I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

Zhou Zhonghai called Jiang Deshan as soon as he returned to his office.

When the call connected, Jiang Deshan said gently and emotionally, "Commander Zhou, you've finally called."

They've only been apart for two days, why are two grown men acting so ambiguous?

Zhou Zhonghai discovered that everyone around him was a misfit.

Jiang Deshan was effeminate, and he looked at him like he was looking at a young wife.

Fu Sanjun is also very despicable; no matter how you look at it, he is a traitor.

"What's been found out in the Tripoli case?" Zhou Zhonghai asked seriously.

"Commander Zhou, the offenses committed by Li Bo are limited to a few brigades under the Yuetang Commune. Of the eight brigades in Yuetang, three have contracted out to individual households and have also opened up the aquaculture industry. The other brigades, however, have stubborn team leaders who are unwilling to pay tribute to Li Bo and still rely on the communal dining system."

Especially the Party Secretary of the Chunfeng Brigade, Zhang Dabiao, a former soldier with a volatile temper, was a sworn enemy of Li Bo. They had argued many times, and Zhang Dabiao had even called Li Bo a disgrace to the army in his office. It's said he wrote numerous letters of complaint to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Jiang Deshan is a woman, but he's serious and responsible when it comes to reporting on his work.

What are the methods used by Tripoli to amass wealth?

"That's a lot. This kid is stingy; he even asks the brigade for soybeans. Besides the extra grain tax and the benefits he gets from raising poultry, he asks the brigade for everything: soybeans, mung beans, dried chili peppers, dried mushrooms, dried green beans, tea leaves, flour...

If anyone could get their hands on bicycle tickets, sewing machine tickets, or watch tickets, they would be exempt from five years' worth of extra grain rations and tribute poultry. Commander Zhou was utterly exasperated; he wanted to take even the smallest thread home.

But this kid didn't take a single penny of the benefits home; he gave it all to a guy in the city named Cheng—Cheng what?

"Cheng Zhaoying".

"Yes, it was all sent to her house. Our police went to the city yesterday and found Cheng Zhaoying's house to investigate the stolen goods, but we were scolded and kicked out. The old man there said that they had never met anyone named Li Bo. As for the stolen money, it was all given to her by her daughter's friends. She ate what she wanted and spent what she wanted. In the end, we got the watch and sewing machine back. Since the stolen money can't be recovered, Li Bo will probably have to spend a few more years in prison."

"Jiang Deshan, tell Li Bo about the Cheng family's attitude."

"Is this related to the case?"

"It's not closed, I just want to annoy him."

"Yes, Commander Zhou. However, he was beaten too badly by you and is still in the emergency room."

"Jiang Deshan, I didn't hit Li Bo. Zhao Jintao did. How much could a weak college student like him do? You can deal with it yourself."

"Yes, Commander Zhou. Could you call me occasionally?"

"Get the hell out of here! I can't stand your babbling, get out..."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Zhonghai felt a heavy weight in his heart. How did Zhou Wenhui even fall for Cheng Zhaoying in the first place? If he were to marry her, the Zhou family would have to move out of business.

Then he dialed the provincial discipline inspection commission.

"Secretary Peng, this is Zhou Zhonghai. Is there any progress on He Youcai's matter?" Zhou Zhonghai asked directly.

A deep voice came from the other end: "It's rather complicated."

"Just say it directly, don't beat around the bush."

"He Youcai was promoted by Wu Zhengkai, the Party Secretary of Huailin City, you know that, right?"

"You know, right? Wu Zhengkai called me yesterday and told me to release He Youcai."

"What did you say?"

"Don't worry about what I say, just tell me the facts of He Youcai's embezzlement and bribery."

Officials are all so slippery; they only speak the truth after observing others' attitudes.

"He Youcai wasn't the only county party secretary under Wu Zhengkai. Our disciplinary committee's preliminary investigation revealed that six out of the ten county party secretaries in Huailin City were Wu Zhengkai's cronies."

"Where is the Party Secretary of Tonggang County?"

"He's not. Precisely because he's not, two years ago there was a small village that raised a few pigs and a few rabbits, and Wu Zhengkai confiscated all the pigs and rabbits in the village."

Zhou Zhonghai breathed a sigh of relief; at least Fu Sanjun still had a moral bottom line.

"The case is complicated and involves many people. He Youcai pleads not guilty, saying that he was just following his superiors' orders, and that he only gave 10% of the embezzled funds to Wu Zhengkai. Old Zhou, if we were to take action on this, it would be a major undertaking. Wu Zhengkai's father is a general, so I'm afraid we can't do anything about it."

"Okay, I understand. He Youcai cannot be released. Continue your investigation."

"Old Zhou, are you going to make a move against Wu Zhengkai?"

"If someone breaks the law, there's no one they can't touch."

The phone slammed down. Wu Zhengkai, the general's son, can't be touched. Humph, I'll take action anyway. It's not gentlemanly to leave a grudge unavenged, especially since this grudge involves ordinary people.

Zhou Zhonghai straightened his clothes, tossed his hair, picked up the phone seriously, and dialed again.

"Who is this?" The voice on the phone was very intimidating.

"Commander, hello, this is Xiao Zhou."

With an overly humble demeanor, a fawning smile, and constant bowing and scraping, isn't he just a spitting image of Fu Sanjun and Jiang Deshan?

"Little Zhou? Hahaha, old rascal, you remembered to call me?" Committee Member Pu laughed brightly.

I miss you terribly, but I know you're busy with work and I didn't want to bother you.

Zhou Zhonghai's voice dropped eight octaves, sounding effeminate.

"Stop with the nonsense, just tell me, what happened?" Committee Member Pu asked seriously.

"I want to take down Wu Zhengkai."

"Wu Zhengkai?"

"Wu Wanlong's son, the general's son, can we take him down?"

"What did he do wrong?"

"In Huailin City, he promoted county party secretaries to six out of ten counties. This was his duty, and there was nothing wrong with that. But he shouldn't have been eyeing the hard-earned money of the people. During my recent trip to Liuxian County, I visited the local commune and spoke with the farmers. They had contracted land to individual households, yet they were demanding more grain from the government. They also had to pay tribute for the pigs, chickens, and ducks they raised. For every 200-400 jin of wheat per mu, they wanted to take 100 jin."

Every pig, regardless of size, had to yield ten catties of pork. Ten chickens had to be raised, and only one had to be handed over. Commander Pu, I'm speechless. Even Zhou Bapi of the old society wasn't as ruthless as them. Farmers were already poor; when land was distributed to individual households, they thought a benevolent ruler had arrived. But instead, these people were going to gnaw the bones out of the people.

What's most infuriating is that they misreported the number of seeds. I went to the research institute to get new wheat seeds, and they conspired to take more and buy them at a higher price in the neighboring province. Commander Pu, I'm so upset..."

Overwhelmed with emotion, Zhou Zhonghai managed to squeeze out a few tears, and his voice choked with emotion.

"Isn't this the behavior of a local tyrant?" Commissioner Pu was indeed furious.

"Even local tyrants aren't as corrupt as them. They even ask ordinary people for dried green beans and eggplant peels. Commander Pu, I, Zhou Zhonghai, hate evil as if it were my enemy. I've never been afraid of anyone on the battlefield, but this time, I'm truly afraid. How could they be so corrupt and despicable? If General Wu knew, he'd probably jump out of his grave."

A loud "smack" came from the other side of the table, putting Zhou Zhonghai at ease.

If Commander Pu slams his fist on the table, this matter will become serious.