After Ding Xiang left, she was fuming. She went downstairs and complained to anyone who would listen, "What's wrong with Battalion Commander Shen's wife? I just greeted her, and she told me to pass a message to Deputy Battalion Commander Lin's wife, asking her to come over tonight."

Someone familiar with Ding Xiang's personality remarked, "Battalion Commander Shen's wife has always been like this. Nobody likes dealing with her."

Ding Xiang's father was a government official, and her family had always been well-off. When she got married, Battalion Commander Shen was already a battalion commander, so their living conditions were never lacking. Naturally, she felt superior to others.

This only made Zhu Jinghui's wife more upset. "Should I tell her or not? If it's good news, fine. But if it's bad, won't Deputy Lin's wife blame me for being nosy?"

No one could make this decision for her—otherwise, they’d end up tangled in the mess too.

When Nan Sheng arrived at the government office, she immediately submitted the confession letter she had obtained the day before, along with the evidence Deng Jun had provided and the disciplinary measures against Director Yi, sealing them in the archives.

Her proposed punishment was the confiscation of Director Yi's family assets, sixty years of forced labor in the mines, and holding Ou Yaosheng accountable.

Sixty years of labor meant Director Yi would still be working in the mines at the age of 110.

As for why she didn’t just execute him—that decision wasn’t hers to make. Nan Sheng had already set her plans in motion.

According to Director Yi’s confession, he had been bribing Ou Yaosheng for years. Where did that money come from? It was all extorted from those sent down to Cuihu Village.

Anyone sent to Cuihu Village was stripped of their wealth, but that wasn’t enough. To keep his crimes hidden, Director Yi deliberately assigned them impossible workloads.

Some died from exhaustion, others from illness—but no one knew the truth behind their deaths.

Some things, when read in books, might only evoke a sigh. But when faced with such brutal reality, doing nothing would be a betrayal of one’s conscience.

This document would have to go through the county office first. Whether Secretary Cao opened it or forwarded it to higher authorities to suppress the Revolutionary Committee was none of her concern.

"Director, recently there’s been a surge of Red Guards in several villages. They’ve been hinting that your political stance is shaky, that you’re sheltering the sent-down households. I suspect someone’s pulling the strings behind the scenes!"

Liu Song and Chen Tian had visited several villages and found that the troublemakers were all Red Guards. They stormed into the sent-down households’ shacks, destroying property and even injuring people, acting with alarming boldness.

Even when Liu Song and Chen Tian intervened, some still defiantly shouted that punishing them would prove the Revolutionary Committee was in league with the sent-down households—that the director was their protector.

Sensing something amiss, the two reported to Nan Sheng as soon as she was free. "Director, if this continues, it could hurt your chances of promotion."

Nan Sheng thought the Red Guards weren’t entirely wrong. Though she kept up appearances of distancing herself from the sent-down households, she was indeed their protector.

Chen Tian, full of resentment, added, "Director, why not just let the sent-down households be? Let the Red Guards beat them to death! You wouldn’t believe how many of them joined in cursing you—horrible things!"

Liu Song shot Chen Tian a look. Those weren’t curses—they were clearly meant to defend the director. Most of the sent-down households came from influential, educated families. Couldn’t they see the bigger picture?

This was an attempt to protect Nan Sheng, to keep her from being toppled by the Red Guards.

Nan Sheng took a sip of tea, unfazed.

In truth, ever since she had brought down Ou Yaosheng and taken over the county’s administration, she had expected trouble.

"Deng Jun, if you have anything to report, say it now."

Deng Jun looked ashamed. After two days of work, all he had gathered were trivial rumors, and he hadn’t found anything valuable in Director Yi’s home.

"Director, the evidence I found is what I just handed over. But I did hear that the Yi family has relatives in the county—a Ding family working under Secretary Cao."

After piecing everything together, Nan Sheng calmly issued orders. "Director Yi confessed where he hid his assets. Chen Tian, take some men and retrieve everything as evidence."

"Yes, Director!"

Deng Jun felt useless, wondering if his incompetence had disappointed his superior—until Nan Sheng assigned him a new task.

"Deng Jun, gather more men. The villages are restless lately. Show them your old authority—arrest any Red Guard causing trouble. Beat the troublemakers before sending them to labor reform. No fixed term—release them only when I’m in a good mood. Be careful—hurt them, but don’t break anything."

They ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‍were the flowers of the nation, after all. A little pruning, and these kids could still be useful!

When someone goes too long without showing their fangs, others start testing them. Nan Sheng saw this as the perfect opportunity to remind everyone of her power.

"Yes, Director!"

Deng Jun answered with enthusiasm. Handling troublemakers was his specialty.

"Liu Song, you investigate who’s stirring up dissent. Focus on Ou Yaosheng’s loyal followers, and don’t ignore any connections to other town directors. I might as well clean them all out at once."

"Yes, Director!"

Compared to the others, Liu Song’s response lacked confidence. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Director Nan already knew everything.

And honestly, he did know who was close to Ou Yaosheng and who his underlings were.

He’d have to slow down his investigation—no need for Director Nan to suspect him of working for Ou Yaosheng too.

Once her subordinates were dismissed, Nan Sheng relaxed, pleased.

This spacious office was hers to lounge in, sit however she liked, even nap—what luxury!

At lunch in the canteen, Nan Sheng’s meal was already served, placed across from Secretary Cai, who waved her over.

Without hesitation, Nan Sheng took her teacup and sat down. Glancing at the dishes, she nodded approvingly.

"Good spread today—fish and meat."

The government canteen had a fixed weekly menu. Unless a higher-up demanded variety, meals like this were rare—maybe once every ten days.

Secretary Cai probed, "How long do you plan to keep that troublemaker Director Yi locked up? Let me know if you need more manpower."

Nan Sheng took a bite of meat and smiled.

"Sure. Send two men to clean my office morning and night. Three isn’t enough—when they’re all out, I’ve got no one to order around."

Once you get used to being waited on, even pouring your own tea feels like a chore. Corruption, truly corruption!

"Done. I’ll have them report to you after lunch."

After the meal, Nan Sheng followed Secretary Cai to his office. They sipped tea leisurely, enjoying the calm.

Secretary Cai shared some news. "All town secretaries have orders from above—we’re to fully cooperate with the Revolutionary Committee’s reforms."

Nan Sheng raised an eyebrow. Secretary Cao had some sense after all—at least he wasn’t obstructing her work at this critical moment.

"That’s perfect. Saves me a lot of time."

Secretary Cai asked again, "I heard there's been some unrest recently. Can you handle it on your own?"

The implied meaning was clear: if you need help, just say the word.

Nan Sheng shrugged with indifference. "For every troublemaker, there's an arrest. I could use the political capital anyway!"

Secretary Cai: Damn, impressive!

He shouldn’t have even asked!