"What are you looking for, brother?"
The sudden sound from behind startled Su Mingqiang so much that he almost screamed.
When he turned around and saw his second brother Su Mingde's ambiguous smile, he clenched his fists.
"none of your business!"
Su Mingqiang cursed in a low voice.
My bookish younger brother has always loved to tattle, and if he gets in the way today...
Su Mingde, however, pulled a key out of his pocket.
"Is this what you're looking for?"
The two brothers exchanged a glance and instantly understood each other's intentions.
Su Mingqiang's fleshy face twitched.
"You've been thinking about this for a while now?"
"Likewise."
Su Mingde pushed up his glasses.
"Should we split the proceeds?"
"Three times seven, I get seven, you get three."
Su Mingqiang snatched the keys.
"I know buyers in Liulichang."
"Fifteen, or I'll call Mom in right now."
Su Mingde refused to budge an inch.
Wang Xiulan's cough came from outside the courtyard, and Su Mingqiang nodded through gritted teeth.
"make a deal!"
The click of the key into the lock made both of them breathe rapidly.
Su Mingqiang opened it with trembling hands.
However, it was completely empty inside.
Where's the bottle?
Su Mingqiang's face turned ashen.
Su Mingde's eyes narrowed into slits behind his glasses.
"The old man has gone into hiding."
"Damn it!"
Su Mingqiang kicked the dresser, startling Wang Xiulan in the courtyard.
Who's inside?
Wang Xiulan's footsteps grew closer.
Su Mingde quickly locked the drawer and put the key back in his pocket.
"We'll talk about it tonight, let's go first."
The two brothers had just slipped out of the yard when they bumped into Su Yuzhen, who was returning from school.
The sixteen-year-old younger sister looked at her two older brothers with suspicion.
What are you all doing, sneaking around like that?
"none of your business!"
Su Mingqiang shoved her away and walked away.
Su Yuzhen rubbed her sore shoulder, looking displeased.
On the other side...
Su Jianguo and his three apprentices had already ridden to the entrance of Lijiazhuang Village.
Under the blazing sun, the sweat on his back soaked through most of his work clothes.
"Master, who are we looking for here?"
The eldest apprentice, Wang Tiezhu, asked, wiping his sweat.
Su Jianguo squinted at the most impressive brick house in the village.
Li Jinhua's family built a new house last year. In his previous life, he had always wondered where his farming in-laws got so much money.
"Collecting debts."
Su Jianguo pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, on which were densely written records of the money Li Jinhua had sent over the past five years.
"You all better be tougher later."
As soon as the four of them arrived at the Li family's door, a large yellow dog rushed out barking wildly.
Wang Tiezhu picked up a wooden stick from the roadside, and the dog immediately cowered.
When Li's father came out after hearing the commotion, his expression changed immediately upon seeing the scene.
"Dear in-laws? This is..."
"Li Youtian."
Su Jianguo addressed him by his first name.
"Your daughter has stolen three thousand yuan from home over the past five years. Today, you either return the money, or we'll meet at the police station."
Li Youtian's face wrinkled with fright.
"What...what do you mean by that?"
Stop pretending!
Su Jianguo slapped the record on the stone table in the courtyard.
"I sent fifty in February of 1981, sixty in May... and two hundred directly last December! The post office has records of this, should we check?"
More and more villagers gathered in the courtyard to watch the spectacle, and Li Youtian's forehead broke out in a sweat.
Three thousand yuan was enough to get a prison sentence in 1983, not to mention that if word got out, the Li family would lose face in the village.
"In-laws, let's go inside and talk. Let's go inside and talk..."
Li Youtian reached out to pull Su Jianguo.
"Say it right here!"
Su Jianguo shook off his hand.
"Listen to the whole village, what kind of fine daughter has the Li family raised!"
People in the crowd had already started pointing and whispering. Li's mother rushed out and started throwing a tantrum.
"What a scoundrel! Old Su's father-in-law is bullying his daughter-in-law's family!"
Li's mother grabbed Su Jianguo's wrist directly.
She screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice piercing the eardrums.
Spit sprayed all over Su Jianguo's face.
Three sturdy young men rushed out carrying shovels, followed by four girls with braided pigtails. The youngest of them was only about ten years old and was also holding a pair of scissors.
The Li family members immediately surrounded Su Jianguo and his three apprentices.
"How dare you cause trouble at our Li family's residence?"
The eldest son of the Li family slammed a shovel into the ground, kicking up a high cloud of dust.
"I'll make sure you leave here sideways today!"
Wang Tiezhu and Yang Dalei immediately stood in front of Su Jianguo, their two sturdy figures, like two walls, causing the Li family's momentum to falter.
Zhao Hongqi cleverly darted to the outer edge of the crowd and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"They're hitting people! The Li family village is bullying people from other villages!"
More and more villagers gathered to watch, pointing and whispering among themselves.
"Isn't this the father-in-law of Old Li's eldest daughter?"
"I heard his daughter steals money from her parents' house every month."
Three thousand dollars? My God!
Seeing that things were not going well, Li's mother suddenly sat down on the ground, slapping her thigh and wailing.
"This is outrageous! City people are bullying us country folk!"
She cried as she unbuttoned her clothes.
"That old bastard just touched my chest!"
Su Jianguo sneered and held the post office receipt high in the air.
"Fellow villagers, take a good look! This is a money order stub from the post office! It says in black and white that Li Jinhua has sent home 3,125.8 yuan over the past five years!"
Under the sunlight, the postmark on the document is clearly visible.
The crowd immediately erupted in uproar.
"Shut up, all of you!"
A loud shout came from behind the crowd.
Li Daikui, the village party secretary with a full head of white hair, walked over with a cane, followed by two militiamen.
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