A domineering country girl flirts with her son, and Commander Huo can't resist.

"I bought it on the black market. It's supposedly a new variety from a state-run farm. If you like it, I'll buy some more whenever I see it."

Qiao An had already figured out where the strawberries came from, since Huo Jiyun was unlikely to investigate anyway.

The family ate strawberries, and Joan occasionally told a joke, making everyone laugh.

In the cowshed, just a few hundred meters from the Qiao family's house, Mu Linjiang and Fang Hui were practically grinding their teeth in frustration.

"Mu Zhifeng, do you even have a brain?! You just do whatever Mu Yu tells you to do?" Fang Hui was furious.

"Mom, I... I just thought that if she could really marry the regimental commander, wouldn't our family's life be much better?"

"I'm doing this for the Mu family's sake."

Mu Zhifeng didn't mention the deal he made with Mu Yu, and there's no point in bringing it up now.

"Mu Yu is ruined. If she's criticized tomorrow, her file will say she's promiscuous. Even if she goes back to Shenzhou, what respectable family would marry her?" Mu Linjiang sighed and said in a deep voice.

Mu Yu is the daughter he has raised with all his heart, so that she can be married into the Mu family in the future and bring some benefits to the family.

But now she has given up on herself, and all her years of hard work have gone to waste.

"She's shameless enough, but she's dragged our Mu family down with her. She'll never be able to hold her head up in Lianchi Village again." Mu Zhiyuan slammed his fist on the table.

"What you should be thinking about now is how we'll live without Mu Yu?" Mu Linjiang glanced at Mu Zhiyuan. "I finally found you a temporary job, and you ruined it. Now you have the nerve to criticize others?"

Mu Zhiyuan lowered his head, his expression resentful, and said no more.

Yes, without Hao Renming's help, they will have to rely on earning work points from now on.

Now that it's the off-season for farming, there are already few work points. And these few people can't do heavy work. It's already difficult for each person to get five work points a day. How are they going to get through the New Year?

The Mu family was shrouded in gloom, and none of the four of them could sleep all night.

Qiao An got up in the morning full of energy, delivered goods around on her tricycle as usual, and finally arrived at the police station to start work.

Actually, if it weren't for needing a purchase certificate from the police station, she would have resigned long ago.

It's too much trouble to earn just a few dozen yuan a month and still have to work in an office.

But now, she still needs the convenience that comes with being a formal employee of the police station.

During lunch, Qiao An noticed that Jiang Yushun and the others seemed to be in low spirits. They weren't laughing and joking as usual, and the atmosphere in the cafeteria was dull and oppressive.

"Director He, what's wrong with you today?" Qiao An asked in a low voice.

He Hua turned his back to Jiang Yushun and the others, covered his mouth with a pancake, and whispered.

"We've encountered a difficult case."

After the police officers finished eating and left, He Hua resumed speaking at a normal volume.

"Someone from Lizhuang Village reported that their wife had run away. It's almost Chinese New Year, isn't it? Chief Jiang and his men are very worried. They've sent everyone out to search, but they still haven't found her."

"Some people say that the wife eloped with the educated youth, while others say that she went to the big city to make a living because she thought her family was too poor. Anyway, there are all sorts of rumors."

"How will they get through the Lunar New Year? The child is only two years old. How could this mother be so heartless as to abandon her own child?"

After listening, Joanne's expression turned serious. "Yes, unless something happens that forces her to leave, most women wouldn't abandon their children."

"Shouldn't Director Jiang investigate her husband and his family?"

"Oh my," He Hua suddenly laughed, "You're even giving instructions to the leaders now? Aren't they more experienced in solving cases than you are?"

That's true. She's just a cook. Although she's helped the station solve cases, it's not good for her to always interfere.

Qiao An didn't say anything, she just smiled, and that was the end of it.

Leave the washing of pots and pans to the helpers.

Qiao An rode her bicycle to Feng Sanqiang's house in the black market.

"Thank you so much for running errands for me yesterday." Joan took a basin covered with a cloth from the tricycle.

"Let's save this for dinner."

Feng Sanqiang thought it was sweet potato or something, so he took it without opening it and casually put it on the table.

"Big sister, you weren't the one who did what happened yesterday, were you?"

Yesterday, Feng Sanqiang and his younger brother listened to Qiao An's advice; one went to find Hao Renming, and the other went to find Li Yan.

They didn't understand what Qiao An was up to, but later they heard that something big had happened on Donghu Road.

Hao Renming was caught cheating on his wife with another woman, and the dignified commune secretary is now locked up in the commune's woodshed.

Later, the three brothers realized that what Qiao An had instructed them to do was to send Hao Renming and Li Yan to Donghu Road.

So it's natural to associate the person behind it all with Joan.

Qiao An didn't hide it. Since she had taken in some underlings, letting them know her abilities wasn't a bad thing.

"The woman who was having an affair with Hao Renming used an aphrodisiac in the room. She originally wanted to lure my husband there, but I just replaced her with someone else."

Feng Sanqiang, Da Bao, and Xiao Lei were instantly stunned.

Is this even possible?

"Don't look at me like that. Hao Renming and she were already together. I was just going along with it."

"She's after my husband, so I have no choice but to let someone else's husband keep her company."

The three men stood there, their minds racing.

In the end, they could only come to one conclusion: their eldest sister was not someone to be trifled with; she was a ruthless person.

"That's not what I called you here for today. How's the black market doing these past few days?"

Feng Sanqiang gets a headache whenever this matter is mentioned.

"The black market is much quieter, but those sellers think we don't have any real foundation and are just randomly putting together a bunch of people, like children playing house. Many people don't pay the entrance fee and still want to force their way in, so we can't really do anything about it."

Joanne had anticipated this situation. "You guys compile a list of what those who didn't pay the entrance fee are selling. Since I said there needs to be order here, those who don't follow the rules will have to leave on their own."

Feng Sanqiang thought his older sister was very capable, but there was still an element of boasting in that statement.

You can't hit them, you can't scold them, so how could they possibly leave on their own?

"By the way, big sister! We have more than ten people, let's give our gang a name." Da Bao said excitedly from the side.

"A gang? Do you think we're a criminal gang?" Joan sighed and smiled wryly.

"If anyone asks again in the future, just say that we are called... Eternity, the Eternity of forever, the World of the World."

Joan occasionally thinks of the shelter she built in her previous life, so those two words came to her mind after Da Bao asked the question.

"forever?"

"As expected of the eldest sister, the name she came up with is really nice." Xiao Lei's eyes lit up when he heard the name. "We were just saying today whether 'Wild Wolf Gang' or 'Fierce Dragon Gang' would sound better."

Joanne had to seriously correct them, "We are not the mafia, nor are we a gang. You must understand that."

"Big sister, then what are we?" Da Bao scratched his head, his eyes full of questions.

"We are an alliance," Joanne said, afraid they wouldn't understand. "It means we all unite together; everyone is an ally."

"I know!" Xiao Lei raised his hand. "Just like the martial arts alliance in the book, Big Sister is the leader!"

Joan sighed. It was too difficult to explain. This way of understanding it would be acceptable.

As long as you don't think of yourself as a member of the mafia.