Chapter 237 This stroke of luck
Wang Jiali got off the bus and went home with her husband, Liang Guijin.
She wiped away her tears the whole way, her beautiful face wet with them. If Liang Guijin hadn't been there, some men would have inevitably stepped forward to ask her if she was in trouble.
Even with Liang Guijin present, some men still secretly glanced at Wang Jiali.
Her old, faded short-sleeved shirt hugged the body that men dreamed of. Wang Jiali also possessed a face that made her look four or five years younger than her age, and her kind, innocent eyes held an unconscious sexiness.
Because of the constant feeling of being spied on, Wang Jiali couldn't eat or sleep well, and she walked unsteadily, like a weeping willow that needed support.
Liang Guijin was wearing a thick blue work suit, with stains on the cuffs. Upon closer inspection, a bulge could be seen on his right forehead, a lingering effect from the fishing boat accident.
"Come on, let me help you. We're home in two more stops." The bus doesn't go directly to their doorstep. The railway worker's family seems to be well-off; they were allocated housing early, but the location isn't convenient.
There were still two stops to go, so it wouldn't cost them an extra bus fare. Liang Guijin felt sorry for his wife's exhaustion, so he half-squatted down and stretched his hands behind him: "Get on, I'll carry you back."
These words made Wang Jiali even sadder. She punched Liang Guijin on the back and said gently, "You're not a child anymore. If your sister-in-law sees this, she'll laugh at me again."
“If you live with me, let them laugh at you.” Liang Guijin got angry when he mentioned his older sister. Seeing that Wang Jiali wouldn’t come up, he straightened up and helped her up, saying, “She has a sharp tongue, just like my mother. She doesn’t do anything at home but likes to gossip. If she says anything about you, tell me, and I’ll fight her.”
With her husband's support, Wang Jiali's expression softened. She gritted her teeth and continued walking home, spotting her husband's older sister washing clothes under the red brick house from afar. Besides her sister-in-law, other relatives from her husband's family were also there. The older women were gathered together, and whoever walked by became the subject of conversation.
My father-in-law used to be the workshop director of a railway auto parts repair factory. When he got rich, all his relatives from his hometown moved to the city.
Those who could be given jobs were given jobs, and those who couldn't were provided with accommodation and job placements were arranged. Everyone lived in the red-brick houses of the railway dormitory. It had been like this since Wang Jiali married into the family.
"Oh dear, look who's back!" The eldest sister-in-law, Liang Congjun, a "warmonger," said provocatively, "I dare not do laundry anymore. What if a thunderbolt strikes and someone gets rich, and I get struck dead?"
The in-laws who were washing clothes with Liang Congjun were exchanging knowing glances with Wang Jiali and Liang Guijin, waiting to see what would happen.
Some people, not wanting to miss out on trouble, chimed in, "It's a perfectly nice day, why are we seeing such a jinx again?"
Wang Jiali lowered her head and quickened her pace towards home. Liang Guijin didn't follow; he overturned Liang Congjun's red foot basin and kicked the aunt's washboard, which had just been speaking, in two.
"You good-for-nothing Liang Guijin, you've forgotten your parents now that you have a wife! You're siding with outsiders, don't you know we're doing this for your own good!"
"You've been bewitched by a vixen, and now you don't even recognize your own family?"
"She's lucky, we haven't had a good time since she came into the family!"
Liang Guijin helped Wang Jiali into the building, then turned around and pointed at all her relatives with a ruthless expression: "Say one more word, and I'll beat you all to death!"
Wang Jiali held Liang Guijin's forearm and advised, "Don't hit him, we're all family."
Liang Guijin said in a low voice, "They don't treat you like family."
"I knew you troublemaker was back!" Granny Liang, holding a handful of glutinous rice on the second floor, had short, ear-length hair, a mix of black and white. She looked energetic, her tone sharp and sarcastic: "My family married a jinx; we're destined for three lifetimes of bad luck. She left this morning without even cooking; is she trying to starve me?"
Even though Liang Guijin was a troublemaker, he wouldn't dare to beat his own mother, so he replied, "Didn't you say you were going to report it to the police?"
Grandma Liang's upper eyelids drooped so badly that they almost covered half of her pupils. Her original double eyelids had turned into puffy eyes, and she looked a little swollen with pale skin.
She glared fiercely at Wang Jiali as she entered the room. Hearing her change clothes and go to the bathroom to wash up, she sneered, "Washing, washing, all you do is wash! If it weren't for your brother-in-law collecting the water bill, she would have squandered our family's wealth long ago. How much did you spend? What did you eat? What did you drink? Did you walk back?"
Liang Guijin said, "She was feeling unwell and took a bus trip without eating or drinking anything."
Grandma Liang was a little dissatisfied, but thinking that her son was usually frugal, she went to the kitchen and stuffed the eggs she had hidden into Liang Guijin's hands: "Eat them quickly, your third aunt gave them to me. You even argued with her, but she still cares about us."
Liang Guijin took the eggs back to the bedroom and placed them on Wang Jiali's dressing table. On the dressing table were their wedding photo, the cheap perfume he had given Wang Jiali for her birthday, dried flowers, their silver wedding bracelet and earrings, etc. Everything was arranged neatly and meticulously.
Grandma Liang was hopping mad in the kitchen: "What a spendthrift son!"
Liang Guijin came out and said, "She's not feeling well."
Grandma Liang said, "Which woman doesn't have her period? Why does she have to be so delicate? She can't even lay an egg, yet she has the nerve to eat my eggs."
Wang Jiali, who had just finished showering in the toilet, came out carrying a basin. When she saw the eggs on the dressing table, her heart warmed. She took the eggs and handed them to Grandma Liang, saying, "Mom, you should eat them."
Two drops of water dripped from her wet hair, so she quickly squatted down to wipe them clean.
When Grandma Liang saw this, she thought for a moment, peeled the egg, went to the kitchen, cut it in half, and gave it to Wang Jiali.
Wang Jiali kept the house spotless; she deserves credit for her hard work, even if she didn't do anything special. Besides, neither did her son eat the food that Wang Jiali ate.
When Wang Jiali saw Grandma Liang's blackened fingernails, she suppressed the urge to vomit and refused to accept even half an egg. Grandma Liang was furious and went out to talk to her relatives downstairs.
After she left, Wang Jiali quickly tidied up the house, polishing all the furniture until it shone, and then knelt on the floor to carefully wipe the floor with a cloth until there wasn't a single hair left.
"Why do you have to clean like this every day?" Liang Guijin helped Wang Jiali wring out the rag. Hearing his relatives talking loudly outside the window without any attempt to hide it, he hesitated whether to step over the floor and close the balcony window.
Wang Jiali stood up and said calmly, "They've tried to persuade your mother to let us get a divorce again."
Enraged, Liang Guijin disregarded the floor he had just cleaned, picked up a dirty rag and water, and poured it down from the second floor.
In an instant, the air below was filled with curses and hurried footsteps. Then, Granny Liang, her eldest sister-in-law Liang Congjun, her second aunt, her third aunt, Granny Liu, and others ran up to the second floor, jumping up and down and pointing their fingers at Wang Jiali while cursing her.
The elderly members of the Liang family, who came from the countryside, couldn't shake their ancestral method of resorting to shrewish tactics when things went wrong. Drenched in foul water, she squeezed into the living room, shoving Wang Jiali: "Did you make him do it?"
Wang Jiali wasn't afraid; with her husband around, she had nothing to fear. She even pulled out some tissues and handed them to Liang Congjun: "Sister-in-law, wipe your face."
Grandma Liang rolled around on the floor, shouting, "Divorce! We must get a divorce! It's her business if she's lucky, but I can't live like this anymore."
Standing next to Wang Jiali, blocking the hands that were trying to pinch and scratch her, Liang Guijin took a moment to tell the old woman on the ground, "If you can't make it here, go to my sister's house. We can make it together."
As he spoke, he snatched the whole roll of paper back from Liang Congjun's hand, saying sarcastically, "You don't feel bad about buying things that aren't your own."
Liang Congjun retorted, "I splashed dirty water on my head, can't I even wipe it off?"
Liang Guijin said, "I'll wipe it off when I get home."
Liang Congjun was heartbroken. She wanted to hit Wang Jiali but couldn't, and she wanted to yell at Wang Jiali but she pretended to be deaf. She angrily said, "You must get a divorce!"
Liang Guijin said, "It's none of your business."
Liang Congjun said, "Are you bewitched? If you don't get a divorce, she'll kill you sooner or later! I'm begging you, please get a divorce!"
Liang Guijin said, "You should divorce my brother-in-law first."
Enraged, Liang Congjun reached for a kitchen knife to attack him, but was stopped by the others. After a chaotic scene, the group naturally gathered at Liang Guijin's house for dinner.
"They're just trying to take advantage of me." Grandma Liang was stingy by nature, and she was so angry that she simply refused to eat dinner.
That night, Wang Jiali tossed and turned in bed. Gazing at Liang Guijin's sleeping face, she was deeply moved.
Just then, she heard a flash of light outside the window and quickly woke Liang Guijin: "Someone's there."
"You're watching me with binoculars again?" Liang Guijin jumped up with a start, made a "shh" gesture, pulled out the scissors that were under the bed board, and hid by the window.
The summer night breeze stirred the curtains, and Liang Guijin pressed himself against the window frame to look outside: "It's gone. You go back to sleep, I'll go out and check."
He went out and searched around, but couldn't find the peeping tom. Wang Jiali, wearing a light floral nightgown, stood at the door, looking even more beautiful and charming in the moonlight.
She knelt down and changed Liang Guijin's slippers into another pair, carefully wiping the soles repeatedly with a cloth. She then wiped the shoe cabinet again after tidying it up. Finally, she washed her hands repeatedly in the bathroom, still feeling it wasn't clean enough.
When Grandma Liang got up to use the toilet in the middle of the night, she saw that she was still using water. She muttered a few words and said after she finished using the toilet, "Tomorrow morning, each person can only eat one steamed bun. No one is allowed to eat more. Get up early to make it and close the door so that no one is allowed to come in to eat."
"Mmm." Since her mother-in-law was willing to speak kindly, Wang Jiali was also willing to respond.
Although the relatives complained that Wang Jiali was taking advantage of other people's good fortune, keeping the good luck for herself and giving the bad luck to others, they also knew that she was clean and liked to come to her house for meals.
The next morning, Wang Jiali got up and kneaded steamed buns.
Hearing shouts outside and seeing beggars, she knew her mother-in-law was still sleeping. She secretly scooped a bowl of rice from the rice jar, tied it in a plastic bag, and gave it to the beggar while standing on the balcony.
The beggar, dragging his swollen, elephant-like legs, expressed his gratitude repeatedly. Wang Jiali said, "You should leave now and stop talking."
Just then, a loud shout came from the window next door: "You spendthrift woman, you stole my rice and gave it to that bastard!"
Sensing something was wrong, the beggar covered his bowl and dragged himself away quickly.
Liang Guijin got up from inside the house and ran to the steaming kitchen to ask, "What kind of wild man?" He paused and said, "Another spy? I'll go take a look."
Grandma Liang rushed out, buttoning her clothes, and said, "She's cheating on me! I saw it with my own eyes! Get a divorce right away!"
The red brick house wasn't soundproof, and it didn't take much effort for Liang Congjun, who lived in a corridor separated by two rooms, to run over: "Having an affair? I knew she was a slut. Bah!"
Liang Guijin grabbed a kitchen knife and ran downstairs. Wang Jiali knew it was too late to explain, so she quickly came out of the kitchen, pointed, and said, "The steamed buns are ready."
Liang Congjun entered the kitchen, lifted the lid of the pot, and said, "Steaming buns? The person isn't much to look at, but the buns are quite decent. My daughter also wants to eat some, so let's have a few when we get home."
Grandma Liang, ignoring Liang Guijin's pleas, went to the kitchen and pressed down on Liang Congjun, saying, "A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl; you should go back to your husband's family."
Liang Congjun chuckled and pushed aside Grandma Liang, grabbed a few steamed buns and left. Grandma Liang, heartbroken, stood at the kitchen door and stomped her feet, saying, "They're all spendthrift women!"
Wang Jiali caught up with Liang Guijin, who found the disabled beggar who was giving her rice. Although she felt bad about giving him too much rice, she kept asking him if he had seen any other men.
The beggar hunched his shoulders and said, "No, really no."
Wang Jiali glanced at the time, knowing that Liang Guijin wouldn't be able to finish asking her questions anytime soon. She hurriedly straightened her hair and straightened her clothes, saying, "I have to go to the shop; I don't have time to eat."
Liang Guijin said, "Shall I take you there on my bike?"
Wang Jiali said, "I'm feeling better today, so you don't need to take me. Remember to go back and have dinner with Mom."
Liang Guijin stood by the roadside and said, "Okay, did you bring your wallet?"
Wang Jiali said, "I didn't bring it, I went there myself." She works part-time at a clothing store. The store owner runs the store alone, and when he's had enough of being in the store, he lets her go. The pay isn't much, but it's a way to relax.
Liang Guijin looked satisfied and thought for a moment before saying, "I'll make you some brown sugar to drink tonight."
After Liang Guijin left, he asked her for a long time until the beggar begged him to leave, repeatedly saying, "I was the only one there at the time. I only went to beg because I saw someone in the kitchen. No one else really saw me. Please, have mercy on me. You are all Guanyin Bodhisattvas. Please let me go."
"You can go now." Knowing he wouldn't get any answers, Liang Guijin waved his hand, finally letting the man leave.
The red brick house I lived in was next to the old Wenhua Second-hand Commodity Market. The market consisted of three five-story buildings. It used to be very prosperous, but unfortunately, business was not good now. The signs were dilapidated, the neon lights occasionally made an electrical noise, and rats and flies scurried around the market.
Taking advantage of the early morning market, he wandered around looking for a bargain, but unfortunately, he only bought the wrong thing, not sold it at a loss.
It was already 10 a.m. when he got home. His second aunt was standing at the door, carrying a basket and waving to Liang Guijin: "Isn't your mother home?"
"Yes, I'm here."
Liang Guijin walked over and smelled a odor.
My second aunt pinched her nose and hesitated before asking, "What's that smell? Gas?"
Liang Guijin was startled and ran to open the door, only to find he hadn't brought his keys. He pounded on the door, shouting, "Mom, Mom!"
Five minutes passed, and no one answered.
Liang Guijin simply smashed open the wooden door, and a strong smell of gas immediately hit him.
He rushed into the living room and saw Grandma Liang lying on the sofa, weakly trying to prop herself up. His second aunt quickly went over to help her up, pinching Grandma Liang's philtrum and saying, "What a tragedy! She's had carbon monoxide poisoning! Quickly open all the windows!"
Liang Congjun also came out of the house, carrying his wet hair as he went inside: "Mom? Hurry up and take Mom to the hospital!"
Grandma Liang struggled to sit up, waving her hands and saying, "No... I don't need to spend that money, I... I'll just have some water."
The second aunt went to the kitchen to pour a bowl of water for Grandma Liang, leaving footprints all over the floor.
Liang Congjun went to the bathroom, grabbed a towel to dry his hair, and casually tossed it onto the sink: "She must have forgotten to turn off the gas while steaming buns."
Everyone present knew perfectly well who this "she" was.
Second Aunt sneered, "I just can't stand her seductive, lewd ways. Do you think she did it on purpose or not?"
Liang Guijin interrupted them, saying, "It wasn't her. She had already steamed the buns and turned off the fire when I left."
"What do you know, you old man? You're as weak as a candle." Liang Congjun seemed convinced that Wang Jiali was behind it all, and he made a sarcastic remark, adding, "She probably thinks Mom is an eyesore."
Grandma Liang waved her hand on the sofa: "Stop talking, let me catch my breath. You're going to drive me crazy if you keep going."
Liang Guijin sat down next to Grandma Liang, patted her back, and whispered, "Mom, it really wasn't her."
Grandma Liang looked at her son deeply and sighed, "It was me. I wanted to heat up some steamed buns for you."
Just then, Wang Jiali, having received the news, rushed back from the clothing store. Seeing that the house was in a mess again, she silently began to clean up.
Liang Congjun, hands on his hips and wearing sneakers, paced back and forth, watching the busy tidying-up figure and clicking his tongue, saying, "Look, the lucky angel is back. My mom got carbon monoxide poisoning when she wasn't home. How come nothing like that happened when she was home?"
Wang Jiali threw down the rag and said with a stern face, "What do you mean?"
Liang Congjun said, "Look at you, all dressed up and wearing so many accessories to work. How could you be treated so badly in my Liang family? Wearing a tight leather skirt, you shameless jinx."
Wang Jiali's chest heaved with anger, and she said with a flushed face, "The boss said I would sell clothes better if I wore them, but it's not like I wanted to wear them myself."
Liang Congjun said, "You look very happy dressed up. Do you have any men who want to go on dates with you? Anyway, my brother is at work and can't take care of you. You'll be even happier after your mother-in-law dies."
My second aunt added fuel to the fire, saying, "You've been married into this family for so many years, eating so much rice and oil, and I've been feeding you for over ten years for nothing. You're such an ingrate. Isn't it a shame you didn't kill your mother-in-law?"
Wang Jiali was extremely upset, and her eyes turned red.
Seeing her distress made Grandma Liang feel relieved, and a sliver of color returned to her pale face. With a forced smile, she said, "If you want to save my old life, you'd better divorce my son."
“Mom—” Liang Guijin paused as she stroked the back of his head.
Wang Jiali said, "Divorce is fine, but give me back my dowry."
Liang Guijin pleaded, "Jiali, don't listen to them, I will never get a divorce."
"You want a dowry too? You really want to kill me!" Granny Liang pounded her chest and stamped her feet, then started throwing a tantrum again: "That money was all spent on your father-in-law's medical treatment. I have no money, but I can take your life."
Wang Jiali couldn't take it anymore and said coldly, "Your whole family is bullying me. Before the divorce, you have to give me my salary and my dowry."
Liang Congjun's face was also pale. Years ago, she and her mother-in-law had conspired to keep Wang Jiali's dowry for themselves, and she had even received a share, making a small fortune. Having to return the money now was worse than death for her. Not only her, but her mother-in-law was also deeply distressed.
The second aunt sized up the expressions on the mother and daughter's faces, and sneered inwardly. So there was such a good thing, why didn't they tell her? This time, she couldn't let it go like this.
Wang Jiali hit her in-laws' sweet spot, coldly watching their gazes shift back and forth, filled with mutual resentment.
Ultimately, Grandma Liang's belief in getting Wang Jiali to divorce outweighed her love for her daughter. She still thought to herself, "A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl," and said, "I can't repay your father-in-law's debt, but your sister-in-law also took a sum of money. Make her pay you back, and after she pays it back, you can divorce my son."
Liang Guijin said speechlessly, "I will pay back the money, but I will not agree to a divorce, not even if it kills me!"
Liang Congjun was shocked by her mother-in-law's cold-bloodedness, and upon hearing her brother's words, she vented all her anger on Wang Jiali: "It's all your fault, you troublemaker! I have no money, no money!"
Liang Congjun grabbed Wang Jiali by the neck, and Wang Jiali struggled with her. The two rolled out of the house and fought all the way down the stairs.
Liang Guijin couldn't pull them apart no matter what she did, and her second aunt helped Liang's mother-in-law all the way outside, watching with great interest.
"Liang Guijin, you're not human! You're helping outsiders beat up your own sister!" Liang Congjun couldn't stand her brother taking sides. After being slapped a few times by Wang Jiali, she rolled up from the ground and bared her teeth and claws, trying to pounce on Liang Guijin.
Liang Guijin was wholeheartedly helping Wang Jiali and didn't notice a police car stopping behind them.
"Stop!" Shen Zhenzhu ran out of the car and stood between the two people.
Liang Congjun hooked her finger, her sharp nails reaching back to scratch Shen Zhenzhu's face. Shen Zhenzhu, not one to tolerate such behavior, grabbed Liang Congjun's arm and pinned her to the ground: "Are you calm now?"
"Ouch, ouch." Liang Congjun clutched his shoulder and struggled to say, "Calm down, officer. We were just playing around with our family."
Wang Jiali's hair was disheveled, and her tight-fitting leather skirt was sexy and hot.
The railway dormitory was crowded with idle neighbors watching the spectacle, some of whom had eyes that seemed to pierce through the leather skirt.
Liang Guijin took off his work jacket and tied it around Wang Jiali's waist, saying, "Comrade, we are family."
At this moment, the second aunt said, "Why would a family member murder another family member?"
Shen Zhenzhu looked around, feeling an overwhelming sense of oppression. Upon seeing them, she recognized them as the "lucky angel" and her husband.
“Murder? What happened?” Shen Zhenzhu asked.
The relatives surrounding them all pointed at Wang Jiali, saying all sorts of things. Finally, her second aunt stood up and said with a sigh, "She deliberately left the gas on when she went out, trying to kill her mother-in-law. If I hadn't arrived in time and opened the door, the old lady would already be on her way to the underworld."
Inside the police car, Chen Zhenzhu beckoned Xiaobai, who had just finished his phone call, to come over.
Upon learning of the intentional homicide, Shen Zhenzhu separated the accusing crowd: "Don't talk together. Raise your hand if you know what happened. I will ask everyone one by one. Please cooperate and don't whisper to each other."
Xiaobai contacted the operators to come and maintain order at the scene, separating the crowd that was making a fuss.
Chen Zhenzhu questioned Granny Liang privately, helped her to the old warehouse across the alley, found a chair for Granny Liang to sit down: "Granny, let me give you a quick check-up."
Grandma Liang said anxiously, "I'm fine. Look, I can go up and down the stairs."
"Alright, I'll take a look." Chen Zhenzhu examined Granny Liang's eyelids, checking her pupil response, then looked at her tongue coating and complexion, finding the situation acceptable. She opened her notebook and said, "Can you tell me what happened?"
Grandma Liang stammered, "I...I was sleeping this morning."
Shen Zhenzhu frowned and said, "And then?"
Grandma Liang said, "There are sparrows, oh, the sparrows are insulting me. I'll swat the sparrows."
Shen Zhenzhu nodded and tried asking a few more questions, only to find that Granny Liang was deliberately lying and beating around the bush.
"Okay, let's stop here for now. You should go back and rest, sir."
Grandma Liang pointed at Liang Guijin and said, "Let my son carry me up."
Little White ran over and said, "Grandma, I'll carry you on my back. I'm strong."
Grandma Liang still wouldn't give in, slapping Xiaobai's hand away and pointing at Liang Guijin, saying, "I want my son, give me my son, give him to me!" Then she started throwing a tantrum again.
Xiao Bai turned to Shen Zhenzhu and said, "It doesn't look like carbon monoxide poisoning, it looks like he's been injected with chicken blood."
Shen Zhenzhu slapped her and stared at Granny Liang, who was rolling on the ground, with a stern face.
Grandma Liang underestimated Shen Zhenzhu's age. Shen Zhenzhu was too calm, which made Grandma Liang roll around a few times and sit up. She pointed to herself and said, "I forgot to turn off the stove. It has nothing to do with them."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "It's a gas leak."
Grandma Liang changed her story, saying, "I caused the gas leak, it has nothing to do with anyone else. Last year when I went to the hospital, they said I had dementia, I can't remember what I did."
“Yes, my mother is right, the doctor did say that my mother has Alzheimer’s.” Liang Guijin stepped forward and helped Grandma Liang up, saying, “But the condition is not very serious, so we haven’t gone for treatment.”
“I can’t bear to part with the money. My husband passed away early, and my son works alone and married a troublesome wife.” Granny Liang looked terrible, and with tears streaming down her face, she recounted how difficult it was to raise her son. She then begged Chen Zhenzhu, “Don’t arrest me. I don’t have many years left to live. I just want to die in my son’s room.”
Shen Zhenzhu retorted, "Since it's all a misunderstanding, of course I won't arrest you. That is, you really haven't done anything illegal or criminal."
Grandma Liang swallowed hard, looked at Chen Zhenzhu and said, "Of course not, how could that be? Young comrade, don't talk nonsense."
Chen Zhenzhu looked around at the crowd. Her second aunt, who had been interrupting, stood next to the other aunts. Her second aunt, in particular, said sarcastically, "See? The 'Lucky Angel' has brought the police again, huh?"
"The reporters will be here again soon, saying she's 'lucky' to have escaped unscathed," Liang Congjun said sarcastically.
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Author's Note: Eight months have passed since the last serialization began. The final case has started; it's neither too difficult nor too long.
I'm not feeling well and really can't type anymore, please forgive me, thank you for your company (I'm so reluctant to leave, sob sob).
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See you tomorrow, there's a red envelope!
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