"Aiguo, are you home?" The team leader arrived. He had gone to the commune that morning and only heard about the incident upon his return. He brought thirty yuan; twenty was from the village, and the other ten was his own. After all, Wei Aiguo had gotten into this mess because of the village. The team leader also asked how he had been scammed.

After the team leader left, Cheng Yousuo came and brought twenty yuan.

Ren Quan gave him ten yuan.

Hu Youguang ten yuan.

Li Yuanzhao brought the 20 yuan that the educated youth had received.

Chen Xiaodong gave him ten yuan.

Cheng Youfu brought over ten yuan that he had saved up.

Ji Dagang, Grandma Wang (a recipient of the Five Guarantees), and Uncle Cheng's family all came to give money. The money was already enough, so they took it back.

…

Song Yan playfully whispered in Wei Aiguo's ear, "How does this kung fu feel? Let me show you a magic trick!"

Wei Aiguo thought Song Yan was just trying to make him happy and didn't take it seriously. But he saw Song Yan put the note under her hand, and when she lifted her hand, it was gone. "You put the note in your pocket?"

"No."

“If you let me search you, I’m sure I can find something on you,” Wei Aiguo said.

"If there were such a big flaw, I wouldn't be performing for you." Song Yan raised his hand again, and the note was on the table again. "Open it and take a look!"

It was a blank slip of paper. Wei Aiguo: "You mean... no way."

"Just report it to the police. Find a female police officer to search, and if they find nothing, they'll have no choice but to accept it."

"How did you do that? Is it absolutely foolproof?"

"Just think of it as a magic trick. If it works, we can vent our anger. If it doesn't, it's just a hundred or so yuan, right?" What's there to be afraid of? In Song Yan's eyes, a hundred or so yuan is nothing.

"Who taught you? Can you teach me?"

"No, don't ask me why, I can't explain it."

With so many people coming and going at her house today, Aunt Wei couldn't keep it a secret any longer. Fortunately, the villagers helped, and Wei Aiguo said that Song Yan had money and wouldn't be short of any more.

…

The brigade leader didn't go out on business; he specifically waited for Mao Xuebin to arrive. Sure enough, Mao Xuebin swaggered in with five or six men. Many people in Wei Aiguo's family expected him, but no one expected Grandma Wang, a recipient of the "Five Guarantees" (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly and disabled), to come in person. Grandma Wang had three sons who had all died in battle. Not only in the village, but even in the county, the county magistrate would visit her every year. She was the mother of heroes!

With Grandma Wang around, Mao Xuebin didn't dare to act recklessly and even greeted her first. He obediently took out the IOU. Several times he wanted to mock Wei Aiguo, but he didn't dare to utter a word.

Song Yan took the IOU, placed it on the table without even looking at it, and pressed it down with her hand. "Mao Xuebin, before yesterday, my husband told me you were a real man. But you're nothing but a scoundrel."

"Paying back debts is a matter of course, don't say anything useless." Mao Xuebin simply sat down on the stool with an air of authority.

Song Yan slowly unfolded the IOU in front of everyone. "What do you mean?" The blank paper was then displayed before everyone's eyes.

Mao Xuebin was stunned. "It can't be blank." He first reached into his pocket, then realized what was happening. "You must have switched the IOU."

"Everyone's watching. This note hasn't been touched since it got to me. This is what it looks like when I opened it," Song Yan said calmly.

"Is it on her? She must have hidden it!" shouted one of the people who came with Mao Xuebin.

In his excitement, Mao Xuebin tried to do it himself. Would Wei Aiguo let him? He slammed Mao's head onto the stone table.

Mao Xuebin was able to persuade Cheng Yi because he received benefits. He also paid the ten yuan himself. The people he brought on these two trips also incurred favors. Now the IOU is worthless? Can he really accept that? "Wei Aiguo's IOU is on your wife. If you want to renege on it, just do it openly. What kind of nonsense is this? I'm not stupid or crazy. Do you think I'd come looking for a debt with a blank piece of paper?"

The men who came with Mao Xuebin also objected. Among them was their militia captain, who insisted, "We must search you today. I've seen the IOU; it's genuine." This was a matter of face, and he had to prove himself.

"You mean the IOU is on me?"

Even as Mao Xuebin was pinned to the table, he roared, "It's right on you!"

"You're not done yet if I don't let you search yourselves today, are you? I'll search you, but it can't be you searching yourselves. Captain, let's call the police! Also, tell the officers that we need female officers to search yourselves. Everyone, step back, stay away, what if I hide the IOU on you?" The men from the Qingshan Brigade did as they were told and stepped back.

The people of Qingshan Brigade joined in the commotion. Mao Xuebin, obsessed with money, tried to extort money with a blank piece of paper. Before the police arrived, Song Yan sat alone at the stone table. He had driven the horse-drawn cart to the commune and then waited for almost two hours to find the people. Four people arrived—two men and two women. He recognized one of them, Officer Fan. But Song Yan didn't greet him, acting as if he didn't know him at all.

The police officers learned about the situation in detail and took a statement. Song Yan insisted that the IOU was for ten yuan. Wei Aiguo had indeed borrowed ten yuan from him.

"No, it's 110 yuan," Mao Xuebin shouted.

“Even if you’re desperate for money, you should at least produce the IOU. Forget 110, even if it’s 1100, if you produce the IOU, I’ll pay you back,” Wei Aiguo said.

The police officer carefully touched Song Yan's entire body in front of everyone. Song Yan twitched from the tickling sensation.

Only when the policewoman found nothing did Wei Aiguo finally feel relieved.

"Impossible. It's on her. Take off her clothes and search her," Mao Xuebin shouted.

Officer Fan was displeased. "We are the people's police, and we will never cover up for anyone. But at the same time, we will not allow anyone to slander the police."

The police officer, in his uniform and with a serious expression, frightened Mao Xuebin. But it was real money. "I don't doubt the police. She's too cunning; she must have kept it close to her body, which is why we didn't find it."

The policewoman searched very thoroughly, leaving no corner unchecked; she could easily have found any paper. "What do you mean? You want women to undress in public?"

Mao Xuebin choked on his words; he wanted to, but he didn't dare.

"Officer, I'm willing to cooperate with your work. I'll go inside and take off my clothes so you can search me. Don't let them say the police didn't do their job well and make you take the blame." With that, Song Yan went inside and drew the curtains.