Chapter 54
The incident happened so quickly that the villagers gathered around were all surprised, wondering why Zhang Baosheng was so angry with the new educated youth. They wanted to ask what was going on and help to mediate if it was not serious, but then they heard what Comrade Xiao Qiu said.
An older woman shrieked, "He reported Comrade Xiao Zhou? Comrade Xiao Zhou is such a nice person, why would he report her?"
"Why did you report Comrade Xiao Zhou?"
Everyone's mind was full of the fact that Comrade Xiao Zhou, who helped them sell vegetables and helped the brigade sell woven products to the provincial capital, was reported, and it was that male educated youth who reported him.
So, some comrades are trying to find a way out for their brigade, while some comrades, who have no skills at all, not only do not help but also get involved?
The fellow villagers who realized the situation were not happy.
"You son of a bitch, I'm going to kick you to death." Sheng Hongshan was standing nearby, so angry that he kicked him.
"You deserve a beating, can't you bear to see our team doing well?" An aunt went up and pinched him.
"Our Forward Brigade owed you a debt in our past life for causing such destruction in there."
Before Zhao Weiguo could even argue, his face and nose were bruised and he was howling under everyone's feet.
Fearing someone might die, Li Jingdang stopped the angry villager, pulled him up from the ground, and asked, "Comrade Zhao Weiguo, you..."
He paused as the words left his mouth.
According to the process, we should first ask this comrade whether he has reported Comrade Xiao Zhou, and then hold him accountable after confirming that it was him.
But the people of the Forward Brigade did not play by the rules. They went astray when attacking Zhang Baosheng, and made direct qualitative judgments right from the start.
What he didn't expect was that Comrade Xiao Qiu, who gave him the impression of being very methodical, directly and recklessly put the blame on Zhao Weiguo. Comrade Zhao Weiguo didn't even have time to defend himself before he was beaten into this state.
If it weren't for him, Zhao Weiguo would have thought that the responsibility would have fallen on Comrade Xiao Qiu.
He paused for a moment before continuing along Qiu Zeming's train of thought, "I'm Li Jingdang, the commune secretary. This matter has received great attention from everyone, and the city is also awaiting the results of the investigation."
He also picked up Zhao Weiguo's hand and shook hands with him, showing his proper courtesy.
Li Jingdang was relatively cautious. He suspected Qiu Zeming had resorted to deception, considering the local police station had no evidence. While he couldn't directly agree with his claim, he could indirectly pressure Zhao Weiguo by stating another fact. If it was indeed him, he should understand the seriousness of the matter and avoid unnecessary excuses.
Zhao Weiguo was almost scared to death, how could he have the courage to argue?
If Qiu Zeming could deceive him, there would be no need for a commune secretary, right?
No, he didn't care about the burning pain on his face. He turned around and looked at Zhou Jiani in surprise. Why did she make such a small personal grudge known to everyone?
Seeing his expression, without even an instinctive excuse, Li Jingdang began to have some suspicions. This time he decided to use deception. He frowned and asked, "Comrade Zhao Weiguo, why did you report Comrade Zhou Jiani?"
"I, I, hiss—" Zhao Weiguo hissed with a twisted mouth, "I'm just angry that she stayed in the city to celebrate the festival. Why can she celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival at home, but we have to celebrate it here... poor?"
Zhao Weiguo, who hadn't yet realized the severity of the situation, wiped his mouth with his hand and said with a grin, "It was just a little misunderstanding. Now I've been beaten and scolded. I'm unlucky. Don't try to scare me with this. I admit it and apologize. Is that okay?"
Seeing his indifferent attitude, an old man next to him wanted to kick him, but Li Jingdang quickly stopped him.
Zhou Jiani said coldly, "So, you're reporting me right at the critical juncture of our cooperation with the department store? Have you ever considered that the impact of the report might ruin our cooperation with the department store?"
Zhao Weiguo's heart skipped a beat. He was stunned by what Qiu Zeming said about 'public security intervention'. His head was buzzing and he got beaten up before he could process what was happening. He completely ignored everything else. Now that Zhou Jiani was questioning him, he finally understood why Zhang Baosheng looked like he wanted to eat him and why his fellow villagers beat him up.
I thought Zhou Jiani was helping them sell vegetables, and they were helping Zhou Jiani. It turns out, it turns out...
He looked around in panic, and met a pair of unfriendly gazes. Zhao Weiguo felt a chill rising from the bottom of his heart.
Qiu Zeming, who was standing next to him, suddenly thought of something and said, "Zhao Weiguo, which neighborhood committee is responsible for Comrade Xiao Zhou's family?"
Zhao Weiguo felt his scalp tingling, and without thinking, he said, "How would I know?"
Love can go wherever it wants, what does it have to do with him?
Zhou Jiani narrowed her eyes. "You don't know? You don't know which street my family lives on. Then who made the first report call?"
"So, someone else made the report to the subdistrict office. You arranged it, right?" Qiu Zeming asked sternly. "Who was that person?"
Zhao Weiguo's heart skipped a beat, secretly regretting that he had forgotten about this and was exposed, but he couldn't betray his buddy. He stiffened his neck and said, "Everyone has their own responsibility. The responsibility falls entirely on me. Can't I shoulder it myself?"
"Secretary Li, don't stop me. I can't beat him to death..." A team leader wanted to untie his belt and beat Zhao Weiguo, but Li Jingdang stopped him with principle.
I've already beaten him up. What happens next is another matter.
Han Yang squeezed in, sweating profusely, and said, "Weiguo, what you did was indeed dishonest. You should speak out now. Who did you ask to report it? You should all apologize to Comrade Xiao Zhou together, right?"
Zhao Weiguo pursed his lips and said nothing.
"I didn't realize Comrade Zhao Weiguo is so loyal. Okay, then start investigating the people around you. First, call your parents' workplace and ask them to assist in investigating whether it's your family member. As long as you are not afraid of causing any impact on your family, just keep going. In addition to your family, your relatives may also be suspected, oh, and friends..." Qiu Zeming said in a cold voice, and Zhao Weiguo's face began to change color, and his eyes showed struggle.
Zhou Jiani turned her head and saw Liu Ailing quietly slipping away in the distance. She withdrew her gaze expressionlessly and looked at Zhao Weiguo again.
I don’t know whether Liu Ailing was involved in this matter, but with her methods, even if she was involved, she would clear herself of it cleanly and all the responsibility would be put on Zhao Weiguo.
Looking at the dejected Zhao Weiguo, Zhou Jiani felt as if she saw her foolish self in her previous life. She knew that Zhao Weiguo was probably a useless chess piece in Liu Ailing's eyes, unless he had the ability to turn the situation around.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Jiani tried to guide him, saying, "Zhao Weiguo, your reasons are hard to believe. Actually, strictly speaking, our conflict was caused by just a few simple arguments. It shouldn't have made you so paranoid. Did someone instigate you or tell you something..."
Before she could finish her words, Zhao Weiguo interrupted loudly, "No one, I just don't like you!"
He knew that Zhou Jiani must want to take the opportunity to implicate Comrade Ailing. This woman was so evil that her fellow villagers were all deceived by her.
Zhou Jiani sneered: "Oh, that's okay."
An old man nearby took advantage of Li Jingdang not paying attention and kicked Zhao Weiguo: "You evildoer, who are you talking to?"
Wang Changzheng and his colleagues rushed over after hearing the news, but they were a step too late. They had to watch Zhao Weiguo, with a bruised face, being taken to the commune by several members.
Zhang Baosheng didn't even enter the house. He handed all the documents and payments on him to the accountant Liu Tong, and told Zhou Jiani and Qiu Zeming to follow him to settle the accounts. Then he followed him back to the commune.
"Okay, let's all go home and get to work."
The scorer rang the gong and told everyone to go to work. After the accountant finished the accounts, those who needed to pay for their meals could go and pay for their meals.
Several educated youth looked at Zhao Weiguo's back as he was taken away, their expressions somewhat solemn, and they felt in their hearts that they were making a big deal out of nothing.
Wang Changzheng was assigned to the educated youth site with Zhao Weiguo, and since they were both family members of provincial steel workers, they had a good relationship. He came over to stop Zhou Jiani, moving her aside to talk. He whispered, "Comrade Zhou Jiani, Weiguo certainly didn't act right in this matter. He must know he was wrong. Could you please... have him formally apologize to you, or even give you some compensation? Just don't make such a big fuss, okay?"
Besides, he had already been beaten, so why was he taken to the commune?
Peng Guangrong also came over and stood side by side with Wang Changzheng. Although he didn't say anything, his expression seemed to be vaguely standing up for Zhao Weiguo.
Qiu Zeming stood behind Zhou Jiani. Yu Wanxia and Sun Ping, who also came to pick up Zhou Jiani with great enthusiasm and watched a big show before they could say anything, stood next to Zhou Jiani with an indignant look on their faces and glared at Wang Changzheng.
Wang Changzheng glanced at Sun Ping and gave her a wink. After all, they all came from the provincial steel company, so he asked her to join in the conversation.
Sun Ping rolled her eyes rudely.
Zhou Jiani ignored his small movements and said calmly, "Comrade Wang Changzheng, do you understand the whole story and are you trying to persuade me to be magnanimous?"
Wang Changzheng scratched his head. He really didn't know the details of what happened. He only heard that Zhao Weiguo seemed to have reported Zhou Jiani and was beaten up by his fellow villagers. He didn't bother to ask in detail and hurried over here.
Hesitantly asked, "So... reporting you because of a personal grudge?"
He understood it as a simple report, but Zhou Jiani relied on her contributions to the team, and the villagers sided with her and beat Zhao Weiguo up.
I want to help mediate.
Meng Jiandi and the others also ran over breathlessly. They had only heard the general idea and felt that there was no need to make such a fuss. They planned to help out a little, after all, they would have to work together in the future.
Seeing that the youth cadre center was about to be built, they would all move there. It was so close that it would be bad if things got too awkward.
The villagers who were about to go to work and had not yet walked far saw this and shouted, "What are you doing? If you dare to bully Comrade Xiao Zhou, it will not work."
Zhou Jiani turned around and smiled, "Aunt, don't worry, they want to know what happened. It's okay, I'll say a few words to them."
The villagers said, "Okay, Comrade Xiao Zhou, if you need anything, please call us anytime. In our Qianjin Brigade, no one can bully you."
After the villagers left, Zhou Jiani turned to look at Wang Changzheng, sighed helplessly, and asked him, "Do you think I'm making a big deal out of nothing?"
Wang Changzheng didn't say anything, which was considered as his tacit agreement with his opinion.
"Okay, while everyone's here, I'll explain in detail." Zhou Jiani glanced at the few old educated youth who had gathered around her. She raised her voice and recounted what had happened. Finally, she said, "If we were to make an anonymous report at a critical point in our cooperation with the First Department Store, would you think twice? Would you suspect that we've inadvertently blocked someone's financial path and are reporting them to disrupt us?"
"During their investigation, the subdistrict office contacted our commune by phone and confirmed that I was wrongly accused. But then they received a second report. No matter how the subdistrict office explained, the other party refused to give in and even made threats. This further intensified our suspicions that the whistleblower wasn't targeting me personally, but our cooperation plan."
"We had no choice but to call the police. The commune also realized the seriousness of the matter. Director Zhai of the commune reported the case to the local public security bureau and reported the situation to higher authorities, who then reported it to the city..."
She said with a serious expression, "So at this point, this matter can't be resolved by whether I forgive him or not. It depends on how the leadership handles it."
Wang Changzheng was completely bewildered. He thought it was just a simple report stemming from a conflict between Zhao Weiguo and Zhou Jiani. Indeed, he had heard Zhao Weiguo complain about Zhou Jiani quite a bit these days.
But I didn’t expect the matter to be so complicated, and I didn’t expect Zhao Weiguo to report it twice in a row!
Yu Wanxia exclaimed, "Oh my god, Jiani, I was envious of you being able to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival at home. I didn't expect your experience in the provincial capital to be so turbulent."
Sun Ping also had a serious expression on her face. She asked Wang Changzheng in a harsh tone, "Wang Changzheng, do you still think Jiani is making a big deal out of nothing? Zhao Weiguo absolutely deserves it."
Peng Guangrong quietly took a step back. Meng Jiandi sighed silently, her ears burning with guilt.
Everyone thought it was too simple.
Wang Changzheng wiped his sweat with his hand and said weakly, "Comrade Zhou Jiani, I'm sorry. I was too one-sided."
Zhou Jiani nodded, accepting his apology, and said, "By the way, the man who followed Zhao Weiguo's instructions in the provincial capital to report me and then threatened the neighborhood committee office is called Peng Zhen. Do you know him? Is he the son of a provincial steel worker?"
Wang Changzheng's expression was as if he had eaten a fly. "My upstairs neighbor is also my classmate and deskmate. How did Zhao Weiguo let him get involved?"
In order to avoid going to the countryside, he took his married sister's job as soon as he graduated and stayed in the city.
Sun Ping was also speechless: "They live in the same dormitory area, in the same workshop and group as my parents."
At that time, her family suggested that they get married. She looked down on Peng Zhen, and Peng Zhen also looked down on her.
Sun Ping thought that she had to write a letter to her mother quickly and stay away from the Peng family.
People who would report someone behind someone's back just for a minor conflict were not very human. Although it was Zhao Weiguo's idea, Peng Zhen's doing this was truly despicable.
And Wang Changzheng actually thought that Zhao Weiguo only needed to apologize after making the report. What kind of person is he!
If things hadn't been so complicated and the commune leaders hadn't intervened, would he still want to persuade Jiani to shake hands and make peace with Zhao Weiguo?
There's a hole in your brain.
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