“No, we’re going to get it with you right now. I know you live in Zhoujia Village, you can’t run away even if you want to,” Xiao Fang said sternly.
What, fifty yuan? It's one hundred and fifty yuan.
Xiao Fang hasn't said anything yet because she doesn't want Ding Ermei, this "fat sheep," to cause a scene in front of the police station.
Xiao Fang's little tricks can only fool uneducated rural women like Ding Ermei, but they can't fool the police.
If Ding Ermei starts making a scene, Xiao Fang will definitely end up with nothing.
"Alright, alright, if you're not afraid of the long and difficult journey, then come with me!" Ding Ermei had no choice but to agree.
Ding Ermei and her group encountered Zhou Jiaxiang at the village entrance.
"Jiaxiang, are you here to pick up the milk? You're such a good grandson." Ding Ermei hugged Zhou Jiaxiang, her face full of wrinkles, and smiled broadly.
Zhou Jiaxiang twisted his body, his face full of resistance.
He wasn't there to pick up his grandma from the village entrance; he was on his way to town and just happened to be passing by.
"Old woman, is this your grandson?" Xiao Fang looked Zhou Jiaxiang up and down.
Xiao Fang sensed a kindred spirit in Zhou Jiaxiang.
Look at this kid, his eyes are darting around everywhere. He's definitely a "good prospect" for their line of work.
Xiao Fang decided that once he got the money, he would take Zhou Jiaxiang back to show his boss. Maybe he could even recruit a "follower" for him.
"This is my eldest grandson, Zhou Jiaxiang. Comrade Fang, my Jiaxiang is so smart! Nine out of ten people who have met him praise his cleverness." Ding Ermei showed off her eldest grandson with a big smile.
"Hmm, he does look quite clever," Xiao Fang said dismissively.
"Jiaxiang, come on, let's go home. Grandma will make you steamed egg custard." Ding Ermei took Zhou Jiaxiang's hand and walked towards home.
These past few days, Ding Ermei has been detained in the police station. After thinking it over, she realized that she shouldn't have yelled at Zhou Jiaxiang that day.
Zhou Jiaxiang is still a child, so it's normal for him to have a sweet tooth.
Upon seeing Zhou Jiaxiang, Ding Ermei really wanted to cook something delicious to make up for it.
"Grandma, I have things to do! You go back by yourself." Seeing that things were not going well, Zhou Jiaxiang quickly broke free from Ding Ermei's hand and ran towards Peach Blossom Town.
Zhou Jiaxiang has eaten steamed eggs twice in the past few days, but they've lost their appeal. He wants to eat braised pork knuckle and chicken legs.
Today is market day again.
Zhou Jiaxiang made an appointment with Liang Xiaobao before going home yesterday afternoon, and they were going to pull off a big heist on the street today.
If he does a good job, Boss Cao Laoliu will definitely treat him to a big chicken leg again.
"Hey! Jiaxiang, slow down, don't fall!" Ding Ermei shouted anxiously.
Zhou Jiaxiang didn't even turn his head, and ran away in a flash.
“This child must have something urgent to do; he won’t even eat his steamed egg custard. Jiaxiang is usually very filial. He does whatever I ask him to do,” Ding Ermei said with an awkward smile to Xiao Fang and the others.
Xiao Fang twitched the corner of her mouth but didn't say anything.
He came with Ding Ermei to collect the money. He's not responsible for being the straight man.
Aunt Zhang was carrying a load of manure, preparing to go to the field to fertilize it.
Upon seeing Ding Ermei, Aunt Zhang put down her load and greeted her, "Grandma Jiaxiang, you're back?"
"Chunhua, did you sell all the vegetables I had that day? How much did you make in total?" Ding Ermei asked, pinching her nose.
Xiao Fang and the others also pinched their noses and moved aside.
“One dollar and sixty-five cents. I gave it to your husband as soon as I got back that day,” Aunt Zhang said.
"Only one dollar and sixty-five cents? I took more than fifty catties of vegetables that day, five cents a bunch, and a bunch weighs about one catty, so it should be two dollars and fifty cents!" Ding Ermei's face fell, and she was unhappy.
"Why don't you say your vegetables are full of mud and yellow leaves? If Qiuju and I hadn't washed, picked, and re-tied them, we wouldn't have been able to sell them for even 65 cents, let alone 1.65 yuan. We would have had to wait for them to wilt before feeding them to the pigs," Aunt Zhang said, rolling her eyes at Ding Ermei.
At the last market, Aunt Zhang stood on the street until after four o'clock in the afternoon to help Ding Ermei sell vegetables.
Unexpectedly, Ding Ermei was not only ungrateful, but also complained that Aunt Zhang had sold it for too little money.
"How can you talk like that? I'm just asking you one question. You didn't steal my money, so why are you giving me that attitude?" Ding Ermei felt more and more justified as she spoke.
Aunt Zhang giving her a cold shoulder was definitely because she had something to hide.
"I can't be bothered to talk to you. If I help you again next time, I'm a dog." Aunt Zhang picked up her load, turned around, and left.
She'd be better off spending that time working in the fields. Talking to Ding Ermei is just asking for trouble.
"Hey! Don't go!" Ding Ermei wanted to chat with Aunt Zhang for a bit more.
"If you keep babbling, I'll throw manure at you. You don't know any better, do you think everyone will put up with you?" Aunt Zhang picked up the manure scoop hanging at one end of the carrying pole and threatened.
Ding Ermei was so frightened that she kept backing away.
In rural areas, being splashed with excrement is believed to bring bad luck for the entire year.
She's had enough bad luck this year already, and she doesn't want to be any more unlucky.
Aunt Zhang left without looking back.
Originally, Aunt Zhang saw Xiao Fang and a few other hooligans following Ding Ermei and wanted to ask Ding Ermei if she needed any help.
Now?
Whether Ding Ermei was dead or alive, Aunt Zhang couldn't be bothered to care.
"Zhang Chunhua must be hiding something, right? She only helped me sell the vegetables for 2.5 yuan each and made 1.65 yuan. She embezzled almost 1 yuan from me. She's really greedy!" Ding Ermei couldn't help but complain to Xiao Fang.
Xiao Fang rolled her eyes.
That stupid woman, what an ingrate! Getting rid of her is like doing justice to heaven.
Thinking about this, Xiao Fang immediately felt much more at ease.
Ding Ermei didn't actually want Xiao Fang to talk to her; she was just rambling on to cover up her unease.
With her home right in front of her, Ding Ermei kept recalling Zhou Fugui's furious face and the ferocity with which he beat people.
"Why did you stop walking?" Xiao Fang asked when he saw Ding Ermei stop.
"This is my home. Wait here for me for a moment. I'll go in and get the money and I'll be right back," Ding Ermei said with an embarrassed smile.
Xiao Fang and the others exchanged glances.
"Okay, one hundred and fifty, hurry up." Xiao Fang patted the IOU in his hand and said.
Having arrived at Ding Ermei's doorstep, Xiao Fang and the others, unafraid of where Ding Ermei could run off to, naturally revealed their true intentions.
"What? Didn't you say fifty? How did it become one hundred and fifty?" Ding Ermei was dumbfounded.
"Who said fifty? It's one hundred and fifty," Xiao Wu quickly spoke up to help Xiao Fang.
“I heard it, it’s one hundred and fifty, that’s right,” Xiao Yuan said.
"That's not right! I heard it was fifty that day, I couldn't have misheard." Ding Ermei was so anxious that she paced around in circles.
Ding Ermei only had a little over two hundred yuan in total. After giving Xiao Fang and the others one hundred and fifty yuan, Ding Ermei only had a few dozen yuan left.
If I had known it would cost 150 yuan, Ding Ermei would rather starve... no, no, no, Ding Ermei would never have starved to death. Staying locked up in there for a few more days would have been fine.
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