"Impossible!" Lin Moli exclaimed, her eyes wide. "I clearly heard Grandma Shen say yesterday that the army gave out several hundred yuan in compensation, and you hid it all! Sister Wanqiu, you can't lie! This compensation is the Shen family's money. How could you keep it all for yourself?"
Looking at Lin Moli's "righteous" demeanor, Lin Wanqiu finally understood—Lin Moli's purpose in coming here wasn't just to help Old Lady Shen get her things, but also to sow discord between her and the Shen family, ruining her reputation in the village. She decided to play along and see what tricks Lin Moli could pull.
She deliberately sighed, feigning helplessness: "Jasmine, I really didn't lie to you. I really didn't receive the compensation. If I had that money, I would have used it to treat Nian'an's illness and buy her food long ago. Why would I hide it? Grandma Chen must have misremembered, or she's saying this on purpose to get me to hand over the money."
"Sister Wanqiu, why won't you admit it?" Lin Moli said anxiously, raising her voice. "Grandma Shen told me that the pension was issued last month, and Uncle Shen was asked to collect it from the commune. How could you not have it? Are you saying you didn't receive it because you're afraid I'll ask you for it?"
"I didn't receive it, and that's it!" Lin Wanqiu raised her voice, pretending to be angry. "If you don't believe me, go ask the people in the commune and see if they gave me any pension! Don't listen to Grandma Chen's one-sided story and try to slander me!"
Just then, Old Mrs. Shen's voice came from outside the courtyard gate: "Jasmine, have you explained things clearly to Wanqiu? That compensation money belongs to the Shen family; she can't keep it all to herself!"
Lin Wanqiu was secretly delighted—the main culprit has finally arrived! She knew that Lin Moli and Old Lady Shen were in cahoots, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop, trying to force her to hand over the compensation money.
Lin Moli's eyes lit up when she heard Grandma Shen's voice, and she quickly said, "Grandma Shen, you're here! Sister Wanqiu said she didn't receive the compensation, and that you're slandering her!"
Old Mrs. Shen strode into the house, stood in front of Lin Wanqiu with her hands on her hips, spitting as she spoke: "Lin Wanqiu! You still dare to lie! I clearly had Tingjun collect that compensation from the commune. It was five hundred yuan in total. How could I not give it to you? You must have hidden it, trying to pocket the Shen family's money! You must hand over the money today, or I'll go to the commune and report you, and have you go to jail!"
"Mother, how can you say that?" Lin Wanqiu pretended to be aggrieved, her eyes reddening. "I really didn't receive any compensation, and Brother Tingjun didn't give me any money either! If you don't believe me, call Brother Tingjun over to confront me and see if he gave me the money!"
Old Mrs. Shen was a little flustered because she hadn't expected Lin Wanqiu to say that. In fact, she and Shen Tingjun had indeed embezzled the compensation money and hadn't given it to Lin Wanqiu at all. She had originally wanted Lin Moli to sow discord and make Lin Wanqiu take out the money voluntarily, but she didn't expect Lin Wanqiu to actually ask Shen Tingjun to confront her.
"Why...why should I call Tingjun to confront me?" Old Madam Shen forced herself to maintain her composure. "I said you hid, so you hid! You barren widow, clinging to the Shen family's money, I'm going to teach you a lesson today!" As she spoke, she reached out to hit Lin Wanqiu.
Lin Wanqiu was prepared and dodged to the side, grabbing Old Lady Shen's hand: "Mother, please don't hit me! Let's talk this out. If the neighbors see this, they'll think I'm bullying you!" She deliberately raised her voice so that people outside the gate could hear her.
Sure enough, a moment later, Aunt Wang rushed in and grabbed Old Mrs. Shen: "Old Mrs. Shen, what are you doing? Wanqiu is a good girl, how could you hit her? Let's talk this out, don't hit her!"
"Aunt Wang, you've come at the perfect time!" Lin Wanqiu said quickly. "Grandma Shen said the army gave me five hundred yuan in compensation, which I hid, and she wants me to hand it over, but I haven't received this money at all! Grandma Shen even sent Jasmine to sow discord between me and the Shen family, saying that I'm having an affair and hiding meat to eat. Can you believe how unfair this is?"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang immediately understood—Old Mrs. Shen must be trying to extort money and had Lin Moli sow discord. She frowned and said to Old Mrs. Shen, "Old Mrs. Shen, you can't wrong someone like that! I know Wanqiu's character; she's not the kind of person who would take advantage of others. Besides, regarding the compensation, you need to provide evidence; you can't just accuse Wanqiu of hiding it based on your words!"
Grandma Shen was speechless after being confronted by Aunt Wang. She was both angry and anxious, but didn't know how to refute her. Lin Moli stood aside, not daring to speak either, afraid that she would say the wrong thing and make things worse.
Looking at the disheveled state of Grandma Shen and Lin Moli, Lin Wanqiu secretly felt smug—she had won the first round! But she knew that Grandma Shen and Lin Moli would definitely not let it go and would find opportunities to bother her again in the future. However, she wasn't afraid. She would meet force with force and water with water. She had her spatial ability and neighbors like Aunt Wang to help her. No matter what tricks they played, she could handle them.
"Mother, Aunt Wang, I think we should just let this matter go." Lin Wanqiu deliberately pretended to be magnanimous. "Perhaps Grandma Shen misremembered and misunderstood me. Let's get along well from now on and not have any more conflicts over such trivial matters. After all, we are all family."
Old Mrs. Shen was seething with hatred, but she had no choice but to go along with Lin Wanqiu's words: "Hmph, I'll let you off this time, but if I find out you've hidden money, I won't let you off!" After saying that, she pulled Lin Moli away in a sorry state.
Watching their retreating figures, Aunt Wang sighed, "Wanqiu, you're just too kind. They bullied you like that, and you still defended them. You'd better be careful in the future and not let them bully you again."
"Thank you, Aunt Wang, I understand." Lin Wanqiu smiled. "I just don't want to make a big deal out of it; it wouldn't be good for Nian'an if word got out."
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