"Village Chief, if I recall correctly, your home isn't too far from mine. So why didn't you show up yesterday when they stormed into my house and beat me black and blue?
They made such a commotion at my house today.
And took so many things, yet you still didn't come.
The moment the police car arrived, you appeared.
Are you saying we're not worthy of your attention, or that you tacitly approved of their actions and are only showing up now because you're cornered and trying to smooth things over?"
Ding Yun's words left no room for politeness. She had no intention of staying in this village any longer, so why bother maintaining appearances?
The small clinic in the county town wasn't small.
It even had living quarters behind it.
With that clinic, it would be a simple matter for Ding Yun to move there and transfer her household registration.
"You!"
The village chief, accustomed to his authority and accustomed to his word being law, never expected someone in the village to dare speak to him like this. He was momentarily speechless, and after a pause, he managed to suppress his anger, gritting his teeth slightly.
"Du Nizi, you shouldn't say such things.
Don't think that just because you've studied for a few years, you can arbitrarily slander me. I have to oversee and manage all sorts of matters in this village day in and day out. How could I have the time to specifically manage your family's trivial domestic affairs?
Even an honest official finds it hard to resolve domestic disputes..."
The latter part of his sentence, "Even an honest official finds it hard to resolve domestic disputes," was clearly not meant for Ding Yun. It was directed at the officials present, who were still trying to categorize the incident as a domestic issue.
He was still unwilling to give up, still trying to frame it as a domestic dispute.
This was because if anyone in the village committed a crime and was arrested, it would reflect poorly on the entire village's reputation.
Even in later eras when people worked elsewhere and didn't spend much time in their hometowns, clan power remained stubborn in many places. This was the 1980s, and the people who had fought at Ding Yun's house, along with many onlookers, chimed in, claiming it was a domestic matter and not something that warranted a police report.
"If breaking into someone's home and robbing them is considered a trivial domestic matter, then what kind of incident isn't a domestic matter that would warrant your immediate attention, Village Chief?
Are you saying there are daily murders in the village!
That you're so busy you can't spare a moment?
No one is foolish. Don't try to fool the officials, and as for those of you calling this a domestic matter, if anyone else dares to say it, do you believe I won't come to your house tomorrow and empty it out?
Truly shameless, deserving of lightning strikes!"
Ding Yun, who had been subjected to the village chief's and villagers' judgmental glares, accusing her of being ignorant and causing trouble, retorted fearlessly. She then turned to the officials and said,
"As for the specific situation, I believe you have all witnessed it. It is basically the same as my initial description, and even more excessive.
Whether a crime has been committed.
I believe you can now make a judgment."
"We've seen everything. It appears our legal education hasn't been thorough enough. Take them all back. Also, Xiao Zhang, you stay behind. Stay and educate the villagers. Explain to them which laws their actions have violated and what punishments they should face.
And you, Village Chief Du,
I hope you'll conduct yourself appropriately in the future, not meddling in matters that don't concern you and neglecting those that do. And by all means, do not entertain thoughts of retaliation. We will be keeping a close eye on the situation of young Miss Du Zhongxia."
With an order from Zhu Yunhai, the leader of the investigation team, the accompanying officers immediately moved to apprehend the culprits. Those who resisted were pointed out to the recorder, who would add "resisting arrest and assaulting officers" to their charges.
These words alone would significantly increase their sentences.
However, they didn't understand.
Not only did they resist, but they also continued to insist they had committed no crime, asking how it was a crime to take things from their great-grandfather's house or their own granddaughter's belongings.
The village chief also desperately tried to intercede.
In short, it was chaos.
Only when the officers drew their weapons did they finally comply. Subsequently, all those who had caused trouble at Ding Yun's house were arrested and taken away. Xiao Zhang stayed behind, and the village chief was instructed to gather all the villagers to attend his legal education session.
Ding Yun was naturally included.
Everyone sat in the drying yard and listened to a two-hour legal lecture. The effect, of course, was present. Many people realized for the first time that some of their past actions were illegal. Others still felt the law was inadequate, insisting their own affairs were domestic matters.
How could they be breaking the law?
"Even hitting my son is not allowed!"
Some even had old grudges and started airing them on the spot. One person accused her mother-in-law of selling her daughter ten years ago, and no one knew where she was now. Another claimed that Zhang Da Sha wasn't originally foolish; his father had hit him on the head with a stick as a child, which should be considered abuse. There was also a mention of a witch from the neighboring village who had caused the deaths of four or five people while performing exorcisms.
Their arguments and complaints, their eagerness to accuse,
shocked Xiao Zhang.
He was only there for legal education, and yet so many old cases were being brought to light. However, since they had raised these issues, he couldn't ignore them. He quickly took out his notebook and pen and began recording.
He would document the situation and investigate in detail later.
This recording continued until a seventy-year-old man in the village brought up an old incident from fifty years ago. Xiao Zhang then called a halt, as they truly couldn't handle matters from fifty years ago. There was a war that year.
It was uncertain whether the involved parties were still alive, or where they were. Furthermore, relevant laws had not yet been enacted then. How could such cases be managed? They couldn't be.
Afterward, everyone went back to their own homes,
and Xiao Zhang returned to the county town that night.
As soon as Xiao Zhang left, some villagers began to discuss Ding Yun privately. However, perhaps due to the recent legal education and their lingering fear of Ding Yun, they only gossiped amongst themselves.
They did not dare to speak in front of Ding Yun or confront her at her home.
The next day, Ding Yun packed the remaining items at home, brought all the relevant documents, and headed to the county town to take over the clinic.
The original owner had not gone through these procedures, nor had Ding Yun. So, she asked many people, gathered information numerous times, and made several trips.
It took her a full day.
She completed all the procedures, transferred her household registration, and successfully took over the small clinic that had been closed since it was returned to her great-grandfather's possession. The clinic covered an area of over three hundred square meters.
The front shop space was one hundred and eighty square meters,
and the living quarters behind it were over one hundred and twenty square meters.
In fact, when the clinic was first returned to the original owner's great-grandfather, there were tenants. The front shop space of about one hundred and eighty square meters was divided into two rooms: one was converted into a grocery store, and the other into a traditional Chinese medicine shop. The over one hundred and twenty square meters behind were divided and rented out to three households, totaling twenty-one people.
Due to lease terms and the difficult nature of some tenants, the original owner's great-grandfather had only managed to clear out the people with great effort six months prior.
Afterward, his health began to decline, and he felt he might not live much longer. He worried that if he rented out the shop and the living quarters behind it, it would be inconvenient for the original owner to take over, and if the tenants were troublesome,
there would be further complications.
Thus, he had not rented it out and had left it vacant.
However, it had to be said that the original owner's great-grandfather's actions had saved Ding Yun a lot of trouble. If there had been tenants, Ding Yun would have had nowhere to live even after transferring her household registration.
For the next few days, Ding Yun did not return to the village. Instead, she stayed in her own clinic, cooking herself good food to recuperate, using her spare time to clean, and assessing which parts of the clinic needed repairs.
And which parts would be best to renovate.
The reason she only assessed and didn't immediately start was primarily because she didn't have much money. Until she had a legal and stable income, the renovation plan had to be postponed. At most, she could allocate a small amount of money to repair essential areas that could no longer be used without risking injury.
For example, a stool that was about to fall apart, if not repaired, could cause someone to fall if they sat on it.
The injury could be as minor as a bruised tailbone,
or as severe as needing to go to the hospital.
After half a month of this, Ding Yun had managed to clean and organize the clinic, which had been severely neglected by previous tenants, into a habitable state.
Meanwhile, the individuals who had robbed her house and injured her head also received their final verdicts.
All were sentenced to three years or more.
They were broadly divided into three tiers: three years, five years, and ten years. It couldn't be said they were harshly punished, as stealing and robbing were entirely different concepts, the latter being undoubtedly more egregious.
Ding Yun was satisfied with the outcome.
Simultaneously, to avoid trouble and further entanglements or pleas, she made a decision to avoid returning to the village for at least ten years.
On the night the verdict was announced,
Ding Yun specially bought a lot of good food, both to reward herself and to commemorate the original owner. While happy, she also decided to open her golden finger again.
She chose to activate the learning courses.
After all, her body had recovered, and her biggest worry had been temporarily resolved. It was time to start testing the golden finger. Moreover, learning some cooking skills would allow her to directly convert her clinic into a restaurant.
After all, it would be a legitimate source of income.
Otherwise, at her age, where else could she find a job?
As the "Omnipotent Chef God" learning course began, Ding Yun immediately found herself in a different place, entering a boundless white space.
"It's not my soul entering, it's my entire body. It seems my previous choice was indeed correct. My weak body then was truly unsuitable for immediately entering this space for culinary learning."
Just as Ding Yun figured things out and felt a slight sense of relief, the pure white space immediately changed, transforming from pure white into a vast kitchen.
All sorts of cooking utensils and ingredients were readily available.
Then, a new page appeared.
[Please select a paid learning mode]
[(1): Prepayment Mode. Pay all tuition fees upfront. If you wish to withdraw from learning midway, you can receive a refund for the unlearned portion of the tuition.]
[(2): Deferred Payment Mode. You can learn for free but cannot withdraw or quit midway.
After becoming an Omnipotent Chef God, you must provide ten thousand unique finished dishes to compensate for the tuition.]
"So, it's a paid teaching system.
Fine, I'll choose the free one. Ten thousand unique finished dishes shouldn't be too much, right?"
Considering that the income from this task was not very high, Ding Yun really didn't want to spend more on the golden finger. Thus, in the next second, she unhesitatingly clicked on the second option.
As she made her selection, the virtual interface immediately transformed into a virtual character. This was a man who, at first glance, looked as stern and unapproachable as a school dean, the kind that could scare children into crying.
"Hello, I am your Basic Knife Skills instructor.
Here are one ton of potatoes and one ton of carrots. Your task is to cut all of these into evenly sized shreds. I will demonstrate for you. Then, please practice yourself."
After speaking, the knife skills instructor simulated a potato and a carrot using holographic mode and demonstrated to Ding Yun how to cut potatoes and carrots into evenly sized shreds, also showing her what size was considered uniform.
Of course, this was the instructor's privilege.
Ding Yun was not cutting simulated virtual potatoes and carrots. She had to cut real, tangible potatoes and carrots, and not just one, but a ton. Oh no, that was two tons in total. The most terrifying part was that this was just the beginning.
"No, teacher, isn't there something wrong with your teaching method? Shouldn't I be exempt from cutting so much once I'm qualified?
Don't head chefs not cut vegetables?
They have dedicated vegetable cutters."
Looking at the pile of carrots and potatoes displayed beside her, Ding Yun immediately became anxious and asked.
She felt her cooking skills were quite good and believed she shouldn't need to cut two tons to meet the standard.
So she hurriedly inquired.
"Head chefs don't cut vegetables not because they can't, but because every head chef starts by cutting vegetables. And the task I've assigned is not for you to bargain. If you cannot finish cutting these two tons of vegetables, you will not be able to leave."
"Also, a reminder: remember to check the course schedule. When it's time for a class on the schedule, you will be directly absorbed into the space. If you cannot complete the corresponding coursework assigned by the corresponding teacher, you will not be able to leave.
This is mandatory teaching under the deferred payment mode."
The knife skills instructor's attitude was extremely firm, and after speaking, he vanished.
After Ding Yun realized what had happened, she naturally searched everywhere for information and tried to leave the space. As for the result, she clearly couldn't leave. An intelligent AI wouldn't lie about something like this.
Since things were as they were, and she couldn't resist,
Ding Yun could only accept.
She picked up the knife and a potato and began to cut shreds.