After a rain shower, instead of cooling down, the weather in July became even hotter.

The crops and vegetables were growing vigorously, creating a lively and thriving scene.

Lin Shu’s vegetable garden was flourishing so well that her family couldn’t possibly eat all the produce.

Besides sharing with friendly neighbors, she also delivered some vegetables twice to the village’s elderly without family and to the local youth center.

Even though the village officials didn’t care much for the young people at the youth center, Lin Shu chose to show them kindness.

After all, they would eventually return to the city, and she hoped that when they remembered their time in the countryside, they wouldn’t just think of the exhaustion and poverty but also the warmth and care of the villagers.

This morning, Lin Shu was at home grinding beans to make some soy milk.

The beans were a payment for a medical consultation that Old Man Lu had brought back.

Making tofu with just one bowl of beans was too much trouble, so Lin Shu decided to make soy milk instead, to change things up a bit.

Lin Aidi was there too.

She came to gossip with Lin Shu about the Xu family.

“Did you go to the Xu’s house to get your food ration the other day? You really upset her mother-in-law; she got so worried she fell sick that very day, had a fever in the middle of the night, and had to go to the commune clinic for an injection,” Lin Aidi said.

“If you ask me, she’s just making a fuss. My mother-in-law says she’s always been in poor health, and with her daughter-in-law and sister-in-law upsetting her so much, it’s no wonder she fell ill.”

Lin Aidi believed that Xu’s mother was making trouble on purpose and had even been scolded by her own mother-in-law for not being kind or respectful.

Mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are natural enemies—mothers-in-law always side with themselves, while daughters-in-law naturally feel that their mothers-in-law are being difficult.

Although Lin Aidi didn’t have solid evidence that Xu’s mother was faking it, she just didn’t like her.

Especially since her own mother-in-law got along well with Xu’s mother and always talked about how hard it was for her, how Xu Shihua was so filial, and how Lu Hehuan wasn’t.

She would secretly criticize her daughter-in-law and imply that Lin Aidi wasn’t any better.

It was all indirect jabs!

Now, Lin Aidi wanted Lin Shu to do something about her own mother-in-law.

Since Xu’s mother had been upset enough to need an injection at the clinic, it showed that Lin Shu had really changed and learned some tricks from her mother-in-law.

Lin Shu just smiled and said, “Aunt Xu is in poor health, so it’s possible she got sick.”

As they were talking, they heard Fang Dihua’s loud voice from outside, “Comrades Li and Zhou, why did you come here in person? I’m sorry, the village has been busy lately, and I haven’t had time to go to the county. I was planning to go to the hospital to check my eyes tomorrow and then come by.”

Soon after, Panpan, Tiantian, and Huzhi came running over, with Xiaoyou close behind.

Fang Dihua arrived with two policemen, Li Guodong and Zhou Jianguo, followed by a group of curious onlookers—mostly old women and children.

Everyone was as excited as if it were New Year’s.

When they first heard the news of Lu Shaotang’s sacrifice, everyone felt heartbroken.

Out of respect for Fang Dihua and Old Lu, they didn’t laugh or talk loudly and instead expressed their sympathy for Lu Shaotang.

When they saw the elderly couple, they put on solemn and sorrowful expressions, wanting to share in the Lu family’s grief.

But one day, they noticed that the couple seemed much more relaxed, not as sad and heavy-hearted as before.

Although they weren’t laughing or talking loudly, they were visibly more at ease.

Even though no one knew what had changed, everyone started to feel more relaxed too.

With lighter moods, people naturally wanted to gather and socialize.

Lin Shu was also surprised.

Were these two police officers here specifically to explain Zhou Qiaoling’s background check to Fang Dihua?

She asked Lin Aidi to help grind the soybeans, then washed her hands to greet the guests, bringing out a tray to serve them chrysanthemum and honeysuckle tea.

Now that her chrysanthemum and honeysuckle were growing well, she dried them herself and brewed a pot of tea every day for her family.

The tea had cooled down a bit, just the right temperature to drink.

Li Guodong said, “Comrade Lin, you don’t need to go through so much trouble. We’ll just say a few words and leave.”

Lin Shu replied, “It’s a long trip; you should at least have some tea to soothe your throats.”

Zhou Jianguo took out some documents and handed them to Fang Dihua. “Auntie, you’re truly something.”

They initially planned to let things slide, just to do a superficial background check on Zhou Qiaoling to appease Fang Dihua.

Who would have thought that in doing the background check, they would actually find something?

A background check usually involves looking into three generations of family, including extended relatives like aunts and uncles.

During the investigation, they unintentionally discovered that Zhou Qiaoling’s second aunt had a former husband who was an officer in the enemy’s army.

When they fled to Taiwan, they were in such a rush that Zhou’s second aunt and her children couldn’t make it in time and stayed on the mainland.

Zhou’s second aunt was smart.

She quickly found another man with the same name as her husband to take his place.

Her husband’s name was Wang Jie, which is a common name, so it wasn’t hard to find a replacement.

The new husband was a small-time political officer in the army.

Given his political awareness, he should have known that Zhou’s second aunt was suspicious, but he was greedy for her wealth and chose to go along with it.

Before, as a military officer’s wife, Zhou’s second aunt didn’t associate with ordinary people, so she managed to deceive everyone.

From then on, the couple used their money and cunning to advance.

The new husband began to rise in the ranks, eventually moving into a position in the county committee, and worked his way up.

Now, both of them have retired, and the children from both marriages have been well taken care of.

People admired those who joined the army, got factory jobs, or entered government offices.

Zhou Jianguo and Li Guodong found out about this situation purely by chance.

Initially, they were just going through the motions, conducting a routine investigation.

However, they were approached by an elderly woman in her 70s who claimed to be a former servant of Zhou Ergu’s family and knew about her dark secrets.

Out of curiosity, they listened to her story—and were shocked by what they heard.

They quickly reported the matter to their superiors and immediately took Zhou Ergu and her husband into custody.

Under the leadership of the provincial government, a joint team was formed by the city’s Revolutionary Committee, Public Security Bureau, and the county’s equivalent organizations to investigate and interrogate the couple.

After thorough questioning, it was confirmed that Wang Jie, the husband, knew from the beginning that Zhou Ergu was involved in something suspicious.

He hinted that he believed she was simply trying to protect herself after being abandoned by a man, so she sought someone to rely on.

However, he was tempted by the gold bars she had, so he didn’t expose her.

Instead, they got married and had children.

Wang Jie assured the organization that Zhou Ergu’s actions were purely for self-preservation and that she wasn’t involved in any enemy activities. He claimed that he had been monitoring her loyally on behalf of the organization.

Zhou Ergu confessed that her motives and actions were indeed for self-preservation.

She had feared that the organization would execute her or imprison her for being the wife of an enemy military officer.

As a result, the organization took disciplinary action against both of them.

Wang Jie and Zhou Ergu were expelled from the party, stripped of their retired cadre status and benefits, and forced to move out of their retirement housing.

They were relocated to a narrow, monitored apartment meant for problematic cadres.

Additionally, the government reassessed and re-evaluated their children’s backgrounds and political affiliations.

Those in the military and government offices were dismissed, while those in factories were dealt with based on their performance and feedback from their leaders and colleagues.

Furthermore, any jobs that Zhou Ergu and Wang Jie had arranged for their relatives were also revoked, and those people were sent back home.

This included Zhou Qiaoling.

The two police officers, of course, didn’t share all these details with Fang Dihua and Lin Shu.

Some information was confidential and couldn’t be disclosed.

However, they did inform them that Zhou Qiaoling had issues with her background check, which led to her being dismissed from the bank.

“Wow!” Fang Dihua was stunned. “Officers, I was just talking casually—I didn’t know anything in advance.”

Back when the tinsmith kidnapped a child, the Chang family had blamed her for not stopping him, even though she knew he was suspicious. It was so unfair! If she had known, wouldn’t she have reported him immediately?

The situation with Zhou Qiaoling was also a coincidence—she didn’t know anything beforehand, and she hoped the government wouldn’t misunderstand her.

Li Guodong smiled and said, “Don’t worry, ma’am. We don’t think you have some kind of supernatural ability to see and hear everything.”

The group burst into laughter.

Zhou Jianguo then pulled out a rolled-up certificate from his work bag and handed it to Fang Dihua with both hands. “Auntie, this is a reward for you and Comrade Lin.”

Fang Dihua was surprised, “There’s even a certificate?”

They smiled and said, “This is a joint reward from the County Revolutionary Committee and the County Public Security Bureau.”

They then handed her an envelope. “This is the prize.”

Lin Aidi, who had stopped grinding the soybeans, ran over to join the excitement, her eyes wide with surprise. “There’s a prize too?”

She had noticed that they didn’t bring a thermos or any tea mugs this time, so she assumed there wouldn’t be any prizes.

She was pleasantly surprised to see there was more.

Li Guodong explained with a smile, “This certificate and prize are awarded by the Revolutionary Committee and our Public Security Bureau to encourage the masses to remember class struggle, and to keep the revolution in mind while promoting production. The prize includes twenty yuan and some living supplies coupons.”

Twenty yuan!