Chapter 41
◎ Listening to everyone talking at once, Li Daqiang seemed to have grasped the truth of the matter.
Listening to everyone's chatter, Li Daqiang seemed to have grasped the truth of the matter. He waved his hand and said loudly, "Alright! Stop talking for now!"
Then, he turned around and announced his decision to Bei Bitang. Li Daqiang put on the airs of a leader and said sternly, "Bei Bitang, you are a corrupt person and have destroyed other people's families. Our small vegetable market has no place for scum like you. You are fired and don't have to come to work tomorrow. In addition, you must write a self-criticism and apologize to the female comrade."
After saying that, Li Daqiang changed his expression and smiled apologetically at Zeng Linlin.
Li Daqiang still has some good taste. The clothes Zeng Linlin is wearing are more upscale than those sold in department stores.
Li Daqiang smiled friendly and said, "Lady, I'm deeply sorry. We didn't conduct a strict review and allowed someone like Bei Bitang to come in. I'll have her apologize to you and ask for your forgiveness."
Zeng Linlin had grown up surrounded by compliments, so Li Daqiang's gesture was nothing to her. She remained silent, her expression haughty and glaring at Bei Bitang.
Li Daqiang felt ignored, but Zeng Linlin's aura was too strong for him to express dissatisfaction. He turned around and yelled at Bei Bitang, "Hurry up and bow and apologize! You've ruined the reputation of the vegetable market!"
Some people were shouting, "Apologize!" while others were just standing there with their hands folded, watching the joke.
The situation was one-sided, but there was no expression of humiliation on Bei Bitang's face, and no tears in her eyes.
She looked Li Daqiang in the eye and said coldly and firmly, "I'm not wrong, why should I apologize?"
Li Daqiang looked so angry that he was shaking. He pointed at Bei Bitang with a trembling finger and shouted angrily, "Bei Bitang, you actually said you are not wrong!"
Bei Bitang gritted her teeth and said, "Why should I admit to something I didn't do? Of course not! I won't admit it even if I die! If someone says, 'Director Li, you embezzled money from the small vegetable market, Director Li, will you admit it too?'"
Li Daqiang's heart trembled and his expression changed slightly.
Bei Bitang stepped forward and said loudly, "If you insist on forcing me to confess to a false charge, why not call the police and see who is right and who is wrong?"
At this time, Jin Jianghai, who had quietly slipped away, came over with the nearby police.
An experienced police officer surveyed the crowd and shouted, "What's going on? If nothing's wrong, disperse! Disperse! Don't interfere with our investigation!"
Everyone was so reluctant to miss the end of this drama that someone cleverly said, "Oh, right! I also want to buy a duck!"
After saying that, the man went to stand at the duck stall next to the fish stall.
"Oh, I want to buy a goose!"
"I would have forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it. My grandson wants to eat chicken drumsticks, and I haven't bought them yet."
…
In short, everyone stayed, giving various reasons, and gathered around the stalls nearby, their eyes and ears glued to the fish stall. The police couldn't chase them away, so they could only let them be.
The police looked at Bei Bitang and Zeng Linlin sharply and asked in a deep voice, "What's going on?"
A young policeman nearby quickly took out a pen and paper and took notes.
When the police came, Zeng Linlin also knew the seriousness of the matter. Her father was afraid that she would be ignorant of the world and cause trouble outside, but he warned her in a clear voice that she should not mess with people from any system.
Zeng Linlin stroked her temples and replied with a good attitude, "This is it, comrades. My fiancé owes Comrade Bei one thousand yuan, so I came to pay him back."
The old policeman looked at the dirty Great Unity on the ground and asked coldly, "You came here to pay back the money, so how did the money end up on the ground?"
Zeng Linlin looked embarrassed. She smiled and said, "I didn't hold it firmly."
The old policeman said nothing, staring into her eyes.
Zeng Linlin's expression changed slightly. She forced a smile and whispered, "This comrade Bei is my fiancé's ex-girlfriend. We're about to get married, and she's pestering my fiancé under the pretext of paying him back. So I'm a little angry."
The old policeman turned to look at Bei Bitang and asked, "Is what she said true?"
Bei Bitang said calmly, "It's true that her fiancé owes me a thousand dollars."
What this means is that everything else Zeng Linlin said is false.
The old policeman thought for a moment, looked at Zeng Linlin, then looked at Bei Bitang, and asked, "So, how do you two want to handle this matter?"
Zeng Linlin spoke first, "We should pay back the money. Now I have paid it back. Comrade Bei, take this thousand yuan and don't see my fiancé again. You will no longer have any other involvement."
Although the veteran policeman had been working for many years, he mostly dealt with petty thefts, like stealing an onion from my house or taking a clove of garlic from yours. He was conscientious but somewhat inflexible, and his attitude towards resolving disputes was quick and decisive.
The old policeman said to Bei Bitang, "Since they're here to repay the money, you should accept it. We understand the matter now."
Then he turned to the crowd, said loudly with a stern face: "Whoever picked up the money, hand it over! If there is any missing, I will take you all back to the police station!"
Hearing this, people whispered to each other and hesitated to hand over the money.
Some of them looked righteous, staring, and raised their voices and said, "I didn't pick it up!"
“I didn’t pick it up either!”
…
Zeng Linlin looked at their refusal to cooperate with a smug look on her face. She hadn't considered not returning the money to Bei Bitang. She didn't care about the thousand yuan; it was just some pocket money her mother had given her. She paid it back for Xu Zeli, and that was that.
Bei Bitang endured the humiliation, lowered her head, bent over, and picked up the money one by one.
Bei Bitang suddenly said, "I don't have the IOU with me."
The old policeman said, "Then go back and get it."
Bei Bitang smiled slightly and said in a clear voice, "I won't accept this thousand yuan."
The old policeman looked at Bei Bitang with a questioning eye. She refused to pay back the money. Could it be that Bei Bitang was really like Zeng Linlin said, that she didn't care about the money, but was using it as an excuse to find someone else's fiancé.
Bei Bitang further explained, "When I lent Comrade Zeng's fiancé a thousand yuan, it was a mutual agreement. Now that she's repaying the money, it should also be a mutual agreement. She's willing to repay it in this way, but I don't want to accept it."
"Besides," Bei Bitang paused, glanced at Zeng Linlin, and said, "This money belongs to Comrade Zeng, not Comrade Zeng's fiancé. What if they break up and Comrade Zeng comes to me again and asks me to return this thousand yuan?"
Zeng Linlin's face flushed with anger. She glared at Bei Bitang and gritted her teeth, "Bei Bitang, you..."
Bei Bitang was right. You can't force someone to pay you back, especially in such an obviously insulting way. Borrowing money is like, "You come to borrow, and I agree to lend it to you." Repaying money should also be like, "You come to repay, and I agree, then I collect the money and return the IOU."
However, there are very few precedents of not accepting money after it is returned. If they don’t accept it, it means that they have a good relationship with the other party. The person who is returning the money cannot refuse to pay it back and just leave with the money.
What is the relationship between Bei Bitang and Zeng Linlin? After what happened today, it's not an exaggeration to say that they are enemies.
The old policeman was silent for a moment, then looked at Zeng Linlin and said, "Since they won't accept the money, you can take it back. The repayment can be arranged between the two of you."
Zeng Linlin was filled with dissatisfaction. Wouldn't that mean all her work today was for nothing? Her brows furrowed as she looked at the stained bills on the ground. She was the one picking them up one by one. They were so dirty, she was just shooting herself in the foot.
Zeng Linlin turned to the old policeman and said, "Comrade, I..."
The old police officer ruthlessly interrupted her, saying, "Do you have any other questions? If someone doesn't want to accept it, I can't force them as a police officer. This is the person's own wish, it's legal and protected."
Zeng Linlin could only shut her mouth.
One problem solved, and there's still another. To an ordinary person like her, Li Daqiang is far more important than Zeng Linlin. Work, work, if she doesn't work, she'll starve to death. Work is more important than anything else.
Bei Bitang looked at Li Daqiang and said in a calm voice, "Director Li, the misunderstanding has been resolved. What about my job?"
Li Daqiang didn't want to answer in front of everyone. Bei Bitang was slapping him in the face, even if she hadn't done anything wrong. But flies don't bite seamless eggs. Afterwards, he could fire Bei Bitang for causing a negative impact on the small vegetable market.
So Li Daqiang remained silent.
In just a short moment, Bei Bitang realized that Li Daqiang was trying to please Zeng Linlin by putting down those who were inferior and praising those who were superior. Since Li Daqiang still wanted to fire her, she let Zeng Linlin put pressure on him.
Bei Bitang smiled slightly, not looking at Zeng Linlin, but still looking at Li Daqiang's face. She said softly, "Since Director Li doesn't believe that I'm not the third party, then I can only call the police and let them investigate and clear my name."
If the police opened a case and investigated, it would be clear who was right and who was wrong. Was she the one who was harassing Xu Zeli, or was Xu Zeli harassing her like a dog-skin plaster?
Zeng Linlin, furious, regained her composure. She said, "There's no need to file a case. I trust Comrade Bei. It's all my fault for getting carried away by the rumors I heard."
Bei Bitang said with a smile: "Director Li?"
Li Daqiang blushed and gritted his teeth as he said, "Bei Bitang, I will revoke my previous decision on you. You can continue with your duties from now on."
Bei Bitang said, "Thank you, Director Li, for your understanding."
For the sake of work, Bei Bitang had to bow her head. Bei Bitang gave Li Daqiang a way out, and his expression improved a lot.
Bei Bitang turned to the two policemen and said with a smile, "Thank you, comrades, for giving me justice. I should be fine now, right?"
The old policeman said, "It's okay."
Bei Bitang didn't even look at Zeng Linlin who was staring at her. She picked up the shovel and continued to shovel the garbage as if no one was around.
The old policeman did what he said, and there was no more trouble with Bei Bitang from then on.
Zeng Linlin didn't want to pick up the money, nor did she want to stay in this smelly vegetable market. She wanted to leave and ask someone to help her deal with the matter.
The thought of not wanting the thousand dollars came into her mind, but when she thought about how her father would teach her if she treated the thousand dollars as dirt, she gave up the idea.
Zeng Linlin patiently negotiated with the police, but they didn't care about the client or the attorney. They only knew that Zeng Linlin was the client, and that the matter of the thousand yuan still needed to be settled. She could only leave after she signed.
For the next half day, Zeng Linlin and the two policemen spent time with other people, checking the amount of money. They also had to pick up the money on the ground. Zeng Linlin had to pick it up, so she wanted to find someone to help.
But since she had wanted to leave before, the two policemen were afraid that she would not come back after leaving, making it difficult for them to deal with the situation.
Faced with Zeng Linlin's pleading, they shook their heads firmly and refused to allow her to leave the scene.
The police asked the people at the scene to help pick up the money so that they could leave earlier.
But no one was willing to touch it. Who would want to give up the money they had found? Because of the police, they were lucky enough not to cause trouble, but they also helped? Who was afraid of going hungry? Who hasn't been hungry these days?
Zeng Linlin squatted on the ground, pinched her nose, pinched the Great Unity with her fingers, and threw it into her handbag.
Li Daqiang wanted to curry favor with Zeng Linlin, so he certainly didn't miss this opportunity. He used his power for personal gain and mobilized the people in the management office to help pick up the money. If he wasn't afraid that the people who couldn't buy vegetables would spit on him, he would also want to get the fishmongers, chicken sellers, and vegetable sellers to help.
Zeng Linlin rarely gave him a good look. Li Daqiang gave Zeng Linlin a flattering smile in response.
Bei Bitang did not see this scene, nor did she know that the biggest crisis had already formed and was on the way.
This was not the most painful thing. When confronting people who picked up money and hid it, Zeng Linlin was really beaten by society. She was so angry that she wanted to scratch the faces of these scoundrels many times.
Zeng Linlin endured hunger and the poor environment until the small vegetable market closed and the matter was over.
During this period, at noon, in order to thank the two policemen for their timely handling of the matter, Bei Bitang went to the small vegetable market, bought six vegetable and tofu buns with her own money, and gave them to the two policemen as lunch.
The two policemen accepted the steamed buns, but they also gave the money back to Bei Bitang. Faced with a public servant who refused to take a single needle or thread from the people, Bei Bitang had no choice but to accept the money.
In order to get close to Zeng Linlin, Li Daqiang asked her what she wanted to eat and he would buy it for her because Zeng Linlin couldn't leave.
Smelling the stench, Zeng Linlin shook her head and refused. How could she eat anything here?
She wanted to ask Li Daqiang to call her father or mother, but seeing Li Daqiang's servile and fawning manner, she swallowed her words.
She wanted Li Daqiang's help, but she looked down on him and didn't want to be associated with such a person.
But Zeng Linlin overestimated herself. Within two hours after lunch, her stomach was so sore from hunger that she felt uncomfortable. She wanted to ask Li Daqiang to go out and buy her some chicken porridge.
But when she saw Bei Bitang sitting on a small stool, supporting her chin with her hands and squinting her eyes during her lunch break, she bit her lip, not wanting Bei Bitang to laugh at her again.
Bei Bitang had specially set aside a medium-sized bighead carp for herself. Before leaving get off work, she said to Jin Jianghai, "Master, thank you for coming to the police on time today. I'll bring you a bowl of tofu and fish soup tomorrow as a token of my filial respect."
As she spoke, Bei Bitang happily picked up the big fat fish in her hand that was jumping around.
Jin Jianghai looked at Bei Bitang expressionlessly. Under his gaze, Bei Bitang wondered if she had done something wrong.
Jin Jianghai said coldly, "Don't call me Master from now on. I haven't accepted your apprenticeship gift, so I don't recognize you as Master. Today is the last time I will help you, so you'll have to take care of yourself from now on."
Bei Bitang thought that Jin Jianghai thought her style was too flamboyant, which caused Zeng Linlin to come to the small vegetable market to cause trouble for her. He liked to keep a low profile.
Bei Bitang wanted to explain and tell Jin Jianghai about the ill-fated relationship between her, Xu Zeli and Zeng Linlin.
Who would have thought that Jin Jianghai left a few harsh words and turned away, as if he didn't want to bother with Bei Bitang.
Bei Bitang looked at the bighead carp in her hand and went to wait for the bus home with a disappointed look on her face.
On the way to the bus stop, Bei Bitang was puzzled. Wasn't the matter resolved? She was innocent, so why was Jin Jianghai so indifferent to her?
The fish was bought specifically to thank Jin Jianghai. Since he not only did not appreciate it, but also wanted to sever the little bit of relationship between her and his disciple, she bought the fish specifically to thank Jin Jianghai.
Then she had no choice but to keep the fish. After all, she didn't have much money, and her heart was getting harder and harder towards her family.
There was no way around it. With the exception of Second Sister, Mum and the others had never shown any mercy towards her. Now that she had a stable job, they were using the name of Little Boy to ask for things from her. Today it was drunken chicken, tomorrow it was Yangcheng Lake crab.
Bei Bitang found a good buyer at the bus stop and sold the fish at the original price.
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