Upon hearing this, Madam Jia immediately turned to the source of the sound and cursed, "What nonsense are you spouting? Be careful, or I'll tear your mouth apart!"
The police officer frowned upon hearing this. How dare she act so arrogantly here? He directly confronted Jia Zhangshi, demanding, "You're Jia Zhangshi? Tell me, did you steal someone's coal?"
Jia Zhangshi was quite arrogant in the courtyard, but when she saw the police, she was so scared that she almost wet herself and froze on the spot.
Seeing this, Qin Huairu hurriedly explained, "Officer, that's not how it is. My mother-in-law misread it and took the wrong thing. It wasn't stolen. Mother-in-law, please admit it."
Madam Jia, already afraid of being arrested and unwilling to confess, immediately retorted upon hearing Qin Huairu's words: "Qin Huairu, what nonsense are you spouting? I didn't take it! Those are all ours, I didn't take any! You just can't stand to see things go well!"
"Are you planning to take me away and remarry? Let me tell you, I'm a member of the Jia family, alive and dead. Don't even think about it, do you hear me?"
Seeing this, the police didn't hesitate and immediately searched the Jia family's house. Sure enough, they found twenty honeycomb briquettes inside. Jia Zhangshi was still trying to argue, "These are all mine. What's wrong with me putting them in the house? Is that illegal?"
Seeing this, Ma Hua shook his head, utterly ignorant. He then explained directly to Jia Zhangshi, "Aunt Jia, you're really shameless! I bought it from the coal station; it's not the same as what you made."
Madam Jia was also dumbfounded. Really? Don't all these things look the same?
Ma Hua then added, "Aunt Jia, look at the coal outside your door. It's obviously been mixed with too much yellow soil. Tsk tsk, that's really something."
Ma Hua was truly impressed by the Jia family at this moment. Their honeycomb briquettes had a specific ratio of yellow soil, but some of the Jia family's briquettes looked yellowish and unappealing. Could they even burn like that?
Jia Zhangshi retorted, "Why can't it be burned? What nonsense are you talking about?" Jia Zhangshi thought to herself, "What do you young people know? Just add more loess to make it burn longer. If it goes out, just have my daughter-in-law go to Sha Zhu's house to get a replacement piece."
There was nothing she could do; it was a done deal, under the watchful eyes of the police. Jia Zhangshi could only sullenly carry the honeycomb briquettes back to Ma Hua's house and then compensate Ma Hua with 30 cents.
When Jia Zhangshi learned that she was going to be taken away again, she immediately sat on the ground and started throwing a tantrum: "I won't go, I won't go! I just took the wrong thing, Ma Hua, you bastard! I only took a few pieces of your coal! I don't want to live anymore!"
"I can't live like this anymore! Old Jia, come on up! Take them away! They're bullying your wife! Waaaaah! They're trying to break up our family!"
Qin Huairu also feigned a particularly aggrieved expression: "Ma Hua, this time it was my mother-in-law's fault. She's just getting old and her eyesight is failing; she took the wrong one. You know we've lost coal twice already, so please forgive her this time, I beg you."
"Ma Hua, how can you be so heartless? Aunt Jia only took two pieces of coal from you! Are you even a man? I really despise you!" Sha Zhu chimed in from the side. How could Ma Hua be so petty?
Yi Zhonghai, feeling embarrassed, walked up to the police officer and said, "Officer, could you please handle this matter internally within our office? Aunt Jia really took the wrong thing; she didn't steal it intentionally. You know, Aunt Jia is so old; her whole family depends on her."
Seeing the police hesitate, Yi Zhonghai hurriedly said, "I'm the oldest man in this compound. We'll definitely teach her a lesson today and make her behave herself from now on."
The police were in a bit of a dilemma. To be honest, they didn't want to take Jia Zhangshi away either, mainly because the matter was too minor. These kinds of small things are usually resolved by the old men in the courtyard themselves. They only came this time because Ma Hua called the police.
During this period, the police force was small, and they generally only handled major cases. For minor neighborhood disputes, the neighborhood elders would mediate; if that didn't work, they would go to the street office; and if that still didn't work, the factory's security department would handle it, just like before.
Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, the police officer turned to look at Ma Hua, awaiting Ma Hua's opinion.
Ma Hua shook his head: "Uncle, that's not right of you. Our police are acting in accordance with the law. By doing this, aren't you obstructing the impartiality of the judiciary?"
Officer, although my losses were minor, I firmly believe in the reliability of our laws. Those who break the law should be punished. Please handle this matter fairly.
Ma Hua thought to himself, "You want me to back down? Bullshit! You backed down this time, but what about next time? And the next time? Do you really think you're Xu Damao, who's been sterilized and doesn't dare utter a sound?"
Jia Zhangshi, who had initially looked at Ma Hua with hope, now had eyes filled with venom: "Ma Hua, you little bastard, I won't let you get away with this! Dongxu, Lao Jia, come on up here, help me take this little brat away!"
Ma Hua wasn't angry. He simply said to Jia Zhangshi, "Officer, isn't it adding insult to injury that Aunt Jia is openly promoting the Four Olds and engaging in feudal superstition in the courtyard?"
"That's not how it is. My mother-in-law isn't practicing feudal superstition. It's just that my husband and father-in-law passed away early, and she misses them terribly. Everyone knows that my father-in-law died early, and it wasn't easy for my mother-in-law to raise the family alone."
Qin Huairu, standing to the side, felt that she was only now realizing how difficult Ma Hua was to deal with. Not only was he unforgiving when he was in the right, but he also kicked her when she was down.
"Yes, I miss my husband. I'm not being superstitious." Madam Jia nodded in agreement. Who would dare mention those words these days? Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?
"Ma Hua, please forgive Aunt Jia this time. Her family has had a tough life too,"
"Yes, this family has all the orphans and elderly people. Why don't you forgive them this time?"
"Yes, we're all from the same compound. Why not just have Aunt Jia correct her behavior next time? Is it really necessary to have the police take her away?"
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