Chapter 63.2

After securing the evidence, Qin Qingman turned to take Chuchu from the tractor, who had already extended his hand toward her. She also reminded Bao Shengli and Zheng Meiqin to make sure to take care of Aunt Guiying.

“Qingman, don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Aunt Guiying reassured her.

Aunt Guiying didn’t hold Qin Qingman responsible, as she understood that the situation wasn’t her fault. After all, Qin Qingman was also a victim in this scenario.  

Thankfully, Wu Weimin, such a villain, was dead—his death could be seen as a relief for the people.  

“Auntie your injuries aren’t serious, so don’t worry,” Qin Qingman said, though she didn’t want to mention that Aunt Guiying’s pain might not be from a fall, but rather from a possible kidney stone. The earlier fall might have aggravated it. If Aunt Guiying had been seriously injured internally, Qin Qingman wouldn’t have let her take the tractor to the county.  

“Qingman, don’t worry. We will report the case as soon as possible,” Zheng Meiqin promised, then, amidst the crowd’s gaze, the tractor rumbled off toward the county.  

The county was not exactly close to Hongqi Town, and traveling by car took a long time. Fortunately, the tractor had thick, anti-slip tires, making it less prone to sliding on the snow, allowing it to go faster than most cars.  

Within a short time, it disappeared around a bend in the road.  

When Qin Qingman turned around, holding Chuchu, she saw Zhou Bangguo and the three others—Zhao Tiancheng, Wang Ji, and Zhou Tao—waiting for her.  

Zhao Tiancheng and his companions didn’t want to stay. Ever since they had witnessed Wu Weimin’s death, they were in a panic. They wanted to run but were too scared to do so. They thought about staying, but fear held them back. Caught in hesitation, they hadn’t gone to the canteen like everyone else, but instead stayed where they were.  

Zhou Bangguo recognized them, of course.  

These three men were no different from Wu Weimin, often involved in shady business.  

Frowning slightly, Zhou Bangguo wasn’t sure how to handle them. After all, it seemed they hadn’t directly participated in the incident, but he didn’t want to get entangled with them either. Despite being the deputy director, his position had been downgraded due to his background. While he appeared to hold authority, in reality, his power was limited to leading farming teams, with no other significant authority.  

Zhou Bangguo truly didn’t want to be associated with Zhao Tiancheng.  

Zhao Tiancheng’s real father was a member of the commune revolutionary committee, and Zhou Bangguo found him troublesome, often being hindered by him.  

“Comrade Qin… can we leave now?”  

Zhao Tiancheng, who had little regard for Zhou Bangguo, was actually more fearful of Qin Qingman. It was Qin Qingman whom he asked for permission to leave.  

“What do you think?” Qin Qingman replied, having witnessed Zhao Tiancheng and his companions lingering from the beginning to the end of the incident. They were even witnesses to Wu Weimin shoving Aunt Guiying.  

Hearing her words, Zhao Tiancheng’s face grew even paler. He cautiously glanced at Wu Weimin’s body, which had been cordoned off with straw mats not far away, and finally, with a dejected expression, led Wang Ji and Zhou Tao, their heads hanging, toward the canteen.  

As they walked, Zhao Tiancheng’s mind raced with anxiety, hoping that the situation would not end up implicating him.

“Comrade Qin, you are truly remarkable,” Zhou Bangguo was very surprised by Qin Qingman’s ability to intimidate Zhao Tiancheng and these few troublesome youths.

“Comrade Zhou, as long as one’s heart is righteous, one need not fear any oxen, horses, snakes, or spirits.”

There were many things Qin Qingman could not openly say. She could only adopt the slogans of the era and, together with Zhou Bangguo, walk towards the cafeteria.

After the death incident, she and Chuchu couldn’t leave for the time being.

The cafeteria had already received the news. The dining hall had plenty of coal fires burning, which allowed those who had been outside in the cold for quite some time to finally relax as they entered. After finding familiar faces and sitting together, everyone started drinking hot water.

Both the hot water and large bowls were provided by the cafeteria. One had to serve themselves at the meal counter.

Sitting in the warm environment, the crowd gradually regained their senses.

Once they had gathered themselves, people began speaking in hushed tones. Some of them had arrived early and had witnessed the entire event, while others had come later and didn’t know much. Now that everyone had gathered, the discussion began, and everyone chattered.

Qin Qingman knew that gathering people together would inevitably lead to this kind of situation.

If it were in the future, of course, witness testimonies wouldn’t be allowed to interact, but there was no need or possibility of collusion in this case, so there was no reason to stop the exchanges.

When Qin Qingman and Zhou Bangguo entered the cafeteria, everyone kindly gave up the warmest seats.

These seats were near the stove.

Since Qin Qingman had brought Chuchu, a child, she naturally didn’t politely refuse the well-meaning people. After thanking them, she sat down with Chuchu and also thanked the cafeteria staff who handed her boiled eggs.

Chuchu’s face was still red and swollen, but the hot eggs helped him heal quickly.

Qin Qingman didn’t take the eggs from the cafeteria without paying; she used food coupons to pay.

The cafeteria staff were reluctant to accept, but Qin Qingman said, “You don’t have the right to dispose of farm property,” and the staff quickly accepted the coupons, even giving her extra change.

Qin Qingman liked this kind of transaction, where money and goods were exchanged equally—no debts of gratitude, no financial obligations.

After peeling the freshly boiled eggs, Qin Qingman gently rolled them over Chuchu’s little face. The child immediately winced in pain, tears welling up in his eyes. Seeing this, Qin Qingman’s heart ached, and she quickly blew on his face while gently rolling the egg.

In fact, blowing on the wound didn’t ease the pain, but it seemed that no matter the era, parents would always try to comfort their children like this after they got hurt.

The psychological effect was greater than the physical effect.

“Sis, it doesn’t hurt, I’m not in pain,” Chuchu could see the guilt in Qin Qingman’s eyes and quickly tried to comfort her. In an effort to make her smile, the child pulled out a large lunchbox from under his clothes.

It was his family’s lunchbox, which he had managed to retrieve while everyone’s attention was focused on Qin Qingman dealing with the Wu family father and son.

Lunchboxes were not cheap in those days, and he couldn’t bear to throw it away.

He couldn’t bear to part with the large buns inside either. Big Sister’s buns were incredibly delicious.

Qin Qingman froze when she saw Chuchu take out the lunchbox. No wonder she had felt something was off when holding the child earlier. She had thought it was the gun poking her, but now she realized there was another reason.

“My Chuchu is really smart.”

Qin Qingman smiled and rubbed the child’s head.

At first, she had been concerned about her family’s lunchbox, but then one thing after another happened, and eventually, she couldn’t pay attention to it. She had thought the lunchbox was sacrificed, but it turned out the child cared more about it than she did.

“Sis, here,” Chuchu said cheerfully, handing the lunchbox to Qin Qingman.

Qin Qingman took the lunchbox and checked it.

Although lunchboxes from this era weren’t as fancy or beautiful as those from later times, they were made of solid materials. After inspecting it, she found the lunchbox was in perfect condition, with no damage to the exterior, and the lid was tightly closed.

This meant the buns inside hadn’t fallen out.

Qin Qingman sighed in relief and placed the lunchbox on the stove.

The Hongqi farm was closer to the county town than Hongqi Town, but even so, the round trip would take some time. It seemed they would have to wait a long while for the police to arrive. Fortunately, the large buns were still intact—this would be their lunch.

They could heat them up using the stove’s warmth and eat later.

“Comrade Qin, should we interrogate these two in advance?” Zhou Bangguo, who was sitting next to Qin Qingman, had first watched the interaction between the siblings for a while before looking over at Jin Yuanchao and the others who had been thrown on the ground.

As soon as Zhou Bangguo spoke, the murmurs in the cafeteria quieted down.

Everyone turned to look at Qin Qingman.

She had previously used her own strength to intimidate Wu Yuanming, and then exposed Jin Yuanchao and Quan Aiguo as fake police officers. The people now trusted her greatly and kept a close watch on her every move.

Even Wan Mingxi’s family was watching her from the crowd.

At this moment, the Wan family was hesitant.

They didn’t know whether to acknowledge Qin Qingman as family or continue pretending they didn’t know her. Both options had their pros and cons.

It was clear that Wu Yuanming was about to be taken down. The Wan family had relied on him at the farm, and without him, they would no longer be able to live comfortably there. In fact, they might even be implicated. In this situation, they clearly needed to find someone else to back.

But whose leg should they cling to?

When they were in power, they had often bullied others by using the influence of their connections. Now that the “tiger” had fallen, they would definitely be pushed down by the wall as it collapsed.

At this crucial moment, seeking to cling to someone’s leg wasn’t something just anyone would be willing to entertain.

The Wan family was filled with worry.

Looking at Qin Qingman, who was sitting comfortably, chatting with Zhou Bangguo, the deputy director of the farm, the Wan family was genuinely undecided.

It was obvious that Qin Qingman wasn’t someone from their circle.

Even if Qin Qingman could make a connection through Zhou Bangguo, it wouldn’t help them. Everyone at the farm knew that Zhou Bangguo had been sent down from the province and was a problematic person. Anyone with a bit of insight at the farm would have avoided him long ago. So, just because Qin Qingman had caught the deputy director’s attention didn’t make the Wan family certain enough to make a move.

“I think we should wait and see, maybe…” Xu Lianhua still held onto a small hope regarding Wu Yuanming.

After all, Wu Yuanming was the director. The entire Hongqi farm was under his management. A director of such a large farm couldn’t just be replaced on a whim. Surely something like this couldn’t really happen, could it?

“You’re such a fool,” Wan Mingxi glared at his wife, then spoke in a low voice, carefully emphasizing the core issue. “Wu Yuanming is involved in the fake police incident. His life is over. Not only is he finished, but his entire family is too.”

After a pause, he added, “That Wu Weimin kid has always been useless. If he dies, so be it. The Wu family still has people left. Those people have benefited from Wu Yuanming. Once he falls, they’ll surely be implicated. Those two fake policemen might even be enemy agents.”

“Really?” Xu Lianhua’s eyes widened, and her voice rose in pitch.

If it weren’t for the whispers around them, her sudden exclamation would have definitely attracted attention from those nearby.

Wan Mingxi and Wan Liang were so frightened by Xu Lianhua’s outburst that their faces turned pale. They wanted to cover her mouth.

Xu Lianhua realized she almost ruined everything and quickly slapped her mouth, clamping it shut and no longer daring to speak carelessly.

Seeing that Xu Lianhua had some sense of restraint, Wan Mingxi and Wan Liang relaxed a little. Wan Liang thought for a moment and then said, “Right now, the most urgent thing is to find a new supporter. Everything else can wait.”

He had climbed up to Wu Yuanming’s side to be his secretary, which showed his cleverness.

Wan Liang was the first to realize the situation and was the first to distance himself from Wu Yuanming.

“Union Chairman Liu Hechang is quite capable. He was on par with Wu Yuanming in terms of power before,” Wan Liang said, explaining his choice.

Wan Mingxi and Xu Lianhua’s expressions immediately turned sour.

“Can’t we choose someone else?” Wan Mingxi asked Wan Liang.

“How could anyone else accept our surrender at a time like this? Those people either have too much pride and despise us, or their methods aren’t as good as Liu Hechang’s,” Wan Liang also had his own concerns.

Wan Mingxi and Xu Lianhua still looked upset.

“Liu Hechang has been eyeing the cafeteria’s profits for a long time. If we throw our lot in with him, your mother and I might have to change jobs,” Wan Mingxi didn’t speak directly, but he knew that Liu Hechang would never allow them to continue benefiting from the cafeteria.

Wan Liang glanced at Wan Mingxi, whose gaze was not much higher than Xu Lianhua’s, and said bluntly, “If you don’t ally with Liu Hechang, do you think you’ll be able to keep what you have now?”

No!

Wan Mingxi and Xu Lianhua fell silent.

Only then did Wan Liang quietly add, “As long as my position remains unchanged, as long as I still hold real power, you and mother will still be able to live comfortably. The wise course is to abandon the pawn to protect the king.”

The words struck a chord, and Wan Mingxi and Xu Lianhua immediately understood their son’s intentions.

They quickly agreed to give up what they currently held.

Just as the Wan family was finalizing their plans for the future, Zhou Bangguo’s earlier question to Qin Qingman about whether they should interrogate Jin Yuanchao and the others caught everyone’s attention.

The gazes of the Educated Youths were especially intense.

They had suffered even more oppression from the Wu family father and son than the local workers, to the point it was hard to even recount. They were desperate for a chance to have their voices heard.

Qin Qingman heard Zhou Bangguo’s question and then saw the eager looks from the crowd. After a moment of consideration, she finally shook her head and said, “I reiterate, only law enforcement agencies have the right to investigate. No organization or individual has the authority to conduct an inquiry. We cannot engage in illegal actions.”

Zhou Bangguo regarded Qin Qingman with genuine admiration.

She was the clearest-headed comrade he had ever met.

This was also his test. With Wu Yuanming falling, the farm lacked a director. Clearly, the farm needed someone with a discerning eye to take the position. Qin Qingman might be young and lack experience, but Zhou Bangguo had great confidence in her.

Zhou Bangguo really hoped that Qin Qingman would come to work at Hongqi Farm.

With her intelligence and abilities, he believed that within eight to ten years, she could become the director of this fertile land and turn Hongqi Farm into the richest farm in all of Northeast China.

“Qin… Qin Comrade, do you think the Public Security Comrades will handle anything besides the fake police case and the homicide? Will they manage other issues?” A question was asked from one of the Educated Youths in the crowd.

The Educated Youth looked at Qin Qingman with a hopeful gaze after asking the question.

Qin Qingman didn’t know how to respond.

The public security organs had enforcement authority, but they only had the power to deal with cases. If someone was being treated unfairly due to their background, even the public security organs didn’t have the right to interfere.

Qin Qingman remained silent, and the entire room fell silent as well.

The light in some people’s eyes faded.

Though Qin Qingman in her later years hadn’t lived through this specific era, she understood the uniqueness and temporality of this special period.

In the early 1970s, although life was tough, just a few years later would mark a bright future ahead.

So, it was important to give people hope.

Qin Qingman stood up. As she did, all eyes were once again on her, and many people, including the regular workers, looked at her, hoping she would say something.

“We are a country where the people are the masters. If anyone has harmed you or threatened your life or property, that person has committed a crime. You can report it to the public security organs, and the relevant departments will handle it impartially,” Qin Qingman said. There were many things she couldn’t say directly, so she had to phrase it this way.

Her words gave hope to countless people.

Having a way to voice complaints was better than having none at all.

“Thank you, thank you, Qin Comrade.” Someone from the crowd stood up and bowed to Qin Qingman.

Once the first person stood, a second followed.

Seeing so many people bowing to her, Qin Qingman felt she couldn’t accept it. She hadn’t done anything, and she hadn’t helped at all.

“Comrades, we must trust the Party, and it is the Party that we must thank. The Party is the foundation that protects us,” Qin Qingman said, glancing at the portrait of the Chairman that was hanging on one side of the cafeteria. After speaking, she quickly bowed in front of the portrait.

Living in this era meant that one had to clearly state their stance, and every word and action had to reflect the distinctive characteristics of the time to avoid being misinterpreted by those with ulterior motives.

Qin Qingman’s actions reminded everyone, and they quickly began to chant slogans and bow to the Chairman’s portrait.

The scene was orderly, as though they were participating in an ideological education session.

This was the scene that Liu Hechang and Zhou Jingguo, the commune revolutionary committee director, encountered when they arrived.

Watching the fervor on the faces of the crowd as they bowed to the Chairman’s portrait, neither Liu Hechang nor Zhou Jingguo spoke.

Zhou Jingguo had been invited by Liu Hechang.

As the chairman of the farm’s union, Liu Hechang was well-informed. He knew about Wu Weimin’s assassination, the fake police incident, and the involvement of Wu Yuanming in the fake police scandal. He immediately sensed the crisis and quickly invited Zhou Jingguo, the revolutionary committee director, to come from Hongqi Town.

As long as they could find some incriminating evidence, the situation could still be brought under control.

But the result stunned Liu Hechang.

Zhou Jingguo gave him a dissatisfied glare. “Didn’t you say there were people criticizing the Party organization?”

Liu Hechang was immediately drenched in cold sweat: …

Qin Qingman and the others: … They had narrowly escaped a disaster.