Xu Xinghe followed the female educated youth into the large tent on the right.
The daytime wind refreshed the air inside the tent, and the smell of sweat and wool from last night faded considerably, leaving only a faint scent of grass.
Her tense nerves relaxed slightly as she plopped down on the carpet, leaning her back against the tent wall.
"Li Juan, tell me what happened?" Zhao Xiaoyan sat down next to her and asked in a low voice, her face full of doubt. "Captain Zhang was so angry just now, he wouldn't even let us watch the Naadam festival, something serious must have happened!"
The other female educated youths also gathered around, nodding in agreement, "Yes, we've never seen Captain Zhang so anxious before. Could it be that he lost something particularly valuable?"
Xu Xinghe looked up at Zhang Qianqian sitting opposite her, deliberately feigning a confused expression, "Qianqian, didn't your dad say anything to you? Do you know what's going on?"
Zhang Qianqian shook her head, her eyes filled with confusion. "I don't know, he didn't tell me."
She paused, then added in a low voice, "I guess he might have lost something. I think I heard him telling someone he lost something just now by the field."
Upon hearing this, the female educated youth became even more curious, but dared not ask any more questions. They could only wait in the tent, occasionally whispering to each other, creating a tense and oppressive atmosphere.
Inside the men's tent on the other side.
The atmosphere had reached an extremely tense point.
Zhang Qiang stood in the center of the tent, his face frighteningly gloomy. He looked at the male educated youth and male villagers in front of him and said, "Everyone, open your luggage, take off all your clothes, and leave only your pants on!"
"Huh? Take off your clothes?" A male educated youth was stunned and couldn't help but ask, "Captain Zhang, why is that? Why are you taking off your clothes?"
"My money is gone!" Zhang Qiang slammed his hand on the wooden box beside him, his voice suddenly rising. "While I was wrestling, someone sneaked into my tent and stole the money! I have to find them today. Anyone who dares to hide will face my wrath!"
He deliberately claimed the contents of the pipe were money, both to prevent the news from leaking out and to amplify the matter.
The tent erupted in chaos.
"Money? How could the money be lost?"
"Who's so bold as to steal Captain Zhang's money?"
"Stop making a racket!" Zhang Qiang shouted angrily. "Stop talking nonsense and get it off! Hurry up!"
He then looked at the deputy captain standing to the side, "Come over here and help me search. Check the luggage carefully, search everyone, and don't miss any place!"
The deputy captain nodded, picked up a cloth bag, and began to look through it.
Although the men were unwilling, they dared not disobey. They could only open their luggage one by one, take off their coats and shirts, and stand in place wearing only their pants, allowing Zhang Qiang and the deputy captain to search them.
The tent was filled with the rustling sounds of people getting dressed and rummaging through their luggage.
I searched everywhere but found nothing.
Zhang Qiang's face darkened further. He stared at the crowd and asked coldly, "Tell me honestly, who entered my tent today? If you admit it and hand over the money, I might let it go!"
The tent was completely silent; no one spoke.
After a while, someone finally spoke up, "I didn't go in! We were all watching the game, nobody went to the tents!"
Zhang Qiang squatted down and roughly lit the pipe.
During his wrestling matches, only those who didn't participate and stayed outside the arena had time to sneak into the tent.
Those who participate in the competition are either on the field or in the rest area, so they probably don't have time.
His gaze swept over those who hadn't participated in the wrestling match. "I know the thief is definitely among you! Now I'm putting it this way: whoever can name someone who wasn't watching the match outside the arena during my wrestling and instead disappeared without a trace, and whoever finds my money, I'll reward them with fifty dollars!"
Fifty yuan is no small sum.
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately became interested.
"I saw Xiao Zhang, but he's gone!"
Xiao Zhang immediately retorted, "Bullshit! I was watching the game the whole time, with Lao Li. He can vouch for that!"
“That’s Xiao Liu. He was next to me the whole time, but then there was no one else behind him.”
"I went to check it out front, you can ask him if you don't believe me!"
"I stayed behind the group the whole time and never left their side!"
"I went to the outhouse, it only took a few minutes, and when I came back I saw everyone walking back. Old Wang can vouch for that!"
Everyone rushed to produce their alibis.
You speak, I speak, and we bear witness to each other's words.
Upon investigation, it was discovered that those who did not participate in the competition all had alibis, and none of them had left the vicinity of the competition venue alone.
Zhang Qiang frowned deeply. Could it be that these were the people?
That leaves only the wrestlers who participated in the wrestling match and were the first to leave the ring!
His gaze immediately locked onto Jiang Linchuan, his tone tinged with suspicion, "Li Guowei, where did you go after you left the arena? Did you go back to your tent?"
Jiang Linchuan stood in the crowd, his expression calm and his tone frank. "After I finished the match, I went to the rest area to drink water. Before I could even return to my tent, Li Juan and Zhang Qianqian came looking for me. After that, I stayed with them the whole time and never left, let alone went back to my tent. Zhang Qianqian can testify to this."
Zhang Qiang turned to look outside the tent and saw Zhang Qianqian peeking out of the women's tent. He immediately went out and asked, "After Li Guowei left the stage, did you go to find him immediately? Did he return to the tent?"
Zhang Qianqian nodded, "Yes, Dad, as soon as Brother Guowei finished his match, Sister Li Juan and I went to find him. He stayed with us the whole time and didn't go back to the tent!"
Hearing Zhang Qianqian's testimony, Zhang Qiang's suspicions lessened somewhat.
Jiang Linchuan didn't even return to his tent, so it's impossible that he would steal anything.
He then turned his gaze to the other wrestlers who had finished their matches, asking, "What about you? Where did you all go after you left the ring? Did anyone go back to their tents?"
...
Unable to get any answers from the men's tent, Zhang Qiang walked into the women's tent with a sullen face.
When the female educated youth and villagers in the tent saw him enter, they all instinctively sat up straight. The whispers that had been going on just moments before instantly disappeared, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Zhang Qiang stood in the center of the tent, glanced at everyone, and said, "My money was lost during my wrestling match. Now I ask you, who wasn't watching the match outside the arena during that time, and who left alone? Whoever can tell me, or whoever admits it, will get a fifty-yuan reward once the money is found."
As soon as he finished speaking, the tent erupted in chaos.
The women started talking all at once. Some said they stayed with their companions the whole time, some said they went to a food stall, and others said they watched other people's luggage and never left their side.
Someone mentioned that a female educated youth had disappeared for a while, but the other party immediately refuted this and even brought people around to testify. There was a lot of noise and commotion, but no one could confirm the truth.
Zhang Qiang frowned even more as he looked at the scene before him.
Women are meticulous and love to gather in groups, making it harder to get clues out of them than from men.
He wanted to be tougher, but since they were all women, being too harsh would easily lead to gossip, so he could only patiently listen to their explanations.
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