"Divorce? What kind of elderly person forces a young couple to divorce when their daughter-in-law is pregnant? What, are you afraid your grandson's wife will steal your precious son?"
"I think you're just resentful because you feel your daughter-in-law has stolen your two sons' hearts, and you wish your Zhao family had no daughters-in-law..."
Qin Jin unleashed a torrent of abuse, leaving Chu Mei, standing at the door, blushing furiously. She stammered "you, you, you," her mouth agape, still trying to retort, "You're a shameless mistress, no, a second master..."
"Shut up!"
Zhao Tingguo finally couldn't bear it any longer and interrupted his wife's unwarranted insults, feeling annoyed for the first time.
"Why are you making such a fuss and finding fault with your daughter-in-law? Do you want everyone to laugh at the Zhao family?"
After Zhao Tingguo's accusations, not only did Chu Mei stare wide-eyed in disbelief, but everyone around her was even more incredulous.
The legendary Commander Zhao, who was said to have doted on his wife for decades, actually scolded her in public.
Chu Mei stood there blankly, seemingly having forgotten how to cry.
For the first time, Zhao Tingguo didn't look at his wife's unpleasant expression and walked away on his own.
Political Commissar Hao then led several leaders to the makeshift meeting tent.
Zhou Jiuzhen and Ling Huanwu followed closely behind and entered the conference room together.
Political Commissar Hao handed over the map that Zhou Jiuzhen had submitted two days earlier to the leaders and explained the true situation of the coal mine.
"Actually, the coal mine we're talking about is fake. Our real target is the treasure. The main reason we're calling it a coal mine is because we're afraid someone will destroy it!"
The leader was shocked and looked at Ling Huanwu, "Then why did you so confidently say that you could find a coal mine in a month? Weren't you just playing us?"
Ling Huanwu took out the map that Zhou Jiuzhen had copied from Su Haiting and spread it out in front of everyone. "A few days ago, Jiuzhen and I studied it for a long time. We felt that this treasure map was somewhat similar to the geography of our island, until I suddenly remembered this map..."
As she spoke, she took out a map from her shirt pocket and spread it out in front of everyone.
The leader carefully examined the two maps, pushing up his glasses and looking at them for a long time before finally concluding, "These two maps look somewhat similar, but they don't seem to be the same place."
Ling Huanwu nodded, which was considered as agreeing with the leader's conclusion.
But then she changed the subject, stating the opposite conclusion, "Actually, both maps show the same place! They're both of the major mountain ranges near our high-altitude camp!"
The leader stared in shock, his eyes wide with disbelief. "How is this possible? You mean the treasure is in the mountains near our high-altitude camp? But this treasure map clearly doesn't resemble our current map!"
"Yes, of course it doesn't look like it, because this treasure map has been around for hundreds of years and has gone through several storm surges. Many mountains have been eroded or collapsed into other shapes, so it is naturally different from our current map."
Ling Huanwu nodded, objectively pointing out the problem, and then pointed to another map that she had gotten from the pilot, her eyes shining brightly, "I only understood this principle after seeing this aerial map."
“Our usual maps are based on on-site measurements, combined with hand drawing and limited mechanical assistance. The whole process relies on manual operation. Not to mention that hundreds of years ago, maps were even more crudely made. In addition, with the passage of time, two maps can look very different. However, even after hundreds of years, many geographical locations still look roughly similar when viewed from the air!”
She pointed to the location marked on the treasure map with one hand and to the location on the aerial map with the other, "The location of the treasure on this treasure map looks like a bird, and this location on the aerial map looks like an eagle. It's the place where Jiu Zhen and I had our accident last time. The shape is about 70% similar..."
She then superimposed the two similar maps, and finally pointed to the aerial map that most closely resembled the current geographical environment, concluding, "The location of this treasure map is the location of Eagle Eye!"
The leader looked on in shock, then turned to Political Commissar Hao and Zhou Jiuzhen, who clearly already knew the location. “Comrade Ling is incredible! He actually found the treasure location just like that. You know, it took that old lady Su several years to find our Wantan Island. The people of Wantan Island denied that the map was from our island. I never expected that you would crack it so easily!”
Zhou Jiuzhen had been keeping a straight face and hadn't said a word until now, but when he heard his wife being praised, he couldn't help but slightly curl the corners of his lips, which he quickly suppressed.
He picked up his enamel mug, tilted his head back, and deliberately took a sip of water, saying smugly, "You just found out? My wife graduated from Gangcheng Women's College, she's so talented!"
It looked just like a proud peacock.
Commissar Hao glared at him, thinking to himself, "I thought these two had a fight, but now I see they weren't arguing at all. They were just putting on a cool and aloof show of affection!"
“When Comrade Ling first said it, we were just as shocked as you. So Comrade Ling and I discussed it and decided to use the excuse of exploring coal mines to gather the villagers to go up the mountain to search for treasure. We said we were looking for coal mine sites, but in reality, we were looking for the location of the treasure.”
Political Commissar Hao poured the leader a cup of tea and patiently explained the ins and outs of the matter to him.
The leader finally realized what was going on and understood, "So later, when some villagers went to look for a coal mine elsewhere, you were deliberately detained to buy time to catch the mole?"
The group was surprised by how quickly the leader reacted, immediately guessing that there was a traitor among the villagers.
Zhou Jiuzhen also recalled the scene of the thief breaking into their cozy little wooden shed and altering the map that night, and he still felt lingering fear.
Normally, the two of them would need to whisper sweet nothings to fall asleep.
That night, the two of them were still feeling unsatisfied and had difficulty falling asleep.
To everyone's surprise, someone pushed open the door in the middle of the night, altered the map, and damaged the exploration tools.
They didn't understand what the disguised aunt was up to, so they waited and watched, intending to lure out the person behind the scenes and expose their true purpose, so they could finally kill her with one blow.
Zhou Jiuzhen tapped the table lightly, his eyes cold. "That's right. I never expected those aunties to secretly go to the coal mine and then frame us!"
Political Commissar Hao also testified from the side, nodding and saying, "That's right, I can testify to that. Jiuzhen gave me the real map as soon as Comrade Ling finished drawing it. There was no motive to use a fake map to harm the villagers."
Hearing this, the leader was even more puzzled, "So what are your plans now? When are you going to close the net?"
Ling Huanwu smiled, her gaze subtly falling on Zhou Jiuzhen, who had turned his head away and refused to acknowledge her, looking determined to win him over.
"Of course, we're waiting for the person behind the scenes who instigated the villagers to walk right into the trap, so that those greedy people with ulterior motives will be completely exposed!"
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