Zhang Qiang was beaten so badly he could barely breathe. He begged for mercy over and over again:
"Stop hitting me, please stop!
"I'm the director of the police station, you are assaulting a state official."
Two plainclothes police officers directly slapped handcuffs on him:
"You actually have the nerve to call yourself a state official? You abuse your power for personal gain, practice favoritism and commit irregularities, shield criminals, and even collude with them.
"We have received orders from our superiors. You are now officially under arrest!"
Zhang Qiang had nearly wet his pants. He collapsed in the snow:
"You can't arrest me! I'm the director! What right do you have?
"I'm calling the city. I have connections up there. Just you wait."
The plainclothes officers didn't even spare him another glance, locking him up together with Chen Guanshan and his son.
As soon as the roads were clear enough to drive, they would be taken away together.
Lin Wanyi supported Liu Siyue and said:
"Are you at ease now? The Chen father and son have been arrested, and the person shielding them has been arrested too.
"Sister, no one can ever bully you again!"
Liu Siyue's tears flowed again.
She hugged Lin Wanyi's waist: "Sister, from now on, you are my own blood sister.
"If it weren't for you, I might never have walked out of this village for the rest of my life. I might never have seen my big brother and my parents again.
"Sister, sister..."
Lin Wanyi wiped away her tears:
"That's not true. Even if I hadn't helped you, your big brother and parents would have found you.
"I actually just called the police. I really didn't do much.
"Sister, I was cowardly and scared. I should have called the police directly on New Year's Eve, but my daughter was still here.
"They threatened me with my daughter, and I truly had no choice.
"I, I actually..."
The two hugged each other and wept bitterly. This was the first time Lin Wanyi had revealed her true feelings.
Before this, she had been holding it in.
In front of the Wang family, she pretended to be fierce and held back her tears.
In front of the Lin family, she pretended to be strong and also held back her tears.
In front of Wang Hao, she maintained her pride and self-esteem, holding back her tears.
In front of Wang Keke, she didn't dare shed a tear!
Only now.
In front of Liu Siyue, who was just as pitiful as her, did she open her heart.
She and Liu Siyue cried loudly together.
They cried with such heartbreak that Liu Renzhi, standing at the door, felt his heart ache.
He felt deeply for Liu Siyue, but inexplicably felt that Lin Wanyi was also very pitiful.
She must have a lot weighing on her mind.
He remembered again that Lin Wanyi wanted a divorce.
What was the reason?
Did her husband treat her badly?
Such a good, kind, and strong woman—why would anyone treat her badly?
He didn't know.
He had never been married, and he didn't understand what marriage really was.
Lin Wanyi and Liu Siyue didn't know how long they cried.
Liu Chunlan grew impatient.
She yelled loudly from downstairs:
"Cry, cry, cry, are you wailing for the dead? It's the New Year, and you're crying away all my family's good fortune.
"Lin Wanyi, if you keep howling, believe it or not, I'll tear your mouth to pieces!"
Lin Jiajun slammed his hand on the table:
"Old woman, you control the heavens and the earth, you control taking a shit and farting, and now you want to control whether my sister cries or not?
"Let me ask you, if my sister was living happily and blissfully in your house, would she still cry?
"Would she still feel so wronged?
"Instead of reflecting on your own actions, you scold my sister for crying?
"You are simply unreasonable!
"You want to tear my sister's mouth to pieces? Believe it or not, I'll sew yours shut first!"
Liu Chunlan hid back in her room and called Wang Hao:
"Son, where are you? Let me tell you, Lin Wanyi brought a man home.
"I could tell at a glance that there's something shady going on between him and Lin Wanyi. Hurry back.
"That damn Lin Jiajun is here, I don't even dare to speak loudly."
Wang Hao was exhausted from walking.
He didn't know how Lin Wanyi, a pregnant woman, had managed to walk for several hours in the pitch-black darkness.
A woman who had absolutely no relation to her—was she worth doing all this for?
Could it really be as Liu Chunlan said, that she had some kind of relationship with that man?
He was nervous to death and walked even faster.
But he kept muttering in his heart; there was a series of footprints in front of him, looking like a group of people.
Who else would be walking toward the village on such a snowy day?
He didn't know, but Liu Renzhi did.
Those were the people Liu Jiannan had brought.
Not one, not two, but a group of thirty people.
Last night, Liu Renzhi really couldn't wait any longer and set off first. Before he left, he had arranged these people for Liu Jiannan.
He knew the villagers were difficult to deal with, so he wanted to be absolutely foolproof.
Money had to be brought, but people had to be brought even more.
At noon, smoke rose from the kitchen of every household.
Wu Qin used the excuse of bringing Lin Wanyi a bowl of beef to come see her.
Her eyes turned red as soon as she saw Lin Wanyi:
"You are so bold. Do you know how dark it was? It was snowing heavily, and you couldn't see anything.
"You are still pregnant, yet you actually dared to walk back like that.
"Lin Wanyi, I think you really don't want your own life."
Lin Wanyi held her hand:
"It's fine, I know what I'm doing.
"Wu Qin, I feel terrible. I really didn't want to come back. I didn't want to come back for even a minute."
Wu Qin nodded. She understood.
She knew everything, but she didn't have Lin Wanyi's courage.
She had spent her whole life in this village, and her parents and brothers were in other villages too.
She didn't dare to do anything, but she quietly told Lin Wanyi:
"You guys should still find a way to get out. The people in the village are getting restless."
Lin Wanyi hurriedly asked, "What do you mean? What else do they want to do?"
Wu Qin looked outside the door, her voice dropping even lower:
"Those two siblings are just two fat sheep right now.
"Wanyi, I'm scared to death!"
Lin Wanyi was scared too.
Some of the idle villagers who didn't do honest work had also returned for the New Year. They definitely wouldn't let this good opportunity pass.
But Liu Renzhi told her, "Don't be afraid, don't worry. Nothing will happen."
Time passed bit by bit. Liu Jiannan would arrive in half an hour at most.
Right at this moment, several thugs holding shovels and kitchen knives blocked the door of Lin Wanyi's house.
Liu Chunlan was terrified, and Wang Jianguo didn't dare to come out either. The two huddled in a corner:
"It's none of our business. He insisted on coming to our house.
"If you beat him to death, it really has nothing to do with us."
The plainclothes officers sternly reprimanded those people:
"We are police officers. You are obstructing official duties. Disperse immediately."
Not only did those people not disperse, but their numbers even grew.
The leader, Blondie Tiezhu, waved a shovel and looked at Liu Renzhi:
"I can tell you have a lot of money, and we aren't intentionally trying to make things difficult for you.
"It's just that the two thousand you gave isn't nearly enough to spend. If you give a little more, we guarantee that you and your sister will have smooth sailing in the village these next few days. Are you going to give it or not?"
Liu Renzhi asked him very calmly, "How much?"
Tiezhu held up five fingers:
"Not much, fifty thousand per person. Our village has a total of 56 people. Calculate for yourself how much you should give."
Lin Jiajun was truly going mad with anger:
"What kind of things are you? This is taking advantage of people in a precarious position!"
Tiezhu threw his cigarette butt into the snow:
"Hehe, I almost forgot about you, you outsider.
"I heard your sister is also making a fuss about divorcing Wang Hao, right? Think carefully. If you don't agree to our conditions, your sister can forget about leaving this village too.
"She is different from that other woman. She has a marriage certificate. She married here voluntarily.
"Keeping her here is perfectly fair, reasonable, and legal. You're just an out-of-towner, what can you possibly do to us?"
