The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 187 The Self-Store Commune Has Changed

The weather warmed up very quickly.

The May sun began to blaze, casting its rays upon the mottled brick ground in front of the Zidian Commune Security Station.

As Ma Defu ran along, the back of his blue work clothes was stained dark with sweat.

He initially intended to run straight in, but after thinking it over, he turned a corner and went to a nearby food store.

In the food store, Cao Lihua was diligently wiping the fryer.

She was shocked to see Ma Defu enter, and the rag in her hand immediately fell into the pot: "Ah, Ma Ma Ma..."

"Ma what? What, are you planning to call me by my name?" Ma Defu looked at him with a gloomy face.

Cao Lihua hurriedly shook her head and said with an embarrassed smile, "No, no, Director Ma, you're joking. How could I dare?"

"I'm so surprised! What brings you here? Why did you suddenly come here?"

Ma Defu closed the door, took off his clothes, and said impatiently, "Never mind that, just give it to me..."

"Director Ma, what are you doing!" Cao Lihua grabbed her collar in alarm. "You can't do this! I...I'm telling you the truth, Fatty Wang..."

"What the hell are you yelling about? What do you think I am? If Fatty Wang likes you, do you think I'm the same type as Fatty Wang? A slut like you is only good enough for Fatty Wang, do you think you're good enough for me?" Ma Defu said contemptuously.

He took off his clothes and turned around: "I wanted you to look at my back, to see if there are any bruises, swellings, or other injuries on my right side below my waist?"

Cao Lihua breathed a sigh of relief when she discovered that Ma Defu hadn't come to her house to do *that*.

But then he was enraged by the insults Ma Defu had given him.

What do you mean by "a slut like you"? What do you mean by "only good enough for Fatty Wang"?
She looked at Ma Defu with resentment and said in a low voice, "No bruises or swelling, oh, just a little red, like he was bumped by something."

Ma Defu put on his clothes again with a gloomy face.

It's just a little red.

If I were to file a complaint against Qian Jin myself, the police station staff probably wouldn't care; they'd just give me a perfunctory response at best.

To make them take the case seriously, the damage must be inflicted even more!

But that would probably hurt a lot...

A single-minded approach can lead to a double bind.

Madford began to hesitate.

Cao Lihua whispered, "Director Ma, I have to open the door. The food store still needs to operate, and it wouldn't be good if we, a man and a woman, were discovered together."

Upon hearing this, Ma Defu suddenly jumped up, like a spring that had been stepped on: "What do you mean by that?"

Cao Lihua was stunned.

Enraged, Ma Defu pointed at her face and yelled, "A slut like you is afraid of being discovered alone with someone? You're always here alone with Fatty Wang, aren't you afraid? Huh?"

"Don't think I don't know what you've been doing for Fatty Wang. Fatty Wang told me a long time ago that you've been kneeling inside and playing the trumpet for him every day."

"You have the nerve to say it's wrong for a man and a woman to be alone together? I'm the one who said that! What do you mean? You're saying that I have a bad reputation for having affairs, and you're afraid that being with me will affect your reputation, is that it?!"

He pressed closer and closer, and Cao Lihua retreated in fear.

Her resentment grew stronger, but her expression remained increasingly calm: "No, Director Ma, you've misunderstood..."

"Alright, shut your mouth. Don't look at me with that mouth that's used to blow Wang Pangzi's trumpet and lick his crotch. I'm afraid of smelling the stench of Wang Pangzi's crotch." Ma Defu was completely immersed in the pleasure of bullying the weak.

He vented the anger he had suffered at Qian Jin's place.

He felt much better.

He originally planned to find a brick and smash it over his head to cause a bloody head injury in order to slander Qian Jin.

But after he calmed down and thought about it carefully, he realized that this wouldn't work.

Those three opportunists in the supply and marketing cooperative have clearly sided with Qian Jin, so his blatant slander is useless.

If Liu Jianguo asks the three men and they all say that his face was clean when he left home, then Liu Jianguo won't just take the money based on their word alone.

After thinking for a moment, he saw a stone pestle for crushing garlic in the grocery store and said, "Use that to give me a good whack on the shoulder blade, come on, give me a hard whack!"

Cao Lihua was startled, thinking that her intention to take revenge on Ma Defu had been seen through, and hurriedly said, "Director Ma, what kind of person do you take me for..."

"What are you babbling about?" Ma Defu said impatiently. "I don't have time to talk nonsense with you. Just listen to me and take that hammer and give my shoulder blade a good whack!"

Cao Lihua gripped the pestle tightly with both hands.

Ma Defu waited anxiously for the beating.

But the hammer never arrived.

He turned around and saw Cao Lihua hesitantly probing behind him, but not daring to make a move.

I was worried for nothing!

His anger flared up again, and he roared:

"No wonder that spineless bastard Wang could ride on you and ejaculate all over you. You're always cursing at old women and seem all high and mighty, but you're actually as soft as a ripe jujube!"

"You-ah!"

A sharp pain suddenly shot from his shoulder blade to his heart. He instinctively screamed but quickly gritted his teeth and shut up.

He staggered to his knees and turned to glare at Cao Lihua.

Cao Lihua immediately dropped the hammer and said in a panic, "Director Ma, you told me to hit it really hard this time."

Ma Defu gritted his teeth and said, "You don't have to be so harsh—you did it on purpose, didn't you? I saw you smile just now."

Cao Lihua hurriedly waved her hand: "How could that be? How could I do it on purpose? No, I did it on purpose. You told me to hit you on purpose."

"How about I do it again? This time I'll be gentle..."

"Go to hell, you stupid woman." Ma Defu vented his negative emotions on her.

Very cool.

After the pain in his shoulder blade subsided, he went to the police station with a sling in his arm and a sigh.

Liu Jianguo was about to leave when he was blocked by him.

He pulled a special-supply Zhonghua cigarette case from his work uniform pocket: "Director Liu, where are you going? You'd better stand up for me!"

The brass buckle on Liu Jianguo's belt gleamed in the sunlight. He frowned at the cigarette Ma Defu offered him but didn't take it. "Ma... Ma Defu? When did you come to our commune? No, what's wrong with you?"

Ma Defu's return to his post this time emphasizes keeping a low profile.

After arriving at the supply and marketing cooperative in the morning with the county's delivery truck, he didn't go out but stayed inside and worked non-stop.

This is why Qian Jin saw the other three people haphazardly working in the lobby when he returned.

If Ma Defu is working, then they certainly can't be idle.

When Liu Jianguo asked him a question, Ma Defu did not answer, but instead forced himself to speak through his pain:

"Director Liu, you have to stand up for me! That bastard Qian Jin is lawless! That bastard hit me again..."

He took a half step closer, pretending to show Liu Jianguo the injury on his back.

Liu Jianguo took a half step back, his cloth shoe landing on a stone, which he then kicked away, his face showing some impatience.

"Damn it, Lao Ma, what are you doing? Have you lost your mind? Why are you staring at Qian Jin?!"

Ma Defu was furious at these words: "I...I...! You're saying I was watching him, Qian Jin? It was clearly Qian Jin who was watching me, it was Qian Jin who hit me!"

"Do you have any evidence?" Liu Jianguo had no choice but to ask, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the Type 54 pistol holster at his waist.

He has other things to do.

As a result, Ma Defu delayed things, and he really wanted to shoot that bastard.

This is exactly what Ma Defu was waiting for.

He immediately ripped open his shirt to show his back: "Look at my lower back, he punched me there; look at my shoulder blades, he hit them with a weight!"

"Director Liu, we've known each other for so many years..."

"Don't fucking talk about personal relationships. There's no room for personal connections before the law." Liu Jianguo's expression was ruthless.

He turned around, pushed open the door, and went inside.

Ma Defu tried to catch up, but Liu Jianguo had already let go.

The door bounced back, almost hitting Ma Defu's face.

This made him very unhappy: "Old Liu, you can't even open the door for me?"

Liu Jianguo was also unhappy when he heard this: "You didn't open the door for me either."

Ma Defu said, "Hey, we're all on the same side, why are you still worried about this? Didn't Qian Jin smash my shoulder? I can't lift my shoulder now."

Liu Jianguo had no choice but to open the door.

Ma Defu winked at him affectionately, but Liu Jianguo responded with a serious expression.

At that moment, he sensed that something was wrong with Liu Jianguo.

A security guard was wiping the "Advanced Security Unit" certificate behind the door, next to which was a sign that read "Be vigilant and fight against criminal behavior".

Ma Defu smiled at the security guard: "Xiao Wang is quite diligent. If you're any more diligent, pour me a cup of tea. It's so hot today, it's unbearable to be in the sun."

Xiao Wang poured him a cup of cold tea from an enamel mug.

Ma Defu took a sip, and the tea leaves stuck to the tip of his tongue, feeling both bitter and astringent.

“Old Ma, you’re not here for tea. Come on, explain the situation.” Liu Jianguo adopted a businesslike stance.

Ma Defu embellished and exaggerated the events of the day, finally pointing to his shoulder and wailing:
"He's so cruel. He originally wanted to smash my head with a weight and kill me. Luckily, I reacted quickly and dodged it, otherwise he would have killed me!"

Xiao Wang, who was taking notes, looked up and asked, "Around what time did he make the move? Ideally, within ten minutes."

Ma Defu checked the time.

I wasted about ten minutes at the grocery store.

"It's 10:50 now," he thought for a moment and said, "It should be around 10:30, no later than 10:35!"

"If you don't believe me, go ask Jin Hai and the others. If they're not lying, they'll definitely tell the same thing as me." Xiao Wang asked suspiciously, "You mean, you were beaten up around 10:30, but you didn't arrive here until 20 minutes later?"

Ma Defu was taken aback, but his mind worked quickly, and he quickly gave an answer: "I originally thought it was best to keep the peace. I figured we were colleagues after all, and now that I'm back at work, I don't plan to pursue the matter further."

"After all, he's young, and young people make mistakes all the time."

"But then I thought of what the leader said: compromise is not the way to solve problems. The struggle is not about defeating a person, but about defeating the problem."

"Don't say so much," Xiao Wang said. "There's another problem."

“You ran up to the entrance of our workplace just now. I saw you while I was wiping the doors and windows, and then you ran away.”

"That was at most five or eight minutes ago. That doesn't make sense, does it? According to you, you had already injured your shoulder by then, but I saw you running very smoothly."

Ma Defu was completely dumbfounded.

He originally thought that by relying on his relationship with Liu Jianguo, reporting the case would just be a formality.

These people actually wanted to get to the bottom of things?!
Moreover, Xiao Wang is usually quite muddle-headed, so why did he suddenly become exceptionally clever today?

He couldn't explain and dared not explain, because he wasn't prepared; the more he said, the more mistakes he would make.

So he started to indirectly report the crime and try to curry favor with others:

"Ouch, my shoulder hurts so much right now. There must be a nerve here pulling on my head. Ouch, ouch, I can't remember some things very clearly. I was scared, in pain, and indignant at the time..."

"But I swear on my party membership!"

"You weren't expelled from the Party?" Liu Jianguo asked curiously.

Ma Defu chuckled and said, "No, let's get back to the point. I swear I'm not lying. Qian Jin really did lure me into his office and attack me from behind!"

"Director Liu, Xiao Wang, don't you trust me? When you asked me for favors before, didn't I always keep my word and be true to my word?"

Liu Jianguo frowned.

Xiao Wang scoffed, "Comrade Ma Defu, don't talk nonsense. What do we need you for?"

"Yes, I did contact you. I wanted you to approve some cement for me last year, but you didn't approve it."

Upon hearing this, Ma Defu's face turned deathly pale.

This is indeed the case.

He managed to get 1,000 jin of unplanned cement from the county, just in time for his girlfriend's brother's family to build a house.

The nurse was on the bed and stammered something to him. On a whim, he gave the cement to the nurse's brother.

Liu Jianguo slammed his hand on the table and said, "Stop talking nonsense, let's talk about the case today."

“I don’t have that much time to waste here. Director Wang from the commune has important work to discuss with me.”

"Old Ma, I'll give you one more minute. Explain yourself clearly within one minute, or I'm done with you."

Ma Defu became anxious.

You're not going to care anymore?

Are you even a security guard? Do you deserve your uniform?

A bicycle bell rang outside the window.

The bicycle chain was low on oil, and it made a clicking sound when I pedaled, the sound gradually fading away, like a countdown.

Having no other option, Ma Defu finally shouted, "Go ahead and investigate! I've already filed a police report; you have to open a case and investigate!"

Liu Jianguo cursed under his breath, but had no choice but to say, "Fine, I'll go investigate now. If my investigation finds that you falsely accused Director Qian, then you're in for a world of hurt."

The sun is rising higher and higher; the temperature today will reach 30 degrees Celsius.

The supply and marketing cooperative was bustling with people.
Liu Xiulan turned on the ceiling fan.

But the old ceiling fan was weak, buzzing overhead, unable to blow away the hot May air at all.

Qian Jin is assisting Jin Hai in numbering the newly arrived double-furrow plow.

Despite his lack of formal education, Jin Hai has a positive work attitude. After becoming a warehouse keeper, he diligently practiced calligraphy to improve his registration skills.

The blue-painted characters on the double-plowshare plow were so neat they looked like printed text, prompting Qian Jin to exclaim, "What beautiful calligraphy!"

Jin Hai looked up and smiled modestly, but when he saw Liu Jianguo arrive, the brush in his hand trembled.
"Chief Liu, what brings you here?"

Qian Jin quickly got up.

“Ma Defu said you hit him,” Liu Jianguo said bluntly, his thumb hooking his belt.

Qian Jin flew into a rage: "Why is he always targeting me? Did he say I wanted to kill him?"

Liu Jianguo chuckled: "He actually did say that. He said you hit him on the shoulder with a weight, and that you originally intended to hit him on the back of the head, but he dodged and it ended up hitting his shoulder instead."

Qian Jin laughed out loud, "You believe that?"

Jin Hai said from the side, "Whether you believe it or not, I don't believe it."

“Director Liu, I can testify.” Liu Xiulan chimed in, “Where did Director Qian get the weight? He absolutely did not do such a thing.”

Liu Jianguo looked at Zhao Dazhu.

Zhao Dazhu said with a wry smile, "Director Qian? Assaulted someone?"

He pointed inside and outside the supply and marketing cooperative and said, "You, Director Liu, can ask around anytime. Is Director Qian that kind of person? He doesn't even know how to swear."

"To be honest, Director Qian has been here for almost two months, and I have never heard him swear."

One customer said, "Director Qian is such a high-quality person. No matter how many times we ask about what we want to buy, he patiently explains it to us. Even if we don't want to buy it after asking all the questions, he doesn't get angry. He even comforts us by saying, 'It's right to think more before buying.'"

"Who said that such a good cadre would beat someone and even kill them?"

Liu Jianguo said, "Ma Defu."

"Why is that son of a bitch back again? Didn't he die on a woman's belly and get cremated while having an affair?" the customer exclaimed in shock.

Liu Jianguo couldn't help but laugh: "Where did you hear this rumor? Don't talk nonsense, don't spread rumors."

Whether you believe it or not.

But it was his duty to investigate thoroughly.

Liu Jianguo is a shrewd man. Unlike many military personnel who have been transferred to public security positions, he was a security officer back in the old society.

However, because he never oppressed the people and had made contributions to stabilizing local security during the Liberation War, the country still chose to let him serve as a security officer in the area after liberation, and he accumulated experience and became the head of the security station.

Having met many people and known a lot, he discovered after a conversation with Ma Defu that Ma Defu's accusations against Qian Jin were not entirely baseless.

There's definitely something going on between Qian Jin and Ma Defu.

But he didn't want to get involved.

After all, both Ma Defu and Qian Jin have powerful backers, so let them fight it out; he'll just watch the show.

Therefore, Qian Jin has a certificate stating that he did not beat Ma Defu.

Next, he had to investigate how Ma Defu got injured, and he also had to give Ma Defu an explanation.

He then investigated when Ma Defu left the supply and marketing cooperative and found that it matched what Xiao Wang had said.

He should have left the supply and marketing cooperative a little after 10:30. He went to the entrance of the police station as usual, but then left again for some unknown reason.

He returned a few minutes later with a severe shoulder injury.

It's clear that his injury occurred within those few minutes.

Even when it's hot, the streets of the commune are never deserted during the day; adults go to work, and children play outside when they have nothing to do.

A few familiar children were chasing after a hen looking for eggs, their plastic sandals clattering against the pavement.

After Liu Jianguo inquired about the child, he learned that Ma Defu had been to the food store.

When he arrived at the food store, he didn't need to lie to Cao Lihua. As soon as he mentioned Ma Defu, Cao Lihua told him the whole story.

That was like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

Everything was so thorough that Liu Jianguo didn't need to ask a second question.

He was furious. When he got back to the police station, he threw the police record in Ma Defu's face and demanded, "Where did you get this injury? Did Qian Jin hit you?"

"I saw him smash your damn thing, are you deliberately making fun of me? Are you deliberately trying to cause trouble?"

"Several people saw you go to the food store unharmed and then come out leaning on your arm. They even heard you yelling inside. And you still come to me to slander Qian Jin?"

"Should I call Cao Lihua over? I just went in and punched her twice, and she confessed what you asked her to do."

"You, Ma Defu, you used to be a smart man, how come you always do stupid things now?"

Ma Defu trembled with anger.

Money comes in.

Qi Cao pear blossoms.

This made Liu Jianguo even angrier.

What's most infuriating is reality.

It's truly a case of a dragon trapped in shallow waters being mocked by shrimp, and a tiger fallen on flat land being bullied by dogs!
When he was the director of the supply and marketing cooperative, once a case was reported, Liu Jianguo would immediately take people to handle it. How could he ask so many questions and investigate so thoroughly?
Now he understands.

When those around him saw that he had lost power, they all changed their attitude towards him!

He made the mistake of empiricism and dogmatism, and he realized that he had been too careless and too confident.

He thought that Zidian Commune was still the place he was familiar with.

Actually, things have changed here!
But it's okay.

He still has cards to play here, and he doesn't believe that these cards he's already firmly in his grasp will change.

If they dare to change, he'll tear up these cards.

He held enough evidence in his hand to destroy those cards!

He's very confident about this!

(End of this chapter)