As she passed the courtyard gate, Guan Yumei tripped over the threshold, but she didn't even realize it.

One of the three stacks of money in the cloth bag fell out the instant he tripped.

Guan Yumei was completely unaware and continued walking forward, soon disappearing at the end of the alley.

Ten minutes later, Su Ruyi appeared in front of the Su family courtyard.

She immediately noticed that the courtyard gate was open, and as she walked in, she felt a burning sensation in her palms.

Looking down, I saw a thick stack of ten-yuan bills lying on the ground.

She immediately stored it in her spatial storage.

The reason Su Ruyi is here at this time is because yesterday, her acupuncture patient gave her a small wooden box containing her consultation fee, saying that there would be an opportunity here at this time today.

It turns out, opportunity is money.

Su Ruyi looked at the messy courtyard and scanned each room with her eyes.

There was no one in the courtyard, and she instinctively felt that she should not stay there for long.

Just as I was about to leave, I suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the alley.

Unable to leave, she had no choice but to slip into the space.

Inside the space, she clearly saw a group of police officers walk in.

One of them shouted, "Don't move! There's blood here!"

Another person outside the yard said, "Boss, there's one here too! It must have splashed... the splash height is about 90 centimeters!"

A police officer who appeared to be in charge immediately gave the order: "Team One, track the bloodstains! Team Two, search the entire yard!"

For some reason, the man was carrying two cans of tea and swaying them around in his hand.

"yes!"

"good!"

Both teams of police officers went about their work.

When Su Ruyi saw the steel mill manager walk in, she looked extremely uneasy: "This is really terrible! How could a rural woman like her know how to pick a door and break the lock?"

The police leader suddenly waved the tea leaves in his hand in front of him: "Factory Director, don't try to muddy the waters here. We still don't know what happened with your three thousand yuan!"

At this moment, Su Ruyi was observing the movements outside while counting money in her mind.

That huge stack of money was exactly three thousand yuan.

What a coincidence?

The factory manager's face scrunched up: "What's in the tea box really is my secret stash of money! Director, don't you... keep any secret stashes of money?"

So that leader was the director! The director sneered, "The savings of ordinary people like us, even if we save for a lifetime, wouldn't reach three thousand yuan!"

As he spoke, he gave the factory manager a disdainful look: "Unexpectedly, I've stumbled upon this ironclad worm in the steel rolling mill and exposed it!"

Just then, a young man from the team rushed in: "Boss, we found a woman unconscious in the alley ahead. She's suspected to be the suspect, Guan Yumei. She... she seems to have miscarried. Xiao Li and Xiao Hu took her to the hospital."

"Yes, keep a close eye on him, don't let him escape! This is a recidivism during his parole period, he will be severely punished, you absolutely cannot let him get away!" The warden emphasized.

The man with the mustache stood at attention: "Yes, sir! Oh, and we also found this cloth bag!"

As he spoke, he handed the cloth bag that was pressing against Guan Yumei's lower abdomen to the director.

The director opened it, glanced at it, and tossed it back to him: "Order! Order now!"

"yes!"

The young man counted the money twice.

For a moment, the entire courtyard was silent, save for the sounds of him counting money and muttering to himself.

"Reporting to the boss, it's six thousand yuan in total!"

Finally, he finished counting and reported loudly.

The director's eyes locked onto the factory manager's face, and he narrowed his eyes: "Comrade Factory Manager, I have a math problem I'm having trouble with. Can you help me figure it out? You reported that you lost nine thousand yuan, and then, this thief, Guan Shenmei, had six thousand yuan on her, but what about in your tea box? Hey, there was three thousand yuan! Comrade Factory Manager, doesn't this account match up?"

"The money in my tea box is my own! It's the kickback I got from buying equipment! I'm not a thief!"

The factory manager was thoroughly enraged by the director's arrogant attitude, and before he knew it, he had let slip some words.

"Oh? A kickback?"

The station chief smiled, narrowing his eyes, then his expression turned cold. "You two, handcuff him!"

Su Ruyi watched as the factory manager made a rather complicated expression, and then suddenly realized—he had wet his pants.

During this time, she stayed in the space the whole time, and the red mole on her palm remained burning hot.

The scorching heat only subsided after the group of police officers escorted the steel mill manager away.

She quickly left the space, and seeing no one around, she slipped away.

...

After leaving the steel rolling mill, Su Dazhi did not go home.

He bought two bottles of the cheapest liquor at the grocery store and carried them towards the suburbs.

We walked all the way to the moat of Haicheng, which was built thousands of years ago.

He found a secluded spot to sit down, unscrewed the bottle cap, and blew the entire bottle of liquor down his throat.

My throat and stomach were tingling from the spiciness.

He then threw down the bottle and covered his face.

A moment later, tears streamed from between his fingers.

Just as he was grieving alone, a group of people approached from afar.

He quickly wiped away his tears, stood up, and tried to turn and walk away.

As soon as he stood up, a sharp-eyed woman in the group recognized him: "Isn't that the eldest brother?"

Immediately, someone echoed, "It really is him! Grab him! Don't let him get away!"

Su Dazhi rubbed his eyes and looked at the group of people who were rushing towards him.

It was a group of women and children.

The woman leading the group seemed to be his fifth brother Su Dajian's wife, whose name was either Cuifen or Cuifang. She was a distant relative of the Su family, sharing the same surname, making them even closer relatives. When his fifth brother got married, he had already left Sujiazhuang for a long time because he was busy with production at the factory and couldn't even go back to attend the wedding.

Of all his younger siblings, this fifth sister-in-law was the one he was most unfamiliar with.

His gaze swept through the crowd.

Wang Qingling, the third sister-in-law, was leading two toddlers who were four or five years old, with an even smaller one on her back.

The fourth sister-in-law, Yu Baohua, was carrying a swaddled baby in her arms, followed by her two daughters, each around ten years old. Each of the daughters was also holding a baby.

There were also a few unfamiliar aunties, each holding a baby in their hand.

The taller child was followed by four or five others.

Judging by appearances, apart from his second brother's wife who had already returned to her parents' home, these were all the wives of Su's brothers in Sujiazhuang and all their children—except for the two sixteen or seventeen-year-old grandsons of Su Dade's family who had already started earning full work points.

Su Dazhi even laughed—the Su family may not be good at anything else, but they certainly have a large and prosperous population.

He stood with his legs apart, waiting for them to run over.

"Brother, how cruel you are! How are we, orphans and widows, supposed to live?"

Su Cuifen was the first to rush forward. She ducked and rammed her head hard into his waist, knocking Su Dazhi down.

Then, she plopped down on the ground, slapped her legs, and wailed, "Even if it costs me my life, you have to give us an explanation today!"