Chapter 35: Hostile Police

The three children shrank their necks and quickly packed up. They just needed to put the furs into a basket and cover the items in the yard with an oilcloth.

The whole process took less than five minutes. Before Jiang An’an could say anything, they had already hurried out of the yard, not daring to stay a moment longer.

Jiang An’an sighed lightly, “Mom, look at how scared those kids are.”

Lin Meiru, with her hands on her hips, retorted, “If I hadn’t scared them off, would you be involved in this mess? The police have come several times with no results; what can you do? Once we secure the job quota, I’ll accompany you to the county to resign.”

With her mother in a fit of anger, Jiang An’an didn’t dare to argue back. But in the future, when she works in the commune, she hoped to come back to find Daya, and she hoped it wouldn’t be too late.

The immediate priority was to resolve the chaos at the hospital and then persuade Lin Meiru to agree to her working.

—

The police station received the report and quickly moved to control the troublemakers at the health clinic.

However, with so many people involved, the small police station in the town couldn’t handle it and had to request assistance from the county police.

Inside and outside the hall, hundreds of people squatted, with cries, wails, and curses echoing, making the police station as chaotic as a market. The officers were overwhelmed, not even having time to drink a sip of water all morning.

In addition to the public disturbance, the robbery case from last night and an earlier divorce case were all being re-investigated.

Officer Zhao, with thick eyebrows and a square face, spoke loudly and clearly, “The police have received a real-name report that Jiang Shulan is suspected of extortion related to her divorce. Is this true?”

“That’s completely untrue,” Lin Meiru quickly explained. “Police officer, this is a frame-up, a false accusation.”

Officer Zhao ignored her, staring intently at the person involved: “Jiang Shulan, please answer my question quickly.”

Jiang An’an furrowed her brows slightly; was it just her imagination, or did this officer seem full of hostility?

“No, I had a normal divorce with Zhou Kang,” Jiang Shulan replied, gripping her palms tightly, her voice trembling.

“Normal divorce?” Officer Zhao scoffed, looking at the greedy woman with disdain, and suddenly slammed the table: “How much money did you extort from Zhou Kang?”

With a loud bang, the sound echoed in Jiang Shulan’s heart. Under the immense pressure, she spoke with a sobbing tone: “Three hundred and ten yuan, but that was…”

Officer Zhao looked as if he had expected this, his gaze becoming even more contemptuous. “Extorting over three hundred yuan, you have already committed a criminal offense.”

Jiang Shulan’s legs went weak, and she collapsed on the ground, crying with tears streaming down her face, her whole body trembling.

“Mom, Duobao is scared…” Duobao suddenly cried out in fear.

Jiang An’an quickly hugged her little nephew to comfort him, peeling a candy and putting it in his mouth.

The sweet taste spread in his mouth, and the little guy’s earth-shattering cries gradually diminished to silent sobs.

“Police officer, what does this mean? Isn’t the divorce settlement a matter of course? Why is it illegal?”

“Yeah, that was Zhou Kang’s child support for my eldest daughter.”

Jiang Degui and Lin Meiru were as anxious as ants on a hot pot.

Officer Zhao raised an eyebrow, “What child support? Which law stipulates child support? You’ve dressed up extortion under a different name, you really know how to work this.”

“The Marriage Law, Article 13, clearly states that parents have an obligation to support their children,” a delicate and soft voice came from the side.

Officer Gao was taken aback, “Who are you?”

“Jiang An’an.”

“Hmph! So you are Jiang An’an. The one leading the trouble at the health clinic; that’s not a light charge.”

Jiang An’an: ???

Others: ???

Jiang An’an finally understood that this officer Zhao was hostile towards her family, deliberately intimidating and misleading them in an attempt to impose unfounded charges.

“Officer, how can you distort the truth?”

“That’s not right; it was clearly Jiang Dezhu who caused the trouble. What does this have to do with my daughter?”

Though the couple was terrified of the police at heart, they could never truly allow him to bully their daughters.

Lin Meiru’s eyes flashed with uncontrollable anger. She rolled up her sleeves and spoke harshly: “You must have taken benefits from Jiang Dezhu; I will report you, report…”

She suddenly stumbled over her words.

Jiang An’an reminded her from the side, “Taking bribes.”

Lin Meiru’s mind worked quickly, and she immediately shouted, “Chief, I want to see the police chief! This Officer Zhao is taking bribes; you need to arrest him now!”

At this shout, the entire police station instantly fell silent.

Officer Zhao, furious, rushed over to cover her mouth, but Jiang Degui saw the opportunity and blocked his way. The couple worked in perfect harmony, and in the meantime, Lin Meiru had already opened the door and rushed out.

“Help! The police are hitting people!”

Other officers rushed into the small room, just in time to see Officer Zhao pressing Jiang Degui’s hands behind his back against the wall.

Jiang Degui’s brows furrowed down, and he began to wail, “Don’t hit my stomach, it hurts so much, please stop hitting me!”

Officer Zhao’s anger seethed inside him, his teeth grinding with a “clack” sound. “I didn’t hit you.”

The atmosphere fell into a stalemate, with both sides holding their ground.

“Dad, this is the police station; this is their territory. Our family has been farmers for generations, without power or influence. If they say they didn’t hit you, then just take it as they didn’t,” Jiang An’an pretended to wipe her tears, wearing an expression of “being wronged.”

Well now, didn’t that imply that the police were joining forces to bully farmers?

With that high hat placed on him, all the officers would be collectively dismissed.

“You’re framing me…” Officer Zhao’s eyebrows shot up, his face throbbing with veins, as he reached a boiling point of anger.

Jiang An’an gasped in alarm, shrinking back repeatedly. Her face had a sickly pallor, making her look even more pitiable.

“Yes, yes, yes, it’s us who are framing you. Please don’t hit me.”

Jiang Degui hugged Officer Gao’s waist tightly, his fingers mischievously digging in: “If you’re going to hit someone, hit me, don’t hurt my daughter.”

Officer Zhao felt the pain and, in a moment of rage, punched Jiang Degui in the lower back. The latter crumpled to his knees, the sound echoing throughout the room.

“Dad…”

“Dad!”

Jiang An’an was horrified, clearly not expecting Officer Gao to actually strike.

She could no longer keep up the façade, raising her head and sternly warning, “I’m the newly appointed officer of the Women’s Federation in the county. Tomorrow, I’ll ask our director to meet with the county chief and seek justice for my dad and the Jiang family.”

County Women’s Federation officer?

County chief?

The onlooking officers’ expressions changed drastically, and they quickly restrained Officer Zhao. Even as he was being dragged away, he continued to shout and curse, crying out that it was a wrongful accusation.

The two sisters supported Jiang Degui on either side.

“Can you still stand?” Jiang Shulan’s voice was choked with emotion.

In a place where others couldn’t see, Jiang Degui quietly patted his daughters’ hands, muttering, “It’s bad. My chest hurts a lot; am I going to die soon?”

Jiang An’an: “…”

This play couldn’t continue.

You hurt your lower back; how does that have anything to do with your chest?