In a daze, the events of this morning quickly flashed through Li Laosi's mind.
"Wait a minute, Dad, what makes you so sure I took the jar? Don't forget, I wasn't the only one in the room."
Old Li's expression softened, and Li Laosi pressed on.
“Dad, you raised me with your own hands. Don’t you and Mom know what kind of person I am? I can just tell you what I’m thinking directly. Why make things complicated?”
Looking intently at Li Laosi, Old Man Li's anger subsided somewhat, and his rationality returned a little. What Li Laosi said made sense.
It has to be said, Li Laosi is quite capable.
[He's a good actor, a smooth talker; Old Man Li really doesn't know his true colors.]
The title of "ultimate ingrate" isn't given lightly.
"Father, what the fourth brother said makes sense. Let's see what he has to say first. We must catch this thief."
Having lost what he had long coveted, Li Lao Er was even more resentful than Li Lao Tou.
After calming down, he observed more closely. Regarding the jar incident, Li Laosi's demeanor didn't seem feigned. Since he wasn't faking it, it proved Li Laosi was unaware of the truth; the thief was someone else.
"OK."
Old Man Li now held Li the Second in higher regard. Perhaps he should reassess his sons instead of continuing to view them with the same old perspective.
Li Lao Er saw the look in Old Man Li's eyes, but he didn't care; he only cared about where the gold was. Li Yi Yi also saw it, and she cheered for Old Man Li's change of heart.
[That's more like it. You should look at someone with new eyes after just three days. If you can't even see Li Laosi, whom you raised, clearly, what about Li Laoer and Li Laosan?]
How can we remain stagnant and stuck in the past? Outdated thinking won't do.
Children are constantly changing; you should view them with a developmental perspective.
Li Laosi smelled so bad that he couldn't sit in the main room at all, unless he wanted to suffocate himself.
Stools were brought out, and everyone sat in the yard. No one was exempt; everyone was a suspect. As long as their legs could still move, they had to come out.
The long-awaited family meeting left Li Yiyi deeply moved.
Let's begin!
I am hereby formally announcing that the third family meeting is now beginning.
Unable to recall exactly how many times it had happened, Li Yiyi rambled on, when suddenly she was met with a strong gaze. Li Yiyi turned her head to look.
It's Li Fuyi.
When Li Yi looked over, Li Fuyi gave him a kind smile.
"Achoo!"
Li Yiyi felt extremely uncomfortable under Li Fuyi's gaze. After not seeing her for a while, why did Li Fuyi seem so alluring? Then she looked again, but Li Fuyi was still the same Li Fuyi, unchanged.
When she opened her eyes again, Li Fuyi was glaring at her fiercely; it was a face Li Yiyi recognized.
She must have seen it wrong! Ignoring her discomfort, Li Yiyi turned her gaze back to Old Man Li and the others.
"Fourth brother, tell me, preferably without missing a single word, tell me about the strange things that happened to you today."
His expression was solemn and serious, the kind of expression one would only show when something big happens. Even if Li Laosi was simple-minded, he knew the jar was unusual. Afraid that he would be suspected if he hesitated even for a second, Li Laosi seriously considered the events of the day.
"I was woken up by the wind this morning. When I woke up, the door was wide open and the sky was just beginning to lighten. I don't know who left the door unlocked."
Li Yiyi and Boss Li knew perfectly well that they hadn't locked the door; it wasn't intentional, it was deliberate.
"After waking up, I didn't go back to sleep. I got dressed and went to the outhouse, but I slipped and almost fell into the latrine."
As Li Laosi recounted this story, it was as if he could see the cesspool right before his eyes again. The others glanced at Li Laosi's clothes and thought his story sounded quite plausible.
Oh, it was just a little short. That's a real shame.
If you fall in... it's not a good thing either.
The thought of Li Laosi actually falling into the latrine and the whole yard reeking of feces made Li Yiyi quickly change her mind.
It's okay if it makes you feel nauseous, it's better if you don't fall in.
“After I got up, it was already broad daylight. I immediately saw three mounds of earth next to the outhouse. They were new and had been disturbed. Out of curiosity, I took an axe and dug them up. You all know the rest, my parents.”
"Fourth brother, you just say you're going to throw it down, but where's the proof? And what a coincidence that you saw three mounds of earth, what a coincidence!"
Li Lao Er remained skeptical; he trusted no one, not even Li Lao Tou, and Li Lao Si was beyond redemption. If he hadn't experienced it firsthand, he wouldn't have believed it either.
It's true, I can testify, it's true, it was me and my dad who did it.
Even the snow in June couldn't undo Li Laosi's injustice.
[Li Laosi, use your clever brain to think about why you fell.]
Perhaps it was willpower that made Li Laosi remember the toad oil on the outhouse stone slab.
“Father, I have evidence. Someone smeared toad oil on the stone slab.”
Toad oil,
The situation took a new turn. Old Man Li asked Old Woman Li to go see her, and it was the same old story: of all the family members, he only trusted Old Woman Li.
"Dad, isn't the toad oil Auntie's? She's the only one in the family who's ever used it."
When it was her turn to perform, Li Yi spoke to Old Man Li and the others, but her eyes were fixed on Li Fuyi.
She hadn't forgotten the incident where Li Fuyi smeared toad oil on the stone steps.
It's not that retribution won't come, it's just that the time hasn't arrived yet. When the time comes, Li Fuyi and Wang Yiting will have to pay the price.
"Father, no, it wasn't me."
Being nominated so suddenly, Wang Yiting felt more wronged than anyone else. Perhaps feeling guilty, she looked towards Jiang Yuting, and their eyes met.
She quickly moved away, feeling a pang of unease.
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