r18novel Chapter 64 Thunderclap
Chapter 64 Thunderclap
Li Weimin and Li Xianglian grew up in the same village, and he has always admired Li Xianglian since childhood.
Before Li Xianglian married Zhao Gang, Li Weimin wanted his family to propose marriage.
Unfortunately, his mother disliked the Li family for being poor and thought Li Dabao was a bottomless pit, so she refused to agree.
Later, Li Weimin watched helplessly as his beloved married into the Zhao family, and he even fell seriously ill because of it.
Now, seeing the girl he once longed for, who had just escaped one pit of fire only to fall into another, Li Weimin felt a pang of bitterness and pain in his heart, like being scratched by a cat.
"Hey, isn't this Weimin?"
A plump auntie nearby, who was sewing shoe soles, spotted him immediately and teased him sarcastically, "What? Still not giving up? Your eyes are practically glued to Xianglian."
Upon hearing this, several idlers nearby burst into laughter.
"Weimin, I'm not trying to be mean, but you're such a coward. You missed out on Xianglian when she was a young woman, and now that she's divorced, you still have no chance! Look at that butcher Zhang, all that fat, even if you tied ten of them together, he couldn't squeeze them with one hand!"
"That's right! Weimin, listen to your aunt's advice, hurry home. You shouldn't watch this kind of commotion; it'll only cause you trouble. Butcher Zhang has money and meat, what do you have? With your two acres of meager land, can you support this beautiful young woman?"
These words were like thorny vines, lashing Li Weimin's face repeatedly.
His face turned red, and he gripped the wall tightly with both hands, his fingernails filled with mud.
He wanted to yell back, to call that butcher Zhang a beast, and to rush in and drag Xianglian away.
But as soon as he saw Zhang Xiangui's gleaming butcher knife in the yard, his knees went weak, his legs felt like they were filled with lead, and he couldn't move an inch.
I could only watch helplessly, feeling a bitter and aching sensation in my heart, and I felt utterly pathetic.
In the courtyard, Zhang Xiangui pulled out a thick wad of ten-yuan notes from his pocket and slammed them down on the tattered square table that Li Dabao had brought out.
"This 150 is the final payment! And the 50 yuan 'change of address fee' is all here! Count it!"
Niu Guihua's eyes lit up when she saw the stack of colorful bills. She didn't care about anything else and pounced on them, spitting on them as she started counting.
"No need to order! No need to order! Mother trusts her son-in-law to handle things!"
Niu Guihua said there was no need to count, but she didn't miss a single one. After counting, she quickly stuffed it into her bosom, grinning from ear to ear. "Xianglian! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go with your man! When you get to the Zhang family, behave yourself. If you dare to throw a tantrum, I won't let you off!"
"Da Bao! Work hard for your brother-in-law from now on, and you'll get plenty of meat to eat!"
Li Dabao was bowing and scraping, looking every bit the servile man.
Li Xianglian ignored her.
Seeing her cold and aloof demeanor, Zhang Xiangui's inner rage burned even brighter.
He likes the prickly kind; it's more exciting to tame them.
"What? I have to carry you into the car?"
Zhang Xiangui chuckled, rubbing his large, fan-like hands together, his body reeking of lard.
Li Weimin, standing outside the wall, was so anxious that tears welled up in his eyes. He instinctively called out, "Xianglian!"
But the sound was too soft and was instantly drowned out by Zhang Xiangui's heavy footsteps.
Just as that dirty hand was about to touch Li Xianglian's shoulder—
"squeak--!!!"
A screeching sound of brakes suddenly erupted at the Li family's gate.
Immediately afterwards, a strong smell of dust hit the crowd at the entrance, causing them to cough.
A dark green Jeep parked behind the hand tractor, knocking the tractor's exhaust pipe askew.
The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.
In this remote mountain valley where only oxcarts and tractors exist, what does a jeep represent?
That's power, that's the heavens, that's the government doing its job!
Niu Guihua's hand, which was patting her pocket, froze. Zhang Xiangui's hand, which was reaching out to touch someone, also hung in mid-air, unsure whether to retract it or let it go.
The car door was pushed open with a "bang".
Three police officers in uniform and wearing peaked caps jumped out of the car.
The middle-aged policeman at the head of the group had a square face and an upright demeanor. His belt was taut, and his bulging holster made one's legs tremble at the mere sight of him.
He looked around and finally fixed his gaze on Zhang Xiangui.
"You're Zhang Xiangui?"
Zhang Xiangui was a butcher who had seen blood before, and although he was flustered, he still put on a brave face.
He withdrew his hand, smiled broadly, and leaned closer, habitually reaching into his pocket for a cigarette: "Hey, what brings the boss here? I'm just a self-employed butcher. The boss smokes..."
The policeman didn't even glance at the crumpled cigarette, and took a step forward with a cold face.
"Someone has filed a formal complaint against you, accusing you of long-term purchase and slaughter of diseased and dead pigs, seriously endangering the health of the people and suspected of disrupting the socialist economic order!"
The middle-aged police officer's voice was deep and resonant, clearly audible to everyone present: "We are now summoning you according to the law! Come with us!"
These words were like a bolt from the blue!
The area outside the courtyard wall instantly erupted in chaos.
"Good heavens! A diseased pig? I was wondering why the meat I bought from him last time had such a weird smell, and it was so tough I couldn't even chew it after cooking it! Turns out it was from a dead pig!"
"That bastard! My grandson had diarrhea for days after eating his flesh! It turns out this son of a bitch was the culprit!"
"Serves him right! This kind of heartless bastard should be arrested and shot!"
A chorus of insults erupted.
Zhang Xiangui's facial muscles twitched violently, and cold sweat instantly poured down his face.
He's been in this line of work for a while now, and he's always been fine thanks to his connections. How come he suddenly faces this disaster on this auspicious day?
"I'm innocent! Boss! This is a frame-up! Which bastard is trying to frame me?"
Veins bulged on Zhang Xiangui's neck as he yelled at the top of his lungs, "I only slaughtered good pigs! I have a certificate! This is my big day, you can't just arrest people like that!"
"Whether you're innocent or not, come back to the station and talk!" The middle-aged policeman ignored his nonsense and waved his hand, "Take him away!"
Without saying a word, two young and strong police officers rushed up from behind and grabbed Zhang Xiangui from the left and right.
"I'm not leaving! I have money! I've already paid the bride price!"
Zhang Xiangui got anxious, and that brute force of slaughtering a pig came over him. He twisted his body violently, like a pig about to be slaughtered for the New Year, and he was almost impossible to hold down.
"Behave yourself!"
The officer on the right was a trained fighter; he immediately executed a backhand grappling move, lifting the officer sharply upwards.
"Awooo—!"
A scream rang out, louder than when a pig was slaughtered during the Lunar New Year.
Zhang Xiangui's thick arm was twisted behind his back, his face pressed against the ground covered in chicken droppings, his mouth full of mud.
"Click."
The gleaming silver handcuffs were fastened directly. The once arrogant butcher Zhang was now like a tied-up dead pig, panting heavily, all his former arrogance gone.
This turn of events happened so fast that no one had time to react.
Li Dabao was so frightened that he huddled in the corner, not daring to pick up the Daqianmen cigarette he was holding that had fallen to the ground.
Just then, Niu Guihua, who had been silent all along, suddenly moved.
She wasn't going to rescue her son-in-law; instead, she clutched the bulging pocket on her chest and tried to slip back into the house, her neck hunched.
Once you're inside and the door is locked, no one can take the money away!
"stop!"
The middle-aged policeman's eagle eyes had long been fixed on her.
Niu Guihua froze, her back to the police, her legs trembling, and she dared not take a step.
"Excuse me, lady, please cooperate."
The middle-aged police officer walked up behind her, his voice cold and hard, "The money the suspect just handed you is proceeds of illegal business operations and is also important evidence in the case. Please hand it over immediately; we need to take it back to the station for safekeeping."
These words were more painful than killing Niu Guihua.
She whirled around, clutching her chest tightly with both hands. "What? Stolen money? This isn't stolen money! This is my daughter's dowry! I earned it by marrying my daughter off with my own merit! What right do you have to take it?"