Chapter 299
"I'm not sure," Emily Johnson lowered her eyes, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the hem of her dress. She couldn't say her husband had gone to the county town to investigate the missing admission letters.
Did he go hunting in the mountains?
Or was he running errands in town?
Mary Stone hesitated. Her youngest son had been accepted into university, but her daughter-in-law's admission letter still hadn't arrived. She didn’t want to bring it up and make Emily feel worse.
"Never mind him," Mary changed the subject. "This mint water has too much saccharin."
With so many people in the brigade, how could they afford real sugar?
Saccharin would have to do.
A few teenage boys were in charge of delivering the water.
Emily had added mint and lemon juice to make it refreshingly sweet and sour.
When steaming the buns, whether using cornmeal or mixed flour, she always added yeast. That way, the buns came out soft and fluffy, not hard and dense.
"Without enough saccharin, it won’t taste sweet," Emily explained softly.
"Too sweet makes people thirstier..."
"Mom, Dad gave us enough saccharin."
Mary sighed and let it go.
The saccharin-sweetened water was still far better than plain water.
Meanwhile, in the county town, Michael Stone was closely monitoring the situation.
After the families of several students whose admission letters had gone missing stormed the authorities, an investigation was immediately launched.
The education bureau had no choice but to cooperate.
Who would risk ruining years of political career over this?
They had to act fast.
Starting from the county post office, they traced where the admission letters had been intercepted—and who had ended up with them.
The police moved swiftly, detaining all post office staff for questioning.
Separate interrogations were conducted to prevent collusion.
"Where’s my letter? Give it back!" An eighteen-year-old boy, eyes bloodshot, struggled against the officers restraining him as he tried to lunge at a detained postal worker.
He had scored exceptionally well in the preliminary exams, yet while his classmates received their admission letters, his never arrived. Now, learning that those with worse grades had taken his place in university, how could he not lose his mind?
"Son, stop this!" A gray-haired woman clung desperately to him. "The officers will get to the bottom of this. Justice will be served!"
"Please remain calm, sir. We will investigate thoroughly and ensure accountability!"
The old woman trembled as she held her son’s hand. "We trust the government... we trust the government..."
"Mom! My future..."
Other parents waited with red-rimmed eyes for answers.
The interrogations soon yielded results.
A minor post office supervisor had conspired with a worker to intercept several admission letters, selling them at high prices to those desperate for a university spot.
"You’ve got some nerve!" The police chief slammed his hand on the table. "Even the provincial top scorer’s letter was stolen!"
This was supposed to be a proud moment for the entire county!
And these people had ruined it.
The two culprits hung their heads, not daring to speak.
They had made two thousand yuan from the scheme—now it was all over.
Higher authorities personally oversaw the case.
Soon, every stolen admission letter was returned to its rightful owner.