After the frail beauty went to the countryside, she went crazy with scientific research.

Chapter 175, Episode 0182: Secretary Chen is looking for...
"Knock knock knock knock"

"Lin Zhiqing, Lin Zhiqing, are you home?"

"Knock knock knock knock"

"Lin Zhiqing, are you home?"

Mao Sanni shivered involuntarily. "Isn't the number of times she knocked on the door wrong? I remember my grandma saying that you should never knock four times when you go to someone else's house."

She seemed to have something to say, but she couldn't remember it right away; she just suddenly felt a bit cold.

Lin Yuexi: "...I've also heard that if you knock on the door four times, it might not be a person outside."

Mao Sanni's face turned completely white in an instant, as if she had just thought of something.

The two of them talked in a rambling manner for a while, mainly Mao Sanni, who chanted the Buddha's name, the Bodhisattva's name, and the local earth god's name after chanting the Bodhisattva's name. She even asked the mountain god to come and bless them, and she didn't even spare the one who was nailed to the cross and bled abroad.

Lin Yuexi had been cooperating with her at first, but she froze when she read out the last word: "Someone who bleeds to death on a cross, who can't even save himself, what are you begging him for? Are you begging him to take you with him next time he bleeds?"

Mao Sanni: "..."

Makes sense.

"No Jesus, no Jesus, please protect me, may the Queen Mother of the West protect me, may the Three Pure Ones protect me."

Lin Yuexi ignored her this time, opened the window and called out, "Yes, come in."

Please stop knocking. Seeing Mao Sanni's reaction, she felt a little creeped out.

During the day, Lin Yuexi's front door is usually left unlocked, only slightly ajar. However, whether it's because they've been specifically instructed or it's always been this way, no one will just push the door open and come in. They'll either call out from the outside or knock on the door.

Therefore, aside from the slightly coincidental number of times Chen Yuanman knocked on the door, Lin Yuexi didn't think much of Chen Yuanman's well-mannered behavior.

Chen Liuya pushed open the door and came in. Instead of going towards the main room, she ran to the window outside Lin Yuexi's house, looked up and said anxiously, "Lin Zhiqing, my grandfather asked me to invite you to the village committee building."

Lin Yuexi paused for a moment, then looked at the person at the window with some confusion. The person's face showed genuine anxiety, but no other reaction.

It seems...
Wait a minute, she's become worldly too. After eating the melon that Mao Sanni brought, she's also formed a preconceived notion and unconsciously put Chen Liuya in the position of the villain. The first thing she thought when she saw this person was, 'What is this person up to today?'

"Okay, wait a moment, I'll be right there after I put on my shoes."

Chen Liuya nodded, breathed a sigh of relief, and ran out the door.

Seeing Lin Yuexi get up and put on her shoes, Mao Sanni felt too embarrassed to stay any longer and got up to put on her shoes as well.

"Xi-mei, I'll head back now."

"Okay, I'll come visit again another time when I have time."

"Okay, I'm off."

Mao Sanni came wearing slippers, which were easy to put on and did in one go. She then tidied up her sweater and yarn before leaving.

Lin Yuexi was wearing those cloth shoes that tied around her ankles; they were stylish and unique, but a bit troublesome to put on.

When she came out after putting on her shoes and locking the door, Mao Sanni had already disappeared.

Upon arriving at the gate, I was surprised to find Chen Liuya still waiting.

Lin Yuexi first turned around and locked the gate, then walked with her towards the village committee.

Chen Liuya followed behind her, keeping a distance of about one person between them.

"Do you know why the Party Secretary called me?" Judging from her appearance when she came, it seemed to be urgent, but what urgent matter in the village could be so urgent that it had to come to her?

Chen Liuya paused for a moment, then whispered, "Grandpa didn't tell me, but after receiving a phone call from the commune, he suddenly called me to come find you in a hurry."

A phone call from the commune?

That doesn't make sense either; shouldn't she be even less likely to be implicated in matters of the commune?
As a researcher with no real power and a sent-down youth, how could she possibly interfere in the affairs of the commune and the village?
Wait, isn't it...?

Lin Yuexi's mind was racing.

After much thought, it seemed that only that matter remained.

Could it be that the captain went too far?

"Where is the battalion commander?"

Chen Liuya thought for a moment, then shook her head in confusion, "I haven't seen the team leader all day, not even when I went to work this morning."

Lin Yuexi gasped inwardly; it seemed the captain had really gone too far.

No wonder the Hua family's affairs caused such a big fuss; the brigade leader, a man with an extremely high level of maternal affection, never showed up.

Upon arriving at the village committee building, Chen Liuya wisely refrained from following Lin Yuexi inside. She escorted Lin Yuexi to her destination and left after watching her enter through the courtyard gate.

The village committee building of the brigade is quite a stylish building, covering an area of ​​about 1,000 square meters. The gate is on the right side, and there is a two-story office building against the wall on the right. In the middle is the brigade's grain storage warehouse, and on the left is a spacious courtyard of about 300 square meters, which is used for large-scale events where all the villagers can attend.

Lin Yuexi had been here twice before and was already familiar with the place. After entering, she turned right and went straight to the second floor.

"Secretary Chen, you wanted to see me?"

The office door was wide open, so Lin Yuexi skipped the knocking step and went straight in without any further formalities, seeing that only Secretary Chen was inside.

Secretary Chen was concentrating on comparing two ledgers when he was startled by the sudden sound. After recognizing who it was, he patted his chest and glared at her irritably.

That one glance had no power whatsoever.

"I'm an old man with a weak heart, and you almost scared me to death."

Lin Yuexi looked at him innocently, with a bewildered expression that said, "I don't understand what you're saying."

Normally, Secretary Chen would have joked with her a bit more, but he couldn't care less today.

He simply pointed to the bamboo chair opposite him, indicating that she could sit wherever she wanted, and before she could even sit down, he anxiously spoke:
“Yesterday, the captain was summoned to the company. None of us knew why, not even the captain himself. The call was made by the company president’s secretary. The captain tried to get some information out of him, but the secretary just coldly said, ‘Just come when I call you. Why are you asking so many questions?’”

Secretary Chen was so anxious that his mouth was bubbling. After saying just a few words, he was in so much pain that he almost hissed out. He quickly took another sip of cold tea.

After swallowing, he continued: "I don't know what the captain was thinking. Seeing that he looked unwell, I asked him. He didn't answer me. He just told me before he left that if he couldn't come back yesterday, I should go find you today. He said that as long as I find you, you will know what happened to him."

Having finally finished speaking, Secretary Chen quickly took another sip of herbal tea. This time, he didn't swallow it directly, but instead took a big gulp and held it in his mouth.

He appeared nonchalant, as if to say, "I was just a messenger, and now that the message has been delivered, my mission is complete." But in reality, his eyes were gleaming and his ears were perked up, revealing his extreme curiosity.

I'm really curious!
His relationship with Li Dayou was considered bizarre within a hundred miles.

Just ask around, and you'll find that every brigade leader and branch secretary works together but also gets caught up in a power struggle.
It's just the two of them; they always discuss and plan things together. Despite being twenty years apart in age, they often get together to have private conversations.

Outsiders say they're pretending, but only they know that they are truly close friends, the kind who can feel at ease if the other is there when someone is in trouble.

That's why Secretary Chen was curious—curious about what had happened to the brigade leader.

He was still a little annoyed. Although he could guess the reason, he felt a bit resentful that Lin Zhiqing knew about the brigade leader's affairs while he didn't.