Chapter 14: Defeating Magic with Magic

“Old man, how’s the forest farm doing lately? With the weather being so cold, are you still going up the mountain often?” Lin Guodong asked casually, pretending not to care while warming his hands by the fire.

Logically, Lin Guodong wasn’t a member of the forest farm and was a relative of Chu Minghai. The gatekeeper wasn’t supposed to reveal much about what was going on inside. However, the old man was bored from staying in the house all day. He was a chatterbox and, apart from going to and from work, he didn’t have much to do. With a companion around, he was eager to talk.

The old man rubbed his hands together, took a sip of tea, and said, “Let me tell you, Xiao Lin, don’t think I’m just a gatekeeper. I’ve been working here for nearly twenty years, since the forest farm was first established. I know everything about the place—who slacks off, who’s in a relationship, how much money someone was fined, I know it all.”

Lin Guodong was surprised. “Really, old man? You must be quite the veteran around here, almost an elder!”

“Hah, it’s nothing,” the old man modestly waved his hand, but a proud look appeared on his face as he took another sip of tea and continued talking.

“This winter is particularly cold, and we’ve had a lot of snow! Since winter started, the workers’ time on the mountain has decreased because they just can’t handle the cold. A few days ago, some workers even encountered an avalanche! And yesterday morning, a few people with bad ‘backgrounds’ had their house collapsed by snow, one of them even broke a leg!”

“Goodness, that serious?” Lin Guodong asked, shocked.

“Yes, that’s right. You see, the forest farm looks good on the surface, with high benefits and everyone wanting to join, but it’s dangerous too! It’s been years since something like this happened. Usually, safety measures are tightly controlled, but this year, things have been off track.”

Lin Guodong sensed there was more to the story. Pausing for a moment, he nonchalantly asked, “Anything else? Avalanches and collapsing houses aren’t that unusual around here, right, old man?”

The old man shot him a look but didn’t respond. Lin Guodong thought he might have asked a question that he shouldn’t have. Just as he was about to change the subject, the old man spoke up.

“Well, actually, there’s nothing I can’t say; you’ll find out sooner or later. You know the farm uses tractors, right?”

“Of course, I know. The rough lumber from the mountain gets hauled down by tractors,” Lin Guodong replied.

“Exactly. These tractors are crucial to our work here, but for some reason, the new tractors we bought this year keep having problems. Forget about the engine stalling—let’s not mention that old issue—but the tracks keep breaking too. It’s wasting time and money… sigh.”

Lin Guodong thought for a moment. The tractors kept having issues? His brother-in-law was being falsely accused of sabotaging the tractor…

Meanwhile, in the interrogation office, the confrontation between Chu Minghai and Zhou Fu continued.

Although Zhou Fu’s story had more and more inconsistencies, he stubbornly insisted that Chu Minghai was suspicious. He held his head high, acting as if he was the one being wronged.

After listening for a while, Cheng Biaozi broke the deadlock, speaking up, “I’ve been listening here for a while, and honestly, both sides have their reasons. But the key issue is, the person who reported doesn’t have solid evidence. That makes things hard to handle.”

Zhou Fu lowered his head even further, saying nothing.

Chu Minghai remained calm and composed.

After a pause, Cheng Biaozi continued, “And I believe that the question raised by Chu Minghai is very valid. We can’t just look at people’s backgrounds; we need to focus on the facts.”

He then glanced at Wu Yongfu and added, “Recently, many people have reported that the new tractors at the farm are of poor quality and keep having issues. They were supposed to be high-end products from a new production line, but they’re actually even worse than before!”

Wu Yongfu, who had been leisurely swinging his legs, froze when he heard Cheng Biaozi bring up the new tractors.

Could Cheng Biaozi have noticed something? That couldn’t be, everything had been arranged properly. Or was there some issue in the middle?

Realizing this, Wu Yongfu suddenly became tense, cursing himself for being too impulsive and trying to use this as an excuse to trouble Chu Minghai.

He glared fiercely at Zhou Fu. This guy was utterly useless, always making things worse rather than helping.

Slamming his hand on the table, Wu Yongfu said sternly, “Cheng Biaozi, stop bringing up irrelevant topics. We’re here to discuss whether Chu Minghai is a saboteur, not about the new tractors!”

Cheng Biaozi leaned back, unbothered. “The forest farm’s production is no small matter. We can’t just look at the surface. We need a serious investigation, that’s the attitude we should have!

The situation is grave, and the evil forces haven’t given up on us. I now have reason to suspect that there might be issues among the drivers at the farm. Otherwise, why would so many new tractors be getting worse instead of better? Chu Minghai may have been near the tractor this time, but what about before? Could it be that someone is using him as a scapegoat? That’s the real issue.”

He turned his head and stared directly at Zhou Fu, his gaze sharp. “What are they trying to do? Sabotage the tractors, hinder the farm’s production, and what’s next? Are they going to sabotage the military base too? Huh?”

Wu Yongfu’s face turned pale with anger. Damn it, this bastard Cheng Biaozi was coming at this from another angle. He should have known—there was no way he would suddenly take the side of the Lin family without a reason. His real intention wasn’t what it seemed.

Zhou Fu’s face turned bright red as he heard this, and he immediately fell to his knees, trembling with fear, begging, “Leader, I’m guilty. I didn’t mean to. I’m not a bad person, I didn’t break the tractor.”

“Explain yourself! Be honest!” Cheng Biaozi barked.

Zhou Fu, terrified, shook uncontrollably, sweat pouring down his face as he stammered, “I… I just started working not long ago, and I’m not good at the technical stuff. A few days ago, I… I don’t know what happened, but suddenly it wouldn’t start. I was afraid I’d get fined and scolded by my instructor, so I… Chu, Chu Minghai was there that day on the mountain, so I thought… I thought maybe I could blame him… Leader, I really didn’t mean it, I swear!”

“Enough,” Wu Yongfu cut him off sharply, eager to stop Zhou Fu from saying more. “You, Zhou Fu, have only just started working and you’re already being dishonest, not admitting your mistakes, and trying to frame someone else. This kind of irresponsible behavior will not be tolerated at the forest farm. You’ll pay for your mistakes!”

Clapping his hands with a smile, Cheng Biaozi said, “Truly, Wu Yongfu, you’re a pillar of the forest farm’s revolutionary committee. Your words are spot on, your ideological awareness is high!”

Wu Yongfu shot him a sideways glance. Did he really need this fool’s praise? Then he shot a glare at Chu Minghai, thinking, Today, you got lucky. By sheer chance, you found yourself in the right place at the right time.

Zhou Fu collapsed to the ground, muttering, “I didn’t mean it… I can’t lose my job, I have my elderly mother to support…”

Seeing the situation, Sun Zhong quickly signaled to the Liu brothers outside to take Zhou Fu away.

Chu Minghai let out a sigh of relief. He had made it through this ordeal. While Zhou Fu seemed pitiful, that didn’t make him any less guilty. As for Zhou Fu’s fate, he wasn’t concerned. He had brought this upon himself.

However, it wasn’t in Chu Minghai’s nature to leave grudges unaddressed. Despite his polite and scholarly appearance, he wasn’t without passion. If it hadn’t been for Cheng Biaozi, he would have been tortured by this situation, and his family would have been worried. He wouldn’t forget that.

From what he had gathered from Cheng Biaozi’s words, it seemed like the tractor issues were real. Otherwise, Wu Yongfu wouldn’t have reacted this way, and Cheng Biaozi wouldn’t have been so focused on defending him.

It appeared that the leaders at the farm were keeping tight-lipped about the tractor problems, and it hadn’t spread yet.

Everything about this situation seemed off. Maybe there was an opportunity for him to take advantage of it.