"Do you still need to be so timid, Wenning, at a time like this?"
Qing Lan then pulled Hu Wenning up, saying with frustration and disappointment, "Itâs precisely because of your nature that these old people dare to steal your pumpkins so brazenly. Just think about it, if you were a little fiercer, did a few bad things here and there, would they still dare to do it so openly? Theyâre clearly bullying you because they think youâre easy to push around and that you canât do anything to them. Do you want to continue to suffer in silence, or do you want to solve this problem once and for all?"
A string of sharp questions bombarded her, and it was like an awakening. Hu Wenningâs body shuddered, suddenly enlightened.
Indeed. After finding the old people stealing pumpkins, she had always been backing down, trying to reason with them, but to no avail. If she were a man, who didnât give these elderly the pumpkins, who didnât repeatedly give in... perhaps things wouldnât have gotten to this point.
"Wait." Hu Wenning swallowed hard. She suddenly caught on to the key phrase in what Qing Lan had just said. "What do you mean by solving the problem once and for all?"
Qing Lan blinked, a mysterious smile appearing. "Of course, I mean it literally. We report them first, and after weâve made the report, we can deal with the old peopleâs issues slowly."
Qin Mu had already given her a complete plan of action. Even the legal petition to sue the local law enforcement officials was prepared. This was the most proper way to solve issues of infringement and harm!
"So... what do we do now?" Hu Wenning looked at Qing Lan and continued to ask.
Qing Lan thought for a moment, then said, "Letâs start with a real-name report. That has the best effect; calling is just too insubstantial."
Having watched Qin Muâs videos for so long, she knew very well that a real-name report had far greater effects than any other method of reporting complaints. And real-name reporting usually involved writing a complaint letter, adding personal identification information, and evidence for the report. The response was the quickest.
"Alright, Iâll follow whatever you say!" Hu Wenning nodded seriously, ready to go all out.
It had come to this. It seemed this was the only way to stop these old people. As for the consequences... she wasnât considering them anymore. As Qing Lan said, if she were a little tougher, no longer holding her peace, and took things seriously, these old men wouldnât dare to bully her!
"Qing Lan, is your friend... a lawyer from Zizhou?" Subsequently, she clung to Qing Lanâs shoulder, unable to resist prying.
This method... seemed more reliable than any other she knew of. Of course, it was also the most outrageous, the most daring.
...
ăAt the same time.ă
Zizhou, Zhaojia Village. Inside a certain farmhouse, several old men sat in the courtyard with palm-leaf fans in their hands, enjoying the cool breeze. Beside them lay rows and rows of intact pumpkins. They were in perfect condition: not split open, undamaged. If damaged, they would lose their marketability and would not sell well. These days, pumpkins were selling for two yuan per pound on the market; one could fetch dozens of yuan. In these past days, the less fortunate among them had made a few hundred yuan, while the more fortunate had made as much as two to three thousand.
Indeed, the reason they were stealing these pumpkins was not for personal consumption. If that were the case, one pumpkin could feed a family for a week.
"Once these are sold out, letâs find a time to take some more. But that woman surnamed Hu is a bit tricky; sheâs always keeping an eye on the pumpkin field." One of the old men, puffing on his old smoking pipe, took a fierce drag. A hint of worry showed on his face. To an outsider, he might look like he was worried about a poor harvest this year.
"Whatâs there to fear? Just go after we have dinner. Weâre running out of pumpkins at my place anyway."
"Thatâs right! What could that little girl possibly do to stop us?"
"When the time comes, let Zhao Lao Si lie down on the ground; letâs see what they dare to do."
"Speaking of which, the pumpkins grown by that Hu girl look pretty good; otherwise, I wouldnât bother taking hers."
"Exactly! Theyâre specially cultivated. I heard she even hired some expert to care for them throughout. Theyâre definitely better than what we grow."
In the courtyard, these old men discussed the matter of "taking pumpkins" without any inhibition.
In their eyes, it couldnât be called stealing. With such a large pumpkin field, they couldnât take much. The most infuriating thing was that Hu person, always trying to stop them in every way possible. She even called the police!
Fortunately, when the police arrived, they simply lay on the ground, listing all their ailments. The police had no choice but to speak nicely and send them back.
"My older brotherâs pumpkins are running low too, but heâs gone to the city for medical treatment, so Iâm supposed to help his family take more today."
"Now that the pumpkins are maturing one after the other, itâs just a matter of these next two months."
"That young girl is making more money than us, the vile capitalist! Weâre just following for a sip of the broth. Donât be scared of her!"
"Right, weâre not taking all her pumpkins, just a bit."
"Let the others know! Weâre going again tonight. Weâll take a batch and destroy a batch to teach her a lesson!"
These leading old men, while cursing, were brainstorming, planning to continue the destruction.
After all, the police couldnât do anything to them. Last time Hu Wenning called the police, the officers themselves came, yet could only obediently send them back home. It was said that because they were old, they had a sort of immunity; arrest and such didnât apply to them. In conclusion, nothing could stop them from making money!
"Alright, quiet down now."