Chapter 98

Given the previous incidents with enemy agents in the provincial capital, Lin Yao had taken precautions for safety. Every time the family left the house, she would place a pomegranate leaf in the door crack.

Whenever they returned, the pomegranate leaf would still be there, even if it had been windy or rainy. At most, it would have been blown inside the house or onto the corridor.

But today, not only was the pomegranate leaf missing, but there were also dirty footprints on the brick floor of the meticulously cleaned house. The usual positions of the enamel cups were disturbed, and two pieces of the fried sugar cakes on the table were missing. Even the bamboo thermos had been moved.

The fried sugar cakes were Lin Yao’s own creation, filled with brown sugar and sesame seeds. However, since brown sugar was expensive, she had substituted it with white sugar. The cakes were golden, soft, crispy on the outside, and hollow. They were sweet with a warm, comforting taste, a favorite of Dongzi and Doudou.

Dongzi had a particular sweet tooth. If he spotted the cakes in the house, he would sneak a piece, only to be caught by Zhang Cuilan, who would smack his hand, leaving him pouting. This habit of sneaking sweets had gotten Gu Shidong chased and scolded by his mother more than once.

At first, Lin Yao suspected a thief had come into the house, but after a thorough inspection, she found that none of the money or important documents were missing, nor had anyone touched the rice, flour, or meat in the kitchen.

Which thief would pass up valuable items and instead steal a thermos, eat two pieces of fried sugar cake, and then leave?

Lin Yao’s heart skipped a beat. Could someone be planning to tamper with the tea they drink at home?

Previously, in the provincial capital, enemy agents had drugged the families of provincial officials to make it easier to act against them.

Lin Yao estimated the footprints left in the house. The owner of these footprints had large feet—definitely not left by a petite girl. It seemed that a burly man had sneaked into their home this time.

The wall of the courtyard was made of bluestone and was more than three meters high. The Gu family lived in the backyard of the courtyard, and the alley was deep. If outsiders wanted to come in, they had to either come in from the main gate of the front yard of the courtyard, or climb over the wall of the backyard.

The family was busy cooking, while Dongzi played with Doudou in the courtyard.

Lin Yao didn’t have time to deal with the two little rascals. She reminded them to “stay safe,” and, taking advantage of the absence of others, circled the courtyard wall. The courtyard wall, weathered by wind and rain and in disrepair for years, was mottled, with weeds growing in the cracks between the stones. It looked quite desolate. The recent rain had left the ground uneven and muddy, making it easy to leave footprints.

At the corner of the wall, Lin Yao found another set of large footprints.

It confirmed her suspicion—the person had indeed climbed over the wall.

Lin Yao cursed silently, What kind of idiot would drug us and still have the nerve to eat our sugar cakes? And they call themselves enemy agents? Next time, I’ll mix some croton powder into the sugar cakes and see if you survive!

Returning to the house, Lin Yao made an excuse to wash Gu Doudou’s diapers and replaced all the water in the house’s water tank. Gu Mancang cheerfully carried the buckets to fetch fresh well water. After bringing back the new water, Lin Yao rolled up her sleeves and thoroughly cleaned all the pots, pans, small plates, and clay pots in the house. She even replaced the enamel mugs and the bamboo thermos, putting away the old ones in her storage space and bringing out identical replacements. Only after completing all this did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Since the enemy had already shown their claws, Lin Yao knew she had to come up with a countermeasure. Even if she couldn’t catch them red-handed, she had to warn Gu Chunmei and the others.

In the kitchen, Zhang Cuilan was making minced meat with eggplant. The main course was steamed mixed-grain cornbread, and she also prepared a pot of sweet potato porridge. She called Lin Yao over for dinner.

“Yao Yao, dinner’s ready.”

“Coming.”

As she responded, Lin Yao tested the pepper spray and the stun baton she had retrieved from her space supermarket while heading outside.

As soon as their mother stepped out, Gu Doudou toddled over, tugging at her pant leg and urging, “Mommy, let’s go, eat, eat!”

The little guy always got excited at the mention of food—clearly a little foodie in the making.

“Alright, let’s eat.”

Lin Yao took the little chubby hand and washed it thoroughly, then tied a bib around him. She scooped a bowl of sweet potato porridge into a small bowl specifically for the little guy and placed it in front of him.

Gu Doudou could eat on his own now, though his small chubby hands clumsily held the spoon, often dropping half of each bite. Lin Yao didn’t mind, only occasionally wiping his mouth with a handkerchief.

After the family had dinner, Zhang Cuilan and her husband went to the entrance of the alley, fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans to enjoy the cool air. While Dongzi, the mischievous boy, disappeared the moment no one was watching.

Gu Doudou ate slowly, still working on his bowl of sweet potato porridge.

Lin Yao patted the little chubby head.

“Tomorrow, should Mommy cook some meat porridge for you?”

“Yes!”

Upon hearing that there would be meat, Gu Doudou immediately beamed, showing a mouthful of small white teeth. His big eyes curved into bright crescents, nodding eagerly.

“Doudou is happy.”

“Meat is yummy!”

Lin Yao couldn’t help but laugh. Like father, like son. Whenever she asked Deputy Director Gu what he wanted to eat, he would also ponder briefly before replying, “As long as there’s meat, I’m good.”

Sigh, I wonder how he’s doing out in the countryside now.

*

As night fell, deep in the mountains, several hundred miles away, gunfire echoed through the dense forest, startling flocks of birds.

Just moments ago, the anti-drug team led by Gu Shi’an had engaged in a firefight with an armed drug trafficking gang. The sound of gunfire was incessant. A few of the traffickers, out of bullets and desperate, charged forward with grenades, intent on taking the anti-drug team down with them, only to be shot down by Gu Shi’an and Xu Xiangqian.

“Old Gu, you handle things here. I’ll take the guys and flank those bastards from the rear, catch them off guard!” Xu Xiangqian, carrying a gun, wiped the blood off his hand and approached Gu Shi’an with a plan.

Gu Shi’an glanced at him. “Are you injured?”

“Nah, just got some blood on me from a punk I shot earlier. Forgot to wipe it off.”

Gu Shi’an tossed him a handkerchief. “Wipe it off.”

Da Tou Brother was surprised.

“Old Gu, you’re actually letting me use the handkerchief your wife gave you? That’s unusually generous.”

Deputy Director Gu’s voice was indifferent. “This is the handkerchief Yao Yao uses to wipe Doudou’s feet. I grabbed the wrong one.”

“It’s unused. Brand new.”

Da Tou Brother: “…”

Da Tou Brother wiped his hands and led a few guys down a side path to the back of a small hill. They fired several shots at a small group of ambushers, catching them all.

The surprise attack at the rear went smoothly, and so did the frontal assault. After a few intense shots, several more enemies fell into pools of blood, lying motionless. The remaining bandits fled in panic.

One young team member, unable to contain his excitement, rushed after them with his gun. In the dim light, they hadn’t noticed that among the fallen enemies, one was feigning death, planning to drag them all down to the underworld. As the enemy jumped up with a knife in hand, Xu Xiangqian shouted in warning.

“Old Gu, watch out for an ambush!”

In a flash, two desperate bandits emerged from the bushes with guns. Gu Shi’an reacted swiftly, pulling down a young teammate beside him. They rolled to the ground, and a few bullets whizzed past their heads. The young team member narrowly escaped death, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Gu Shi’an, quick and agile, grabbed the fallen gun from the ground and shot each of the approaching bandits in the head. Xu Xiangqian led his team to assist, and together they wiped out the entire group of criminals.

*

As the Dragon Boat Festival approached, the Dongfanghong Production Team had been busy since the weather warmed up. The snow in the fields began to melt, and the team leader organized the members to plow the fields for spring sowing. They scattered wheat seeds, and now the fields were full of thriving wheat sprouts, lush and green, which lifted everyone’s spirits.

The village elders all said that this year’s harvest would be good.

After the recent rain, many weeds had sprung up in the fields. The villagers relied on this season’s crops for their food in the second half of the year, so there was no time to be idle. The members of the Dongfanghong Production Team were busy with fertilizing and weeding, each person working vigorously.

Lin Daguo’s family, who had been lazy in previous years, could come and go as they pleased. They didn’t have to worry about working for work points in the village.

When their family ran out of money, they went to the town to ask Lin Hongna for some. Lin Hongna refused, and Li Aifeng threw a tantrum, but Lin Hongna, not wanting to lose face, left behind a few small amounts of money. This was enough for Lin Daguo’s family to get by for a while.

The villagers teased the Lin family about this, but Lin Daguo’s family had thick skins. Li Aifeng, rather than feeling ashamed, boasted proudly, scolding the villagers with her hands on her hips.

“What’s wrong? Our daughter is capable and married well. We didn’t eat or drink from your family, so you’re just jealous! Mind your own business! If you don’t wipe yourself properly after using the toilet, go home and clean your mouth before talking!”

Several gossiping women in the village were furious. If not for others holding them back, they would have gone to deal with Li Aifeng themselves.

As the saying goes, evil people are met with their own kind of retribution.

Li Aifeng had been arrogant in the village for years, and now she had married a lunatic as a daughter-in-law.

Since Wang Honghua fell ill, Lin Daguo’s family had been on edge and hadn’t slept soundly. Last night, Wang Honghua, acting strange, dressed in white and cried out in the yard. She burned some white paper, leaving piles of ashes from burned paper money around the yard and pasted couplets on the doors and windows. The night wind blew and her high-pitched, wailing cries sounded like ghosts.

The neighbors next door were disturbed by the noise and came out to watch the commotion.

Old Lady Qi peeked out, observing Wang Honghua’s swollen eyes and hoarse voice as if watching a grand performance.

“Oh, Hongwu’s wife, what are you crying about in the middle of the night?”

Wang Honghua, crying as if her mother had died, jumped around in the yard.

“My mother-in-law has died! She’s done so many wicked things in her life that in the next life she won’t be human but a dog! I’m burning more paper money so she doesn’t get reborn as a bitch!”

Li Aifeng, who is still alive: “….”