Chapter 65: Delaying Tactics

Seeing that the production brigade leader was about to hand down the final verdict, Chen Xiangdong hurried over and whispered a few words to Zhang Haiquan.

"Ma Jian has some connections in his family, I'm afraid..."

Zhang Haiquan brushed his hand away. "If he wants to throw his weight around, he can go back to the city! Our production brigade will not harbor any criminal scoundrels!"

Realizing his limited influence and seeing that he could no longer protect Ma Jian, Chen Xiangdong could only try to shield him before Zhang Haiquan issued any specific punishment.

"The brigade leader is right!"

"This matter must be investigated further!"

"Until the investigation is clear, Ma Jian, you are confined to the educated youth quarters!"

"We will make further arrangements once the brigade releases its final findings."

Ma Jian was officially served with a restriction order.

When the rest of the educated youth detachment heard the news, they were utterly shocked.

"What did Ma Jian do wrong?"

Chen Xiangdong was already at his wit's end. Seeing them crowd around with endless questions, he vented his frustration in a sharp tone.

"What else could it be?"

"In the middle of the night, lacking all propriety, he sneaked out for a tryst and got himself involved in illicit sexual relations!"

"Especially right after we just emphasized the rules!"

"And now he does it again! He completely disregards the discipline I've established!"

The entire educated youth farm fell into a dead silence.

Learning that Ma Jian had defied the wind to commit such an offense, everyone hastened to distance themselves from him.

The three male educated youth who shared a room with him moved out immediately, squeezing into the dormitories of others.

However, the matter did not end there.

When Chen Xiangdong went to the commune meeting, he insisted on vouching for Ma Jian with his personal reputation.

"Without the note Ma Jian mentioned, it would have been impossible for him to travel all the way from such a distant place to the home of a villager named Zhao Dong! Since the accusation is illicit relations, it takes two to tango!"

"Regardless of what motives the person who wrote the note to Ma Jian might have, we must find that person and question them clearly! Otherwise, this case could become a miscarriage of justice in the future!"

The other brigade leaders in the commune organization looked at each other and agreed that Chen Xiangdong made a valid point.

Subsequently, the commune committee discussed and decided that Zhang Haiquan should continue the investigation.

"The commune will also send member representatives to accompany you on visits to get to the bottom of this!"

Zhang Haiquan agreed, "Very well."

He knew in his heart that Chen Xiangdong's persistence made sense.

This matter concerned not only Ma Jian's character and reputation, but also the reputation of the entire educated youth detachment among the local villagers!

As fellow team leaders, Zhang Haiquan understood Chen Xiangdong's predicament.

Therefore, even though he held Ma Jian's behavior in utter contempt, he still acted in accordance with his duties as a brigade leader, striving to maintain a fair and impartial attitude as he proactively investigated the origin of the note.

Their first stop was the educated youth quarters, where they went to find the male youth who had passed the note to Ma Jian.

"Who gave you the note?"

The male youth looked as if he was on the verge of tears. "I didn't see clearly! Anyway, it was at the clinic just then. Zhang Samao was telling Shen Yiming that he had been selected, and everyone was celebrating when a villager shoved the note into my hand and told me to give it to Ma Jian... He also said that once Ma Jian read the contents, he would naturally understand what it was about!"

Having given his account, the youth remained extremely anxious and added:

"That's all I know! Brigade leader, you must investigate this thoroughly! When Ma Jian came back earlier, he even threatened to beat me to death..."

"He wouldn't dare!" Zhang Haiquan felt his temples throb fiercely. "That brat hasn't learned his lesson even while confined? If I hear him threatening anyone again, come straight to me! I'll kick him out of our production brigade on the spot!"

The brigade leader's words carried through the wall to Ma Jian's ears, making him punch the wall in fury.

Suppressing his displeasure, Zhang Haiquan continued investigating the note.

The lead regarding the person who passed the note had hit a dead end, so they had to find another way.

Chen Xiangdong said, "I am only the person in charge of the educated youth detachment, and it's inconvenient for me to deal with Huang Cuilan's side. I'll have to trouble the brigade leader to make a trip!"

With that, he put on a false smile and tried to play the good guy.

"It's not that I insist on suspecting this woman named Huang Cuilan. But Ma Jian shouted it out in front of so many people. If we don't investigate the matter clearly, how can we restore justice to that woman?"

Zhang Haiquan did not have as many twists and turns in his mind as Chen Xiangdong.

However, Huang Cuilan's end was the final clue in the note incident and indeed needed to be verified.

Therefore, after leaving the educated youth quarters, Zhang Haiquan went to Huang Cuilan's house and found Mother Lu.

The moment Mother Lu heard Ma Jian's name, she burst into angry curses.

"That foul-mouthed brat only knows how to slander my daughter-in-law! He's dishonest himself, no doubt meeting who knows who at Dongzi's place and getting tricked by someone, and now he turns around and blames my daughter-in-law! Where does he get the nerve?"

Mother Lu slammed her hand down on the table so hard that the tea in the bowls spilled over.

Zhang Haiquan quickly appeased her. "Mother Lu, we're just here to investigate so we can clear Cuilan's name! Don't be angry, it's not worth it!"

At that moment, Lu Mingli, lying on the bed, spoke in a gloomy tone:

"Brigade leader, to tell you the truth, my wife went back to her maiden home in Huangmenping yesterday morning!"

Zhang Haiquan asked, "Oh?"

Lu Mingli replied, "Cuilan's nephew fell sick with a fever, and they said there weren't enough people at home to look after him, so they asked her to go help out."

Zhang Haiquan nodded.

From last night until now, Huang Cuilan's presence had indeed been missing, but whether she was really in the neighboring village could not be proven by Lu Mingli's word alone.

The commune comrades were still following behind taking notes, so the investigation had to be grounded in facts!

"It seems we'll have to take a trip to Huangmenping then!"

Zhang Haiquan deliberately called a few more people and brought Chen Xiangdong along, saying they needed to fetch Huang Cuilan back from the neighboring village.

When Chen Xiangdong heard that Huang Cuilan was not in Zhangjiazun at all, a wave of anxiety washed over him.

His intuition told him that Ma Jian was probably beyond saving.

Upon arriving in Huangmenping, their party made a few brief inquiries and discovered that several households indeed knew about Huang Cuilan returning to her maiden home.

"Oh, that child in the Huang family cried the whole night! Such a handful to raise!"

"Who knows what was wrong? They just said he was sick with a fever, and nobody knows if a doctor has seen him yet."

"There are four adults and two children in that family, and they stayed up the entire night watching over that long-awaited youngest son without closing their eyes once!"

In this era without surveillance, the oral testimony of the masses became the most powerful evidence.

However, the word of a single person did not count for much.

What three or five people said might not necessarily be the absolute truth.

Zhang Haiquan still led the group directly to Huang Cuilan's maiden home.

The child in the house was indeed still sick, a two-year-old toddler with a face flushed red from fever.

He was asleep at the moment, but his brows were tightly knit, making him look as though he were truly suffering.

"The situation still looks quite serious. Shouldn't we take him to the clinic first?"

"That's right. A common cold is one thing, but if it turns into something like encephalitis, medicine needs to be administered as early as possible. We can't delay."

The people from the commune all offered kind words of advice.

After exchanging warm pleasantries, they called Huang Cuilan aside alone and briefly explained the purpose of their visit.