When Little Wang heard about eating barbecue, he instinctively said, "No."
"Didn't you say you could eat fifty skewers at once? Let's see you do it," said Yuanyuan.
Little Wang quickly replied, "I was just boasting. You actually believed that?"
Little Lang, who had just learned to count from one to ten in kindergarten, seriously counted on his chubby fingers, "Little Lang can do it."
The two older ones dismissed him, "You could probably eat a whole sheep."
By evening, the meat in the market wouldn't be fresh anymore. Although Yan Zhao insisted on grilling, Chen Meilan persuaded him against it.
The children had been in school for two weeks now. Although the teacher said Little Wang was struggling a bit with his studies, he was very loyal and never bullied other children. He was especially close with Ma the Snot Bubble Guy, oh no, Ma Xiaogang.
"Our Little Wang hasn't skipped school for two weeks, which is great. If he can keep it up until next weekend, we'll have a barbecue to celebrate," Chen Meilan said with a smile.
Little Lang and Yuanyuan were a bit disappointed, but Little Wang felt sweet inside.
Just because he hadn't skipped school for two weeks, Chen Meilan wanted to celebrate. How fun.
However, Little Wang particularly disliked eating barbecue. He didn't even like the smell. At night, he would avoid passing by barbecue stalls. The child had psychological trauma.
Seeing that Yan Zhao, although in the bedroom, kept looking towards Chen Meilan in the kitchen, the child felt something was wrong. Could it be that Chen Meilan had told his father about Chen Ping treating him to skewers after all?
He hoped she hadn't.
Because if she had, his father would investigate Zhou Xueqin, and Zhou Xueqin would come to their door to scold him.
He was already too ashamed to face other children at his grandmother's house. Currently in Yanguan Village, although he wasn't the children's leader, at least no one called his mother nasty names. If Zhou Xueqin came and made a scene, letting everyone know that Zhou Xueqin was his mother and about his mother's past affairs, his reputation in Yanguan Village would be ruined.
The young lad was truly caught between joy and sorrow, his emotions intertwined.
As the autumn wind blew, bringing with it faint sounds of mournful cries, Chen Meilan put down her work and rushed out the door. Teacher Huang and his wife were welcoming the spirit with paper offerings.
People who died violently outside the village couldn't be brought into the village for funeral rites. Now that the case was solved and the murderer found, they could welcome the spirit home to put the matter to rest.
But in ancient terms, children who died too young, especially by violent means, with unfulfilled wishes, belonged to the realm of evil spirits.
Every household had to burn paper offerings to send them off at this time.
The mention of evil spirits made everyone scared. The sky that had been clear suddenly turned gloomy, and the autumn wind whistled, chilling to the bone.
Chen Meilan cut a stack of white paper into coin shapes and came out to see Sister Liu from across the way winking at her, signaling her to go back quickly.
The wind was strong and cold. On the main road were only Teacher Huang and his wife, looking eerie. Everyone else just stretched their hands out their doors to burn a little paper to ward off bad luck, with no one coming forward to get involved.
Although Chen Meilan knew solving the case would bring comfort to Third Sister-in-law Huang, she felt the police had chosen a terrible time. Third Sister-in-law Huang was less than three months pregnant; what if the shock caused a miscarriage?
Teacher Huang himself was stumbling along, unable to take care of his wife. It looked like Third Sister-in-law Huang was about to fall.
"Sister-in-law, watch your step," Chen Meilan said, rushing forward to support Third Sister-in-law Huang.
Third Sister-in-law Huang patted Meilan: "This matter is unlucky. Others shouldn't get involved. You should go home quickly."
"Little Xiang was one of our own children. What's there to be unlucky about?"
Chen Meilan helped Third Sister-in-law Huang through the door and, after some thought, decided not to let her kneel. She joined Teacher Huang in kneeling, paying respects, and speaking to the child's spirit.
Third Sister-in-law Huang sat on the edge of the kang bed, stroking her belly and watching silently.
Her wish had finally been fulfilled.
Leaving Third Sister-in-law Huang's house, Chen Meilan ran into Yan Sanye. She nodded and smiled, even helping the old man through the door. She was thinking to herself that when Yan Sanye was young, he was Yan Xishan's master, known for urinating in front of widows' doors and defecating on ancestors' graves - he had done all sorts of bad things. Recently, he seemed to have turned over a new leaf. Was he willing to come and comfort Teacher Huang?
But why was the old man looking at her so strangely?
Yuanyuan was only in first grade, learning her ABCs. She had little homework and finished quickly.
Little Wang had a bit more homework, and he did it very slowly. He was quick at math, but he wrote each character to look like print, which was slow, extremely slow.
So slow that Yan Zhao kept looking at his watch, wondering if it was broken and running too fast.
Finally seeing him finish, Yan Zhao closed his book with a snap and went to wash his face and shave: "Go to bed early."
Little Wang felt something was off with his father: "Dad, why are you shaving so late at night?"
Yan Zhao finished shaving and started combing his close-cropped hair: "Children shouldn't ask about adult matters."
"No way, when my original mom used to wash her face and comb her hair at night, it meant she was going out. You're copying her now, Dad. That's not good," Little Wang advised earnestly. "If you don't get on the kang bed, I won't either. We'll just stay up."
But under Yan Zhao's stern gaze, he obediently climbed onto the kang and slipped under the covers.
"Not asleep yet?" Yan Zhao turned back and asked, knocking on the window.
Chen Meilan said, "The door's not locked. Come in."
Yan Zhao entered and immediately unbuttoned and took off his shirt, hanging it on the wall. With a lift of his hand, a section of his waist was already exposed.
The two children had been called to the kang bed by Chen Meilan. The children's breathing was even as they slept. If he really wanted to do something, he could go to the spring mattress side.
Was he going to get on the kang directly?
Even though she had seen two scumbags in her previous life, she had never encountered someone so direct. His steps were too big; wasn't he afraid of pulling a muscle?
"Let me see what's going on back there?" It turned out there were several burn scars on his back, apparently new.
In that instant, Chen Meilan exclaimed in her mind: Such fair, tight skin.
This man not only had a good physique but even better skin. When he flexed his arms, the muscle lines on his back made Chen Meilan marvel. It wasn't the scary big muscle knots of Westerners, but slightly lean and perfectly proportioned.
That's why he looked so thin when clothed.
There were several small red spots on his back. Chen Meilan gently pressed one of the most swollen ones: "Here?"
A stream of pus came out, accompanied by pain and a strange sensation. Yan Zhao took a deep breath: "Try squeezing it."
The surface skin was pale, looking like a burn that had become infected.
Chen Meilan didn't dare touch it. She pressed lightly and saw pus continue to flow out, so she said, "Let's go to the hospital, or find a clinic nearby to ask?"
"Scratch it hard, break it open. There should be something inside," Yan Zhao moved closer. The itching after infection was more unbearable than the pain. He wanted to grab her hand and make her break it open.
Although it was a small wound, it was infected. Was she sure it would heal if she broke it open?
However, Chen Meilan's gaze shifted, and she noticed the infected area seemed to be glinting. She reached out to touch it again, suddenly gently pressing. Inside the pus was a curved piece of glass, about the size of a fingernail, surrounded by pus.
It was a shard from a light bulb, probably splashed in. How painful that must have been.
At the moment it was squeezed out, Yan Zhao's entire body suddenly tensed, his muscles as hard as cold steel.
He couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.
There was alcohol, cotton, and medical gauze tape at home. Chen Meilan got off the kang to fetch them, used the cotton dipped in alcohol to disinfect Yan Zhao's wound, and then bandaged it for him.
If he could see it, he would have noticed that she had cut the gauze into a small butterfly shape.
"All done," Chen Meilan said, putting away the cotton swabs.
The lingering sensation of being caressed remained, and Yan Zhao suddenly said, "Xishan should be out soon."
Chen Meilan made a sound of acknowledgment, then suddenly realized - was this man afraid she was still thinking about Yan Xishan?
Of course, Yan Xishan was charming, Yan Xishan was a little Fei Xiang, he didn't even need to pay when visiting prostitutes. But for Yan Zhao to be jealous of Yan Xishan seemed a bit much. When had she ever considered Yan Xishan as a person?
Tonight Yan Zhao was sleeping on the spring mattress, so Chen Meilan glanced at the quilt. Wasn't the hint obvious enough?
At least he should grab a pillow and she could sneak over - that would be more appropriate. She couldn't very well grab a pillow and go to him, could she?
Yan Zhao saw Chen Meilan staring at the quilt, her eyes darting furtively. He was about to reach out when suddenly someone knocked on the door outside. It sounded like Yan Sanye's voice.
Yan Zhao remained silent. Chen Meilan looked at him, just smiling, also saying nothing.
Yan Sanye persistently knocked on the door, saying, "Yan Zhao, you coward, I know you're not asleep. Open the door now."
Yan Zhao had no choice but to open the door. Sure enough, it was Yan Sanye, standing at the doorway with a cane.
"Little Xiang's case has been solved. It wasn't Xishan who did it, right? Where's our Little Fei Xiang? When are you going to release him?" Yan Sanye didn't even enter, just prodded with his cane and asked sternly.
Seeing Yan Zhao remain silent, he actually poked his cane into Yan Zhao's chest. "It's only 10 PM, you shameless man, sleeping on Xishan's kang bed, fondling Xishan's woman, while my Xishan is locked up in jail eating prison food. Is this how you people's police do your job?"
Before Little Xiang's case was solved, the old man was anxious but didn't dare to speak up, fearing that Yan Xishan might have been the one who hit someone.
Now that the case was solved, the old man couldn't wait even for one night.
Yan Zhao grabbed the cane, but the old man came prepared. Instead of getting angry, he lunged into Yan Zhao's arms, giving him a face-to-face greeting, spitting saliva all over Yan Zhao's face: "If you don't release Xishan, I'll come knocking on your door at this time every night. You won't be able to do anything in peace."
Chen Meilan, sitting on the kang bed, was laughing so hard her stomach hurt. She finally heard Yan Zhao mutter, "Don't be angry, old sir. I'll release him right away."
"Go put on your clothes, you shameless man. Look at those arms of yours, and that waist." Yan Sanye poked hard at Yan Zhao's bulging chest muscles with his cane, then looked down at his narrow, tight waist, and repeated, "Utterly shameless!"
Chen Meilan collapsed laughing on the kang bed.
Yuanyuan and Little Lang were also startled awake, rubbing their eyes together.
...
Nowadays, they still held public trials, and they had to be on weekends. They even had to announce it in the newspaper in advance, calling for people to come and watch.
The on-site public trial was held at the scene of the crime. The police were fully armed, police cars lined up in rows, and Dongfang Trucks were mounted with machine guns. Then came the trucks with armed police escorting the criminals.
Loudspeakers were hung high, one in each of the four directions.
The escorting police officers even wore sunglasses, and they chose those with the best image and temperament, looking powerful and handsome.
They called it a trial by ten thousand people, and it truly was a massive crowd. When the whole city heard about the public trial, everyone rushed to Jindong District. The big road outside Yanguan Village was packed with people. The vegetable vendors didn't even bother doing business; they all ran out to watch the excitement.
Chen Meilan wasn't at the scene.
She also strictly ordered the children not to go, staying with her to pick out barbecue seasonings instead.
Cumin powder, Sichuan pepper powder, soy sauce, black vinegar, white vinegar, ketchup, ginger - the seasonings were the soul of barbecue.
They hadn't even bought the meat yet, and already had a full basket.
Just as Yan Zhao chose this day, with the noisy ten-thousand-person trial outside, he insisted on having barbecue.
Children couldn't be restrained. In the blink of an eye, Little Wang and Yuanyuan had already run off. Little Lang wasn't afraid, but he didn't want to go with Chen Meilan either, just standing at the street corner watching.
They could only go to observe.
The trial platform was set up at the village entrance, with the main stage built high on a platform, blocking the entire road entrance.
It was said that leaders from the city bureau and the intermediate people's court had all come.
Sun Nutao was the one presenting evidence: "Leaders, here is all the evidence of Chen Ping's hit-and-run, as well as our bureau's Deputy Bureau Chief Ma's corruption and the cover-up by Wang Ming, the director of Yanguan Police Station."
Among the leaders from the city bureau, there happened to be Fan Xiang's son, Fan Zhenhua.
Although he wasn't directly involved in Chen Ping's hit-and-run case, his fingerprints were all over this big piece of fat meat that was Jindong District.
When the case files were being passed around, he had been sweating profusely, because he had heard that this Yan Zhao was a bull-headed fellow who investigated everything thoroughly, digging to the bottom regardless of family or children.
In this kind of public setting, if Yan Zhao were to dig to the bottom and expose him, it would be like a fish tearing the net, and no one would have a good outcome.
After the bureau chief finished reviewing, he passed it to President Xu of the intermediate court. As President Xu was reviewing, Fan Zhenhua noticed him occasionally glancing his way, which seemed meaningful. Looking at Yan Zhao in the distance below the stage, his back was already soaked with sweat.
But after President Xu finished reading, he passed it to him with a smile. Fan Zhenhua took it and read through it line by line, finding that fortunately, the case files only investigated Deputy Bureau Chief Ma, Director Wang, and others, without mentioning him. He finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Closing the case file, Fan Zhenhua thought to himself that Yan Zhao was indeed just a simpleton, quite ordinary, without much ability.
Besides, Deputy Bureau Chief Ma wouldn't dare implicate him for the safety of his wife and children.
He had managed to land safely this time.
Closing the case file, Fan Zhenhua immediately raised his voice and spoke into the loudspeaker: "Hit-and-run is an extremely vicious behavior. Ma Kai's cover-up and indulgence of criminals have severely damaged the image of our party and our system. On behalf of the city bureau, I request the court to conduct a fair trial and severely punish the culprit."
Nowadays, handling cases emphasizes severe punishment.
Although public trials may seem cruel, they are very effective.
Publicly executing one person can keep a place stable for many years.
In the end, the case was judged and sentenced on the spot. Deputy Bureau Chief Ma and the director of Yanguan Police Station were found guilty of collusion, corruption, and bribery, sentenced to ten years in prison and lifelong deprivation of political rights.
As for Chen Ping, he was found guilty of bribery, criminal conspiracy, and hit-and-run. With multiple offenses combined, he was sentenced to death by firing squad, to be carried out immediately.
Who knows where the little chubby boy is now, or what he's doing. In any case, if he were to see this scene, it would be a lifelong nightmare for that poor child.
Yesterday, Chen Ping was still a nouveau riche, showing off everywhere in Yan Xishan's flashy red car.
Today, he's already a prisoner. During the trial, they were placed on Dongfang Trucks, surrounded by machine guns, in handcuffs and shackles. He, Ma Kai, and Wang Ming, one person per truck.
As soon as the loudspeaker announced "Sentenced to death, to be executed immediately," the armed police began to disperse the crowd.
The police didn't escort the prisoners down from the trucks; they were dragged down.
Four police officers dragged one criminal. One was to be executed, while the other two were to be taken to observe.
It was then that Chen Meilan saw Yan Zhao. He was by Deputy Bureau Chief Ma's truck, reaching out to unlock and let the man down.
The armed police on the perimeter linked arms to hold back the onlookers, and people were more interested in the corrupt deputy bureau chief than in Chen Ping, who had run someone over.
Deputy Bureau Chief Ma's attitude of admitting his mistakes was particularly good. After all, such people sing whatever tune the mountain they're on plays.
He wasn't being dragged off to be shot, just to observe, so he was still shouting: "Everyone should learn from my mistake. Don't make errors, don't accept bribes, or you will surely face severe legal punishment."
With this kind of attitude in admitting his mistakes, wouldn't ten years be reduced to five in no time?
"Yan Zhao, you just wait," Deputy Bureau Chief Ma gritted his teeth, cursing in his heart: "Endure for now, we'll settle accounts slowly!"
But raising his head, he still smiled and said, "Everyone should take me as a warning, and heed the law!"
As he was muttering this, Yan Zhao suddenly grabbed his wrist. "Deputy Ma?"
"Captain Yan, I was wrong, terribly wrong." Although he said this, Deputy Bureau Chief Ma didn't really feel he had done anything wrong. He had just underestimated Yan Zhao, not considering him a real enemy.
"That Simmons mattress wasn't sent to me, it was sent to some woman, right? How much more money is hidden at that woman's place?" Yan Zhao asked in return.
Corrupt officials don't keep much money at home. After all, if an official wants to be corrupt, they usually keep a mistress who can both bear children for them and help launder money.
Deputy Bureau Chief Ma's mistress was quite ugly, so ugly that no one would believe they were together if they walked side by side.
But how did Yan Zhao find out about his mistress?
Wasn't this guy just a simpleton? How did he discover it?
The money at the mistress's house was the bulk of it!
That money would get him prosecuted for life imprisonment!
Deputy Bureau Chief Ma's mind exploded. Looking up at Yan Zhao again, he suddenly realized that this seemingly honest man was actually an old fox. Cold sweat poured from his scalp like soybeans. In that instant, he felt true terror and fear for the first time.
With a swift motion, Yan Zhao grabbed one of his arms and started walking.
The execution ground was over by the coal yard. Armed police were dispersing people from all sides, and the loudspeakers were telling everyone not to crowd or gather, but people still surged forward in droves.
The police officers were dragging the criminal, supposed to be marching with a vigorous stride. The four officers competed with their steps, each trying to be faster than the others, resulting in them running forward with the criminal in tow, and getting faster and faster.
The camera had to record the whole process, chasing after their feet.
This commotion stirred everyone's hearts, and all the people started running in a frenzy. Some lost their shoes, some lost their children, and some even had their pants trampled off.
In the midst of it all, two gunshots rang out, piercing the sky and making everyone's eardrums ache.
"Those were gunshots, right? Did they kill two people?" Yuanyuan stopped curiously.
Little Wang, whom she had been holding onto, suddenly broke free and ran away, quick as a monkey.
But just as she was about to chase after him, the young man came back.
Holding up two fingers, he shouted from afar: "They say one shot didn't kill him, so they fired another."
Xiong Xiangdang was on duty at the scene. Having just recognized this as Captain Yan's son, he reached out and tugged Little Wang's ear: "How come you don't have your dad's courage or his height? You look quite wimpy, not even daring to watch the execution."
Actually, Xiong Xiangdang admired Yan Zhao and just wanted to joke with Little Wang.
Little Wang didn't mind, but Little Lang liked to mind. He immediately jumped up and bit Xiong Xiangdang's hand: "Bite bad guy."
With a yelp, Xiong Xiangdang cried out: "How dare this little brat bite people?"
The child leaped into the air, specifically targeting hands to bite.
Not only biting, the little one also made a gun with his hand, going "bang, bang" over and over.
This child's biting habit needs to be corrected, or he'll get into trouble in the future.
Chen Meilan grabbed Little Lang back and took the opportunity to educate Little Wang: "So you see, don't ever break the law in the future. If you do, the police won't let any bad person off the hook."
Little Wang walked and jumped, nudging Yuanyuan: "Your mom is telling you not to break the law in the future."
"Mom, this brother..." Yuanyuan, holding the condiments, stomped her feet in anger.
Little Wang wasn't as well-behaved as when he first arrived, nor as lovable as before. Now he always liked to tease her.
But just as she was about to get angry, he took all the groceries she was carrying and smiled mischievously.
This brother was driving Yuanyuan crazy.
The children went home first, while Chen Meilan went to Teacher Huang's house.
Today was the day the criminal was brought to justice, and Teacher Huang and his wife were with the police, who were doing ideological work with them.
It wasn't really appropriate for her to visit today, but the Qinchuan Group project, for which Mrs. Ma said they needed the bid within a week, was urgent. She had to come at this time.
The police were now withdrawing. Some of them were humming "Wolf Run Wolf Stay," while others were humming "Seventy Percent is Destiny, Thirty Percent is Hard Work."
They were just ordinary young men. Although Chen Meilan didn't know them, they all seemed to know her. Each of them saluted her when they saw her, calling her "Sister-in-law."
And they all looked quite thin, unlike the fat, pot-bellied police officers from the local station before.
The appearance of the police force had been renewed recently.
"Hello, Sister-in-law. I used to be in Captain Yan's unit," one of them saluted Chen Meilan.
Another stuck out his tongue and said, "Sister-in-law, you haven't changed since you were sixteen. You still look like your photo."
How could they have seen her photo from when she was sixteen?
Another pinched him: "Don't mention Sister-in-law's photo again. If Captain Yan finds out, he'll beat us up."
