Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Seeing this, Cadre Zhao, the township official who had come along, grew displeased.
He felt slighted.
Cadre Zhao scanned Old Li from head to toe with a scrutinizing gaze. “Why is this old comrade being so mysterious?!”
“If you have something to say, say it here!”
“Everything must be subject to the supervision of the masses!”
“There’s nothing that can’t be said in public, unless… unless you’re involved in this murder case and you’re the killer!”
As soon as these words left his mouth, they immediately drew public outrage.
Old Li’s prestige in the village was even higher than that of Deaf Granny.
Especially after that plague.
It could be said that in the hearts of the villagers of Jiudaogou Village, Old Li was their savior!
For this man named Zhao to call Old Li a murderer was equivalent to pointing at the noses of the entire village and cursing their ancestors!
Sister-in-law Zhang, known for her sharp tongue, was the first to lash out.
“Do you even know how to talk, comrade?”
“With no evidence or proof, how can you just frame someone like that?!”
The villagers, who had been watching the commotion from the sidelines, chimed in one after another.
“Exactly! Old Li is a good man. We can all testify for him.”
Some of the more hot-tempered villagers even moved to strike Cadre Zhao.
Fortunately, others held them back.
“Don’t hit him here, the police are present!”
“Doing it in broad daylight will only cause trouble for Old Li.”
“A few of us should go wait outside the village in a bit. We’ll jump this bastard on his way back!”
“We’ll even smash his bicycle!”
Although the speaker tried his best to lower his voice, farmers were born with loud pipes, and Cadre Zhao heard every word clearly.
“You bunch of unruly thugs, you actually want to hit me?!”
“I am a state cadre! Let’s see who dares to touch me!”
Cadre Zhao’s words completely enraged the villagers present.
In a fit of collective fury, they began to surge forward.
“Who the hell are you calling unruly thugs?”
“Come on, folks, let’s get him! Beat this son of a bitch to death!”
Seeing this, Tian Zhigang broke into a cold sweat of anxiety.
On one side was his superior, whom he absolutely dared not offend; on the other were the elders and neighbors he had lived with since childhood. If he said the wrong thing, he would alienate everyone.
Thus, he could only whisper to Old Li, “Sir, please say something.”
“This man is the township head’s brother-in-law. If people really beat him, it’s our people who will suffer for it!”
Old Li was an old Red Army soldier with a temper as foul and stubborn as they came.
If it weren’t for the sake of the bigger picture, he wouldn’t care if the man was the township head’s brother-in-law. Even if it were the mayor’s father, the Old Master would have thrashed him all the same!
After shooting a fierce glare at Cadre Zhao, Old Li gave a cold snort toward the villagers.
“Shut up, all of you! Go stand to the side and stay quiet!”
Seeing Old Li speak, the villagers immediately stopped shouting.
However, the looks they directed at Cadre Zhao became even more hostile.
*You bastard, just you wait!*
Facing the enraged crowd, Cadre Zhao had been scared witless. However, he still barked at Chief Zhou with a hollow show of strength.
“Old Zhou, they want to hit a state cadre! Are you going to do something about it?!”
Chief Zhou knew exactly what kind of person Cadre Zhao was, so he didn’t give him any face either.
“You’re a state cadre, and I’m a people’s policeman!”
“What are you shouting at me for?!”
“Besides, the folks haven’t actually hit you yet, have they?”
“Talk to me after they’ve hit you!”
The villagers clapped and cheered at Chief Zhou’s words.
Tian Zhigang, fearing Cadre Zhao would explode in shame and anger, quickly led him into his own house.
Once it was just him and Chief Zhou, Old Li got straight to the point.
“Comrade Xiao Zhou, do you believe there are filthy things in this world?!”
Chief Zhou was stunned, then replied with righteous conviction, “Old comrade, we police are materialists!”
“I don’t object to you having religious beliefs.”
“But please, don’t say such things in front of me!”
Old Li greatly admired Chief Zhou’s character, so he wasn’t angry.
Instead, he asked with a chuckle, “You’re a veteran too. Did you participate in the 1979 counterattack against Vietnam?”
Chief Zhou paused, then answered, “Sir, I didn’t participate in that war, but I’ve heard other comrades talk about the situation back then…”
At this point, Chief Zhou fell silent.
Because according to what he knew, the enemy had used occult arts during that war.
Old Li lit his pipe and took a slow puff.
Then, from his inner clothes, he pulled out three medals that still carried his body heat.
“Comrade Xiao Zhou, take a look at these.”
Chief Zhou took them and looked closely, immediately crying out in shock, “The August First Medal! The Independence and Freedom Medal!! The Liberation Medal!!!”
He stood up instantly and snapped into a crisp, standard military salute.
“Greetings, Old General!”
Old Li chuckled as he took the medals back and tucked them away in his coat.
“What ‘Old General’? That’s all in the past.”
“Now, this old man is just an ordinary retired veteran.”
“If it weren’t for this situation, and the fear that you wouldn’t believe my words, I wouldn’t have shown you these.”
“You can’t let anyone else know about this. Do you hear me?!”
After a moment’s hesitation, Chief Zhou straightened his back and answered loudly, “Reporting to the Old General, Zhou Limin understands!”
Old Li gave a helpless smile. “You say you understand, yet you’re still calling me ‘Old General.’ Relax!”