Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

Before Deputy Director Liu could finish speaking, Jin Wanfu interrupted him with a smile and a raised hand.

"Director Liu, you're overthinking it."

"Huh?" Deputy Director Liu was taken aback.

With a cigarette dangling from his lips, Jin Wanfu calmly revealed the truth: "Brother Zhao broke off all ties with her a long time ago; you could say they're practically enemies now."

Seeing a hint of disbelief flash in Deputy Director Liu's eyes, Jin Wanfu flicked his cigarette ash and gestured towards the depths of the compound:

"Don't you think about it? If they hadn't truly become enemies, what mother would do something like this? Based on the whistleblower materials she submitted today, if they're true, or if she's been arrested as a prime example of economic sabotage, Zhao Shanhe wouldn't be spared even with ten heads. She's here to take her own son's life."

Deputy Director Liu coughed awkwardly, his anxiety instantly vanishing.

Jin Wanfu dusted off his sleeves and added with remarkable clarity:

"So you don't need to hold back at all when dealing with Li Cuihua. Whatever she did at the county committee gate today, you should handle it according to the rules. Criticize her if necessary, investigate if necessary, and don't give her any special treatment just because she's Zhao Shanhe's mother."

Deputy Director Liu was finally relieved, a knowing smile appearing on his face as he nodded repeatedly.

"Now that Boss Jin has said that, I understand what's going on."

After finishing his business, Jin Wanfu didn't linger. He said goodbye, got into his jeep, and drove straight away from the county government compound.

After watching the jeep disappear into the rain, Deputy Director Liu turned around and headed straight for the security department deep inside the compound with a cold face.

Walking under the cold, damp corridor, Deputy Director Liu touched the crumpled whistleblower report in his pocket.

Now that he no longer needs to worry about Jin Wanfu and Zhao Shanhe, he's determined to teach those two reckless old fools a lesson today.

He came to the county committee compound and threw a tantrum, almost causing him to lose face in front of so many subordinates, and nearly losing his official position.

Do they really think he, the deputy director of the county party committee office, is made of clay and has no temper?

Want to just relax and be locked up for a few days and then go out? Dream on!

Deputy Director Liu has been working within the system for so many years, he has plenty of ways to frame people.

He has plenty of ways to keep them locked up for a few more months, and he can make sure that no one can find any fault with it.

Disrupting government offices is just a pretext; the real charges—undermining the county's overall foreign exchange revenue and slandering local leaders—can all be exaggerated.

During this sensitive period, if he utters a single word, he could easily pin deadly accusations on Wei Baoguo and Li Cuihua: spy, secret agent, deliberately sabotaging local economic development...

Once the label is attached, the case becomes "major" and the background becomes "complex".

Since it is complicated, the security department naturally needs to investigate slowly and examine it carefully.

As for how long the investigation will take—whether it will be months or years—no one can say for sure. It all depends on the progress of the investigation and the cooperation of the suspect.

In any case, everything was done according to the rules, and there was not a single fault that could be found between superiors and subordinates.

Once this lengthy compliance process is completed, even if these two old geezers don't die, they'll be practically ruined, and they'll never have the will to cause trouble again.

As they walked deeper into the compound, Deputy Director Liu stopped in front of a dark room.

The door was tightly shut, and from inside came intermittent suppressed screams and curses of mutual tearing.

Deputy Director Liu pushed open the iron door of the interrogation room with a blank expression and stepped inside.

……

at the same time.

Dozens of miles away, Kaoshantun presents a completely different scene.

While dark clouds loomed overhead and torrential rain poured down in the county town, a bright, shining sun shone directly overhead in Kaoshantun.

The early spring sun has dispelled the lingering chill of winter, shining warmly on people and making them feel a lazy, comfortable feeling deep in their bones.

The Zhao family's spacious red-brick courtyard was quiet and peaceful. Several strings of freshly picked golden corn hung under the eaves, and dried mushrooms and wood ear fungus were spread on half a bamboo mat.

A gentle breeze rustled the corn husks piled up in the corner.

Zhao Shanhe had moved a long bench to sit by the door of the main room to bask in the sun, with a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers.

He had originally planned to take advantage of the rare quiet time to think carefully about what to do next.

They definitely won't be going back to Hongxing Machinery Factory. After Da Niu and Lao Hei recover from their injuries, they can't really let these dozen or so brothers stay in Kaoshantun all day long and live off their savings.

But what exactly should he do...? He had barely thought of a few things when the warm sun shone down on him, and as he was thinking, his head tilted to the side, and he actually fell asleep against the wall.

The half-smoked cigarette had fallen to the ground sometime earlier, burning out a small clump of black ash before quickly going out on its own.

Zhao Shanhe stretched his long legs out casually in the yard, with one arm draped over his chest.

"father……"

A very low, childish voice suddenly rang out.

Niu Niu squatted not far away, her two little hands supporting her knees, sneakily staring at the sleeping Zhao Shanhe, with the big black dog Hei Long lying beside her.

The little girl looked at her father, then at the dog, and put a short finger to her lips:

Shh—Daddy's asleep.

Black Dragon tilted its head in agreement.

Niu Niu tiptoed and picked up a clean corn husk from the ground, walked to Zhao Shanhe's side, and stood on tiptoe to cover his stomach.

But the corn husks are too small; they cover the chest but expose the belly, and cover the belly but expose the chest.

The little girl fussed around for a long time, her brows furrowed in anxiety. In the end, she simply grabbed seven or eight pieces and spread them all over Zhao Shanhe's body in a mess.

Lin Xiu, who had just come out of the backyard, stopped in her tracks when she saw this scene:

What are you doing?

Startled, Niu Niu quickly turned her head and whispered an explanation:

"Mom, Dad will be cold sleeping."

Lin Xiu glanced at the bright sun overhead, then at Zhao Shanhe, who was piled up like a corn stack by his own daughter, and almost burst out laughing:

"Your dad is practically sweating from the sun now."

Niu Niu thought about it seriously for a while, then obediently squatted down and took away the corn husks from Zhao Shanhe's belly one by one.

After only getting the third piece, Zhao Shanhe suddenly reached out and scooped the sneaky little thing into his arms.

"ah!"

Niu Niu let out a short scream in fright, followed by giggles:

"Dad's pretending to be asleep!"

"Who's pretending to be asleep?"

Zhao Shanhe's eyes weren't fully open, and his voice was still hoarse from just waking up, "You put corn husks up my nostrils, how could I not wake up?"

"No!" Niu Niu immediately denied loudly, "I was covering Dad with the blanket!"

"Give me corn husks to cover myself with?"

Zhao Shanhe opened his eyes, looked down at the serious-looking little girl in his arms, and couldn't help but grin.

Lin Xiu walked over carrying a basket of green beans. Seeing the father and son bickering, she chuckled and teased, "Alright, stop teasing her. What do you want to eat tonight? I'll go get it."

Zhao Shanhe, holding Niu Niu, leaned back against the wall, squinted at the clear blue sky above, and casually replied, "Anything will do. I've been out socializing every day lately, eating big meals of meat and fish, my stomach is full of oil and fat, and I'm starting to crave a simple home-cooked meal. A little corn porridge, with these green beans in your basket, and a few flatbreads will be just fine."

Lin Xiu rolled her eyes at him, skillfully picking the green beans in her hands while muttering, "You're easy to deal with."

Zhao Shanhe lowered his head and pinched Niu Niu's chubby little face, chuckling as he said, "You're finally home, shouldn't you be more relaxed? Or are you going to be on edge every day?"

After saying that, he closed his eyes again: "I'm going to sleep a little longer."

But this time, before Zhao Shanhe could really fall asleep, the roar of a car engine suddenly came from afar on the dirt road outside the village.

"Rat-a-tat-tat—"

The sound grew closer, breaking the tranquility of the courtyard.

Zhao Shanhe slowly opened his eyes again after he had just closed them. At the same time, the black dragon, which had been lying in the sun by the wall, also raised its head alertly.

Zhao Shanhe listened for two seconds, then raised an eyebrow slightly.

That voice... it sounds kind of familiar?

Not long after, a green Beijing Jeep covered in mud turned into the village.