A row of factory buildings stood in the distance, facing a detached two-story office building. White characters emblazoned across its red brick wall read: 'Strive for First-Class Work, Achieve First-Class Standards.'
The aunt and nephew, along with Liu Xiaoting, walked around the factory buildings to the back, where the clothing factory's warehouse was located. As they stopped at the entrance to a room, a man in his forties wearing glasses approached from nearby.
"This is our Director Zhou," Liu Xiaoting introduced him to Chen Lishu.
Chen Lishu immediately smiled and greeted him, "Hello, Director Zhou."
Director Zhou nodded, "I've heard from Little Liu. You're her relatives, so I trust you." He wouldn't dare to do this kind of thing if it were for private sale without being truly trustworthy.
Upon hearing his words, Chen Lishu knew Liu Xiaoting had helped quite a bit and gave her a grateful smile.
"There are no quality issues, only minor flaws. There aren't even two of each item, and handling them saves me some trouble," Director Zhou said, taking a set of keys from his waist. He found the one corresponding to the warehouse, opened it, and gestured for them to follow inside.
Soon, Director Zhou carried a large stack of clothes from a corner and laid them out before Chen Lishu. There were both shirts and pants. As they were original factory overruns, there were only one or two pieces of each style. Chen Lishu crouched down to examine them closely. Apart from a few minor issues like color discrepancies or loose threads, the quality was indeed excellent, just as Director Zhou had said.
Chen Lishu roughly counted about forty to fifty pieces. At five yuan each, the total would be over two hundred yuan. This would use up all the money she had. However, business was like this; you couldn't catch a tiger without going into the mountains. Chen Lishu gritted her teeth, "Alright, Director Zhou, I'll take them all."
"All of them?" Director Zhou's gaze towards Chen Lishu finally changed. When Little Liu first told him, he thought she was helping poor relatives from the countryside buy a few clothes. Seeing their attire upon meeting, he had indeed thought so. He just hadn't expected to misjudge someone. After collecting two hundred and twenty-five yuan from Chen Lishu and watching her leave, he turned to Liu Xiaoting and nodded, "Your relative is quite something."
Liu Xiaoting also hadn't expected Chen Lishu to make such a large purchase. Not only had she not embarrassed her in front of the director, but she had also made her proud. She thought about introducing her to other opportunities in the future.
Chen Lishu had no idea that this matter had left such a good impression on Director Zhou and Liu Xiaoting. She was quite excited to have bought so many high-quality finished clothes. Carrying the clothes and thirty jin of fabric scraps, she eagerly headed home with Gu Xingye.
Meanwhile, as soon as Widow Liu entered the interrogation room, she had already collapsed into a weak, trembling heap. She cried and wailed, proclaiming her innocence.
The police officers were growing impatient with her behavior. They narrowed their eyes and slammed the table, "Stop howling. Don't you know where you are? If you don't confess honestly, do you believe I'll lock you up for a couple of days before letting you out?" Based on her state, their years of experience told them she was just an ordinary woman. They were just trying to scare her by making a fuss because she wouldn't stop crying and wailing, planning to let her go once she calmed down. However, Widow Liu couldn't handle the scare. Wiping her tears, she started spilling everything she had foolishly done, as if emptying a bamboo tube. From stealing a needle from someone else's home when she was a girl, to recently pilfering a handful of soybeans from the production team, she recounted everything in meticulous detail, leaving the two police officers on the other side bewildered. Although her actions were wrong, they were not enough to warrant prosecution.
Widow Liu confessed so clearly because she had conflated the duties of the police station with those of the revolutionary committee. She still vividly remembered the fate of those who had been criticized in the village years ago. She was utterly terrified, believing in the principle of "confess and be rewarded, resist and be punished." Thus, she told them about all the mistakes she had made.
Even though her confessions weren't enough to convict her, the two police officers could tell from her account that she wasn't a person of good character. They decided to teach her a lesson so she wouldn't do it again.
So, one of the police officers sternly lectured her, "Although these are all minor matters, if pursued closely, the crimes are not insignificant. Given your honest confession, we will not detain you this time. Go home and stay honest. If we find out you've been dishonest again, you'll be sentenced directly."
Widow Liu was thus confusingly sent out and returned home in a daze. Frightened and chilled from the rain, she fell ill upon returning home and only began to recover after four or five days.
...
As Chen Lishu and Gu Xingye returned home, Li Xiulan, who had been worried the whole time, greeted them as soon as they entered.
"Why did it take so long? I thought your fourth brother didn't catch up to you and something happened. How was it? Were you discovered?"
Chen Lishu smiled and shook her head, "Mom, don't worry. Everything's fine."
Li Xiulan reached out and patted her chest to calm herself, still somewhat shaken.
Liu Yuemin, hearing the commotion, came out with her child. Seeing that both she and Gu Xingye were carrying large bags, she said, "Third sister-in-law is back. These... did you not manage to sell them?"
Chen Lishu put down her things, her gaze falling on Liu Yuemin, her brows furrowed slightly. "How did second sister-in-law know I didn't sell them?"
Liu Yuemin's gaze flickered. "How would I know? I just saw you carrying so many things back and thought you didn't sell them."
Chen Lishu gave a wry smile and didn't say more, taking her things into the inner room. Having lived together for several years, Gu Xingye, who followed Chen Lishu, could tell that Liu Yuemin was being evasive. He felt a surge of disappointment towards his second sister-in-law.
"What did you buy now?" Liu Yuemin quickly regained her composure and followed them into the room. Her gaze fell on the bag Chen Lishu had placed aside. She put down her child, went over, and opened the mouth of the bag. Upon seeing the contents, she exclaimed in surprise, "My heavens, how did you get so many clothes?"
As she spoke, she grabbed the bottom of the bag and impatiently dumped all the clothes onto the *kang*. Her eyes immediately fell on a floral print skirt. Without politeness, she picked it up and held it against herself, asking Gu Xingmin, "Honey, how do I look in this skirt? Is it pretty?"
Gu Xingmin's mouth seemed coated in honey as he grinned and praised, "My wife looks good in anything." Hearing him say this, Liu Yuemin became even more reluctant to put the skirt down.
Chen Lishu looked at her family members and then turned to Li Xiulan and Gu Shoufu, saying seriously, "Dad, Mom, everyone is here today, and I have something I want to discuss."
Everyone, engrossed in examining the clothes on the *kang*, turned their heads upon hearing her words.
"What's wrong?" Li Xiulan saw her solemn expression and turned to look at her youngest son. Gu Xingye shook his head at her.