Chapter 36: Chapter 35: Run! The Tigress and the Henpecked Husband

Then, three more vendors were caught and brought back. They all started begging and pleading, trying to talk their way out of it.

Lin Lan also clasped her hands and pleaded, “Comrade, things are just too difficult at home. I only came out to earn a bit of pocket money. Please let it slide just this once. I’ll never dare to do it again.”

The tall, skinny man glanced at her but said nothing.

A short man with a large black mole on his eyelid bowed repeatedly. “Comrade, I have elderly to care for and children to feed, plus my mother is sick. I had no choice but to come out and do a little business to earn some money for her medicine…”

“Li Wu,” the tall, skinny man glared at him. “Last time, you said your wife left you because she couldn’t stand your eighty-year-old, bedridden mother. How has your story changed this time?”

Li Wu put on a miserable expression. “Comrade! My wife may have run off, but I still have my kids!”

Watching the black mole on Li Wu’s eyelid bob up and down, Lin Lan almost burst out laughing.

The group followed the neighborhood watch out of the Eucalyptus Forest and toward the alleyways.

The patrol led them to the family residential area of the vehicle factory, stopping before a courtyard building. The neighborhood watch office was located in the courtyard just ahead.

The tall, skinny man led them into a spacious office and sat down at a desk. He picked up an enamel mug, lifted the lid, and took a sip. Then he looked up at the group. “All your goods are confiscated. The fine is five yuan.”

Li Xiangyang smiled, pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and respectfully offered one over. With an apologetic grin, he said, “Comrade, we were in the wrong. We accept the fine!”

The tall, skinny man pushed Li Xiangyang’s hand away. His gaze swept over them as he said sternly, “Li Wu, Li Xiangyang, Hou Bing, Xue Gui—you lot are repeat offenders. The fine is five yuan and your goods are confiscated. No exceptions.” His eyes then moved to Lin Lan. “As for the female comrade, seeing as this is your first offense, your fine is three yuan, and your goods are confiscated.”

Lin Lan hadn’t expected such a lenient approach. Suddenly, his raspy voice sounded quite pleasant. ’Two yuan! That’s enough to buy over a pound of meat, or more than twenty eggs!’

She promptly took out three yuan, placed it on the desk with a smile, and said, “Thank you for your leniency, Comrade. I have kids at home. Can I leave once I’ve paid the fine?”

The tall, skinny man nodded. “You may.”

They all meekly paid their fines, took their receipts, and left.

Everyone was a little dejected as they left the neighborhood watch office.

Li Xiangyang glanced at Lin Lan, then said to Zhou Xiaohong and the others, “It’s just a few yuan. Let’s just consider it a loss and head home.”

Li Wu nodded. “Yeah. Good thing they showed up when we were about to pack up, otherwise the losses would have been even greater.”

Zhou Xiaohong frowned. “They haven’t come around to check in a long time. Why today? Do you think someone reported us?”

Lin Lan remembered her twitching eyelid and felt she might have brought this trouble on them. ’Just when business was getting good, my eyelid started twitching like crazy. I bet someone reported me!’

Li Xiangyang glanced at the group and said gently, “Nonsense. My own eyelid has been twitching for days.”

Li Wu and the others gave him a surprised look. ’Who would have thought? The ice-cold Li the Butcher actually knows how to comfort someone!’

Zhou Xiaohong smiled. “Lin Lan, Xiangyang is right. It’s been a while, so they were due for a check anyway. Don’t go blaming yourself!”

“That’s right!” Xue Gui laughed and waved. “Let’s head back! My things are still hidden in the vegetable patch. I’m going to grab them and call it a day.”

A few of them nodded. Those who had stashed their goods in the Eucalyptus Forest went to retrieve them.

Those whose goods had been confiscated just headed home.

Lin Lan walked home sullenly. Just as she was nearing her front door, she suddenly saw a figure by Zhang Yazhen’s courtyard wall, who immediately ducked out of sight.

She stopped in her tracks. She thought about how Zhang Yazhen used to sell things over by the Eucalyptus Forest, and recalled her recent attitude. ’Peeking from behind the wall like that… a classic sign of a guilty conscience. Captain Xu and his men showing up today definitely had something to do with her.’

Muttering to herself, she stood at her gate, watching Zhang Yazhen’s wall and waiting for her to peek out again.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, Zhang Yazhen’s head popped out again.

Lin Lan smiled at her. The smile was radiant, but her eyes were ice-cold. “I’ll eat anything, but I won’t eat a loss. This is the first time. I’ll remember this.”

When Zhang Yazhen saw Lin Lan’s smile, she remembered the beating Lin Lan had given Sun Xiuhua. The color drained from her face. She ducked back down and squatted on a tall stool, muttering, ’How did she know I was the one who reported her?’

The short, thin Xiong Jianjun entered the courtyard with a hoe over his shoulder. He saw her squatting there like a thief. “You’re a grown woman. What are you doing squatting on a stool over there?”

Zhang Yazhen hopped off the stool. “Nothing!”

A girl with a somewhat flat nose came out of the kitchen. Looking at Xiong Jianjun, she said, “Dad, Mom took vegetables and eggs to sell at the Eucalyptus Forest today, but she didn’t sell a thing. She came running back like a dog was on her tail.”

Xiong Jianjun’s face hardened. “Yanzi, you’re a young lady now. People will laugh at you if they hear you talking about your mother that way.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep