"Erwang, I want to ask you, when you asked me for the key a few days ago and went to my house, did you do anything bad?" Seeing Xu Erwang put on his clothes, Xu Lifang hurriedly asked the doubts in her heart.
"Sister, what do you mean by that?" Xu Erwang's smiling face suddenly fell, and with his narrow and long phoenix eyes, he looked a little cold.
"Erwang, tell me the truth. Did you touch the official seal in your brother-in-law's drawer that day?" Xu Liqin's white teeth were biting her lower lip. She was a little nervous, afraid that her brother would say "yes" or "no". If her brother said "yes", Zhao Guohui's "enemy" would be found. If her brother said no, how could she clear Zhao Guohui's name?
Xu Liqin didn't believe the accusation that Zhao Guohui was corrupt. In the two years since their marriage, she knew exactly what kind of person Zhao Guohui was. She also remembered how much Zhao Guohui, the director of the supply and marketing cooperative, had quietly done for everyone.
A few days ago, Xu Erwang ran to the supply and marketing cooperative to find Xu Liqin, saying that he had lost something important. He had been to Xu Liqin's house yesterday and didn't know if he had left it there, so he wanted to go look for it.
Xu Liqin was at work and couldn't leave for the moment. Seeing Xu Erwang was anxious, she gave him the key and asked him to find it himself. In fact, Xu Liqin didn't take the "important things" Xu Erwang mentioned seriously at all. What important things could there be for a child?
However, Xu Liqin was still willing to indulge Xu Erwang. This child was very cunning and was always afraid that Xu Liqin would not care about him. Since Xu Liqin got married, Xu Erwang would go to her house whenever he had time, just to get closer to her, his elder sister.
Unfortunately, Zhao Guohui disliked Xu Erwang and didn't want the two siblings to get too close. Zhao Guohui also told Xu Liqin that Xu Erwang was like a wolf cub, who would bare his fangs whenever he wasn't paying attention.
Although Xu Liqin didn't believe Zhao Guohui's words, she still distanced herself from her younger brother. There was no other way. Marrying a chicken follows the chicken, marrying a dog follows the dog. After marrying Zhao Guohui, she couldn't always do things that would make Zhao Guohui unhappy. Zhao Guohui didn't stop her from supporting her parents' family, which was already very generous.
Xu Erwang ran away with the key and returned the key to Xu Liqin more than an hour later.
Xu Liqin recalled at this moment that Xu Erwang looked a little nervous when he returned the key to her. Xu Erwang had developed a habit since childhood that when he was nervous he would blink his eyes and pick his fingernails constantly. That day, Xu Liqin saw that when Xu Erwang was talking to her, his eyes were blinking and his fingers were moving around, without stopping.
The day before yesterday, Zhao Guohui came back from the county and withdrew all the money from the passbooks at home.
That night, Zhao Guohui told Xu Liqin about a batch of supplies missing from the supply and marketing cooperative. He also told Xu Liqin that he had taken money from home to fill the gaps in the supplies.
Zhao Guohui's family savings are basically Zhao Guohui's salary and bonuses, and Xu Liqin's salary is basically used to support her parents' home.
Zhao Guohui was willing to tell Xu Liqin about the whereabouts of his savings, and her heart was full of emotion. Even if Zhao Guohui didn't say it, Xu Liqin didn't think it was a big deal. In the past two years, she hadn't contributed to the family savings.
When Xu Liqin heard Zhao Guohui say that the person picking up the goods would go to the county with the delivery note with the official seal, her heart almost jumped out of her chest.
Zhao Guohui's official seal was usually kept in a drawer in his bedroom, while the ink pad he used for stamping was kept in his office. Xu Liqin remembers asking out of curiosity why they had to be kept separately. Zhao Guohui said the seal and ink pad were kept separate for safety reasons.
Xu Liqin thought about it and realized it was true. In those days, engraving official seals required written authorization from the company. Engraving without authorization was a serious crime, punishable by at least ten years in prison. Ink paste was only sold at the supply and marketing cooperatives, and only to village committees or a few units in the town. Buying ink paste privately at the supply and marketing cooperatives? You absolutely couldn't buy it.
Zhao Guohui kept the official seal and ink pad separate, which was indeed much safer.
There was a lock on the drawer in Xu Liqin's bedroom, and both she and her husband had the key. Sometimes, when Zhao Guohui needed the official seal urgently at work, he would ask Xu Liqin to go home and get it.
On the day Xu Erwang took the key, many people came to Xu Liqin's counter to buy things. Xu Liqin was busy selling goods and didn't pay attention to Xu Erwang's abnormal behavior. When she returned home from get off work, she saw that the house was a bit messy. Xu Liqin even cleaned it up. She didn't think Xu Erwang would come to her house to steal the official seal.
Before Xu Liqin could ask Xu Erwang if he had found the "lost things", Zhao Guohui was arrested by the police. At this point, even if Xu Liqin was careless, she had to suspect Xu Erwang.
Whenever Xu Liqin thought about the fact that Zhao Guohui was arrested because of her younger brother, she felt very unhappy.
"Little brother, tell me honestly, did you do it?" Xu Liqin ignored Xu Erwang's unhappy face and stubbornly demanded an answer.
"Yes, I made it. Are you satisfied?" Xu Erwang looked at his elder sister, who looked much more unfamiliar to him, and he couldn't suppress the anger in his heart. He didn't understand what was wrong with his sister. She would rather help Zhao Guohui, an outsider, than help him. His sister used to be so nice! She would smile at him gently, and he would be the first person she thought of when she saw something delicious. But now? Her heart and eyes were full of Zhao Guohui.
Xu Erwang hated Zhao Guohui so much that even if Brother Ma didn't ask him to steal Zhao Guohui's official seal this time, he would find something else to make Zhao Guohui pay!
Brother-in-law? Is there really a brother-in-law who looks down on the Xu family so much? If Zhao Guohui loses his title as director of the supply and marketing cooperative, can he still act so arrogantly in front of the Xu family?
"Little brother, you... tell me, who told you to do this? This... this is a crime!" Xu Liqin was stunned. Speculation was one thing, Xu Erwang's admission was another. A large shipment of goods, Guohui said, must have cost over 20,000 yuan! If I got caught with over 20,000 yuan worth of stuff, I'd definitely be eating peanuts. (In those days, eating peanuts was synonymous with being shot.)
"What's wrong with what I did? What's so great about stamping a seal? Is that damn official seal of Zhao Guohui the emperor's imperial seal? If you want me to be unlucky, just report me!" Xu Erwang looked at Xu Liqin's face full of accusations, and the anger in his heart finally broke out: "I, Xu Erwang, am a scoundrel and a bad guy. I am not as promising as your husband, Xu Liqin. I deserve to die for letting your man be a stepping stone to climb up. Xu Liqin, go back and tell Zhao Guohui now that I, Xu Erwang, am not afraid of him. He can just send someone to arrest me."
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