Reborn in 1979, with a female educated youth lying next to me.

Seeing Liu Jia turn his head, someone quickly said, "Someone just went to the captain's house to report. This is such a big thing, the captain has to know!"

Liu Jia didn't say anything.

Now that Zhou Fengshou is here, let him handle this matter.

I am from Xili Village, and the factory is also located in Xili Village, so naturally the production team leader should handle any problems that arise.

The thought had barely crossed Liu Jia's mind when he saw Zhou Fengshou walking towards him.

"Sanzi, I heard they caught a thief at the factory?"

Liu Jia hummed in agreement, then flashed the flashlight again.

And so, Erlaizi's filthy face was once again clearly seen by everyone.

Previously, when people suspected that the thief was Erlaizi, they spoke loudly and had very good reasons.

But when they actually faced Erlaizi, no one dared to speak.

The reason is simply that they are worried Erlai will hold a grudge and cause trouble for them later.

Zhou Fengshou's face was extremely pale, and his expression was very heavy.

"Second son?"

"Yes, it was Zhao Xiaochao and his men who caught him. I wasn't there at the time. Uncle Zhou, do you want to talk to Zhao Xiaochao and his men to find out what happened?"

Seeing that everyone was looking in his direction, Zhou Fengshou simply asked on the spot.

"Alright, since everyone's here, we don't need to go to the production team. Let's settle this here."

After speaking, Zhou Fengshou looked around the crowd and asked, "Who is Zhao Xiaochao?"

Suddenly, a person jumped out from the crowd.

"Reporting to the captain, I am Zhao Xiaochao, the security manager of the bamboo basket factory. We caught this thief. At the time, I was with my buddy—no, my colleague—to pee, and I felt that the sound of our urination was off..."

Zhao Xiaochao's report was very detailed.

Several women in the crowd felt embarrassed upon hearing this.

Especially after hearing Zhao Xiaochao say that the urination wasn't a loud gurgling sound, several women turned their heads away.

"Zhao Xiaochao, there are some situations you can take with you."

Liu Jia couldn't stand it any longer, and took advantage of Zhao Xiaochao's moment of catching his breath to quickly remind him.

Zhao Xiaochao didn't react for a moment. After blinking, he continued, "Third Brother, I need to explain the situation clearly, otherwise the captain won't know what's going on."

Liu Jia was speechless.

Say it.

If you don't feel embarrassed, just say it!

I'm afraid that if you finish speaking today, you'll become famous by tomorrow morning!

By then, everyone in Xili Village will know that there is a Zhao Xiaochao in the bamboo basket factory who discovered a thief while urinating!

After finding out the whole story, Zhou Fengshou looked at Erlaizi.

"Regarding what Zhao Xiaochao said on Tuesday, do you have anything to add?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes turned to Erlaizi.

Erlaizi shook his head and said in a muffled voice, "There's nothing to add."

"Since there is nothing to add, as the village head of Xili Village, I will tell everyone the outcome of this matter."

At this point, Zhou Fengshou paused deliberately.

In a short time, everyone's hearts were in their throats.

This past Tuesday, he's been a troublemaker, a typical thug.

He indulges in all sorts of vices, from eating and drinking to gambling and whoring; he's never good at one thing, but he can always find himself involved in something bad!

No one feels comfortable leaving someone like that in the village.

However, fearing retaliation from Erlaizi, no one dared to suggest how to punish him.

The scene was quiet, and Zhou Fengshou coughed twice.

"Breaking into the hospital, stealing other people's property, and disrupting production unity—we must hand such behavior over to the law enforcement team!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Erlaizi quickly turned his head, trembling, his face filled with terror.

"Captain, please don't send me to the enforcement team. I'll never do it again!"

Zhou Fengshou glanced at Erlaizi without saying a word, then looked at everyone.

"As the production team leader of Xili Village, do you all agree with the suggestion I just made? Anyone who objects, please raise your hand on the spot."

Zhou Fengshou's voice was sharp, and his face was expressionless.

Having managed Xili Village for many years, Zhou Fengshou naturally possessed a different aura than other villagers.

The people gathered in a circle dared not laugh or joke; they simply kept looking at each other.

Just now, Zhou Fengshou asked everyone if they agreed, but no one dared to speak.

I'm just afraid of offending Erlaizi.

Putting aside whether Erlaizi is a local thug or not, even if he isn't, we're all from the same village and we see each other all the time. If things really go too far, I'm afraid we'll all lose face.

Finally, everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they heard Zhou Fengshou say to raise their hands if they disagreed.

Not raising your hand means you don't object.

In other words, it means agreeing with what Zhou Fengshou just said: to send Erlaizi to the law enforcement team.

“Since there’s no objection, let’s do it this way.” Zhou Fengshou said as he searched through the crowd, finally fixing his gaze on Wang Liqiu.

"Qiu Zi, find someone to watch over Er Lai Zi for one night. We'll send him to the enforcement team at daybreak tomorrow."

After speaking, Zhou Fengshou looked at Liu Jia again.

"When we go tomorrow, your supervisor here will probably be coming along too, so you should all be mentally prepared."

Liu Jia nodded.

Then, Zhou Fengshou said a few more words to the onlookers, and everyone left.

Seeing that it was already past midnight, Liu Jia simply decided to stay at the factory.

Zhao Xiaochao held Liu Jia's arm and glanced at Liu Jia every now and then.

"What are you doing, you grown man, why are you holding my arm like that?"

As soon as Liu Jia finished speaking, Zhao Xiaochao not only didn't let go, but instead tightened his grip even more.

"Third Brother, should I go with the law enforcement team too?"

"Yes, you deserve the most credit, you have to go with us."

"No, I'm scared. I'm afraid they'll arrest me if I go to the law enforcement team."

"What nonsense are you talking about? You're the security manager at the factory now, you're dedicated to your job, and you even caught a thief. How could we possibly arrest you?"

Liu Jia didn't take it to heart and comforted Zhao Xiaochao with a smile.

Zhao Xiaochao's mouth was pressed against the wall like an 80,000-character seal, and his voice became much softer.

"Third Brother, others may not know about our messy past, but you do, don't you?"

Liu Jia reached out and patted Zhao Xiaochao on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, even if you go to the enforcement team, they'll only ask about what happened last night. Nobody's going to dig up old, trivial matters."

"Besides, the things you did before shouldn't have warranted that the law enforcement team arrested you."

Hearing Liu Jia say this, Zhao Xiaochao finally felt relieved.

He took a deep breath, rolled his eyes several times, and then exhaled the breath he had just taken.

Zhao Xiaochao stared at the sky, looking at the twinkling stars, and suddenly felt an indescribable sense of ease.

It's good to be a decent person.

There's no mental burden, no need to be afraid of anything, and no need to worry about someone finding fault with you one day.

"What are you looking at? Go inside and get some sleep. You have things to do tomorrow!"

Liu Jia's urging voice came over, and Zhao Xiaochao finally came to his senses. He grinned at Liu Jia and quickly went inside to sleep.

……

The next morning, before Erlaizi was even taken to the enforcement team, the news of what happened the night before had already spread throughout the entire village.

Those who arrived at the scene gave a detailed account of what happened, adding their own interpretations as well.

In this way, the story of the thief in Liu Jia's bamboo basket factory could be told as a book.

Listening to everyone's stories, Liu Jia also laughed.

This time, Liu Jia finally witnessed the imagination of the working people.

However, despite the jokes, everyone in the village was inexplicably happy that one less troublemaker like Erlaizi had come along.

However, since they were from the same village as Erlaizi, no one made it too obvious.

Only Zhang Dalaba openly expressed his joy.

“That scoundrel should have been arrested long ago. He’s always stealing chickens and doing nothing good. I have to count my chickens every morning, just in case he steals them.”

“He’s a troublemaker. Do you all remember? A couple of days ago he said that the bride price in our village was going to go up, which almost caused my husband’s girlfriend to break up with him.”

"He's gone to someone's factory to steal again now, serves him right for being caught!"

Zhang Dalaba rolled his eyes as he spoke, looking completely bitter and resentful.

Several people nearby echoed his sentiments, and Zhang Dalaba spoke even more enthusiastically.

Liu Jia wasn't going to work today, so when he saw that he was about to arrive at his work site, he didn't linger and headed straight north.

But they had only taken a few steps when Aunt Chunlan suddenly arrived.

"Liu Jia, wait a minute, what happened at your home? Has something happened?"

Liu Jia turned around.

Aunt Chunlan's face turned bright red, and her forehead was covered with sweat. She took a deep breath during the pause.

Liu Jia asked in confusion, "Auntie, what's wrong?"

"I don't know either. When I passed by your house just now, I saw three men running towards your house. One of them looked like he was from Cuijiazhuang."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jia's heart tightened.

From Cuijiazhuang?

That must be related to Cui Hongmei!

Yesterday, my second brother didn't see Cui Hongmei. Could it be that the Cui family sent someone to look for her today?

That's way too fast!

The thought flashed through Liu Jia's mind, and he quickly turned around.

Second Brother Liu Jianye has a bad temper. If Cui Hongmei's family really sends someone to urge for the bride price, Second Brother might really mess things up.

We need to get back right away!

Liu Jia jogged away, and Aunt Chunlan wiped the sweat from her forehead, saying, "All I see every day is Sanzi running back and forth."

At this moment, someone came over and asked Aunt Chunlan what was going on.

Aunt Chunlan shook her head directly.

"It's nothing, why bother asking? I don't know what happened either."

Aunt Chunlan was telling the truth, but those who asked her questions thought she was tight-lipped and that they couldn't get anything out of her.

So, after asking a couple of questions, people dispersed.

Fifteen minutes later, Liu Jia ran home.

Before I even entered the room, I saw Liu Jianye hurrying out.

"Second brother, where are you going? Has someone from the Cui family come?"

Upon seeing that it was Liu Jia who was asking the question, Liu Jianye hurriedly nodded.

"Sanzi, it's good that you're back. We need to go to the city."

"What happened? Why don't you go to Cui Family Village or go to the city?"

Liu Jia instinctively asked the question.

Cui Hongmei is from Cuijiazhuang. Even if they want to discuss raising the bride price, they should go to Cuijiazhuang. What's the point of going to the city?

Before Liu Jia could figure out what was going on, Liu Jianye's eyes had already turned red.

"Sanzi, the Cui family just came. They said Hongmei was injured and is currently at the People's Hospital."

“These things have all come together. Let’s head to the city now, and I’ll tell you what happened on the way.”

"Sanzi, do you think Hongmei will be alright? I have no idea what to do. I hope nothing serious will happen."

Liu Jianye's voice sounded somewhat flustered, and his brows were furrowed.

Before seeing Liu Jia, Liu Jianye could still hold on, but after seeing Liu Jia, he suddenly felt an urge to cry.

What should we do if something really happens to Cui Hongmei?