone from the Qingshuiwan Brigade present changed.
The faces of Li Yuanqing and the other brigade cadres turned pale and then red, wondering how much Yu Yao actually knew.
Only the members of the side hustle group were completely baffled. However, although they didn't know how Yu Yao knew, they unconditionally trusted her.
As soon as Yu Yao finished saying "the haunted mango grove," the people in the side business group chimed in, "Yes, the haunted mango grove."
Regardless of what the legends surrounding this haunted mango grove are.
Yu Yao wrapped a large, bright red mango in a leaf, held it up to Li Laosan, and said, "You washed this mango with pomelo leaf water, didn't you?"
Li Laosan's eyes darted away. "I don't know what you're talking about. What pomelo leaves or anything like that? I don't know anything about it."
"I heard that pomelo leaves can remove impurities, and that washing things with pomelo leaf water can wash away ghostly filth. Since you can't find the problem with the mangoes, you assume it's the work of ghosts. After washing them with pomelo leaves, you found that eating the mangoes wouldn't cause any major problems, so you tried to get away with it and sell this batch of mangoes."
As Yu Yao spoke, she glanced at the other members of the Qingshuiwan Brigade, and finally her gaze settled on Li Yuanqing.
"Captain Li, do I need to continue? Or shall we go to the mango grove at the east end of the village and pick a few mangoes to compare?"
Li Yuanqing gave a bitter smile.
"Advisor Yu is indeed shrewd; nothing can be hidden from you. These mangoes were indeed picked from the mango grove at the east end of the village. We admit our mistake and accept the punishment. What do you suggest? Whether it's deducting money or refusing to cooperate, we'll accept it."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the others from Clearwater Bay behind him changed.
"Captain, Li Laosan did all of this. He should be punished, not us!"
"Yes, Captain, even if they don't want these mangoes, they can just pick them out. We can't cancel the cooperation."
Li Yuanqing glanced at the expressionless Yu Yao, then turned to the objectors and said, "Is it really only Li Laosan who's doing this? How many of the mangoes in these baskets were picked from the east end of the village? Do we need to pick them out one by one?"
Upon hearing Li Yuanqing's words, many of those who had opposed him lowered their heads and said nothing more.
Yu Yao wasn't surprised; she had already guessed it after seeing the mangoes in Li Laosan's pocket.
It's often said that when you find one cockroach, you already have a ton of them in your house.
Li Laosan was definitely not the only one who thought of switching the mangoes.
What she didn't expect was that Li Yuanqing was so decisive that he was willing to deduct money and refuse to cooperate.
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