A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

This shout stunned Gu Jianguo. Su Xiulan jumped out of the car and pointed at Zhang Sandong: "You're talking nonsense! My Xiao An is an honest person. He was about to be promoted when he was injured. How could he possibly steal anything!"

How is that impossible?

Zhang Sandong sneered and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, waving it around.

This afternoon, several good red pine logs went missing from the quarry. Those were top-grade timbers, worth a fortune! Gu Xiaoan was the only one working in that area of ​​the quarry this afternoon. Later, a log fell and injured him. By the time we went to investigate, the red pine was gone!

Nonsense!

Xiao An was so angry that she tried to sit up, but the movement aggravated her wound, causing her to gasp in pain.

That was an accident! The logs weren't stacked properly to begin with, and it collapsed when I tried to prop them up! I didn't steal anything!

Didn't you steal it? Did the wood grow legs and run away?

Zhang Sandong approached step by step.

Who doesn't know your Gu family is dirt poor? I bet you just wanted to steal the wood to sell for money, but your dishonest actions backfired and you ruined yourself! This is karma!

"You're making baseless accusations!" Su Xiulan trembled with rage. "You've caught a thief red-handed! What makes you think my son took it?! Where's the evidence?!"

"Evidence? Take him back to the security office and interrogate him for a night. Let's see if he confesses!" Zhang Sandong waved his hand and shouted to the security officer behind him, "Take him away!"

Several officers immediately rushed over and reached out to pull Xiao An out of the car.

Gu Jianguo roared and grabbed a carrying pole, holding it horizontally in front of his chest. He had been a soldier and looked fierce, causing the security guards to stop in their tracks.

Zhang Sandong pointed at Gu Jianguo's nose and screamed at the top of his lungs, "This is outrageous! How dare you violently resist the law? Gu Jianguo, believe me, you'll be arrested too! Then your whole family will be vagrants!"

The scene immediately descended into chaos. Su Xiulan protected Xiao An on the cart, while Gu Da'an, unaware of what was happening, also stood in front, letting out a low growl.

Nuannuan sat on the cart, her body swaying back and forth. She pursed her lips, staring at Zhang Sandong's vicious face, her mind racing.

Something's not right here. My second brother would never steal wood; it's a huge log weighing hundreds of pounds. How could one person possibly move it? This wicked uncle is deliberately trying to cause trouble.

She looked at her parents and brother with anxiety. Fighting these people now would definitely result in them being at a disadvantage. Her father's leg had just started to heal, her mother was no match for them, her second brother was injured and lying in bed, and Gu Da'an was clueless about the situation and didn't have much fighting ability. What would happen if the whole family got hurt?

"No, no!" Nuannuan slid off the cart and grabbed Gu Jianguo's trouser leg, shouting.

Gu Jianguo was anxious, wishing he could smash Zhang Sandong's head open with a carrying pole. He thought Nuannuan was scared, so he quickly shielded her behind him.

"Don't be afraid, Nuannuan, Daddy's here to protect you!"

"No, no! Daddy, Mommy, and Big Brother, please don't hit me!" Nuannuan shook Gu Jianguo's trouser leg, her voice urgent, loud, and trembling with tears. "You can't hit me! Hitting me will hurt! It will get you hurt!"

Su Xiulan rushed over and hugged Nuannuan, comforting her softly, "Nuannuan, be good, Mommy won't hit you, Mommy won't hit you." She knew that force wouldn't work, but Xiao An was her lifeline, what could she do?

Seeing that the family hadn't attacked but instead huddled together, Zhang Sandong assumed they were scared and a smug smile appeared on his face.

"Scared? Too late! Gu Xiaoan's theft of state property is a done deal! Men, take him away!" Zhang Sandong waved his hand, and several security officers rushed up and reached out to pull Xiaoan off the cart.

Nuannuan broke free from Su Xiulan's embrace and ran to the front of the cart, blocking Xiao An's path.

She looked up, tears streaming down her face, and cried out, "Don't move! You can't touch Second Brother! Second Brother didn't steal anything! Nuannuan knows Second Brother didn't!"

Zhang Sandong looked at the little girl, his smile growing even more wicked, his tone full of disdain. "What does a little brat like you know? Go play somewhere else! We're here to catch bad guys!"

"Nuan Nuan isn't a child!" Nuan Nuan's lips trembled, tears welling in her eyes, but her back remained straight, refusing to back down. "Nuan Nuan knows! Second Brother hasn't been convicted! You can't just arrest and beat people! If Second Brother gets hurt, Nuan Nuan will go to the police station and report you! I'll report you for beating an innocent person!"

Her words froze Zhang Sandong and his officers. They were there to arrest someone, not to cause trouble. The little girl's suggestion to go to the police station to file a complaint sounded ridiculous, but if she really beat someone badly, it wouldn't look good if word got out, especially since Xiao An was only a suspect and hadn't been convicted yet.

Zhang Sandong curled his lip and snorted inwardly. Could a little brat's words be trusted? But he didn't dare to be too rude and gave the security officer a wink.

"Alright, stop listening to this little girl's nonsense! Take her away! Take her back to the factory and interrogate her properly. Let's see if she confesses!"

Following instructions, the officers became a bit rougher, but they refrained from hitting Xiao An. They lifted him off the cart and carried him into the factory. Xiao An, injured and limping, kept shouting, "I didn't steal! I didn't steal!"

"Xiao An!" Su Xiulan rushed forward to grab her son, but was blocked by the security guards.

Gu Jianguo was so angry that he was trembling and wanted to rush up, but Nuannuan hugged his leg tightly.

"Daddy! Let's not chase after him! Let's go home!" Nuannuan looked up, her face covered in tears.

Gu Jianguo froze. He wasn't stupid; he knew that chasing after them now would only make things worse. He could only watch helplessly as Xiao An was taken away, his heart aching terribly.

Seeing that Gu Jianguo's family didn't dare to chase after them, Zhang Sandong sneered and turned to Gu Jianguo, saying, "Gu Jianguo, I advise you to behave yourself! Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're sick! Just wait, this matter concerning your son isn't over yet!"

After saying that, he and his men escorted Xiao An away and quickly disappeared.

Only Gu Jianguo's family remained on the dirt road. Su Xiulan was sobbing uncontrollably, sitting on the ground. Gu Jianguo gripped the carrying pole tightly, the veins on the back of his hands bulging. Gu Da'an stood there, making muffled noises.

Nuannuan tugged at Su Xiulan's sleeve and whispered, "Mommy, don't cry. Nuannuan knows Second Brother didn't steal it. Let's go home, Nuannuan has a plan!"

Su Xiulan looked up at her daughter, her face streaked with tears. She always believed her daughter's words unconditionally.

"Nuan Nuan, what do you think we should do?" Su Xiulan's voice was hoarse.

Nuannuan looked up, her voice surprisingly calm: "Let's go home first, then have Xiaohei and Xiaohaozi go and ask around. Nuannuan wants to find out everything!"

Gu Jianguo also squatted down to look at his daughter. He never imagined in his life that the backbone of the family would be this daughter.

"Nuan Nuan is right! Let's go home, Da An, push the stroller!" Gu Jianguo helped Su Xiulan up, his voice still trembling, but he had become much more composed.

The family returned home quietly. The house was silent. Su Xiulan boiled water for the children to wash up. Gu Jianguo sat on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed), smoking his pipe incessantly, the smoke obscuring his expression.

After washing her feet, Nuannuan sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and moved her mouth, calling out, "Little Blackie, Little Mouse! Where are you?"

She heard a rustling sound coming from the corner of the wall, and several mice poked their heads out of their holes and squeaked.