69novels Chapter 1084 - 957: Whose Family Is in Trouble?
Chapter 1084 - 957: Whose Family Is in Trouble?
On the green path inside the Big Courtyard, Zhang Guoqing waited for his wife, occasionally nodding and greeting passersby as they strolled, softly conversing with each other.After Zhou Jiao roughly understood the trivial matters going on, she smiled, "Did you read the letter from mom and dad? Are they planning to visit?"
Zhang Guoqing immediately slapped his forehead, "When I first received the letter, Little Aunt called, and then I ran into Yu outside. I really forgot, the letter is still in the study."
"Silly, does it hurt? You can read it later when you go back, why hit yourself? It’s all red."
With his wife’s concern, Zhang Guoqing seemed to forget the pain, grinning happily. Just as he was about to say a few sweet words, the commotion ahead caught their attention.
The couple exchanged glances, wondering whose family was in trouble?
"Jiao Jiao, you head home first, I’ll go check it out."
Zhou Jiao quickly grabbed his clothes, "Together!"
Looking out from the path, more and more people headed in that direction. Zhang Guoqing reluctantly glanced at his wife and quickly led her towards the commotion.
A few hundred meters from the Zhou Family, a small courtyard was crowded with people. From afar, voices of persuasion, murmurs, and familiar slogans could be heard...
"You want to search, then show me the search warrant!"
"Stop making trouble, young one, detain these stubborn elements first."
"Let’s see who dares?"
"Alright, even your eldest granddaughter reported you, and you still dare to resist! Are you all dead? Get up there. Revolutionary work doesn’t fear sacrifice. If you don’t go, I will."
Using his height to his advantage, Zhang Guoqing stood behind the crowd and saw a group inside aiming wooden rifles at Mr. Dai, shocking him instantly. He whispered to Zhou Jiao and pushed through the crowd.
He smiled as he approached, "What’s going on here? What’s going on? We can talk it out, isn’t it said that without investigation, there’s no right to speak?"
"Who are you? Could you be one of their counter-revolutionary allies..."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Guoqing immediately smacked the head of the unfriendly young man, "I’ve been a poor peasant for eight generations, can’t you speak properly?"
Then, he glared at the leader, "Sango, so you’ve been promoted and don’t recognize your brother? Do you look down on your old brother the mud-legged soldier now?"
Nicknamed Sango, officially known as Zhang Hongwei, he turned to see Zhang Guoqing and immediately kicked the young man, "Get out of the way, this is none of your business."
He then quickly stepped to Zhang Guoqing’s side and whispered, "Brother Wu, do me a favor. It’s the eldest granddaughter of this family who reported them. I’m just following orders. Just stand aside, when I finish handling this, I’ll buy you a drink and apologize, alright?"
Zhang Guoqing patted his shoulder with a smile, "Brother, am I that insensitive? I understand this is your job, you do your thing, I’ll just watch from the side."
Zhang Hongwei knew everyone would’ve preferred to stay out of it, not worrying that Zhang Guoqing would assist the other party. He repeated his intention to search the house for evidence of rebellious books.
"You, come over here, tell us what this old man has hidden?"
The eldest granddaughter of the Dai Family, only sixteen, boldly pointed towards the house, calling out with righteous fervor, "It’s in the third room on the right after entering, it’s a study, the third shelf against the wall has three counter-revolutionary books, I’m completely severing ties with this family."
Zhang Guoqing, unable to bear watching, felt sorry for the shaking but unyielding Mr. Dai. What a misfortune, having such a brat.
Ever since a few incidents where wives reported husbands and daughters-in-law reported fathers-in-law happened in the Big Courtyard a few years ago, he thought things had finally calmed down. But this drama still continues.
Mr. Dai and his accompanying guards stood motionless, and the patrol folks never appeared despite calls, as things seemed to spiral out of control amid the standoff...
Zhang Guoqing nudged Zhang Hongwei, "Allow me to say a word, whether this is the child acting up or the old one indeed has problems remains unknown.
If we act solely on one-sided stories and something happens, nobody can bear the responsibility. The old man is still an elder of the revolution; let’s not rush, take it step by step.
How about this? It’s merely a search issue now. Hongwei, appoint some colleagues and Mr. Dai’s guards to investigate together."
After speaking, Zhang Guoqing secretly winked at Mr. Dai, hoping he understood why the patrol hadn’t shown up, and the severity if things dragged further.
Mr. Dai opened his mouth but promptly shut it again, refraining from taking a stance. Yet Zhang Guoqing felt certain that the old man must have some forbidden books.
He paused, beckoning with his hand, "Hongwei, Mr. Dai, honesty speaks for itself, facts are indisputable. To prevent malicious impact, a simple glance inside should clarify everything. Don’t worry, I’ll have my wife go in with you as a witness. She’s recognized as a commendable soldier."
As Zhou Jiao saw her husband take charge, she swiftly moved to his side. Watching several people enter the living room in succession, she deftly got ahead of them.
"Hold on, it’s not that I doubt your revolutionary integrity, but shouldn’t you check each other first for any unauthorized items?"
As she spoke, Zhou Jiao pulled out the lining of her pocket, indicating she was entering hands-free, with only a shirt that could hide nothing.
The five Red Guards that entered knew well the close ties between their leader and this lady’s husband, and given the man’s praise earlier, they hurriedly checked themselves and each other.
Even in usual arrogance, at this moment, they glanced at each other’s pockets, especially for Mr. Dai’s two guards wary of being set up, quickly checking each other.
Zhou Jiao’s eyes shone with a hint of amusement, stepping first into the study. Just as they entered, she swiftly retrieved the three books mentioned by the brazenness of the Dai family’s girl into her dimensional space. With many books together, missing three wouldn’t stand out.
She then quickly stepped back, gesturing, "I dare not touch. Who wants to go first?"
The result was, naturally, unchanged.
"Did the young girl misremember? So many books, let’s keep searching."
"Hmm, I’ll cover this side, you take the other."
Right then, Zhou Jiao silently stood with her hands behind her back, watching them mess up the study, then followed them as they inspected other rooms.
Though initially said to only check the study, allowing them inside relegated to more than just that. They were being polite; otherwise, they wouldn’t leave without turning everything upside down.
Zhou Jiao quietly followed behind them, her gaze complex as she surveyed the chaotic rooms ahead. The future of Dai’s family fell to fate.
If other places held prohibited items, there was truly nothing she could do; she’d promised Zhang Guoqing assistance only due to Mr. Dai’s respectable elder status, exposing herself to trouble wasn’t feasible.
Without a reason, three books could be casually explained away; after these people left, she’d secretly return them somewhere in Dai’s residence, making sense.
Anything else though, how willing could she be to expose her secret, drawing people’s suspicions?
After failing to find alleged banned books in the study, the two guards of Mr. Dai, aware they couldn’t stop them, trailed closely behind, ensuring nothing valuable was secretly taken.