"Their families don't live here. I don't know how they got here. They rely on robbing students for money to eat every day. When they rob a lot, they can have a good meal. They sleep in the park at night."
My dad frowned as he listened to him. After he finished listening, he asked, "None of them are over 18 years old."
"No."
Over the years, my dad has slowly started to be led away by my mom. No matter what happens, the first thing he asks is whether the other person is an adult.
I saw my father frowning even deeper when he heard him say no, and I knew what he was thinking. If those people were adults, or the leader was an adult, there would be someone who could withstand his anger.
But now, they are all children, and in his mind, this kind of thing can basically be classified as a minor fight among children. He has no place to vent the anger in his heart.
I suddenly thought of Zhu Zhanpeng. Wasn't he also a victim? But I always felt that this incident had something to do with him.
"Dad, do you remember the classmate named Zhu whom I asked you to check before? He seemed to have been robbed by them. It was said that it was because he received financial support from our family, which made those people jealous."
So my dad is worthy of being my dad. As soon as I say something, he knows what I mean.
After that, my father told the uncle that he was in trouble, and those children hoped that he could discipline them on behalf of their parents.
Zhu Zhanpeng's family background was already investigated when we did the background check on his application for financial aid for poor students.
The next day, my dad asked for a day off for me so I didn't go to school. He told the teacher about the incident of someone robbing me of my money and said that I was scared and asked me to take a day off to rest at home.
If my father took me to the village where Zhu Zhanpeng's family lived.
After driving for nearly an hour, when we arrived, his parents were busy in the orchard.
They have to take care of these fruits all year round, and there is a great risk of not being able to sell them. No wonder they have a hard time here.
Zhu Zhanpeng's parents both looked like honest people. They had simple smiles on their faces. They invited us to sit in their house and made tea for us using the homemade tea leaves they roasted at home.
"Oh, benefactor, you are our family's great benefactor. If you were coming, you should have told us in advance so that we could clean up first. Now... the house is messy, please don't mind it."
They were very warm and considerate to my father and also treated me very well.
I saw two skinny kids beside them, probably a boy and a girl, looking at us timidly.
Seeing me looking at them, the couple quickly knelt down with their two children and kowtowed to us, "Quick, quick, come and kowtow to our benefactor."
"Hey, what are you doing? Get up, get up, and don't let the child kneel. We are here today just to see how you are doing, we have no other intentions."
My father and I quickly helped them up. They kept thanking us, saying that because of our financial support, their family's life had become much better. Even the two little ones had enough to eat, and occasionally we could get some cloth to make them clothes.
After the greetings, my father also explained the purpose of his visit.
"It's like this. We heard that because of this grant, Zhu Zhanpeng was hated by others and was robbed many times outside the school. Originally, this matter would not have been reported to me, but my daughter was in the same school as Zhu Zhanpeng, and she was in the same class as that Mi... Li Mi. After hearing about it, she came back to tell me, so I came to understand the situation."
Zhu Zhanpeng's mother opened her mouth slightly, not knowing what to say. She shook her head repeatedly, "We didn't know about this. How could this child not tell us about this? And our Zhanpeng is a boarding student and only comes back once a month. How could he go outside the school?"
"Humph! Needless to say, it must be because of you who spoiled him. He must have gone together with those guys from No. 3 Middle School again."
His father was very angry, pointing at his mother helplessly and scolding: "How many times have I told you? Those guys are just slacking off at school, hanging out with the second-rate people in society every day. They must have led our Zhanpeng astray. The money being robbed must be a lie! What a good son you have taught!"
I was very uncomfortable hearing his words. If Zhu Zhanpeng really had those bad habits, how could it be his mother's sole responsibility? Why did she scold him by saying "you raised such a good son"?
Don’t fathers have any responsibility at all?
I felt like my dad couldn’t stand it any longer, so he said directly: “The child might really have been bullied outside, and we can’t jump to conclusions based on his past experiences. You can…”
"My benefactor! You don't know, that child is not a kid at all. He is already 19 years old this year. He doesn't care about his family at all, and doesn't care whether his brothers and sisters can eat enough. He always asks for money when he comes home. The money you donated this time just fills this hole for him. Otherwise, how can we get the money to feed the two little ones and wear new clothes?"
His father got angry with his mother, but he didn't hit her. No matter how harshly he said something, he just glared at her and expressed his disappointment in her.
I seem to be slowly leaning towards his father. What kind of problem is there in this family?
"When he was in middle school, he didn't study well. He hung out with a few students who were good at stealing. His grades were good before, but then they dropped to the bottom. His mother said that he was under a lot of pressure from studying, and she made delicious food for him every day. I wanted to teach her a lesson but she wouldn't let me. If I said more, she said that the family couldn't accommodate the two of them and that she wanted to take him away. So the two little ones weren't hers, right?"
His father’s complaints made me feel that every family has its own problems.
Oh, that’s not right. Zhu Zhanpeng is already 19 years old and he’s only in the first year of high school?
I glanced at my dad. He should have thought of it too, right?
We didn’t stay in the Zhu family for too long. My father comforted them for a while, gave them some suggestions, and then took me away.
On the way home, my dad asked me, "Xingxing, do you think he has anything to do with what happened to you?"
"Dad, there are only two of us here, so I will speak freely. I think this matter is not only related to Zhu Zhanpeng, but he may be the mastermind."
I started to have conspiracy theories, "He deliberately told Mimi those things, firstly to clear himself of suspicion and to present himself in front of us as a victim; secondly, to make us believe that it was purely an accident that they robbed us of our money, and it had nothing to do with him, Zhu Zhanpeng."
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