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

The sound of police cars grew closer, finally stopping outside the forest farm gate. Several headlights illuminated the office area, making it dazzling. The police officers got out of the car and walked steadily into the forest farm.

Zhang Sandong stood at the door of the factory director's office with a smile on his face. He saw the police team approaching, cleared his throat, and went to greet them.

"Officers, you've come at the perfect time!" Zhang Sandong pointed to Xiao An, who was being escorted out by the security department, and raised his voice, "It's him! Gu Xiao An! He abused his position to embezzle top-grade red pine wood from the forest farm! The missing wood is irrefutable evidence!"

Gu Jianguo and Su Xiulan were furious upon hearing this. Su Xiulan tried to rush forward, but Gu Jianguo grabbed her arm. He glanced at Gu Da'an beside him, who was holding Nuannuan's hand tightly, protecting her behind him.

The police captain stepped forward, glanced at Zhang Sandong, then looked at Xiao An, whose face was pale, and his brows twitched slightly.

"If you accuse him of theft, what is the evidence?" the police captain asked.

Zhang Sandong was already prepared. He turned around and pushed Zhang Damao, who was huddled to the side, to the front.

"This is Zhang Damao, one of our workers. He saw Gu Xiaoan sneaking around moving wood with his own eyes!" Zhang Sandong said with absolute certainty.

Zhang Damao was pushed in front of the police, his body trembling. He lowered his head, his fingers fidgeting with the hem of his clothes. He dared not look in the direction of Gu Jianguo's family, and stammered, "Yes...yes, I saw it. Gu Xiaoan took advantage of the fact that no one was looking and moved the wood out, but he stopped after it was smashed..."

The forestry workers and villagers who had come to watch the spectacle immediately erupted in chatter. Whispers could be heard without any attempt to conceal their opinions.

"Oh dear, we even have witnesses, so it seems to be true."

"You can know a person's face but not their heart. The second son of the Gu family looks honest, but I didn't expect him to be dishonest."

"Look at their homes, no wonder their lives seem to be getting better. Turns out, they were trying to take crooked paths."

These words deeply upset Su Xiulan. She trembled with anger, her eyes reddening, and she wanted to rush forward to argue.

"Bullshit!" Sister-in-law Hongxia squeezed through the crowd, hands on her hips, yelling at them, "I watched Xiao An grow up, he would never do such a thing! Anyone who spreads this rumor, I'll tear their mouth apart!"

Hongxia's voice was loud and clear, but the surrounding chatter did not stop. Many people still wore expressions of doubt.

Gu Jianguo pressed Su Xiulan down, taking a few deep breaths to suppress his anger. His limp leg seemed stiff in the cold wind, but he stood ramrod straight. He walked up to the police captain and glanced at Zhang Damao.

"Comrade, since someone saw my son moving the wood, such a large red pine log can't just disappear into thin air, can it?" Gu Jianguo's voice was hoarse but very clear. "Where is the stolen goods? If we can't find the missing wood, I can also say that you've smeared us."

The police captain nodded, looked at Zhang Sandong, and his voice deepened: "Yes, the stolen goods are key. Since it's a theft, where is the wood now?"

Zhang Sandong's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly masked his fear. He stiffened his neck and shouted, "That kid must have hidden it! The forest farm is so big, who could find it if he just threw it in any ditch? But that doesn't change the fact that he stole it! Our factory's timber is indeed missing, and someone saw Gu Xiaoan carrying it. Isn't that enough?"

Just then, Nuannuan, who had been held in Gu Jianguo's arms, suddenly spoke in a childish voice.

"But, police officer, that bad uncle smelled nice, just like the wood that hit my second brother!" Nuannuan pointed at Zhang Sandong with her little finger, her big eyes blinking innocently.

Zhang Sandong's expression changed, and he subconsciously looked at his clothes.

Nuannuan pointed her little finger to an abandoned hut deep inside the forest. "And Little Blackie just told me it saw lots of wood shavings in that hut!"

No sooner had the words been spoken than a circling black crow let out a long cawing.

It swooped down and landed on the door of an abandoned hut in the corner of the forest.

It flapped its wings and frantically pecked at the rusty iron lock, making rapid clattering sounds.

This scene is too bizarre.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the crow.

It pecked at the lock with all its might, its movements quite unusual.

The police captain frowned.

He glanced in that direction, then looked at Zhang Sandong and Zhang Damao, whose faces were deathly pale.

The captain said to the policeman next to him, "Kids may say the darndest things, but this bird is definitely behaving strangely."

"Send a few people to open up that abandoned hut and investigate thoroughly."

Cold sweat immediately poured down Zhang Sandong's forehead.

"There's nothing in here! It's been abandoned for a long time!"

"don't want!"

Seeing him like this, the police understood perfectly well. Two officers nimbly walked to the hut and quickly pried open the rusty lock.

The door to the hut was pushed open. It was pitch black inside, but when a flashlight was shone on it, the people at the door could be seen clearly.

A huge, freshly cut piece of red pine lay quietly. The scent of pine resin wafted from the doorway.

The captain went over to inspect, touched the front, turned around, and shouted angrily, "This is the missing top-grade red pine! Zhang Sandong, you're in charge of the keys to this cabin, aren't you? How do you explain this?"

The evidence was irrefutable. Zhang Sandong's eyes darted around, but he still refused to admit it. "It was Gu Xiaoan! He must have stolen the key and hid the wood here to frame me."

As soon as he said that, he believed it himself, glaring fiercely at Gu Xiaoan, "Gu Xiaoan, I have no grudge against you, how dare you frame me?"

Gu Xiaoan was stunned. She had seen shameless people before, but she had never seen anyone this shameless.

The stolen goods have all been found, yet this person is still blatantly lying.

"Zhang Sandong, you disliked me even before I joined the factory and caused trouble for me several times. I've only been here for less than a month, I don't even know what's in this little room, and I've never been here before. You say I stole the key, then produce the evidence."

Da'an sneered, stepped forward, and stood in front of his younger brother. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was forceful: "You said my brother stole the key to frame you, hid the wood here, almost beat himself to death, and then reported it to the security department, letting everyone know my brother is a thief. Zhang Sandong, do you believe that?"

The onlookers were stunned.

What is this child saying? I don't understand.

Some clever people summarized it as follows: Gu Xiaoan stole something, knocked himself unconscious, and then called the security department, claiming he was a thief and slandering Zhang Sandong!

Everyone... what were they thinking with such a convoluted thought process? No one in their right mind would believe it. To injure yourself so badly just to slander someone—are you out of your mind?

"Officer, since you claim my brother stole the key to frame him and tried to bring in such a large piece of wood, you must have needed to pick the lock, right?"

The police officer nodded. "That's right!"

"That's easy. Just check the fingerprints on the door lock and see if my brother's is on them."

"That's one way to do it."

The police captain nodded, and suddenly someone fell to their knees with a thud.

"Officer, I'll tell you everything. It wasn't Gu Xiaoan, it was Zhang Sandong. He's the one who had someone put the wood inside, and he gave me 10 yuan to give false testimony." Zhang Damao was terrified when he heard that fingerprints could be checked.

He dares not gamble!

"But I was forced into this! My wife is sick, and my son is in school; he's using this to threaten me!"

The entire scene erupted in uproar. The reversal had come too quickly and too suddenly, catching everyone off guard. The villagers, who had been discussing the matter just moments before, were now completely dumbfounded. Then, they couldn't help but hurl insults at Zhang Sandong.

"Pah! What kind of nonsense is this! Frame an honest person!"

"You heartless, rotten bastard! How could you do something so utterly depraved!"

The factory manager wiped the cold sweat from his brow, wishing he could disappear into the ground. He had wanted to quell the matter, but he hadn't expected it to escalate so much and even expose internal corruption.

Without hesitation, the police pulled out silver handcuffs and, under everyone's gaze, snapped them onto Zhang Sandong, who was slumped on the ground.

Gu Xiaoan was cleared of suspicion on the spot. His body went limp, and Su Xiulan rushed over crying and hugged her son tightly.

"Xiao An! My Xiao An!"

Gu Jianguo also stepped forward and patted his son on the shoulder. He didn't say anything, but his eyes were red.

Nuannuan nestled on her father's shoulder and made a face at Zhang Sandong, who was being led into the police car. Her voice was small but filled with triumphant pride: "You bad boy, you've been arrested by the police!"

After the crowd dispersed, the night grew even darker. Hiding in the shadows of a distant tree, Zhang Aidi watched Zhang Sandong being taken away, terrified. She clutched the few bills in her hand, burning hot, yet her heart felt cold. She quickly retreated into the darkness, afraid of being noticed.

Useless thing!

Didn't you say everything was arranged? How come it's over so quickly?