Chapter 70: The Inspection Team’s Malicious Intent

The inspection team had all the necessary documents, and their procedures were legal and legitimate. After Luo Jiawang carefully checked and confirmed everything was in order, he quickly gathered people to tow the car from the road.

But a new problem arose.

There were twenty-two people in the inspection team, how could they be accommodated?

Huang, the accountant, suggested, “The educated youth point has recently built several rooms, we can squeeze in, it’s no problem. The inspection team and the educated youths are all intellectuals, they have common topics.”

Old Sun had no objections, he wanted to see for himself what this so-called soldier king was like.

The inspection team was led by Old Sun, so the matter was settled.

But when they arrived at their destination, many people started to have second thoughts.

The riverbank was damp, especially in winter when the north wind howled, the inside of the house was even colder and damper than outside.

To accommodate more people, the beds were turned into bunk beds, and there were no blankets on top, the conditions were more difficult than expected, the faces of several young girls in the inspection team turned green.

“Either we stay in town, or we pay some money to stay with the villagers.” Someone said weakly.

The overall standard of living in Nanxi Brigade wasn’t poor, they had seen two or three brick houses along the way, especially the brigade leader’s house, which was better than the houses in the city.

“It’s okay for us young people to stay at the educated youth point, the key is the teachers, they haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a while.”

“That’s right, the body is the capital of revolution, we need to rest well so that we can contribute to the socialist cause.”

These words were said with great pomp and circumstance, Old Sun didn’t object, “You can discuss it with the villagers, then there’s no problem. Just remember one thing, you can’t take anything from the villagers.”

Everyone in the inspection team agreed, and they went their separate ways.

As for Old Sun…

Luo Jiawang, a shrewd man, immediately invited the old expert to his home, treating him to good food and drink.

Luo Jiawang, who thought he had gotten a good deal, had befriended a big shot from the capital, but he didn’t know that he would be interrogated by the other party. In one evening, he had revealed almost all of Nanxi Brigade’s secrets.

“These women are so shortsighted, how can they be so easy to please? They can’t even stand the communal meals.”

Lin Meiru sneered, “To cook separately for the inspection team, the whole family would be watching them eat and drink well, wouldn’t that cause trouble in the long run?”

She was indeed the most clever, she directly refused the inspection team’s request. Even so, the other party still turned against her, calling her ungrateful, saying that she was a fool for not making money.

Lin Meiru immediately chased them out with a broom.

“Mom, you’ve been getting upset lately, try to relax.” Jiang Shulan held up a padded jacket and called her younger sister over to try it on, her eyebrows and eyes were filled with a gentle smile.

“I saw this style is popular in the department store recently, you wear it, you’ll definitely be more stylish than the girls from the inspection team.”

The padded jacket was bright red, very festive. In these days, it was as difficult as climbing to heaven to get a piece of red cloth. Jiang Shulan had run to the county several times before she managed to get one.

This was the first time in two lifetimes that someone had made clothes specifically for her. Jiang An’an happily put on the new clothes, her eyes smiling, “It fits perfectly, Big Sister, the padded jacket you made is really beautiful.”

The padded jacket had a cinched waist design, it was warm without being bulky, and the red color made her skin look even whiter, she was lively and bright, making it hard to look away.

It was the most eye-catching color in the bleak winter!

Zhou Yinghuai’s gaze followed her closely, until Wen Hao’s urging voice sounded, he then moved his gaze away.

He walked in calmly, his voice lowered, “Aunt Lin, my family sent some special products, I specially brought them for you to try.”

Lin Meiru stepped forward and saw that he was carrying a bag with seven or eight cans, including pork and beef, a warm smile immediately bloomed on her old face, “I’ll show you my skills tonight.”

Meat cans were still meat, the cooking methods were all the same.

Today, in order to entertain the inspection team, the housewives of every household had used their best skills, the smell of meat wafted everywhere.

The Jiang family eating meat wasn’t anything special.

Jiang An’an took off the red padded jacket and put on her old one. She would wear it to the commune tomorrow to show off, maybe she could even get some orders for her sister.

When she returned to the main room, the room was filled with the aroma of tea.

Zhou Yinghuai had already brewed the new tea he had brought, when he saw her come in, he picked up an empty bowl and poured half a bowl for her.

The tea was emerald green and clear, Jiang An’an couldn’t wait to pick up the bowl and take a sip, her beautiful almond eyes narrowed in delight, “Good tea, sweet aftertaste.”

Wen Hao wrinkled his nose in disgust, “Why are you like Old Comrade Huai, you like to drink Biluochun? I say the best drink is orange-flavored Beibingyang soda, chilled in the well water in the summer, one sip and it’s so refreshing.”

Old Comrade Huai Zhou Yinghuai: “…”

Duobao next to him swallowed his saliva, “Soda!”

“Little glutton.” Jiang An’an reached out and poked his chubby cheek, she went to the kitchen and took a few sweet potatoes to bury them under the charcoal brazier. After dinner, the sweet potatoes would be roasted.

A hot sweet potato on a cold winter day was a good way to digest food.

Jiang Degui used fire tongs to stir the embers, he asked casually, “Little Zhou, you’re all from the capital, do you know what this inspection team is about?”

The inspection team, all pampered and delicate, claimed to be in Nanxi Brigade to survey and find minerals, but he didn’t believe a word of it.

He had a nagging feeling of unease, fearing that they were also after the yellow croaker.

Zhou Yinghuai was there for that very reason, he was worried that he wouldn’t have a chance to speak, but Jiang Degui brought up the topic.

He said, “The geology experts and their assistants are from the capital, they have deep backgrounds and are not easy to deal with.”

These people were related to those in power, representing different factions, supervising and balancing each other.

“Hmph!” Wen Hao snorted coldly, sarcastically, “Sun Gou is a schemer, his mind is full of holes.”

Sun Gou?

The father and daughter exchanged a knowing glance, they understood that the inspection team was not on the same side as Zhou Zhiqing and the others.

Jiang An’an had seen Zhou Yinghuai interrogating criminals at the police station, and the memory was vivid. This Zhou Zhiqing was probably sent to the countryside with a mission, his background was so powerful that even Wu Jianguo was polite to him.

Fortunately, he had no ulterior motives towards the old Jiang family, otherwise, she would have kicked him out long ago.

At this time, Zhou Yinghuai did not disappoint her trust, he kindly reminded, “Uncle Jiang, the inspection team will probably hire villagers to go into the mountains in the next two days. The experts from the capital are not short of money, the pay is generous. But the deep mountains are full of wild animals, it’s very dangerous, if you don’t need the money, you should stay at home and enjoy your grandchildren.”

The Dayi’s grandmother incident seemed to be over, but the police followed the trail and found the lair of those people, most likely hidden in the deep mountains. They had successfully evaded capture for so many years by taking advantage of the complex terrain of the deep mountains.

Those people were not good, they carried guns.

The inspection team was also after the gold and equipment, the two groups would clash sooner or later, if they weren’t careful, they would lose their lives.

Fearing that Jiang Degui wouldn’t believe him, Zhou Yinghuai specifically mentioned Wu Jianguo’s name, “I met Policeman Wu last time, he mentioned that a team of experts would come from the capital, even County Magistrate Bai was worried, implying that these people are not easy to deal with.”

Jiang Degui couldn’t wait to hide the fact that he was familiar with the deep mountains, he crossed his arms and said with a nonchalant air, “Who would want to suffer in the mountains in the middle of winter, don’t worry, I won’t get involved.”

He held the fire tongs tightly, and he began to regret taking Jiang An’an to visit her father’s grave a few days ago.

There were still traces of incense burning in front of the grave, he could only hope for a heavy snowfall to delay the inspection team’s trip to the mountains.