Dare to shirk responsibility? This adorable little one will tear down your military district!

The wind whipped up the yellow sand from the playground, stinging people's faces.

Thousands of eyes were fixed on the woman on the platform. Lin Wanrou stood as straight as a poplar tree, her hand gripping the envelope tightly, yet it didn't tremble.

"Wang Guifen, do you think Changfeng owes you something?"

Lin Wanrou didn't bring a megaphone, but her voice traveled on the wind and clearly entered everyone's ears.

"Alright, then let's settle this mess in front of all the thousands of brothers in the regiment!"

Wang Guifen was taken aback by this aggressive attitude, then retorted defiantly, "What? I'm his mother, his money is my money! Asking for ten thousand yuan is letting him off easy!"

"fart!"

The moment those two words came out of Lin Wanrou's mouth, Zhao Tiezhu, sitting in the audience, was startled. His sister-in-law usually spoke in a whisper, like a mosquito buzzing; had she suddenly become so sharp?

Lin Wanrou took a step forward, raising the envelope in her hand high as if she were holding a knife.

"Changfeng has been away from home for three or four years, and without fail, he sends home a stipend of forty yuan every month, plus various receipts. It adds up to at least fourteen hundred yuan!"

Lin Wanrou's gaze swept across the three greedy faces of the Meng family like a knife. "This 1,400 yuan is enough to build two large brick houses in Xiahe Village, and enough to buy several thousand kilograms of flour!"

She pointed sharply at Meng Jingui's obese body: "Where's the money? It all went into the bellies of you parasites! You're all eating your fill, but what about me and Ya Ya?"

"That winter, heavy snow blocked the mountain pass, and Ya Ya had a high fever of 40 degrees Celsius. I knelt in the snow and begged you for two cents to buy medicine. What did you say?"

Lin Wanrou's voice carried a hint of ruthlessness.

"You said that little girls are a waste of money, and that it would save food if they burned to death! In the end, I cut off my long hair and sold it to the peddler to get two fever-reducing pills!"

The soldiers below the stage clenched their fists so tightly they cracked. This wasn't a mother; this was a beast!

"You say Changfeng is unfilial? He risked his life to earn money to support your whole family of bloodsuckers! You say I'm not virtuous? I served you like a slave for three years, and in the end, you're going to sell my daughter to a fool as a child bride for twenty pounds of cornmeal!"

Lin Wanrou slammed the letter severing ties against the railing of the high platform with a loud crack.

"A month ago, we signed a letter severing ties. The red handprints on it weren't even dry yet, and you stole Ya Ya's 1,200 yuan for ginseng. You took the money, severed ties, and now that Chang Feng has become an official, you want to come back and leech off her again?"

Lin Wanrou gave a cold laugh, a contempt that came from the bottom of her bones.

"You want another ten thousand yuan? You want an official position? You want a house? Let me tell you, you won't get a single penny! All you'll get are a pair of handcuffs!"

Wang Guifen panicked completely. She never expected that this soft persimmon, who she could usually manipulate at will, would turn into an iron weight once she arrived in the city.

She looked at the soldiers around her; they all seemed fierce and menacing, as if they wanted to devour her alive.

"You...you're talking nonsense! That's my son! I can do whatever I want with him!"

Wang Guifen started throwing a tantrum, lying down on the ground and kicking her legs wildly.

"Changhe! Are you just going to stand by and watch this vixen bully your mother? You'll be struck by lightning!"

Meng Jianjun chimed in, "Brother! You're trying to drive our mother to her death!"

Gu Changfeng remained silent, standing half a step behind Lin Wanrou, like a mountain.

At this moment, he stubbed out his cigarette, stepped forward, and his menacing aura was so overwhelming that even the dust on the ground dared not rise.

"Forced to death?" Gu Changfeng took the notebook full of evidence from Meng Yaya's hand and casually handed it to the guard company commander who was standing straight next to him.

"Meng Jianjun, Meng Jingui, and Wang Guifen are suspected of extorting a large sum of money from active-duty military officers; inciting a mob to storm a military-controlled area, which is considered a serious offense; and spreading rumors to defame the families of military personnel."

Every time Gu Changfeng read out a sentence, the Meng family members on the ground would tremble.

"According to the Public Security Administration Punishment Regulations and the Criminal Law, this extortion amount of 10,000 yuan is enough for you to keep the sewing machine running in there until it smokes."

Gu Changfeng looked down at them, his eyes as cold as if he were looking at dead men. "Since you don't want to leave, then don't leave."

The guard company commander waved his hand: "Take him away! Lock him in solitary confinement, and notify the local police station to come and collect him!"

A dozen heavily armed soldiers rushed forward and dragged the family off the ground like dead dogs.

"No! I won't go to jail! Mother, help me!" Meng Jianjun desperately shrank behind Wang Guifen.

Wang Guifen was dumbfounded. How come this wasn't what she expected? Wasn't it supposed to be that as long as someone made a scene, the officials would have to give them money?

"Changhe! I'm your mother! You can't arrest me! I'm going to sue you!" Wang Guifen was still kicking her legs, her withered hand gripping the grass on the ground so tightly that her nails were bleeding.

"Go ahead and sue." Gu Changfeng didn't even lift his eyelids. "Perfect, I'll be waiting for you in the military court."

The farce ended amidst the soldiers' roars and the screams of the Meng family.

Once the family had disappeared from sight, the playground returned to silence. Lin Wanrou swayed, her earlier bravado dissipating, her legs feeling weak.

A large hand steadily supported her lower back.

"Well done." Gu Changfeng's voice rang in her ears, carrying that reassuring smell of tobacco.

Lin Wanrou looked up and met the man's eyes, which rarely held a smile. Her cheeks flushed, but she felt an unprecedented sense of relief. She had finally vented the anger that had been building up for so many years.

"Dad, Mom, is that all?"

Meng Yaya, who had been sitting on a small stool watching the show, stood up, patted the dirt off her bottom, stuffed the little notebook into her yellow schoolbag, and looked like she hadn't had enough.

"These bastards haven't even had a chance to suffer yet, and they're already being sent to jail. It's like letting them enjoy themselves." Meng Yaya pouted. Jail provides food and drink and they don't have to work. They're getting off easy.

Gu Changfeng rubbed his daughter's head: "The police station still has procedures to go through, and the investigation and evidence collection will take at least a week or so. During this time, they will have to stay in our temporary detention room."

It was called a solitary confinement cell, but it was actually just an old warehouse vacated by the logistics department. It was drafty and you had to pay for your own meals.

When Meng Yaya heard that she would have to stay for a few more days, her big eyes instantly lit up like light bulbs.

"Do you still want to eat?" The little girl licked her lips and quietly reached for the bulging yellow schoolbag, which led to the door to her personal space.

In a corner of the space, several croton trees, growing lush and with thick leaves, were swaying in the wind.

"Dad, can I go see my step-grandmother? After all, we're family. Now that they're in jail, I should bring her some treats to show my filial piety."

Meng Yaya smiled, revealing a row of small white teeth. She looked innocent and naive, but somehow she also had a mischievous slyness about her.

Gu Changfeng raised an eyebrow at his daughter's expression, but instead of stopping her, he took out a few meal tickets from his pocket and handed them over.

"Go ahead, don't let them go hungry, otherwise they won't have the strength to explain the situation."

Meng Yaya took the meal ticket and replied loudly, "Yes, sir! I guarantee they'll never forget this meal!"

After saying that, the little girl put her hands behind her back, led the big black dog, and swaggered off toward the solitary confinement room.

As the wind blew across the playground, Gu Changfeng watched his daughter's retreating figure and silently lit a candle for that family in his heart.

Of all people to mess with, why did I have to provoke this girl?

This time, it's probably not as simple as just operating a sewing machine; it's something they'll regret to the core.