However, if the poisonous insects were non-toxic and edible, what would they have to worry about starving in the future?
If they were hungry, they would just go catch some!
These things were found not only in this smelly ditch but also in the countless ponds of Daming Lake.
Thinking of this, everyone began to truly anticipate the prospect of poisonous insects being edible.
“Impossible, if poisonous insects aren't poisonous, how did the old bachelor die? Zhang Liunian, you can’t fool everyone with sweet talk, I don’t believe you.”
The one who found this the hardest to accept was Tu Meili. After speaking, she tried to snatch the report to see for herself, but Zhang Liunian blocked her hand, “You can’t read, can you understand it?”
“…” Tu Meili was so angered that she wished she could tear him apart, but considering Zhang Liunian’s combat strength, she swallowed her anger and looked at the village secretary, “Secretary, don’t believe him, he’s lying.”
Zhang Hao ignored her. He was literate and observant. The official seal on the report was clear; he’d have to be blind not to see it.
Therefore, the report was genuine, not fake.
Moreover, Zhang Liunian had no reason to falsify it. If the truth would be revealed in half a year, he wouldn’t sell something he knew was inedible unless he was tired of living.
“That’s right, this test cannot be faked. If they say it’s edible, then it must be edible,” Zhang Hao said solemnly to everyone.
“Impossible, how can poisonous insects be edible? This is definitely fake, Secretary, you can’t believe Zhang Liunian just because of a piece of paper!” Tu Meili cried out hoarsely.
Zhang Hao frowned and looked at Tu Meili, “Do you want him to poison people that badly?”
That was tens of thousands of people. If they were poisoned by the people of their village, their entire village would not be able to hold their heads up.
Now, the facts were before them: the poisonous insects, no, the crayfish, were edible. This was a tremendous piece of good news.
In the future, if anyone in the village was hungry, they could catch them from the smelly ditches and wouldn’t go hungry. How wonderful!
“It’s not that I want them to be poisonous, it’s that they *are* poisonous!” Tu Meili argued desperately, then a thought struck her, and her eyes lit up.
“Liunian took the crayfish for food safety testing, and this is the test report. It states they are non-toxic. The test was done by the only testing center in Nancheng, and it cannot be faked.”
“Even if they are non-toxic, Zhang Liunian, by dredging the poisonous insects from Daming Lake without everyone’s consent, is encroaching on collective assets and is also breaking the law.”
As Tu Meili finished speaking, she saw a line of police motorcycles approaching, stopping not far away, and walking towards them.
She immediately ran up happily, accusing Zhang Liunian of his crimes.
“Officer, he has encroached on our team’s public assets. Quickly arrest him and make him spit out all the money he earned.”
The leading captain, with a righteous demeanor, dismounted his motorcycle and was stunned. He had received a report of poisoning, so why had it turned into asset encroachment?
“Didn’t someone report a poisoning case?” the captain asked Tu Meili, questioning her.
She was the one who called the police, and her sudden change of tune made him quite annoyed.
He thought it was a major case, but it turned out to be a minor case of encroaching on collective property, which made him angry.
Tu Meili also saw his anger and quickly explained, “Comrade, it’s like this: Comrade Zhang Liunian took the poisonous insects recognized by our village to operate as a sole proprietor. We all thought he was going to harm people…”
After she finished speaking, the captain was still angry. This was not what he had expected.
He thought it was a case involving many lives, which was why he brought so many people. It turned out to be a matter of a few yuan. Wasn’t this playing with them?
However, Zhang Liunian’s unauthorized use of collective assets without approval did warrant punishment.
“Are you Comrade Zhang Liunian? Did you really illegally encroach on public property?” the captain asked, approaching Zhang Liunian and beginning his interrogation.
Jiang Qingqing nervously held her husband’s hand, her heart filled with anxiety.
Although Zhang Liunian had mentioned signing a cooperation agreement with the lake keepers, the lake keepers did not have the authority to sell the crayfish to Zhang Liunian.
“Liunian?” Jiang Qingqing murmured unconsciously.
Zhang Liunian turned his head, smiled reassuringly, and then took out two pieces of paper from his embrace.
“Officer, you’ve been tricked by her. I have not encroached on collective property. This is the cooperation agreement I signed with the county magistrate. It clearly states that the crayfish in Daming Lake belong to me, Zhang Liunian, and I have the right to dispose of them freely.
If anyone else dares to catch a single crayfish from Daming Lake, I have the right to send them to the police station.”
The leading captain heard this, took the papers, and looked. Indeed, it had the county magistrate’s official seal and signature, and it clearly stated that Zhang Liunian had contracted the crayfish in Daming Lake for ten years.
This meant that for ten years, no one could catch crayfish from Daming Lake except him.
“You are not lying, it is she who made a false report and obstructed official duties. Take her away.” The captain returned the contract to Zhang Liunian and then glared at Tu Meili.
Tu Meili cried out in disbelief, “Impossible, impossible, how could he have so much proof?”
She had calculated everything, but she never expected Zhang Liunian to be so well-prepared.
When she accused him of poisoning people, he proved they were non-toxic. When she accused him of encroaching on collective property, he proved he was catching his own crayfish.
If she had known Zhang Liunian was so troublesome, she wouldn’t have sought revenge.
But there was no turning back time. Now, instead of sending Zhang Liunian and his wife to jail, she had landed herself in it. How could she accept this?
“Comrade police officer, I was wrong, I was wrong, please let me go!” Tu Meili begged the police officers with her hands clasped.
But the police officers, because of her false report, had wasted manpower and material resources and delayed other work. If they didn’t detain her for a few days, who would dare to report false alarms in the future, and wouldn’t it be chaotic?
They were very busy. Recently, they had to crack down on hooligans and thugs and had no time to play with others here.
“Take her away!”
“No, let me go!”
Finally, Tu Meili was taken away by the police.
When everyone came back to their senses, they saw Zhang Liunian once again caring for his wife, as if he was not surprised by Tu Meili’s fate at all.
For some reason, just seeing him like this sent shivers down everyone’s spines.
Was this the once looked-down-upon lazy Zhang Liunian?
He was different, truly different.
The Zhang Liunian who used to be indifferent to everything except wanting to go to university had changed.
He had started earning money and doting on his wife.
And he seemed very smart.
Tu Meili had schemed against him, but in the end, she hadn’t managed to harm him, and instead, she had sent herself to jail.
With such methods, even a hundred people combined couldn’t match him.
“Liunian, did you really reach a cooperation agreement with the county magistrate?” Zhang Hao asked Zhang Liunian, swallowing a strange emotion.
“Yes!” Zhang Liunian replied with a faint smile.
“…” When did cooperating with the county magistrate become so easy? It was as simple as saying cooperate. Zhang Hao found it difficult to even get a meeting with him, and he began to doubt his life.