C20 The Cheapest Person Could be Sold

Tang Jin and Xia Churan quickly finished their meal and began to tidy up, as they still had wheat to thresh.

It seemed likely that it would rain in the coming days, so they needed to get all the wheat threshed by tomorrow.

...

Yongzi and Wang Caifeng arrived home late into the night.

Tang Fugui's face lit up with happiness when he saw them return.

"You two are finally back! Now we're all set with enough hands to bring in the wheat!"

Yongzi smiled in response to Tang Fugui's words.

"I won't be able to go out for the next couple of days; I have to stay inside."

Tang Fugui became incensed upon hearing this.

"What do you mean you have to stay inside?"

Wang Caifeng explained the situation to Tang Fugui in full.

Tang Fugui let out a deep sigh, went to the doorway, donned his coat, and smoked a bag of cigarettes.

"Well, at least I can make three or four yuan a day!"

Wang Caifeng chuckled.

"Yes, indeed. You've been working hard these past few days, Master. Once we finish harvesting the wheat in a couple of days, we'll have Yongzi go to the city and get a kilogram of pork to replenish you!"

After Wang Caifeng spoke, Tang Fugui didn't add anything else and simply went inside to sleep soundly.

Wang Caifeng laughed.

"Look at your dad, he's still as temperamental as ever!"

...

Noticing it was getting late, Zhang Qing decided to return to his dormitory to rest for the night, planning to visit Tang Yong the following day. It wasn't a pressing matter, and he suspected the woman was likely trying to extort money.

Early the next morning, Zhang Qing made his way to Yongkang Village.

At the village entrance, the sight of a man in a police uniform immediately put the villagers on alert.

The village was usually a peaceful place, rarely visited by the police, but they had been showing up frequently over the past few days.

Curious onlookers discreetly followed Zhang Qing.

Without saying much, Zhang Qing headed straight for Wang Caifeng's house and knocked on the door, which was ajar.

Wang Caifeng and Tang Yong were fast asleep when the sound of knocking at the door woke them, leaving them slightly annoyed.

"Who's there? Knocking at this ungodly hour!"

Wang Caifeng grumbled as she got dressed and headed for the door.

Upon opening it, she was greeted by the sight of Zhang Qing in his police uniform and immediately softened her tone.

"Officer, are you here looking for Yongzi?"

Zhang Qing gave a nod.

"May I ask who you are?"

"I'm Wang Caifeng, the secretary's mother! What brings you here for Yongzi?"

Zhang Qing offered a smile.

"I've come to discuss a matter with Tang Yong. Is he at home?"

"Yes, he is. I'll go fetch him for you right away!"

Wang Caifeng hurried back inside and brought out Tang Yong, who was still groggy from sleep.

"Who's looking for me? What's the matter?"

Clearly, he hadn't anticipated the situation escalating so significantly and hadn't been overly concerned.

Upon recognizing Zhang Qing, he approached with a casual air.

"Oh, it's our local officer. Please, come in. Mom, fetch our guest a glass of water!"

Zhang Qing gestured dismissively.

"No need for water. I just want to ask if you were with a woman at the hostels yesterday?"

"Yeah, that was me. I took my mom there!"

Zhang Qing nodded in confirmation.

"Alright then, I need both of you to accompany me to the station."

Tang Yong and Wang Caifeng were taken aback by his request, with Wang Caifeng feeling particularly frightened.

"Hold on, officer, I've done nothing wrong. Why do you need to take me in?"

Zhang Qing cleared his throat.

"Done nothing wrong, you say? The lady from the hostels called the police yesterday. She's in the hospital now. We need you to come to the station to clarify the situation."

"Officer, there must be some misunderstanding. We're part of the system too. Let me take my mom to the hospital to clear things up first. How does that sound?"

Yongzi tried to ingratiate himself, but Zhang Qing was not swayed by his attempts.

"This doesn't adhere to the proper procedure. Since the case has been reported and we've taken it on, I must follow the established process. I hope you understand!"

They had no choice but to do as Zhang Qing directed.

The news that Yongzi and Wang Caifeng were taken away by Zhang Qing spread rapidly throughout Yongkang Village.

Tang Fugui was so enraged by the news that he nearly fainted.

Tang Jin was at the village entrance, having borrowed a cow to operate the stone roller to crush wheat.

When Xia Churan heard that Yongzi had been arrested, she immediately went to the village entrance to find Tang Jin.

It was nearing noon, the sun beating down fiercely, yet Tang Jin couldn't afford to slack off. That morning, he had spotted a carp surfacing, a sure sign of impending rain.

Sweat soaked through Tang Jin's clothes.

From a distance, Xia Churan's heart ached at the sight.

"Tang Jin, Tang Jin! Let me take over for a bit. You should take a break!"

Tang Jin paused his work. Xia Churan was about to grab the whip, but Tang Jin wouldn't have it.

"This kind of work is for me. What brings you here?"

After Tang Jin spoke, Xia Churan couldn't help but laugh, then she shared with a hint of mystery, "I've got some good news. Yongzi has been arrested!"

Tang Jin's brow furrowed.

"Arrested? What for?"

"That, I don't know! But it's the talk of the entire village!"

Tang Jin scoffed, "Karma always catches up with the wicked. It's his own doing for being so crooked!"

After a brief rest, Tang Jin urged Xia Churan to hurry home, while he couldn't dare to pause.

The wheat was finally harvested after a hard day's work.

Having finished, Tang Jin sought out the village chief.

The village chief, a man in his forties named Lee Deyong, was from the Lee family.

Lee Deyong greeted Tang Jin with a smile.

"Jin, what can I do for you?"

Tang Jin nodded.

"I need a favor. Could you announce over the loudspeaker for everyone to harvest their wheat quickly? It looks like we're in for rain in the next couple of days!"

After listening to Tang Jin, Lee Deyong drew a long drag from his pipe.

"The weather's been so nice lately. Just look at those stars twinkling up there. It doesn't seem like we'll have rain anytime soon!"

Tang Jin smiled and shook his head.

"Well, you can't be too sure. I heard crickets chirping on the roof yesterday, and this morning, I saw fish surfacing!"