Chapter 213: She Can Turn the World Upside Down

County Magistrate Guo said, “If one cannot clean their own house, how can they clean the world? If he can’t manage his own family well, how can he manage village affairs? This incident serves as a reminder to us all, and our cadre team indeed needs to reflect on ourselves.”

After seeing off the county magistrate, Wang Tiejun said, “Alright, everyone can go now.”

—

After dinner, Luo Qiao and the others finished eating. Shitou went back to study at Lu Yichen’s courtyard. He hadn’t studied all day today, and Lu Yichen instructed him to catch up before school starts in a few days.

After washing the dishes and tidying up, Lu Yichen said, “Close the door early and go to bed soon. Don’t answer if someone knocks. I’m afraid Zhang’s family might come looking for you again today. The police station has already collected all the evidence.

Tomorrow, Zhang Qiaoyan will be sent to the detention center. She’s not yet eighteen, but she will likely be detained in a juvenile detention center, so her family will probably want you to drop the charges.

If they bother you too much, consider staying in the city for a few days. The house there is ready, so you can have some peace and quiet.”

Luo Qiao replied, “I understand. Tomorrow morning, I’ll ask the captain for an introduction letter. Can you help me make a chicken coop? I want to bring those chickens along.”

Lu Yichen nodded. “Sure, I’ll bring it over tomorrow morning. Rest early.”

After seeing off Lu Yichen, Luo Qiao closed the door behind him and turned back into her room, entering her space.

In Zhang’s house, Zhang Dezhen was puffing on dry tobacco, filling the room with choking smoke.

His eldest son, Zhang Dongze, said, “Dad, say something.”

Zhang Dezhen’s eyes were now red, and his expression was terrifying. “We’ll go see Luo Qiao later. Just the two of us this time.”

Zhang Dongze said, “Dad, didn’t Grandpa tell you to bring more people? Just the two of us might not be enough.”

Zhang Dezhen replied, “You know what happened to your uncle today. Qiaoyan’s matter is not trivial. The clan members are unwilling to intervene for their own reasons, they fear getting involved.

Besides, there was already a scene during the day. Going in force tonight might provoke that girl even more. It’s better if it’s just the two of us, we won’t attract too much attention.

At worst, we can make her agree to something. The most important thing is to get your sister out of the police station. As for what will happen next, I can control how much she gets into trouble. An orphan girl like her can only cause so much trouble.”

Zhang Dongze was a bit confused. He knew their approach was unethical, but the only option seemed to be getting Luo Qiao to relent, otherwise, his sister’s life would be ruined.

The father and son didn’t leave until after 8 p.m. to walk to Luo Qiao’s house. There were no entertainment activities in the village, so everyone had gone to bed early.

With such an incident in the village today, many believed the village secretary wouldn’t let his own daughter get into trouble and would definitely go to Luo Qiao’s house. Therefore, although many houses appeared to have their lights out, people were secretly keeping an eye on the movements at the secretary’s house.

As soon as the father and son left, they noticed someone was following not far behind.

Zhang Dezhen knew tonight there would certainly be people watching their house, but there was no other way. If Luo Qiao didn’t step forward tomorrow, his daughter would likely be sent to the detention center, and rescuing her would be even more difficult than climbing to the sky.

He had underestimated the situation today, thinking the commune officials would handle it, but no one dared to take it. He couldn’t figure out where things had gone wrong. Their relationships had been good before, and today everyone was finding excuses to avoid getting involved.