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

"Comrade, you're saying this is meat from diseased or dead animals?"

Zhao Shanhe's voice was very soft, yet it was like a cut on the surface of ice:

"Are those eyes on your face just for venting your anger?"

Dead silence.

The once bustling market seemed to be put on pause by this sentence.

Ma Mazi was stunned.

In Qingyang Town, the man in the yellow coat is the king. Forget about insults; everyone who sees him usually offers him cigarettes, smiles obsequiously, and calls him "Master Ma." Even the middlemen who deal in large quantities of goods wouldn't dare to embarrass him in public.

"Hey! Sure!"

Ma Mazi laughed in exasperation, straightening his crooked dog-skin hat, revealing a genuine ruthlessness in his triangular eyes:

"Dare to talk back? And dare to verbally abuse law enforcement officers?"

He didn't bother arguing about the quality of the meat at all, and simply waved his hand behind him, his tone menacing:

"Detain him! Take him and the goods away! I'll see if he'll still be so stubborn once he's in the station!"

Upon hearing this, the two henchmen became truly determined.

One of them rolled up his sleeves, spread his five fingers like an eagle's claw, and grabbed directly at the most valuable roe deer skin in the basket.

Zhao Shanhe's eyes turned cold.

He knew these people's character all too well; once the goods got into the station, it was like throwing good money after bad.

"Whoosh!"

A cold light exploded.

No one saw how Zhao Shanhe made his move.

The razor-sharp knife, like a venomous snake, emerged from the sleeve and slammed into the thick wooden frame of the basket with a loud "thud!"

The blade was less than half an inch from the henchman's finger.

The hilt was still buzzing and vibrating, making a teeth-grinding sound.

The henchman screamed "Oh my god!" and pulled his hand back as if he'd been electrocuted, almost clenching his pants.

"You're a law enforcement officer, I'm letting you investigate."

Zhao Shanhe gripped the still-trembling hilt of his knife with one hand, his body slightly hunched, like a fierce tiger guarding its prey:

"But what's in this basket is something I risked my life for. Anyone who tries to take it away without a proper explanation..."

He raised his head, his deep eyes filled with icy shards.

"Then don't blame me for breaking the rules."

Ma Mazi felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

He could tell that this kid was ruthless, someone who was truly willing to fight to the death. But after all, he was still wearing that "skin," and in front of so many people, he couldn't afford to lose face.

"Who...who are you trying to scare? This meat was already diseased! I'm just doing my job!"

"Sick?"

Zhao Shanhe sneered and did not continue to pester him. Instead, he suddenly turned his head and locked his gaze on the fat man next to him with a livid face—Liu Changchun.

The hunter's trap is ready.

Zhao Shanhe clasped his hands in a fist salute to Liu Changchun, deliberately raising his voice a few decibels, each word ringing with conviction:

"Master Liu, you are the head chef of the state-run hotel and an expert in knife and spoon handling in our county."

"You were about to pay for it just now, but now Captain Ma insists it's rotten meat..."

Zhao Shanhe paused, then looked at Liu Changchun with a playful expression:

"Doesn't that mean you, Chef Liu, are blind? Or... that you plan to buy this diseased meat to poison the county leaders?"

Lore!

This move put Liu Changchun in a very difficult position!

Liu Changchun didn't want to get into trouble, but if he didn't say anything after these words, it would be tantamount to admitting that he was going to create a political incident!

That's a crime punishable by death!

"fart!"

With a roar, Liu Changchun swung his massive body to the side, unleashing his official aura.

"You son of a bitch! You don't know anything!"

Liu Changchun pointed at the meat in the basket, his finger almost poking Ma Mazi's face, his voice stern:

"Open your dog eyes and take a good look! The cut surface of this meat is dry and bright red! This is freshly slaughtered meat! I've been a purchasing agent for twenty years. If I couldn't even tell the difference between good and bad meat, I would have gone home and been taking care of my kids long ago!"

"You're saying this is diseased flesh? Are you trying to say I, Liu Changchun, am blind? Or are you trying to murder the Party Secretary?!"

This huge accusation left Ma Mazi completely dumbfounded.

He dared to bully poor hunters, but he wouldn't dare offend Liu Changchun, who served the county magistrate, even if he had a hundred lives.

"No, no, no... Master Liu, please calm down. I received a report..."

"report?"

Zhao Shanhe seized the opportunity, took a step forward, and stared intently at Ma Mazi, as if he were watching prey that had fallen into a trap:

"Captain Ma, isn't the person who reported me, the one who wears glasses, looks quite refined, and is named Zhao Shanhai?"

Ma Mazi's heart skipped a beat, and she blurted out instinctively, "How did you know...?"

As soon as he said it, he immediately covered his mouth, but that half-sentence was enough.

Whoosh—!

The surrounding crowd instantly erupted in uproar.

"Zhao Shanhai? Isn't that this young man's younger brother?"

"Pah! That's outrageous! Even brothers would cut off each other's livelihood?"

"This isn't law enforcement; it's clearly settling personal scores! Using public power to settle personal grievances—it's utterly despicable!"

Public opinion shifted instantly.

Ma Mazi's face turned a deep purplish-red, the fig leaf of "law enforcement" completely stripped away in public.

He has offended Liu Changchun and aroused public anger. If things continue to escalate, he will really have to take off his uniform.

Seeing Ma Mazi in a difficult situation, Zhao Shanhe walked over and patted the dust off his shoulder.

Then, leaning close to his ear, she delivered the final, chilling blow in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Go back and tell Zhao Shanhai."

"Trying to mess with me? Let him come himself. Sending an idiot like you will only embarrass him."

Ma Mazi gritted his teeth, glared fiercely at Zhao Shanhe, and finally could only wave his hand: "Let's go! Go check over there!"

After saying that, he led his men and slunk into the crowd, his back view looking as pathetic as a stray dog.

"good!!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd.

Liu Changchun also breathed a sigh of relief, and his eyes showed more admiration as he looked at Zhao Shanhe.

"Bro, that's good! Tough enough, and slippery enough too!"

Without saying a word, he pulled out the wad of cash, didn't even count it, and stuffed it into Zhao Shanhe's hand.

"Sixty-five in total, keep the change! Consider the extra a treat for you to calm your nerves! From now on, if you have anything good, even in the middle of the night, just knock on my back door!"

Zhao Shanhe took the money, and the solid feel of it reassured him.

But he didn't take more; he pulled out a five-yuan note and stuffed it back into Liu Changchun's pocket.

"One thing at a time. Whatever the amount, that's what it is. I've made Mr. Liu my friend."

Liu Changchun was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, patting Zhao Shanhe forcefully on the shoulder: "Alright! Excellent!"

Zhao Shanhe carefully tucked the sixty yuan into the pocket of his shirt closest to his body, and then pressed it firmly through his thick cotton-padded coat.

Hard. Warm.

Those six thin paper tickets, pressed against his ribs, felt as hot as burning coals, carrying the heat through his veins all the way to his frozen heels.

He exhaled a long breath of white air, as if he had expelled all the ferocity he had shown in fighting with others.

When she looked up again, her eyes, which had been as cold as knives just moments before, now held an urgent eagerness that she could not hide.

He stopped thinking about his troublesome second brother and had no time for any grand revenge plans. At that moment, even the Emperor himself wasn't as important as his daughter's tattered socks with her toes showing.

Not far away, the peeling red signboard of the supply and marketing cooperative was more dear to him than anything else.

"Niu Niu, Daddy's going to buy you candy."

Zhao Shanhe grinned, revealing a set of big white teeth, shoved the empty basket onto his shoulder, and strode into the wind and snow.

That silhouette exuded a joy that no one could resist.