A domineering country girl flirts with her son, and Commander Huo can't resist.

He Hua pulled Qiao An through many obstacles and finally squeezed into the first row.

On the high platform, Mu Yu and Hao Renming stood bound hand and foot.

Mu Yu's head was almost touching her chest.

Hao Renming's face was ashen; if someone hadn't been supporting him, he probably would have collapsed to the ground long ago.

If it were just an ordinary affair, Qiao An might have felt some sympathy, but it wasn't because she overheard Mu Yu and Mu Zhifeng's plan that things changed.

So what kind of predicament will Huo Jiyun face today?

She didn't even dare to think about it.

Based on her understanding of Huo Jiyun, she knew he probably wouldn't agree to a divorce.

If Mu Zhifeng and his men really write to the Northwest Army to sue Mu Yu, Huo Jiyun's future will be over, and he will have no choice but to return to Lianchi Village and become a farmer.

Then he might never see his biological parents or receive everything that was rightfully his.

The denunciation rally was presided over by county leaders, and the scene was extremely spectacular.

Many people were cursing from below the stage, and quite a few elderly women were throwing clods of dirt at the top.

This wasn't a denunciation or struggle session at all; it was a celebration for ordinary people.

Before long, Mu Yu and Hao Renming's bodies and faces were a mess.

Mu Yu's petite body trembled on the stage; she was filled with regret.

If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have schemed against Huo Jiyun. If she had just approached him slowly, with her looks and talent, she would definitely have been able to attract Huo Jiyun's attention.

I was too impatient! Ultimately, it was because I was too hasty.

But what's the use of thinking about these things now?

Mu Yu cried so hard that her face was covered in snot and tears. When she looked up, she saw the ferocious faces of the people below the stage, as if they wanted to devour her.

Amidst the frenzied crowd, she spotted the calm Joan.

She was different from everyone else; she simply watched herself silently.

Qiao An and Mu Yu's eyes met. She opened her mouth and silently said, "Serves you right."

Seeing Qiao An's lip movements, Mu Yu was almost certain that Qiao An was behind this.

Just as she was about to shout, someone behind her pulled her back.

It turned out they were going to announce the verdict on their cases.

Needless to say, Hao Renming was not only stripped of his title, but also had to undergo several years of reform through labor.

Upon hearing the outcome of her investigation, Mu Yu instantly collapsed into a state of utter weakness.

"No, no! I don't want to go to jail! I don't want to go to prison! Mom and Dad, save me, save me!"

"I don't want to go to jail! No!!"

Li Yan didn't intend for them to go to jail, but the matter had blown up and the whole county knew about it. The county committee even held an emergency meeting overnight, believing that the incident had a bad influence and needed to be dealt with seriously.

Actually, this is considered lenient. If this had happened a few years later during a crackdown on crime, they might have even been sentenced to death.

Qiao An felt that there was nothing wrong with the handling of the situation. With Mu Yu in prison, the Mu family would behave themselves. At least they wouldn't cause any more trouble before she went to the Northwest with the army.

Mu Yu and Hao Renming were dragged away in full view of everyone.

The commune compound gradually returned to quiet.

Qiao An returned to the police station, inspected the kitchen, and then rode her tricycle to find Geng Qiusheng to discuss the matter of contracting the canteen window.

There are many intricacies involved in the canteens of state-owned enterprises.

The vast majority of them belong to the public, but in this era, there are also many who abuse their power for personal gain.

It's an unwritten rule that the factory manager's relatives secretly contract out the canteen's food stalls.

Geng Qiusheng, as the director of the logistics department, was well aware of the disputes that took place in the small canteen.

But the steamed buns, pies, and dumplings that Qiao An makes are so delicious that some people even have their family members line up before the cafeteria opens just to buy two buns.

There have even been cases of people fighting over cutting in line.

It's no wonder the workers were greedy; it's just that in this day and age, resources are scarce, and food is extremely limited.

Qiao An already had plenty of filling, and the seasoning used to mix the filling was decades old. The taste was so good that even the top leaders in the capital would dream about it.

When he mentioned taking over the canteen window service, Geng Qiusheng patted his chest and said, "I talked to the Party Secretary about this today. You are a great contributor to our factory. Secretary Yu said that if you really come, the contract fee will be one hundred yuan a month."

This can also be understood as a monthly rent of one hundred.

Daily sales are conservatively estimated to be four to five times higher than they are now.

It's safe to say you'll make a profit.

"Director Geng, please allow me to think about it carefully. After all, I'm doing well at the police station right now, and it wouldn't be good to suddenly resign."

Geng Qiusheng nodded repeatedly. Qiao An was a formal employee of the police station. These days, formal employees have a secure job; no one dares to lose it so easily.

But then I thought, Qiao An is the gold nugget of the machine tool factory, even if the police station doesn't want to deal with it.

With her skills, it wouldn't be a problem for her to become an eighth-grade worker in a machine tool factory.

Then Geng Qiusheng told her some news: "Because of the spy incident last time, Master Sun Xiwang has retired early, and the factory is short of talent."

Geng Qiusheng was implying something to her.

Joan simply nodded and didn't say anything more.

She'd rather cook than deal with machines every day.

After leaving the machine tool factory, Joan rode her bicycle to the black market.

After this stroll, I noticed that the black market was much more orderly.

The henchmen that Feng Sanqiang hired would patrol from time to time, and they all seemed quite capable.

When we arrived at Feng Sanqiang's house, he was cooking porridge for his grandmother.

When Qiao An entered the room, she was surprised to find that it was just plain white rice porridge.

Putting everything else aside, Feng Sanqiang is truly filial to his grandmother.

Grandma Liu learned from Feng Sanqiang that Qiao An had cleaned up the black market and even paid them wages, which made her look at this young woman with new respect.

"Sanqiang, go and talk business. I'll just watch over things in the kitchen." With that, she shooed Feng Sanqiang out.

"Sister, the money I earned today from selling vegetables and fruits totaled 137.25 yuan."

Feng Sanqiang handed the money to Qiao An.

Qiao An calculated it to be 140, took out 28 from it and handed it to Feng Sanqiang, saying, "This is for the three of you brothers."

He earned 28 yuan in one day, which is equivalent to a month's salary for an average factory worker.

Feng Sanqiang's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he looked at the money in his hand, feeling both nervous and excited.

"Sister, this is the list of vendors who didn't pay the entrance fee and the goods they sell."

The black market has its own rules. Although Rat and his gang aren't good people, they're quite capable of managing the black market.

Paying an admission fee makes malicious people hesitant and honest people have something to rely on, which is good for everyone.

"There were more than ten people who didn't pay the entrance fee, and they basically sold all sorts of things."

Feng Sanqiang handed over a piece of paper.

Joan looked at it carefully.

These people include men, women, young and old.

There were vendors selling soap, snacks, coats, and dried goods.

In short, Joanne has everything they sell.

"Sanqiang, I noticed that the house next to yours has been empty all this time. Does no one live there?" Qiao An asked, pointing to the east.

"Yes, Aunt Wang's son works in the county town, so the house is empty."

"Talk to Aunt Wang. I want to rent her house as a warehouse. I'll store all the goods I give you there, and you can sell them yourselves."

"Okay, I'll go see her today."

"Big sister, what should we do with these people? They keep refusing to pay the entrance fee, and people will start to complain if this goes on for too long," Feng Sanqiang asked, frowning.

"I have everything they sell. I'll bring it to you tomorrow. You can take it out and sell it at the same price as them. If those people come and ask, just tell them that since they've paid the entrance fee, we won't be competing with them for food in Jinshui Town."