“Dad, how can you take the blame? This is everyone's business, and you're already old. You can't possibly go to the Public Security Bureau. If anything, just push it all onto me,” Gu Xingguo said with a frown.
As the eldest son in the family, he should shoulder the responsibility of the eldest at this time.
“Why argue when it’s come to this? Just listen to your father. You all have families to worry about, but your father and I have lived this long; there’s nothing to fear. We’re not afraid of being laughed at, nor are we afraid of going to jail,” Li Xiulan said, coming out of the room after tidying up her things.
“Brother, are you home?”
As they were talking, Zhang Changhe’s voice came from outside. Immediately after, the door was pushed open. Besides Zhang Changhe at the forefront, he was followed by two staff members in Zhongshan suits.
“These two are from the county, and they want to understand some things. Don’t be afraid. Just tell them what you know. If there’s nothing to it, they certainly won’t wrongly accuse you,” Zhang Changhe said, turning back and smiling apologetically. “Isn’t that right, comrades?”
The two staff members didn’t respond but directly took out paper and pens, recording as they asked, “Who is Gu Shoufu?”
Gu Shoufu stepped forward. “I am.”
“Did you raise pigs at home this year? How many?”
Gu Xingye had already raced to the village committee to call Chen Lishu from the town as soon as he heard about the report. He didn’t know how far the investigators would go. If they followed the clues, he worried more people might be implicated, so he had to notify Chen Lishu immediately.
After several rings, a woman’s voice came from the other end. “Hello, who is it?”
“Hello, could you please ask for Chen Lishu from Courtyard Number Six? Say there's an urgent family matter and ask her to come to the phone quickly.”
“Please wait.” Soon, there was a busy signal from the other end.
Without being able to see the time, Gu Xingye had no idea how much time had passed. He kept redialing the phone, and hearing only beeps, he became extremely anxious, breaking out in a sweat in the middle of winter.
Chen Lishu was doing chores at home when she heard a call from the village, and it was an urgent matter. Knowing something must have happened, she quickly threw down what she was doing and ran towards the telephone booth. Before she even arrived, she heard the phone ringing inside. She quickly sped up. “Hello?”
Hearing her voice, Gu Xingye felt much relieved. “Third Sister-in-law, something has happened at home. Someone wrote a report letter, reporting the entire family and Uncle Chen. Investigators are already at home.”
Chen Lishu’s mind went blank after hearing his words, but she quickly tried to calm herself. She reasoned that since they were investigating, they hadn't reached the stage of making arrests yet.
“Fourth brother, remember to stick to your story: the pigs were sold to the procurement station.” Chen Lishu paused, then thought of how she had a decent relationship with the station chief when she was helping to build the factory at the Zhenbei Procurement Station. She said, “Say that you were afraid the commune might shortchange you, so both pigs were sent to the town’s procurement station. Leave the rest to me.”
With Chen Lishu’s assurance, Gu Xingye felt much more at ease. He casually wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand. “Okay, Third Sister-in-law, I understand.”
Thinking of Chen Mantun and Wu Chunmei's personalities, Chen Lishu was still a bit worried. She instructed Gu Xingye, “Fourth brother, please keep an eye on my pig. I’ll try to get back as soon as possible.”
After hanging up the phone, Chen Lishu didn’t delay. She went home directly, got her bicycle, and headed to the Zhenbei Procurement Station.
“Xiao Chen, why do you have time to visit today?” Station Chief Wang Dafu was surprised when she walked in. Realizing who she was, he got up to pour her some water.
“To be honest, I’ve come to ask for your help today, Station Chief Wang.” Chen Lishu was anxious but showed no sign of it. Instead, she smiled and accepted the water glass he handed her.
“Don’t talk about asking for help. We’re cooperative units. Tell me if you have any trouble.” Wang Dafu’s good attitude was all thanks to the leftover sand and bricks from the construction site when it was completed. He happened to be paving his courtyard, and the carloads of materials were useless, so Chen Lishu helped him deliver them home as a favor.
“Station Chief Wang, as you know, in our line of work, it’s inevitable to use some connections. Pork is hard to come by. Coincidentally, I raised two pigs this year. To avoid trouble, I wanted to ask for your help in providing a receipt.” She had used the name of the City Second Construction Company before, and she would continue to use that identity. This time, she omitted the details of the report letter and only asked for a receipt as proof.
When Wang Dafu heard it was about this matter, he agreed without hesitation. “The situation is clear; it’s understandable.” Chen Lishu wasn't the first person to come to him with such a request. Besides, it was just a small favor, and making a friend opened up more possibilities.
Wang Dafu said, getting up to walk out, “I’ll instruct my subordinates. Just tell them what you need, and it’ll be done.” Chen Lishu was grateful for his promptness. “Station Chief Wang, please let me know if you ever need my help.”
“Haha, Xiao Chen, you’re too polite.” With her words, Wang Dafu laughed heartily. Soon, Chen Lishu obtained two receipts from the procurement station. Although they simply stated a few catties and a price in handwriting, they clearly bore the official seal of the procurement station, which was enough.
Gu Xingye came out of the village committee and didn't dare to delay. He ran all the way to the Chen family’s house. Zhang Changhe’s wife had already conveyed what needed to be said. When Chen Mantun heard that investigators from the town were coming, his legs went weak, and he almost fell to the ground. Wu Chunmei swayed and almost fainted.
“Husband, what should we do?” After Zhang Changhe’s wife left, Wu Chunmei started crying in fear.
“Sigh.” Chen Mantun lowered his head and sighed heavily. “How did we get into this mess?”
Watching the pigs in the pigsty disappear, it seemed like this time it was truly over.
“How many pigs did you have at home?” At the Gu family’s house, seeing that Gu Shoufu hadn't answered, the investigator repeated his question.
Gu Shoufu replied, “One.”
“Take us to see the pigsty.” Gu Shoufu glanced at Li Xiulan and the others, who looked worried, and then led Zhang Changhe and the investigators toward the pigsty outside.
“Isn’t that a pig? Which scoundrel is lying with his eyes open!” Zhang Changhe’s spirits lifted as soon as he saw the pig lying in the pen. Although it looked thin and small, knowing it wasn’t the Gu family’s original pig, it was still enough to fill the space. Would the investigators know which family was which?
Gu Shoufu, who was still thinking of a plan, looked up abruptly when he heard Zhang Changhe’s words. Seeing him wink at him, he finally understood.
“Yes, our child is getting married, so we kept this pig to slaughter in a couple of days.” The investigators looked at the pig and also felt a bit puzzled. They had come unannounced today, and the Gu family couldn’t possibly have prepared a pig to deal with them beforehand. Fortunately, they had been cautious and didn’t bring the police along directly; otherwise, this matter would have been difficult to handle.
“Comrade, I’ve been a village secretary for so many years, and my team members have never been involved in illegal activities. Could you show me who wrote the report letter? Perhaps it was someone with a personal grievance seeking revenge. If I find out who it is, I will definitely give them a serious criticism and education.”