Chapter 11: Uncle Framed His Own Brother

“Comrade Jiang Degui, please open the door and cooperate with the police investigation.”

The knocking grew louder, heavy in everyone’s hearts.

“Police?”

“Zhou Kang really called the police! What should we do? Will the police arrest us too?”

“Damn Lin Meiru, it’s all your fault for causing trouble. Ever since you entered the Jiang family, it’s been chaos every day. As long as you’re around, I’ll have no face to meet your father and ancestors in the afterlife.”

The yard was in an uproar.

Since ancient times, the people have feared the authorities, and the police at this time were figures beyond the reach of the villagers! Even the fearless Jiang Degui and his wife turned pale with fear, trembling.

“A bunch of country bumpkins dare to challenge me?” Zhou Kang, shaking off his previous dejection, straightened his collar with a smug expression.

Fortunately, the police arrived in time; otherwise, he would have been intimidated by Jiang An’an and would have paid up to admit defeat!

Zhou Kang watched with satisfaction as the villagers panicked, the resentment of two years of keeping a low profile dissipating.

Wait!

Where’s that little brat Jiang An’an?

“Comrades of the police, you’ve finally arrived.” Jiang An’an opened the door, warmly welcoming the police officers inside and shaking their hands. “I’m so sorry for making you come all this way; it must have been hard on you. Please come in for some hot water.”

Zhou Kang: ??? That little brat stole his lines!

The police had never encountered such a warm and understanding villager before, and the young girl was bright and beautiful, softening their stern expressions. “Who are you?”

“My name is Jiang An’an, and it was my brother-in-law who reported the case.” Jiang An’an smiled shyly, her dimples making her look sweet.

“My brother-in-law was a sent-down youth in ’69, with a high level of ideological awareness. Now that his family has found him a good job, he feels guilty about abandoning his wife and getting a divorce to return to the city, so he decided to report to the organization to admit his mistakes.”

In the end, Jiang An’an didn’t forget to add, “Zhou Kang is a good comrade. To help him improve, you must seriously criticize and educate him.”

The police: “…”

They looked at Zhou Kang as if he were a fool.

Zhou Kang choked, feeling a wave of panic rising again.

How had he never noticed that his sister-in-law was so articulate? What did she mean by his high level of awareness, specifically seeking out the police to educate him? Did he look like someone with a serious mental problem?!

But if he refutes it, wouldn’t that mean he has a low level of ideological awareness and doesn’t want to improve?

Since Wu Jianguo became a police officer, he had never seen such a fool, or rather, such a desperate youth seeking progress. He raised his fist to his lips and cleared his throat: “Comrade Zhou Kang, recognizing that abandoning your wife is a despicable act is commendable; it shows your deep self-awareness.”

“…Heh.” Zhou Kang was so angry that his chest heaved violently, gasping for breath.

“However,” Wu Jianguo reprimanded sternly, “this behavior is morally deficient and makes you a bad element in society.”

In recent years, there had been many similar cases in the Hongqi Commune, but they were usually resolved quietly behind closed doors; he had never seen someone make such a big fuss and rush to the police station.

Unfortunately, all the police could do was verbally condemn him; they couldn’t imprison such scum for three to five years, as the divorce was a private matter.

Not only the police, but even the commune members looked at him with disdain.

“Zhou Kang usually seems so gentle and refined, but he’s filled with malice.”

“There’s a youth from my maternal uncle’s side who promised to handle things well before returning to the city, planning a fake divorce to sort out his household registration and bring his wife and children over in a year or two. But he disappeared just three months after leaving. That woman became a widow and had to fend for three half-grown children, often going hungry. It’s truly tragic!”

“Lin Meiru picked a white-eyed wolf; she ruined her daughter’s life.”

“It’s better to marry a local guy, strong and young, who can earn high points, rather than a useless youth who can’t lift a finger.”

The accusations from all sides were like sharp swords, piercing Zhou Kang’s face and leaving him in a miserable state. He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and said, “Comrades of the police, I want to report that the Jiang Degui family is illegally imprisoning me.”

Jiang Degui looked completely dumbfounded: ???

He thought Zhou Kang would report him for beating him, so he had used a sorghum broom to hit the tougher parts of his body. He never expected it to be about illegal imprisonment!

What shocked him even more was when Zhou Kang confidently declared, “Jiang Dezhuzhu and his whole family can testify!”

Jiang Degui crossed his arms in disdain, feeling smug: Why would Zhou Kang choose to report him, the older brother of the same mother?

What a huge joke!

Did he really think his older brother would let his own younger brother go to jail for a white-eyed wolf, an outsider?

“I, I will testify.” Jiang Dezhuzhu hunched over, too guilty to look at his brother’s face.

The scene fell into a sudden silence.

The commune members were dumbfounded.

The drama unfolding in the Jiang family was even more exciting than a script, as Jiang Degui sacrificed family ties to report his own brother to the police!

In that moment, everyone shared the same thought as Jiang Degui.

“Eldest brother, are you being threatened by that Zhou bastard?” Jiang Degui couldn’t believe it; he felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him, shivering from the inside out.

Jiang Dezhuzhu didn’t dare to look him in the eye. He pulled out his pipe, squatted down, and started smoking, trying to advise him kindly: “Second brother, you already have children and grandchildren. You’re not young anymore; don’t repeat those past mistakes. Be a good example for your children and grandchildren in the future.”

His grandiose words seemed aimed at proving that he was acting for his brother’s good by sacrificing family ties.

After hearing this, Jiang Degui felt nothing but sarcasm. His elder brother had always been selfish, and what he couldn’t accept the most was…

“Mother, are you going to report me just like my elder brother?”

Old Lady Jiang opened her mouth, unsure of what to think, and sighed, turning her head away.

“You’ve always favored my elder brother since childhood. No matter what I do, it’s always wrong.” Jiang Degui forced a smile that looked worse than crying, his head hanging low; the man in his forties suddenly appeared to age ten years.

Seeing this scene, everyone sighed.

Jiang Er was usually a bit of a rascal, but he had never done anything illegal.

Some people thought of their own parents, who similarly favored other siblings, feeling empathetic and reddening their eyes.

“Father?” Jiang An’an called out worriedly.

Lin Meiru, with a fiery temper, shouted, “Jiang Dezhuzhu, you scoundrel, that’s your brother!”

“His elder brother is only acting for the good of the second brother. Otherwise, one mistake leads to another, and it could lead to disaster in the future,” Auntie Jiang argued righteously.

“Smack!”

Lin Meiru slapped the other woman across the face. “I bet you don’t brush your teeth; your mouth must smell like shit.”

“Do you dare hit me? I’ll fight you!”

Auntie Jiang gritted her teeth and charged forward. The two women instantly got into a scuffle. Old grudges plus new grievances led to a hair-pulling, clawing frenzy, each hitting harder than the last.