“What’s going on?” Huizi saw a crowd gathered with police officers inside, so he eagerly asked a villager nearby.
“What else? The cops are here to make an arrest! Everyone in this building is a renter. Who knows what they did?”
The moment Huizi heard the police had arrived, his eyes lit up. He immediately turned and waved frantically at Tian Tian.
Tian Tian found it a bit amusing, but her feet honestly scurried straight to the front row of the spectacle.
“Don’t arrest me! Don’t arrest me! I didn’t do anything wrong!”
No sooner had she reached the spot than Xu Songmei’s roar hit her ears. Tian Tian felt her ears ringing a little. Xu Songmei was already rolling around on the ground doing 360-degree spins. Luckily, the yard was paved with cement; otherwise, she would have been covered in mud. Even so, she was already coated in dust.
Standing beside her were two cops—one middle-aged, one young. The young one wanted to pull her up but had no idea where to grab. The middle-aged one frowned and called out to the crowd: “Someone go find the village chief. And who’s the landlord of this building? Have them come over too.”
Xu Songmei was still roaring, but the mention of the village chief and landlord made her stop as if someone had pressed pause. She stared at the middle-aged cop with her squinty eyes.
“Don’t go! Don’t go! Oh, heaven! This is a grave injustice! Your honor, I am innocent!”
With that, her legs sprang like coiled springs. She lunged forward, hugging the middle-aged cop’s calves, tears and snot streaming down her face and wiping onto his pants.
As a front-row spectator, Tian Tian immediately stepped back two paces, terrified that the two snot strands dangling from her nostrils might land on her.
The middle-aged cop, clearly experienced, stood motionless and kept calling for a villager to fetch the village chief.
A zealous villager couldn’t bear to leave the gossip behind but still ran off, shouting along the way, “Village chief, something’s happened!”
Tian Tian: …Why did that sound so weird?
“Xu Songmei, I’m telling you one more time. You’re involved in a smuggling and resale case. We’re taking you to the station for questioning. If you keep making a scene, regardless of whether you participated or not, we can detain you according to regulations.”
Xu Songmei: “Bullshit! I’m an honest person. I haven’t done a thing wrong. A smuggling case? I’m the victim of a smuggling scam! Someone cheated me out of two thousand yuan on Renmin Road. And you useless cops still haven’t recovered my money for me.”
That was bold. The gathered villagers gasped in unison.
Even Tian Tian thought Xu Songmei was audacious. Had she suddenly grown a pair of lion’s balls?
“Shut up!” The village chief’s roar came from outside the crowd.
The villagers quickly parted like the Red Sea, clearing a path for the village chief to enter.
“Comrade, Xu Songmei is a tenant. What has she done?” As he spoke, the village chief called two women from the crowd to peel Xu Songmei off the cop’s leg.
“It involves a smuggling case. I can’t disclose the specifics right now. We’re just inviting her to the station for a statement. But as you can see, she’s being completely uncooperative.”
The middle-aged cop then asked, “Is the landlord here?”
The village chief shook his head. “The landlord went to Hong Kong to stay with his son. The village handles the rentals.”
Hearing that, the middle-aged cop signaled to his younger partner, who immediately came over and instructed the village chief to gather all the tenants for on-the-spot questioning.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged cop pulled out handcuffs and cuffed Xu Songmei, who was still trying to resist.
She started screaming even louder, but after two shrieks, she stopped abruptly, like a screaming chicken with its neck squeezed.
Tian Tian followed her gaze and saw Xu Songmei’s daughter, Zhou Qiaoqiao, standing at the door with a young man, her expression extremely unpleasant.
“Mom…” Zhou Qiaoqiao couldn’t even finish her sentence. Could someone tell her why bringing her boyfriend home to meet the parents had to coincide with her mother being taken away by the cops?
Meanwhile, Xu Songmei had already brushed the dust off herself in a few quick moves and even tidied up her messy hair.
Watching her handcuffed hands work so efficiently to freshen up her appearance, Tian Tian couldn’t help but admire the woman.
Just then, someone else pushed through the crowd.
“Zhou Qiaoqiao, your mother is involved in a smuggling case, and the cops are here to take her in. Did you know what your mother was doing?” The person who walked in was none other than Qian Lizhen. Her expression was smug, and her tone was gleeful.
Tian Tian: She felt like there was too much drama today.
Seeing this, Tian Tian had already guessed that Xu Songmei’s arrest was probably Qian Lizhen’s doing. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have shown up so promptly.
Thinking this, she turned to look at Zhou Qiaoqiao’s boyfriend.
His name was Jiang Fubin. He was dressed sharply, with slicked-back hair styled like the trendy “eight-character” look popularized by Hong Kong’s Four Heavenly Kings. His hair was heavily gelled—a fly could probably do the splits on it.
Yeah, he looked even more polished than he had that morning at the garment factory entrance.
“Lizhen, don’t talk nonsense.” Jiang Fubin looked at Qian Lizhen with clear displeasure.
“Bin ge, the cops are right there. I’m not talking nonsense. Why won’t you just believe me?” Qian Lizhen’s emotions suddenly grew heated.
With tears at the corners of her eyes, Zhou Qiaoqiao looked at Qian Lizhen. “Lizhen, did you report my mom? I know you’ve held a grudge ever since Bin ge chose me. But you can’t harm my mom because of that!”
Qian Lizhen’s face turned the color of pig liver. Her fists were clenched tight—clearly furious.
Remembering what she’d witnessed at the factory that morning, Tian Tian worried that Qian Lizhen might blurt out something about the love triangle. In this day and age, two women fighting over one man was hardly a good reputation.
Besides, this dapper guy didn’t seem worth fighting over.
But then, Qian Lizhen surprised Tian Tian.
She said: “Zhou Qiaoqiao, this is about your mother breaking the law. Don’t try to change the subject. And as for me reporting your mother? If she didn’t do anything illegal, how could she get arrested?”
“And Bin ge, the cops are here, and you still don’t believe what I said. Forget it…”
At first, Qian Lizhen’s tone was heated, but then it suddenly went cold. She even glanced at Tian Tian.
Tian Tian was surprised.
Then she heard Qian Lizhen say firmly: “Forget it. Jiang Fubin, if you won’t believe me, then forget it.”
The onlookers were confused. But their eyes were gleaming—they knew there was definitely some big drama behind all this.
Just then, the young cop called Zhou Qiaoqiao over and started asking her about selling electronic watches.
Zhou Qiaoqiao’s expression shifted. Seeing her mother being pulled away, she immediately pleaded for leniency. Of course, it was no use.
Watching her mother’s pitiful retreating figure, Zhou Qiaoqiao gritted her teeth and shouted: “This has to do with Cai Haibo and Hu Erhua, mother and son. My mom’s from the countryside, she doesn’t know anything. Even if she did something wrong, she was tricked!”
“Whoa…” The villagers gasped.
The middle-aged cop had already let go of Xu Songmei and was now asking the village chief to lead the way.
The village chief hurriedly took them toward Hu Er’s house.
From the crowd, someone said, “No wonder Hu Erhua has been so full of herself these past two days.”
“Her family’s been eating fish and meat every day. With how poor they usually are, my husband saw it last night and said they must’ve been stealing.”
“Oh my, how did those two get mixed up with renters? They don’t seem to match at all.”
The crowd was buzzing with heated discussion. If the young cop hadn’t still been there, they probably would have swarmed Xu Songmei to squeeze more dirt out of her.
Meanwhile, Qian Lizhen came over to stand beside Tian Tian. Some villagers wanted to ask if she was the one who had reported Xu Songmei. But seeing Tian Tian and Huizi there, they felt too awkward to ask. After all, Tian Tian had been romantically linked with Zhou Haoting—she was practically half a villager now.
“Tian Tian, thank you!”
Watching Zhou Qiaoqiao’s pitiful state and Jiang Fubin comforting her from afar, Qian Lizhen still felt both resentful and heartbroken. But this time, she felt as if the veil over her eyes had completely lifted. So, seeing Jiang Fubin’s actions saddened her, but the jealousy she once felt was gone.
Tian Tian was taken aback by the thank-you. Then she smiled and said, “You’re welcome. You figured it out on your own—I barely had anything to do with it.”
Qian Lizhen didn’t say anything more, but she kept the matter in her heart. If it hadn’t been for Tian Tian’s remark that any man who could be lured away wasn’t a good man, she’d probably still be obsessing over this.
Actually, what she didn’t tell Tian Tian was that she and Jiang Fubin had really been on the verge of dating. Then Zhou Qiaoqiao invited him out for a meal. The two had some drinks, took off their clothes, and that was that. Zhou Qiaoqiao had bragged about it to her privately.
Before, she had been furious. Now, thinking back, a man who couldn’t keep his pants on wasn’t worth having.
Tian Tian kept watching Qian Lizhen’s expression. Seeing the look of relief in her eyes, she knew she had truly let it go. She also silently marveled that she had helped someone escape a sea of suffering.
Soon, Hu Erhua and her son were brought over. Together with Xu Songmei, three people were to be taken away. The middle-aged cop immediately pressed them into the police car, leaving the young one behind to continue questioning the tenants and interviewing villagers for information.
With the drama over, Tian Tian called Huizi to carry the goods back home.
Qian Lizhen wanted to follow. Behind her, Zhou Qiaoqiao and Jiang Fubin called out her name.
Tian Tian glanced back and signaled Qian Lizhen to follow.
Qian Lizhen shook her head and walked right over, asking Tian Tian how her errands had gone that day.
Zhou Qiaoqiao, left behind, watched Qian Lizhen’s light, carefree steps and had a sinking feeling.
The moment Tian Tian and the others entered the courtyard, Liu Chunfen came running over, grabbed Qian Lizhen by the hand, and pulled her upstairs.
A mother wanting to speak privately with her daughter was none of Tian Tian’s business. But seeing that Qian Lizhen’s expression was more resolute than before, she knew she wouldn’t be at a disadvantage. So she told Huizi to close the courtyard gate. Then she spread a plastic sheet on the ground, dumped out the two bags of clothes, and started sorting through them, comparing the workmanship and fabric of the two suppliers. She also did a simple data analysis based on the prices.
Clearly, the quality of the two wasn’t too different. The second supplier’s work was sloppier, with more loose threads. The third supplier had a smaller operation but finer workmanship and fewer loose threads.
Just then, the sound of Qian Lizhen and her mother arguing came from upstairs.
“Mom, I know you mean well for me. But I’m not going to harm myself either. Don’t say any more. I’ll just work hard, earn money, and save. I’m not interested in relationships right now. There’s nothing between Jiang Fubin and me. Mom, just stop.”
Soon after, Qian Lizhen came rushing downstairs. She didn’t leave but instead grabbed a small stool, sat down next to Tian Tian, and helped sort through the clothes on the plastic sheet.
Tian Tian didn’t refuse. The two chatted casually as they worked.
Huizi felt a bit awkward, so he ran off to help Granny Cui cook.
Zhou Haoting walked in to find this harmonious scene. He smiled at Tian Tian. “Why didn’t you wait for me to come back so we could do this together?”
“I’m here, bro!” Huizi jumped out at the worst possible moment. Zhou Haoting was exasperated.
Tian Tian could see what he was thinking and laughed out loud. “What goodies did you bring me today?” She looked curiously at the insulated food jar in his hand.
Yesterday, he had brought delicious takeaway; today, it was an insulated jar.
“Mom made ginseng and black chicken soup. She said it’s good for girls.”
Tian Tian loved soup. Her eyes lit up. “Lucky me!”
“Bro, we’re having dinner with Granny Cui tonight. Join us.”
Huizi chimed in smugly and immediately got a couple of kicks from Zhou Haoting.
Tian Tian laughed again. Then she pulled Zhou Haoting to sit down, drank her soup on the side, and bossed him around to help with work.
There wasn’t much soup—just two bowls’ worth. She had one bowl herself and gave the other to Granny Cui.
“Where are you planning to sell these clothes?”
“Probably in the nearby villages.”
“Have you decided on a factory?”
Tian Tian pointed at the clothes she had set aside for comparison. “After I sell these, I’ll get quotes from a couple of factories.”
Zhou Haoting didn’t ask why she wasn’t going with the first factory. He just listened carefully to what had happened to Tian Tian that day.
Just then, Qian Lizhen, who had been quiet all along, spoke up softly. “Tian Tian, are you looking for a small garment workshop?”
Tian Tian smiled and asked, “Yes, do you have any recommendations?”
Qian Lizhen nodded and then shook her head. “It’s not really a factory. Just a place with twenty machines. If you want, I’ll take you to see it tomorrow?”
Tian Tian was pleasantly surprised. She thought it wouldn’t hurt to go take a look tomorrow—it wasn’t like she was in a rush. But she hadn’t expected Qian Lizhen to give her such a big surprise.
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