Ever since their last argument, the Gao family had been actively avoiding Bai Jiu and Gao Zhijun. Even when they crossed paths face-to-face, they would automatically step aside to make way for Gao Zhijun.
It wasn’t that the villagers hadn’t noticed the strange atmosphere between them, but no one dared to ask about it to their faces. The last person who did had been viciously chewed out by that old bastard Gao Xingfu. Naturally, no one else wanted to volunteer to get scolded.
During the day, Gao Zhijun would bring the children along and frequently help Bai Jiu with her farm work. He took over all the cooking—breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Of course, he also handled all the other household chores. Had Bai Jiu not stubbornly hoarded the farm work for herself, he would have sent her home to rest long ago. Because of this arrangement, he had free time to investigate a few matters. Surprisingly, he reaped a bountiful harvest of information.
"I have some business to attend to tomorrow. How about we send the kids to Aunt Peng’s house?" Gao Zhijun’s voice rang out in the darkness just after the children had fallen asleep for the night.
"Where are you going?" Bai Jiu asked naturally. But as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. What did it matter to her where he went? She quickly added, "If you have something to do, go ahead. The kids are very well-behaved; they’ll be fine at home by themselves."
It wasn’t the dead of winter anymore, so she wasn’t worried about them getting into accidents at home.
Hearing her flustered and annoyed tone, Gao Zhijun chuckled softly in the dark.
"Bai Jiu, we’re husband and wife. Of course you have the right to ask where I’m going," he said, not intending to hide anything from her. "I’ve uncovered a few things recently, and I plan to put an end to the past. Didn’t you tell me to get my revenge? I’m going to do exactly that tomorrow."
Bai Jiu had been about to retort to his first sentence, but his subsequent words sparked her interest. "What did you find out? Tell me."
If she hadn’t been worried about him overthinking things, she would have used her own methods to torment those two families. She just hadn’t expected him to actually take action himself. She thought it was wonderful; a person simply shouldn’t have to live with such pent-up frustration.
"You know I’ve been to town a few times recently. I just didn’t expect to run into people from those two families." He didn’t need to specify which two families; she knew exactly who he meant.
Bai Jiu did indeed know.
"What happened with them?" she asked. Although she was at odds with the Gao family, there were always people gossiping around her whenever something happened in the village, so she knew a little bit.
"They went to the black market to buy and sell grain," Gao Zhijun said with a smile.
Of course, this kind of thing wasn’t a big deal as long as one wasn’t caught. But they had someone keeping a close eye on them. One wrong move, and they would end up sharing the same fate as that mother and son from the Gao family.
Bai Jiu didn’t know much about the laws regarding grain trading in this era. "The black market... If they aren’t caught red-handed with the stolen goods, it probably isn’t a serious crime, right?" she asked.
"True, but what if they are caught red-handed?" He had originally planned to set a trap for them, but he hadn’t expected them to be even bolder than he imagined. "That grain isn’t their private property."
Stealing and selling the production brigade’s grain? They clearly thought they had lived too long.
"What?" Bai Jiu was shocked. "Where did they get that kind of nerve?"
It was the brigade’s grain! There were still several months until the autumn harvest, and grain hadn’t been distributed since last year. The remaining grain in the brigade’s storage was meant to be distributed to the villagers before the autumn harvest, just so everyone could have a full stomach and enough energy for the arduous labor. To think they were actually selling the brigade’s grain! One had to admit, they were incredibly brazen and audacious.
"Have you forgotten who guards the brigade’s warehouse?" Gao Zhijun reminded her.
Bai Jiu immediately understood. The warehouse was guarded by Gao Xinggui; this grain-selling business was undoubtedly connected to him.
"He’s involved too?" If that was true, then this was absolutely perfect.
"I should say his entire family is involved." He hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly. From the tone of his voice, she could tell he was elated.
"What about the other family?" With one family taken care of, there was still the other.
"I haven’t found an opportunity with that family yet, but I imagine it won’t be long." Even if an opportunity didn’t present itself, he could create one. Of course, unless they completely lacked the guts to do anything illegal, it was only a matter of time before they were locked up too.
The next day, Gao Zhijun left the house bright and early.
Although she knew his plan, she had no idea how he was going to execute it, so she could only wait for news in the village. When she went to work, she purposefully took a longer route and, as expected, did not see Gao Xinggui’s family anywhere. It seemed there would be good news today.
Gao Zhijun didn’t have to wait long before Gao Xinggui’s family emerged from a small path, pushing a handcart. He had chosen today specifically because he had previously overheard them agreeing on a time and place with their buyers. That was why he had planned to follow them out of the village.
Watching them blend into the crowd, Gao Zhijun headed straight for the Public Security Bureau and presented his credentials. When the officers saw his ID, they immediately saluted him. Gao Zhijun didn’t waste any time and stated his purpose directly. The police swiftly sprang into action.
They did not disappoint Gao Zhijun. Every member of that family—save for the women and children—was thrown behind bars. In high spirits, Gao Zhijun went straight to buy some meat, planning to head home and celebrate properly.
Back in the village, Bai Jiu had been eagerly awaiting his return. She had never looked forward to his arrival as much as she did at this very moment. She waited until noon, when she finally caught sight of the man she had been anxiously thinking about.
Before the bell signaling the end of the shift even rang, Bai Jiu took off running toward Gao Zhijun. The few women working alongside her were stunned by her reaction.
"Those two really have a great relationship," one of them remarked. Previously, they had felt that Bai Jiu was a bit too aggressive. But after spending more time with her, they realized she had a very easygoing temperament as long as you didn’t provoke her. Gradually, everyone had gained a new understanding of her.
"They sure do," Qian Xiaojie chimed in cheerfully.
Watching the figure sprinting toward him from a distance, Gao Zhijun’s heart fluttered with profound warmth.
"Slow down, I’m not going to run away," he said. However, he felt a twinge of disappointment when she came to an abrupt halt just in front of him instead of throwing herself into his arms.
"How did it go?" Bai Jiu asked, entirely oblivious to his subtle shift in mood, intent only on getting the first-hand scoop.
"They’re locked up," Gao Zhijun replied, his mood inexplicably brightening again.
"Haha, that’s wonderful! We have to properly celebrate today," Bai Jiu said happily.
Gao Zhijun hadn’t expected her to be on the exact same wavelength. "I bought some meat."
"Then what are we waiting for? Come on, let’s go home."
"Mhm, let’s go home."
With this precedent, the other family grew somewhat suspicious, but they were no match for the traps Gao Zhijun was laying behind the scenes. Gao Xingfu had been keeping a tight leash on his children and grandchildren, constantly breathing down their necks, but alas, they still fell into the enemy’s snare.
Playing the good citizen once again, Gao Zhijun had Gao Xingfu sent to jail. He had originally planned to target the old man’s descendants, but after some thought, he figured that every debt has its debtor. It was better to just send the main culprit straight to prison.
This time, Gao Xingfu had no way to evade the law. Capitalizing on the old man’s depraved nature, Gao Zhijun had him locked up on charges of hooliganism. Getting him executed by firing squad would be a walk in the park.
However, Gao Zhijun didn’t show his face this time; he had merely hired an actress. She was after money, and Gao Xingfu was after her body. The execution of the plan was fast, ruthless, and precise.
Even if that bunch of old fossils had their suspicions, they didn’t dare come and ask.
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed since Gao Zhijun’s return.
This day happened to be the day the Bai family came to the village to visit Bai Jiu.
When he opened the door and saw Gao Zhijun, Bai Xingguo froze, taking a long while to react.
"Zhijun?" he called out uncertainly.
Hearing someone call his name, Gao Zhijun immediately looked up. Unfortunately, his reaction wasn’t as fast as the children’s.
"Uncle Xingguo!" the two children shouted as they sprinted toward Bai Xingguo, diving straight into his arms.