Chapter 13: Confrontation

Chu Minghai followed towards the forest farm, feeling quite calm, not only because he had a clear conscience, but also because he had confidence in his wife.

He had already noticed that Cheng Biaozi was brought in by his wife, and after a little thought, he understood her intention.

Not only that, but in fact, he trusted Cheng Biaozi’s character even more than his wife did.

The old leader of the forest farm, Director Cheng, was a very responsible and good person. No matter how he fought with the Wu family, he never lost his principles, always prioritizing the interests of the forest farm, working on its development, and keeping the workers in mind.

In contrast, the Wu family was much more selfish, using power for personal gain, forming cliques, and unfortunately, there were too many petty people, so a lot of them were eating and drinking from the Wu family’s table.

He had seen a lot of these things at the forest farm.

Cheng Biaozi had previously earned a nickname for being a tough fighter, ruthless and cruel, but there were no rumors of him bullying the elderly, weak, women, or children. Therefore, he trusted the character of the Cheng family.

Wu Yongfu, riding his 28-inch bicycle, became more and more upset, feeling a stomach full of anger.

Out of nowhere, Cheng Yaojin appeared, ruining his plans! He had worked so hard to get his chance, only for it to slip away!

He had been freezing while waiting in the yard just now, and now he felt like he was frozen through. Looking back, all he wanted to do was slap himself—why not just take the person away earlier? Why pretend? Serves him right!

He was too lazy to freeze on the road with the others, so he decided to ride his bike back to the forest farm’s Revolutionary Committee office.

It was below minus 20 degrees Celsius, and he just wanted Chu Minghai to feel the cold!

Cheng Biaozi didn’t leave first. He said he wanted to remain impartial, worried that Wu Yongfu’s little followers would bully people on the way. So, he pushed his bike and stayed by the side.

Lin Guodong had thought about having a few words with Cheng Biaozi to get closer, but when he glanced at Cheng Biaozi’s fierce-looking face, he immediately gave up on the idea.

Better not, as long as he acted impartially, it was fine. Ordinary folks like them should avoid getting involved with the Revolutionary Committee people.

People like him—once this was over, they should never have anything to do with them again!

After Wu Yongfu returned early to the forest farm office, he drank a large cup of cold tea, but it did nothing to quell the fire inside him. The more he thought about it, the more unwilling he became.

Suddenly, a glint flashed in his eyes, and an idea popped into his head.

The Lin family, huh? If I can’t deal with you this time, I’ll come again. There’s always someone I can use!

So, he made a call to the county committee.

After hanging up the phone, his mood improved greatly. He crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair like a big boss.

Watching from afar, he was going to make sure that the Lin family’s peace would be disturbed.

Before long, Chu Minghai and his group arrived at the forest farm.

Lin Guodong couldn’t enter; he wasn’t from the forest farm, and no one cared about him, so he could only wait outside the gate.

He thought to himself that he had already troubled Uncle Zhang a lot recently and didn’t want to trouble him with everything.

He stamped his feet and looked up at the sky. In this cold temperature, if his brother-in-law wasn’t hurt and he ended up freezing to death out here, what should he do?

Reluctantly, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his cotton jacket, took one out, paused for a moment, thought for a while, then took out another one. Carefully, he returned the cigarette pack to his pocket.

With two cigarettes in hand, he knocked on the door of the gatekeeper’s office…

In the end, he succeeded in using those two cigarettes to bribe the gatekeeper and was granted permission to wait inside the gatekeeper’s office.

Chu Minghai was initially locked in a small room.

Soon, Wu Yongfu, Cheng Biaozi, and the fat man Sun Zhong entered.

They sat down behind the desk and began the interrogation.

“Chu Minghai, a worker has reported that you sabotaged a tractor and obstructed production. What do you have to say for yourself?” Sun Zhong, after receiving Wu Yongfu’s signal, asked sternly.

“I didn’t do it. I want to confront the person who reported me.”

“That’s not possible. What if you find out who it is and retaliate?”

At this moment, Cheng Biaozi lazily spoke up, “What’s there to fear? If his report is true, then Chu Minghai will be criticized and sent to reform through labor. If the Lin family dares to retaliate, we’ll arrest them all!”

“If the report is false, then that person must not be let off the hook! Otherwise, if false reports become common, how will the forest farm maintain production? The whole society will be in chaos!” Cheng Biaozi continued with a stern tone.

Wu Yongfu clicked his tongue, reluctant but conceding, “Alright, as you wish.”

Then he shouted towards the outside, “Call Zhou Fu in.”

After a short while, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside, followed by a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

The person entered, nodded, bowed respectfully, then closed the door behind him before stepping aside to stand.

He was young, likely only around twenty, very thin, with drooping eyes, not looking anyone directly in the face.

With a respectful tone, he asked, “Leaders, what is it that you need me for?”

Wu Yongfu sneered, clearly displeased, but played his part. He said, “Zhou Fu, tell us again what you saw the other day.”

Zhou Fu hesitated for a moment, a hint of discomfort flashing in his eyes. Lowering his head, he stammered and repeated his story.

After hearing this, Chu Minghai turned and stared at Zhou Fu’s head, asking, “Zhou Fu, you said you saw me lingering around the tractor? But that day, I was clearly up on the hillside chopping wood. I didn’t even come down for a break.”

Zhou Fu didn’t look up, only rubbing his sleeve nervously. “I… I saw you. You were sneaking around the tractor, and then it broke down and couldn’t start.”

“I was around which part of the tractor?”

“I… I don’t really remember, it was nearby.”

“How long did you stay near the tractor?”

“A few… a few minutes, I think.”

“Did anyone else come close?”

“No, no one else.”

“Okay. Let me ask you, Zhou Fu, you’re the driver. When you saw someone acting suspiciously near the tractor, why didn’t you stop them?” Chu Minghai pressed on.

Zhou Fu shuddered, his voice trembling, “I was… I was urinating. Yes, I was urinating! When I got back, you had already left.”

“You were urinating? Your legs couldn’t move, but your mouth still worked, right? Why didn’t you shout at me when you saw me sneaking around? Also, how long does it take to urinate?”

“No, I… I went to the bathroom, and then… then I also had to… you know…”

At this point, Wu Yongfu could no longer tolerate it. “Alright, enough with the urination and defecation talk. How disgusting!”

He turned to Chu Minghai and snapped, “Can you just stick to the main point? Stop with this nonsense!”

Chu Minghai spread his hands in helplessness and continued asking, “Zhou Fu, you said you saw me nearby, but didn’t actually see me sabotage anything, right?”

“Yes… but—”

“No ‘but.’ Let’s not even get into whether your story is true or not. You said you didn’t see me sabotage anything, but still reported me. What’s your motive? I think you’re the one disrupting unity here!”

Chu Minghai’s voice rang out clearly, full of righteous indignation. “Also, you’re the tractor driver, the tractor is your responsibility. Could it be that you were the one who broke it?”

“No! I didn’t!” Zhou Fu’s voice turned high-pitched in defense.

“Why are you getting so worked up? I only said it’s possible, not that it’s definitely you. After all, no one saw it happen. It’s just a guess. Unlike you, who insists you saw something even though you didn’t!” Chu Minghai shot back.

Zhou Fu fell silent, his anger bubbling up but unable to come up with anything useful to say.

Wu Yongfu shot Zhou Fu a disdainful look. He knew this person was useless, good for nothing, and couldn’t even make up a decent lie.

The room fell into an awkward silence.

Meanwhile, in the gatekeeper’s office, Lin Guodong had become quite familiar with the gatekeeper…