Having achieved financial freedom, I reorganized my workplace.

Chapter 8 The Untold Story

Upon learning of Da Zui's incident, Lin Chen immediately called the police, and Lao Bi, a familiar officer from the local police station, quickly arrived with several officers.

In this remote and impoverished area, petty theft is as rampant as weeds in the field—it can never be eradicated.

The police station only has a few people and they are very busy. Generally speaking, for small matters like Tang Dazui's case, unless there is some benefit involved or someone you know asks for a favor, they will only give a verbal agreement and then not bother with it for ten days or so.

Old Bi was a very experienced veteran cadre. Without wasting words, he started the investigation directly.

Based on the footprints and powder, the suspect, Waiyan, was quickly identified. With lightning speed, a bag of white powder was found in Waiyan's house, which was confirmed to be the same substance that poisoned the fish. Waiyan was then arrested, and he screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

Lin Chen took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed it to him: "Old Bi, you've worked hard."

Lin Chen himself doesn't smoke; this cigarette was something someone forced on him when he went to the countryside last time.

Old Bi readily took it, weighed it in his hand, and grinned, "Brother, you're too kind. I'll take him back for questioning. Just have Tang Dazui come to the station tomorrow to give a statement."

"I trust you to handle things." Lin Chen patted Lao Bi on the shoulder. Lao Bi was about the same age as Lin Chen. They used to enjoy playing basketball at the town government's basketball court after get off work, and then they would go to a massage parlor together. They were very happy.

Tang Dazui was moved to tears and covered Lin Chen's hand: "Xiao Lin, I will definitely pay the water bill in a while."

"Alright, let's talk about the water bill later. Everyone has tough times. You should rest first and remember to take your medicine." Lin Chen forced the fever reducer into Tang Dazui's mouth and then took Tang Yuwei out.

Tang Yuwei knew that the class monitor had to pay for the water bill out of his own pocket again. She finally understood why the class monitor was so popular in the town.

Sincerity is the ultimate weapon, isn't it?

Finally, Lin Chen and Tang Yuwei arrived at Liu Agou's house in Xinghua Village.

This is their last stop.

The sky was getting dark, and it looked like it was going to rain.

This Liu Agou's house is a self-built wooden house, about 50 square meters, but it is crammed with 8 people. The roof is covered with grass, but it still leaks a bit, and the living room is a bit damp.

Apart from a few lights, none of the other decent appliances in the house were to be seen.

All six children were pale and thin, dressed in rags, and starving. Whenever Lin Chen saw this, he could truly feel the greatness of the cruel family planning policy.

Rural people have no entertainment, and they can't control what they do, and they don't take safety precautions.

On this land, the tragedy of giving birth but not raising is never an isolated case.

"Liu Agou, why haven't you paid your water bill? Can't you afford it?"

Lin Chen asked kindly. His family's water bill this month was only 11 yuan. If they really couldn't afford it, Lin Chen was thinking of just paying for it himself. Damn it, this is really frustrating.

When Liu Agou saw someone coming to collect the money, he bristled like a rooster: "I can afford it, but I'm fucking not paying."

The attitude was terrible.

Startled, Tang Yuwei quickly hid behind Lin Chen.

Lin Chen got angry when he heard this bastard swearing, and said sternly, "Liu Agou, have you eaten shit? Can't you speak properly? Paying for water is a matter of course. Do I have to call the village chief to talk to you?"

Upon hearing the village chief's name, Liu Agou seemed even more agitated, his veins bulging: "Speak properly! Do you think you'll listen to me if I speak properly? You're all in cahoots!"

Lin Chen: "Who's on whose side, Liu Agou? Don't try to pin this on me. I'm just me. Speak your mind."

Liu Agou: "Aren't you all in cahoots? Then why did you give my water bill reduction quota to the village chief? My family's circumstances don't qualify for a water bill reduction, but Liu Laogen's family does? Why? You're all lapdogs tied together."

"Class monitor, what is he saying?" Tang Yuwei was a little confused when she heard this, but Lin Chen understood.

Some time ago, Xinhai Water Company, putting people first, launched a series of policies to help the poor, one of which was to provide eligible families with ten tons of water per month free of charge.

The policy came out suddenly and required a lot of documentation, including a stamp from the village committee.

Lin Chen was overwhelmed and couldn't handle all the materials by himself, so he allocated a few slots to each village and asked the experts and village chiefs in the office to help with the materials and get them finalized as soon as possible.

He specifically instructed that it must be genuine and implemented thoroughly, and Liu Laogen was indeed very thorough, securing the quota for himself.

Liu Agou began to roar: "The quota is for poor families? What does 'poor family' mean? I can't read, but I know how to write the word 'poor'. Is Liu Laogen's family poorer than mine? What doesn't his family have? Big color TV, big cabinets, what do my family have? His family can get a water bill reduction, but I can't? You are all bastards, rotten bastards."

Go ahead and rant. Often, good things can turn into bad things, and good decisions can go awry during implementation.

"I understand. Give me your family's application materials, and I'll follow up," Lin Chen said calmly. Liu Agou was a little incredulous that Lin Chen was being so agreeable: "You...you can really help me get a spot?"

"I can't guarantee anything," Lin Chen looked directly into his eyes, "but as long as you meet the policy requirements, I will do my best."

Liu Agou: "Can I trust you?" Lin Chen: "If you trust me, you still have a chance to get a spot. If you don't trust me, you'll never have that possibility."

Liu Agou stood there for a long time, then finally sighed heavily: "Fine, I'll trust you this time."

"Okay, let's go. Send the materials to my office tomorrow." Lin Chen didn't want to waste any more words.

"Wait a minute, I'll pay." As he was leaving, Liu Agou, who had just been furious, silently took out a crumpled eleven-yuan note from his pocket, smoothed it out, and handed it to Lin Chen.

Having witnessed the entire process, Tang Yuwei was once again awestruck by the class monitor's charisma.

The class monitor is so handsome.

It was almost time to return to Baluso.

The long-awaited rain finally began, heavy and pounding on the dirt road, splashing up murky droplets.

Lin Chen quickly took out a raincoat and put it on.

The raincoat was too small, and there was no space behind it, so Lin Chen told her to come to the front of the car. Tang Yuwei hesitated for a moment, but still obeyed and crouched down in front of the car. Lin Chen covered her with the raincoat.

Keep going.

The car kept going; the wind was strong, howling, and the rain was heavy, pattering.

Rainwater began to seep through the raincoat.

It was both icy and cold.

My feelings are similar to Lin Chen's.

Tang Yuwei wasn't wearing many layers, but she didn't feel cold at all; on the contrary, she felt very warm.

She looked up and peered through the gap in her raincoat, seeing Lin Chen's resolute face.

Rain hit his face and then slid down his cheeks.

It slid down onto her body, onto her chest.

Scalding hot.

It seems that every drop of rain is telling a story that no one knows.