RIRW – Chapter 50

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Zuo Dan didn’t wake up until noon. She put on a cotton coat and boots, and spent most of the day warming herself by the stove. She felt so comfortable that she wasn’t even eager to go outside. The winter was truly cold, and there was half a foot of snow outside. Last night, when delivering the goods, she had been worried that the truck might break down. Luckily, the truck was reliable. However, the weather only strengthened her resolve not to continue with the business.

Besides feeling unsettled, there was another important reason— it was too exhausting!

Zuo Dan was someone who liked to enjoy life. If it weren’t for wanting to build a house and improve her living environment, and to be able to openly enjoy a good life, she probably wouldn’t be doing all of this.

Just like her grandmother, once the family bought a house, her grandmother basically stopped doing the fruit business. The two of them, grandmother and granddaughter, just lived off a few fruit trees at home. After meals, her grandmother would go out for a walk or play cards. Life was so stable and carefree.

Although Zuo Dan didn’t want to go out, she couldn’t stay home. At noon, the family had to go to her third uncle’s house for lunch, mainly to divide the money. She and Zuo Chengcai had already split the money in the car the night before.

This time, the family had invested in over 200 fruit baskets, making a profit of about 500 yuan. Zuo Dan’s oranges were considered part of the cost, but for her, it was essentially a no-investment business, so the money was her pure profit. With the return of the initial investment, she ended up with over 200 yuan. Zuo Chengcai got a little over 100 yuan, and the remaining amount was split equally between Grandmother Zuo and Zuo Dacheng.

The money was divided strictly according to the accounts, and Grandmother Zuo didn’t understand these things, so she didn’t interfere. Li Hui and Zuo Dacheng had no objections either.

When Zuo Chengcai took out the money, the three of them were so excited that their necks and faces turned red.

Especially Zuo Dacheng and his wife. This time, they took home 100 yuan in principal and profit, plus the wages for their work, making a total of 125 yuan. The family’s assets had doubled. Grandmother Zuo regretted a little, wishing she had invested more when she saw how much money they made. Now, she only had about 30 yuan.

However, for her, this was enough. After all, the third son often sent her money, and she didn’t have many places to spend it.

Once the money was divided, everyone was in a great mood. They quickly went back to hide the money safely and then returned to sit down and eat.

Perhaps it was because they had earned money, everything tasted delicious. Even a simple meal seemed sweet and satisfying.

Zuo Chengcai said, “In a few days, I’ll bring some meat back, and we’ll have a prosperous New Year.”

Hearing this, Grandmother Zuo felt extremely happy and thought that life was getting more and more prosperous. Next year, they were going to build a new house. But then, she thought of her neighbor, Zuo Hongjun’s family, and felt a bit melancholy. Why couldn’t their family’s life become prosperous?

“Bang, bang, bang—”

Just as they were eating, someone knocked on the courtyard door. “Mom, it’s me.”

When Grandmother Zuo heard Xu Fengxia’s voice outside, everyone’s brows furrowed.

“Mom, I’ve made some food at home and brought it to you.”

“Hmph, so you know how to bring me food now? That’s a surprise, like the sun rising in the west.”

Grandmother Zuo stood up to open the door.

Zuo Dan frowned slightly, thinking she heard a hint of nervousness in Xu Fengxia’s voice.

Outside, Grandmother Zuo opened the door and saw Xu Fengxia and Zuo Hongjun standing at the doorstep, followed by several people, including Zuo Shuisheng and a few unfamiliar faces. At the back was her own daughter, Zuo Chunhong.

Grandmother Zuo was stunned for a moment, wondering why so many people had come to her house.

Xu Fengxia’s face wasn’t very good, and she didn’t dare to speak. She stepped aside, and the men behind her walked in. Zuo Shuisheng followed them, sighing heavily.

Grandmother Zuo snapped out of her daze and ran toward the house. “What are you doing? This is my house. How can you just come in?”

Inside the house, Zuo Dacheng and Zuo Chengcai heard the noise and quickly came out, only to see several people looking around their kitchen. After checking the kitchen, they tried to enter the main room. Zuo Chengcai wasn’t scared of them, so he immediately stopped them. “What are you doing? Why are you snooping around in someone else’s house?”

“We’re from the town’s police station. We received a report about you are speculating and hoarding goods. We’re here to investigate,” said the middle-aged man at the front, his face expressionless.

Hearing the words “speculating and hoarding,” Grandmother Zuo almost fainted from fear.

The others also looked unhappy. Zuo Dan snorted. “Who said we were speculating and hoarding? Let them investigate. We’ve done nothing wrong, so we’re not afraid. But if they don’t find anything, the person who made the report should not be let off easily. Otherwise, anyone could accuse anyone of speculating, and that’s not how we maintain good police-community relations.”

Hearing Zuo Dan’s words, the Zuo family also came to their senses. Yes, all their stuff had already been moved. What was there to be afraid of?

Zuo Shuisheng’s face darkened. “Dacheng, Chengcai, here’s the situation. Comrade Zuo Chunhong reported speculating and hoarding at the commune, and the commune handed the matter over to the police station for investigation. Our production team is just assisting with this. We can’t just rely on someone’s word without evidence. Don’t worry. Let the police investigate first, and we’ll talk after that.”

Zuo Chengcai snorted. “I have no objections, but I agree with Dandan. If anyone is malicious and slanders us with lies, we won’t accept it.”

He stepped aside to let them in for the inspection.

After a while, the people came out. There was indeed nothing in the house, except for a few pounds of smoked meat in the kitchen.

Seeing the police take the smoked meat out, Zuo Dan said, “My third uncle bought that for the elderly. Is it wrong to buy meat for them? Isn’t it the city people who are the ones who really speculate and hoard?”

The police were also feeling frustrated. Since the report came from a family member, the commune had found it credible and asked them to act quickly, but when they arrived, there was nothing.

Zuo Shuisheng, seeing the situation, regained his confidence and took a deep puff of his cigarette. “Zuo Chunhong, Xu Fengxia, what do you have to say for yourselves?”

Zuo Chunhong immediately pointed at Xu Fengxia. “She said it. I heard her say it.”

Xu Fengxia was shaking in fear. “I… I saw a lot of meat. How come there’s only a few pieces now?”

Zuo Dan asked, “Aunt, when did you see the meat at our house? Don’t tell me you just smelled it and imagined it.”

“No, I saw it with my own eyes, through the kitchen window in the backyard. I stood on a stool to look,” Xu Fengxia shouted.

“Then where is the meat?” Zuo Dan pressed, “Did you just imagine it, or were you deliberately framing our family? Aunt, is it just because we split the family that you’re holding a grudge? The old lady still cares about you, trying to reunite, but you’ve framed us like this. You’re trying to ruin our lives and accuse us of speculating. You’re harming the elderly!”

Grandmother Zuo heard this and recalled something. She rushed over to Xu Fengxia and slapped her twice. “You shameless thing! Just because we didn’t agree to reunite the family, you’re framing the old Zuo family. How did we end up with someone like you as a daughter-in-law? You have a black heart. What a sin…”

It was unclear whether Xu Fengxia was scared or genuinely saddened, but the old lady started crying uncontrollably, tears and snot flowing freely. “The eldest family came to talk about reuniting yesterday, and today she came to see me. I didn’t agree. How could I have known she’d be so cruel?”

Zuo Chengcai was also furious, his face reddening and his neck bulging. He pointed at Xu Fengxia. “I was wondering why you suddenly did this. Now I know, it’s for revenge!”

“I didn’t do anything! It was Chunhong, Chunhong said it. She’s the one who reported it,” Xu Fengxia cried, covering her face. Her eyes were red. How did everything turn out like this? It was clearly her sister-in-law who made the report. She even said that if the report went through, her husband might be reinstated as the village leader and might even get into the commune!

Zuo Chunhong quickly said, “It was you who said it. You said there was a lot of meat at home, but I wasn’t around. How would I know? You even said the old lady couldn’t get any meat, so I thought if she couldn’t eat it, she must be speculating to make money.”

Zuo Dan was furious. “Aunt, how could you think like that about the elderly? The old lady doesn’t eat the meat because she wants to save it for the younger generation. She’s concerned about Third Uncle’s hard work and Xiao Cong who is studying outside and can’t get good food. She’s saving it for them. How did it turn into speculating and hoarding in your ears?”

Zuo Chunhong was stunned by Zuo Dan’s words. Could her mother really be this generous, saving things for the younger generation? Her daughter got to benefit from it, but none of her other brothers had that treatment.

The old lady rushed over to slap Zuo Chunhong twice. “Heartless beast, I gave birth to you, a wolf with no gratitude!”

Zuo Shuisheng and the police officers had dark faces.

It turned out that the so-called “speculation and hoarding” was nothing more than a family dispute that had led to this absurd situation.

Zuo Shuisheng was extremely angry and stamped his foot. “Alright, enough with the nonsense!”

Grandmother Zuo stopped cursing, although her tears and snot were still flowing. She was terrified and thinking to herself, “This is truly frightening.”

Zuo Shuisheng took a deep breath, and his anger eased a little. The truth about what happened today surprised and infuriated him.

The Zuo family was fine, but to hurt others over such a trivial matter—was this still the Zuo family?

Over the years, because they respected their ancestors, there hadn’t been any physical fights in the Zuo village. The worst that happened were some arguments, but no one ever insulted their ancestors.

Who would have thought this family could cause such a commotion, attracting the attention of the commune and the police?

He cleared his throat and said solemnly, “Today, in front of the police comrades, this matter is clear. This is a false accusation! Comrade Zuo Chunhong and Comrade Xu Fengxia did not understand the facts, and without any evidence, they spread this false information to the commune to take revenge. This behavior is wrong! It’s despicable!”

Zuo Shuisheng’s tone was heavy, and every word made Xu Fengxia and Zuo Chunhong tremble.

Xu Fengxia pointed at Zuo Shuisheng and said, “Zuo Shuisheng, why are you saying that? I saw it with my own eyes. I didn’t make a mistake.”

“You still dare to speak!” Zuo Shuisheng angrily pointed his cigarette at Xu Fengxia. “Xu Fengxia, I know, for all these years, you haven’t shown me any respect, haven’t regarded me as the village leader. I also know the reason why.” He glanced at Zuo Hongjun, who had been keeping his head down behind Xu Fengxia.

“Today, in front of the commune and the police comrades, I’m going to talk about what happened back then. Do you know why Zuo Hongjun was removed? When the commune asked our village for ten representatives to decide on this matter, no one objected to removing Zuo Hongjun. Do you know why? Because he didn’t do well, and no one in the village wanted him to be the village leader!”

“You’re talking nonsense!” Zuo Hongjun finally raised his head, his face red and neck bulging as he shouted.

“If you don’t believe me, go ask others. It’s not just about the incident with Dacheng’s wife; the whole village wanted to replace you. The reason you became the village leader back then was because you could read and had stayed in the provincial capital, so everyone trusted you. But what did you do? You never considered the people in our village. When the upper authorities told us to deliver five thousand catties of grain, you forced us to deliver it first. Many people couldn’t meet the quota and were starving. They begged you, Zuo Hongjun, to ask for some leniency. Everyone was struggling, but you just said, ‘The higher-ups have decided, so it’s final.’ You only cared about the reward from the top and led the village to ruin. And what about your wife? When she was in the village, what good deeds did she ever do except act like the wife of an official? You were the leader, and no one respected you.”

Everyone in the yard, including Zuo Hongjun, was stunned.

Back then, Zuo Hongjun had been removed because of his poor family background and the negative impact it had. No one expected there was more to the story.

Zuo Shuisheng sighed in anger. “Those representatives kept it from you, worried that you wouldn’t accept it, and would bring up Dacheng’s wife’s background to prevent you from being the village leader. You had to accept it. Yet, all these years, you’ve still held onto this grudge. You’ve never accepted the leadership’s authority. If it hadn’t been for today’s trouble, I wouldn’t have said anything, but now I can’t stay silent. I don’t want Zuo Hongjun causing more unrest in the family because of his bitterness.”

Zuo Shuisheng’s words hit Zuo Hongjun like a thunderclap, leaving him stunned. All these years, Zuo Hongjun had kept thinking about how well he had done, how the commune leaders valued him, and how they always praised him. No one in the village had any complaints. How could he suddenly be told he wasn’t good enough and had been removed?

“I don’t believe it! You’re lying to me! You’re all lying to me!” Zuo Hongjun’s eyes turned red, and he hurriedly ran out.

No one stopped him, as everyone’s gaze was fixed on Zuo Shuisheng.

The police officers also felt uncomfortable. They had come to investigate a case, but now they had heard all this personal drama. The middle-aged officer in charge said, “Since this matter is clear, we’ll report to the leaders first. As for the punishment for Comrade Zuo Chunhong and Comrade Xu Fengxia, we’ll wait for the leaders’ decision.”

Zuo Shuisheng nodded. “Thank you for your hard work. I’ll have Dacheng drive you back.”

Dacheng, realizing what was happening, took two steps forward, but the police officer quickly responded, “No need, no need. We came here in the commune’s car, which is warm and blocking the wind. We’ll head back now.” After finishing his words, they hurriedly left, feeling embarrassed by the whole situation.

Once the officers were gone, Zuo Shuisheng shook his head at Xu Fengxia, no longer wanting to deal with the Zuo family’s issues.

After everyone left, Grandmother Zuo looked at Xu Fengxia and Zuo Chunhong with a look that seemed like she wanted to devour them.

Zuo Chunhong spoke first, but Zuo Dan immediately interrupted. “Aunt, how could you be so cruel? Don’t say we didn’t do it—if we had, you still couldn’t act this way. You’re trying to harm the old lady! She’s so old—are you trying to get her shot or thrown in prison?”

Zuo Chunhong quickly replied, “Mom, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Zuo Dan responded, “This family only has three uncles and Grandma left. Who else could you harm besides them?”

Zuo Chunhong was left speechless. She hadn’t really thought about harming anyone—it didn’t matter who it was. She had just hoped that after the report, the commune would reward her, maybe even offer her a job, or help Hu Changjiang gain some merit. After all, as a woman, shouldn’t she consider her husband’s family?

Could she honestly say this out loud?

She didn’t speak, but others knew what she was thinking. Reporting her own family—there could only be personal gain in it.

Grandmother Zuo covered her chest, pointed at Zuo Chunhong, her lips trembling. With a sudden roll of her eyes, she collapsed to the floor.

Fortunately, Zuo Chengcai was quick to react and caught her. Seeing Grandmother Zuo’s pale face and clenched teeth, everyone was terrified. “Mom—”