Liu Family
Li Hongying and Liu Aiguo went to work in the fields early in the morning, while Liu's mother stayed home to cook. She noticed that the salt jar was empty and the soy sauce and vinegar were running low, and sighed, "We're going to have to spend money again."
Since I ate some meat, pastries, and candies during the Chinese New Year, I've been eating simple meals every day for the past three or four months. I'm really craving something sweet, so I'm gritting my teeth and planning to buy some fruit candies when I get to the supply and marketing cooperative.
She put down the spatula and went into her room to get the money. She was in charge of all the money in her house, and Liu Aiguo handed over all the money he earned from work to her.
When Li Hongying was injured last time, she spent all her money and was left with a huge debt. She originally wanted to save money and try her best to pay off the debt first.
But then she thought about it and realized that the money was owed by Li Hongying, and it was Li Hongying who should repay it. But if Li Hongying relied on work points, it would probably take several years to pay it off. So she secretly contacted someone to find a buyer for Li Hongying. She planned to sell Li Hongying after a while and get the money to pay off the debt, and it would be enough for her family to marry another wife and live for several years.
She wouldn't compromise herself for Li Hongying's sake; she would eat and drink as she pleased, leaving all the consequences to Li Hongying.
She only has a dozen or so yuan left, which is enough for basic living expenses. Once they sell Li Hongying, they will have money again.
She kept the money under her mattress, wrapped in a blue handkerchief.
But when she lifted the blanket, she didn't see the blue handkerchief. She was frightened and quickly searched again carefully.
She lifted the entire quilt and shook it several times, but still couldn't find the blue cloth bag. Not only was there no money, but the blue handkerchief was also nowhere to be found.
She was both scared and angry. She sat anxiously on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), patting the edge with her hands, her chest heaving violently.
"Who stole my money?"
But then she thought about it again, wondering if she had been careless and had simply forgotten about hiding the money in a different place.
So she started rummaging through the house again, but even after she had almost opened the roof, she still couldn't find her money and handkerchief. She was getting frantic; there were dozens of yuan in there.
Since it wasn't a problem with you putting the money in there, it must have been stolen.
Her first thought was that it was stolen by her own family, because it's easiest for family members to steal from you. If Liu Aiguo needed money, he would definitely tell her openly and take it openly, not secretly. So, Li Hongying was the most suspicious person.
Her daughter-in-law didn't get along with her to begin with, and had previously complained that she wouldn't let her eat eggs, implying that she must have stolen her money to buy something nice to eat.
"That shameless daughter-in-law!"
She spat angrily and immediately went to Li Hongying's room, rummaging through everything. She pulled off all the quilts and blankets on the kang (a heated brick bed) and shook them several times, but she couldn't find Li Hongying's money or blue handkerchief.
She opened Li Hongying's closet again, and inside, besides Li Hongying and Liu Aiguo's clothes, there was no money or blue handkerchief she was looking for.
After that, she searched other parts of Li Hongying's house several times, almost digging up the rat holes in the corners of the walls for a thorough search.
After all that trouble, she hadn't found a single penny of her own and sighed a few more times.
Who stole their money?
She slept on that kang (a heated brick bed) every night, pressing the money down with her body. If someone were to steal it, she couldn't possibly not know.
She always locks the door when no one is home during the day, so that even if someone tries to break in, they will leave traces.
The lock was broken after it was pried open, so she quickly checked her door lock and found that it was still working fine, with no signs of tampering.
Is it really Li Hongying?
Did a neighbor who came to visit during the day take it when she wasn't looking?
She can't draw a conclusion yet.
Because her money had been stolen, she was so angry that her stomach was bloated, she had no appetite and no desire to cook. The fire in the kitchen stove had gone out by itself. She sat in the yard, waiting for Liu Aiguo to come back so that they could think of a way to find the thief and get their money back.
A dozen minutes later, Liu Aiguo and Li Hongying returned from the fields together. When Liu's mother saw him return, she quickly told him about the theft of their money.
"Aiguo, something terrible has happened! Our house has been robbed! All the money I kept in the house is gone!"
"ah?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Aiguo was taken aback.
Hearing this, Li Hongying, who was standing nearby, also pretended to be surprised and quickly asked Liu's mother, "Mother, you said our money was stolen. How much was stolen? Who would be so bold as to come to our house to steal money?"
Seeing her surprised and suspicious expression, Liu's mother wondered to herself, "Didn't she take the money?"
Or maybe she's just being hypocritical.
"We only had a dozen or so yuan left in our house, and someone took it all. I don't know which bastard dared to reach into our house. I curse whoever stole our money, may his father, mother, and whole family die, may he never be able to have children, may he die from holding in his poop, choke to death while eating, choke to death while drinking water, and suffocate to death while sleeping!"
Liu's mother was so angry she gritted her teeth.
After she finished speaking, she remembered something and glanced at Li Hongying.
When Li Hongying met her gaze, her heart tightened slightly; this old woman was sure to suspect her.
If she wasn't mistaken, her room had already been searched by Liu's mother by this time.
She didn't say anything, but quickly went to persuade Liu's mother: "Mother, don't be angry. It would be too much of a waste to ruin your health if you got angry."
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