"What you're saying! It's they who wouldn't leave me alone, not that I didn't leave them alone. I let them off once before when they spoke about me. This time, they've become even more outrageous, going to other people's homes and spreading rumors everywhere. Do you think I have any reason to let them off?" Fu Wenwen said with a smile.
Although Fu Wenwen was smiling, Ma Tao sensed a hint of danger in her smile.
The ripple of unease in his heart settled into calm.
"We'll compensate you a hundred yuan, and this matter will be settled!" Ma Zhongguo said to Fu Wenwen, testing the waters.
"Why should I pay compensation? I don't have money." Qu Shen's husband, hearing Ma Zhongguo's implication, immediately refused.
Fu Wenwen let out a cold laugh.
"If you want your eldest son to lose his job, then don't pay. You can leave!" Ma Zhongguo didn't spare him any face and directly retorted.
Qu Shen's husband's expression changed, but he remained, no longer refusing to pay.
Seeing that Fu Wenwen didn't speak, Ma Zhongguo and the other two exchanged glances and added, "One hundred and fifty yuan! Is that enough this time? Thirty yuan per family."
Fu Wenwen looked at her fingers, blowing away the dust. "Are you treating me like a marketplace? Trying to bargain with me?"
Hearing Fu Wenwen's words, Ma Zhongguo paused, his eyes fixed on her. Fu Wenwen met his gaze with a cold smile.
Ma Zhongguo, having been a cadre in the past, still retained some authority even after retiring. He never expected Fu Wenwen to meet his gaze. Instead, in her eyes, Ma Zhongguo felt a chilling, murderous aura that forced him to look away and lower his head.
"Three hundred," Ma Zhongguo said in a deep voice.
"What?" Qu Shen's husband exclaimed. "Are you crazy?"
Fu Wenwen glanced at Ma Zhongguo. "Fine, I'll give you this face."
Ma Zhongguo immediately pulled his son and went home to get the money. Hu Shen's husband watched Ma Zhongguo's retreating back, was silent for a moment, then also turned and went home to get money.
Only Qu Shen's husband was unhappy with the exorbitant compensation.
"Comrade Fu, aren't you being a bit too black-hearted! One hundred yuan, why don't you just go and rob someone!" Qu Shen's husband gritted his teeth. "I'm not paying anyway! Sue me if you want! You can have my life, but not my money! If you have the guts, take this old life of mine!"
Fu Wenwen was too lazy to listen to his nonsense and directly entered the courtyard, closing the door.
Qu Shen's husband continued to curse outside, refusing to go back for the money, feeling wronged.
However, none of the surrounding neighbors came out to help him. As he was about to continue his tirade, Ma Zhongguo returned with gifts. He ignored Qu Shen's husband.
He walked directly to Fu Wenwen's door and knocked.
"Comrade Fu, I sincerely apologize on behalf of my wife. Please forgive her!" Ma Zhongguo called out towards Fu Wenwen's house.
Fu Wenwen was about to open the door when she heard Ma Zhongguo's intentionally loud words. She raised an eyebrow; he was a smart man.
He knew what she wanted was a public apology.
Fu Wenwen opened the door, and Ma Zhongguo immediately handed the gifts in his hands to Fu Wenwen, calling out, "Comrade Fu, thank you for your forgiveness. Rest assured, I will never let her talk nonsense again!"
With that, he bowed apologetically to Fu Wenwen and turned to go home.
Hu Shen's husband arrived with gifts as well. Like Ma Zhongguo, he apologized loudly to Fu Wenwen. "Comrade Fu, I apologize on behalf of my wife. It's my fault for not managing her properly. Please forgive her!"
After speaking, he placed the gifts in front of Fu Wenwen, nodded to her, and turned to leave.
Fu Wenwen carried the gifts into the house, then walked out, locked the main door, and headed to the Public Security Bureau.
No one paid any attention to Qu Shen's husband throughout the entire process.
Qu Shen's husband watched Fu Wenwen leave, thinking she was probably going to the Public Security Bureau. He hummed a triumphant tune as he returned home, believing his wife would be home soon.
As he passed by the Ma and Hu families' houses, he deliberately hummed a tune and spat towards their doorways. "Fools, just giving money away for nothing."
When Fu Wenwen explained her purpose at the Public Security Bureau, the officers understood her intentions and immediately released Ma Shen and Hu Shen.
Qu Shen, thinking she could leave too, was stopped. "Why can they leave, but you're stopping me?"
"Your husband shows no remorse, so naturally, we won't let you go," a police officer said coldly to Qu Shen. "The families of those two have gone to apologize to Comrade Fu, but only your family is still cursing at Comrade Fu, unrepentant."
Upon hearing this, Qu Shen realized her own family understood the situation! She collapsed to the ground, wailing.
Hu Shen and Ma Shen, having been released, were still shaken but grateful they had married the right men. Seeing Fu Wenwen standing in the Public Security Bureau, they quickly approached her.
"Xiao Fu... Comrade Fu, we're sorry. We'll never speak carelessly again," Ma Shen and Hu Shen apologized.
"I hope you will remember today's lesson. Gossip is like a blunt knife; its power is no less than a sharp one, and it can kill without drawing blood," Fu Wenwen said earnestly.
"We know we were wrong," the two said, their faces pale, and walked out trembling.
Fu Wenwen went to the Public Security Bureau Chief's office and thanked the chief. "Thank you so much for your help, Chief. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have known what to do with them..."
"Comrade Fu, you're too kind. You are a heroine of our Fengcheng, and what you reported indeed happened and has affected you. I haven't helped you much!" the Chief said with a kindly smile, looking at Fu Wenwen.
Fu Wenwen was the heroine who cracked the major human trafficking case. He had been praised by his superiors for her involvement at the time, and he remembered her face vividly.
"Chief, please don't say that. If it weren't for your intervention, I wouldn't have been able to clear my name so quickly," Fu Wenwen said with a smile. "There's something else I need to trouble you with..."
"If you have something to say, just say it," the Chief nodded, signaling her to speak directly.
"I suspect that the accusation against me this time might involve my husband. That ruffian immediately said my husband had offended someone..." The Chief nodded in agreement with Fu Wenwen's words. "We have also investigated some special circumstances. This person who slandered you has done this before, even causing a female comrade to lose her reputation and eventually jump into the river to prove her innocence..."
Fu Wenwen frowned. What a scumbag.
"My husband Lin Feng's mission requires three days. I'll be taking my son back to the village to stay for a few days tomorrow. I believe they will take advantage of my husband's absence..." As Fu Wenwen spoke, the Chief understood her meaning.
"You mean, the people behind this will make another move against you in the next few days?" The Chief's face darkened.