Su Qiao got home late today, and it was already dark by the time she finished eating.
Suddenly, the entrance became extremely noisy.
It looked like several people had passed by.
Someone even shouted, "Xiang Ze's mother, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
Xiang Ze Niang?
Didn't they just have a huge fight?
Why are you looking for trouble at this hour?
Su Qiao opened the door and saw the brigade leader holding a flashlight, cursing as he walked towards Lu Xiangze's house.
There were also a few people standing at the entrance of the educated youth settlement next door.
Li Yanhong stood at the door, looked around, and noticed that Su Qiao was carrying a lantern.
He quickly waved to her.
"Su Zhiqing, would you like to come along and take a look?"
Su Qiao also wanted to go and take a look, so she locked the door and went out.
Not long after the two left, a furtive figure walked towards the courtyard.
The courtyard wasn't very far away.
She hadn't walked far when she saw her destination.
Lu Xiangze sat in the courtyard.
There was a small table there, and three people were eating.
There were two plates of meat on the table, but only a bowl of plain porridge in front of Lu Xiangze.
Wang Wenhua and Song Yun happily ate their white rice, completely unaware that they intended to mistreat the patient.
So when Lu's mother arrived, this was the scene she saw.
"You dare steal my money and use it to buy meat!"
Lu's mother felt that she had caught Lu Xiangze red-handed.
I think I've figured out the truth.
Her voice grew even louder as she stood there with her hands on her hips, accusing him.
Lu Xiangze finished his porridge in a few gulps before speaking.
"You two take it and eat it over there."
Lu's mother refused and even reached out to take it.
"This was bought with my money, you're not allowed to take it!"
Song Yun dodged him. "Auntie, you'd throw away all your pride for a bite to eat?"
Lu's mother was furious.
She raised the rolling pin, about to smash it at Lu Xiangze, but Song Yun grabbed it and snatched it away.
"Try moving your hand again!"
Captain Lu Fugui also arrived at the scene, panting heavily as he squeezed between the two.
"Stop it, all of you!"
"Why can't we talk things out? What are you doing making a scene here?" Lu Fugui turned to his mother and said, "Especially you! What are you causing trouble for now?"
"He stole my money! Two...two hundred yuan!"
Lu's mother deliberately omitted a zero, otherwise the previous case of refusing to help someone in distress would have been confirmed.
Two hundred yuan would be enough to empty Lu Xiangze's savings.
He's determined to lose that money!
Lu Xiangze looked up at his mother, his eyes completely calm.
"There's a limit to your nonsense. My foot is injured, and I can't even leave this yard. You're saying I went to your house to steal something? Did anyone see me?"
After thinking for a moment, Lu's mother pushed out Lu's younger brother.
He gripped his shoulder. "Your little brother saw it."
"Oh—really?"
Lu Xiangze's question immediately brought back the fear of being beaten for Lu Xiaodi.
The pain was so deep it was in his bones, yet the places where he was hit didn't even have a wound.
Lu Xiaodi reflexively stepped back.
He can indeed testify, but he can only testify that his older brother is not a thief.
But he didn't dare to speak, and just kept shaking his head.
Lu's mother shoved him away, "Useless thing!"
Her gaze fell on the two meat dishes. "Well, what about this meat? My family also lost a chicken today."
Lu Xiangze didn't even need to give any instructions.
Song Yun ran to the kitchen and brought out a winnowing basket full of colorful chicken feathers.
The color of pheasant feathers is very different from that of domestic chickens.
Lu Fugui shone his flashlight on it, and everyone could see it clearly.
Su Qiao also leaned over the wall, watching the farce unfold in the courtyard.
Lu's mother persisted, and later the brigade leader and the old party secretary both went in to search, but they found nothing at all.
This cleared Lu Xiangze of his name.
The farce is over.
Lu's mother refused to believe it.
As he was leaving, he was still cursing Lu Xiangze.
The brigade leader and the old Party Secretary were thinking about whether to offer some words of comfort, since before Lu's eldest son joined the army, he still longed for his mother's attention.
This time, however, they couldn't see the sadness in him.
I don't know, is it that I've gotten used to it, or...?
Su Qiao was thinking that today was not a convenient day and was about to leave.
But Li Yanhong grabbed his hand.
"Su Qiao, will you come with me to see Comrade Lu?"
"ah?"
Li Yanhong seemed to just realize what was happening and quickly said, "No, I was just saying. Let's go back."
Su Qiao responded and led the group back.
The next day, news of the Lu family losing 200 yuan spread throughout the entire Qingshui Brigade.
This is a huge sum of money; how long would it take someone who toils in the fields to save up for it?
Immediately, everyone started discussing it.
The villagers are all speculating about who stole it.
Su Qiao was also very curious.
"If you ask me, it must have been Lu Xiaodi who stole it. That kid has never been serious since he was a child, and when he got older, he couldn't earn many work points all year round."
"Are those two brothers? How come the older brother is so successful while the younger brother is like this?"
Moreover, at least Lu Xiaodi's eyes look like Lu's mother's.
Lu Xiangze bears no resemblance whatsoever.
Even his height seems to be a bit taller than Lu's mother and the others.
It's a pity he didn't stand up, otherwise it would have been even more obvious.
The old lady clearly knew Lu Xiangze very well.
The Lu Xiangze she mentioned.
He was outstanding from a young age, but overly sensible. The Lu family always taught him to give way to the two younger children in everything.
That's why they suffer the most losses.
He had the best grades, yet he was forced to drop out of school. Lu Xiaomei, who had very poor grades, was able to go to school, but he wasn't.
Fortunately, I later joined the army, but I still had to send my monthly allowance back home.
The Lu family's brick and tile house was built with his allowance.
"If the Lu family didn't have an eldest son, they would be even worse off than Liu the Lazybones' family."
The old woman still sighed as she spoke of these things.
I was also a little envious. Why wasn't such a successful child one of my own?
Su Qiao never expected that Lu Xiangze's home would be like this.
He clearly appears to be very well-mannered.
I never expected his house to be so filthy.
The old lady seemed to have found someone to confide in, and she told everyone she had heard and seen over the years about Lu Xiangze.
It completely deviated from the original topic.
Su Qiao listened with a smile, her hands never stopping.
One-third was completed very quickly.
He was way ahead of the old lady.
I must say, when she finished...
Looking back, I felt a great sense of accomplishment, and I didn't feel tired at all.
She also helped the old lady clean up some things, as a reward for listening to the gossip.
When Su Qiao finished work, she deliberately took a detour.
Passing by Lu Xiangze's door.
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