Chapter 17: The Chaos in the Cattle Shed

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“I’m telling you, Captain, I saw with my own eyes that they hid forbidden books. Why won’t you believe me?”
“I guarantee on my honor, these people are not as innocent as you think. If you don’t drag them out and give them a harsh lesson, how will you maintain your authority?”
“Besides, if this gets out, people will say the captain is protecting them, which will also damage your reputation.”

At the entrance of the cattle shed, Wang Dazhu stood spitting, a blade of foxtail grass clenched between his teeth.

In front of him stood He Daixing, the captain, forcibly brought here, along with the other team members who had gathered out of curiosity.

The expressions on everyone’s faces varied—some curious, some angry, some in agreement—but no one dared to speak.

Captain He Daixing’s face was unreadable, but the heavy atmosphere around him clearly showed he was displeased.

Fang Baisong and the others stood nervously by the cattle shed’s entrance, anxiously waiting for He Daixing to speak.

As the workday was about to end, they had been ready to head home when Wang Dazhu suddenly blocked their path. He claimed Wu Meixia and her group had problems and said those who had done many wrongs should be sent to the farm.

He had even insisted on bringing the captain over and dragged them all back to the cattle shed.

Seeing Wang Dazhu’s confident demeanor, the group was filled with unease, suspecting that something they found yesterday on the mountain had been discovered by someone else who was jealous and reported them.

But when they reached the entrance, Wang Dazhu said it was because someone among them was hiding forbidden books.

Wang Dazhu explained that last night, as he passed by, he happened to see through the window a forbidden book lying on the table inside the room. Though he couldn’t read much, a few illustrations looked suspicious, so he was sure the book was hidden in their room.

Hearing this, everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief. They all came here with clean hands; aside from their clothes, how could they be hiding books?

They might believe if it were money, but books? No one would dare.

Still, they were somewhat worried because although the room held no forbidden books, it did contain leftover boletus mushrooms, some chicken mushrooms, and wild eggs from last night.

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Although the captain hadn’t explicitly forbidden them from picking things on the mountain, some had only recently arrived and had already found such valuable boletus mushrooms.

With so many team members around, it was uncertain whether this would spark jealousy.

If someone wanted to pin a charge, they wouldn’t be able to escape it.

He Daixing remained silent, quietly staring at Wang Dazhu. After he finished speaking, He Daixing finally said, “Wang Dazhu, setting aside how you came here late at night, how are you so certain they have forbidden books?”

“They were the ones I personally picked up when they came down. I checked all their belongings. Are you accusing me of protecting them?”

He Daixing’s face hardened, his piercing eyes glaring at Wang Dazhu.

He had personally inspected everyone’s packages and found nothing, yet Wang Dazhu openly claimed there were forbidden books in the cattle shed. Was this not an accusation of his negligence?

Wang Dazhu’s expression changed, and he quickly denied it. “Captain, I’m not implying that. Of course, you wouldn’t protect them. But no one can say for sure what happened after they arrived. I just want to check, so everyone can feel at ease.”

He gave a knowing look to a plump woman in the crowd, who nodded in agreement.

“That’s right, Captain. If they really have no forbidden books, everyone will be happy. But if they do, they must be sent to the farm. Our team can’t keep these people any longer; it would be bad if others found out.”

“Wang Dazhu, what do you mean by that? Are you saying my son deliberately protects them?” Zhang Guihua, from the crowd, immediately frowned and scolded the plump woman.

“I know what you two have in mind. I ask you, if no books are found, what will you do?”

One person spoke up, and others watching the commotion began to join in.

“Aunt Zhang is right. Our captain has worked diligently for the team all these years. We’ve seen all his hard work. Why should Wang Dazhu, a slippery trickster, slander the captain?”

“I can vouch for it. My husband was with the captain when they picked them up from the commune. They only had one bundle of belongings, nothing extra.”

“Wang Dazhu, if no forbidden books are found in the end, what will you do? Publicly apologize to the captain? Or will Aunt Zhang report you to the police and have you spend a night in jail?”

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“I agree. That couple is always up to no good. Just the day before yesterday, I was missing a carrot in my field. It’s obvious it was them.”

Wang Dazhu awkwardly spat out the foxtail grass and forced a smile at everyone. “Brothers and sisters, neighbors, surely it’s not as serious as you say?”

“I only glanced quickly and didn’t dare look further. Whether or not there are forbidden books, we can go inside and check.”

He continued, “I really have no intention of slandering the captain. I trust his character. Our Maple Leaf Team can only become better under his leadership.”

“But as a member of the Maple Leaf Team, I cannot stand by and let a bad apple spoil the team’s atmosphere. If no forbidden books are found in the end, I will certainly apologize to the captain, alright?”

He said this through gritted teeth, then fixed his gaze on He Daixing, as if to say, “I’ve made my position clear; now it’s your turn.”

Today, Wang Dazhu seemed to have found his voice, speaking flawlessly. The villagers who doubted him wavered, mainly because of his confident manner that made it hard not to believe him.

Besides, those in the cattle shed had a record. Even if the captain hadn’t found anything before, these people had been here for a while; who knew what mischief they might be up to now?

If they let this slide today, no one would want to take responsibility for any trouble that might arise later.

The group who had spoken up earlier fell silent, no longer saying a word but tacitly showing some support for Wang Dazhu.

Wang Dazhu raised his eyebrows. “Captain, everyone agrees to go inside and check. What do you think? I promise not to take anything.”

He Daixing snorted, twitching the corner of his mouth slightly. “Since you say that, how can I oppose it? Let me say in advance, if no forbidden books are found, you must not only apologize to me but also to those you slandered.”

“As long as they haven’t committed any crimes, they are still members of the Maple Leaf Team. It’s only fair you apologize for accusing them without cause, isn’t it?”

Wang Dazhu’s smile stiffened, and he ground his teeth angrily. “Fine, I’ll do whatever the captain says.”