I walked into the intermediate court and looked around; there was no one there.
Logically speaking, at this hour, there should be people fetching water and washing clothes by the pool, but it seems they've all gone to the backyard to watch the commotion!
As soon as Wang Dabao passed through the moon gate, he heard Yi Zhonghai's loud and forceful voice: "Xu Damao, everything must be based on evidence. You can't just say who is the thief and then make them the thief."
“The old man is right. How can you wrong my grandson? I know my grandson. He would never do anything like stealing chickens or dogs.”
Jia Zhangshi's willful voice carried a hint of smugness.
“Let me tell you, Xu Damao, nothing has ever been stolen from our compound. I think you're just trying to frame my family by making such a mess of your home.”
"To be fair, Banggeng isn't a bad kid; he's quite sensible."
Sha Zhu stood by, one arm around his shoulder and the other in his pocket, grinning as he watched Xu Damao make a fool of himself.
Seeing that Xu Damao's house was crowded with people, Wang Dabao went around to his own house first.
Seeing that the door lock was intact, I felt half relieved. I opened the door, pushed the bicycle into the house, looked around the east and west rooms, and then went out.
Standing on the steps, Wang Dabao tilted his head and looked inside. He saw Jia Dongxu trying to grab Xu Damao's collar, but Xu Damao pushed him away.
"Xu Damao, you've wronged my son! And you dare push me?!"
Jia Dongxu gave him a look that said, "Don't think that just because I was demoted, my family will starve. Even if my whole family starves to death, we will never let our child do such a thing. If you keep making false accusations, I'll fight you to the death."
"You're talking nonsense."
Xu Damao was almost driven crazy by these people.
He got home early from get off work today and bought some braised dishes on the way, planning to celebrate with Wang Dabao and maybe even get some drinks from him.
When I got to my front door, I found the lock was gone, and my heart sank.
I almost fainted before I even stepped inside the room after pushing open the door.
It was a complete mess, no different from a garbage dump. Broken bowls and shards were everywhere, and the table had been overturned. When Xu Damao went into the inner room, he was even more furious. The bedding was thrown on the floor, covered with footprints, and the cotton had been trampled out.
The closet was wide open, and all the clothes inside had been taken out and thrown around haphazardly.
The wooden plank beds were in even worse shape; not a single plank was intact, they had all been trampled and collapsed.
Before he could get angry, Xu Damao quickly put down the braised food in his hand, bent down and reached under the cabinet to pull out a small iron box.
When I opened it, it was empty!
The two hundred yuan or so inside, as well as some grain coupons and oil coupons, are gone.
Xu Damao's job required him to frequently travel to the countryside, which fostered his ostentatious nature. He spent lavishly on leather shoes, shirts, and watches, and all that he had saved over the years ended up being used by others.
Realizing his home had been ransacked, Xu Damao felt the blood rushing to the top of his head from the soles of his feet, and he almost couldn't catch his breath.
He sat down on the ground and calmed himself down for more than ten minutes before he began to look for clues with a sliver of hope.
He actually found it. Based on the shoe prints on the wooden board and bedding, it was clear that only one person had entered the house to steal, and that he was a petty thief.
In an instant, Xu Damao had a suspect in mind.
In this compound, the only people with such small footprints who could steal alone are Yan Jiekuang from the front yard and Jia Banggeng from the middle yard.
Without any hesitation, Xu Damao was absolutely certain that the thing that copied his work was Jia Banggeng.
Putting aside whether Yan Jiekuang would steal or not, given his personality, he could steal something and then leave you with no impression that it had been rummaged through, let alone cause any damage.
It's uncertain about Jia Banggeng from the Intermediate People's Court; that bastard is extremely wicked.
After his encounter with Wang Dabao last night, Xu Damao's mind became much sharper. He found some scissors and cut off all the areas on the bedding with footprints, and then removed the wooden board with the clear footprints.
After doing all this, he went to the Intermediate People's Court to question the Jia family.
When Xu Damao arrived at the Intermediate People's Court, he found that the Jia family's doors were closed. The Jia family never closed their doors except when they slept at night. This unusual behavior made Xu Damao increasingly suspicious that the thief who raided the house was Bang Geng.
The door was opened by Jia Zhangshi, and unsurprisingly, the two quickly started arguing.
Xu Damao wanted to go inside to confront Banggeng, but Jia Zhangshi blocked the door, which quickly attracted the courtyard manager and many neighbors.
When Xu Damao explained the situation, everyone was in an uproar.
Aside from the last major brawl that occurred in the entire courtyard, when has anything this big ever happened at Hongxing Courtyard?
Everyone clamored to go see Xu Damao's house, but when Xu Damao realized they couldn't get into Jia's house, he led them to his own. As they walked out, sighing with regret, they were blocked at the door by Jia Dongxu and Yi Zhonghai, who had just returned from get off work.
"Guangtian, come here."
Wang Dabao waved to Liu Guangtian, who was watching the commotion from the sidelines, took out a cigarette and offered it to the young man, saying, "Tell me what happened."
Liu Guangtian respectfully accepted the cigarette, took out a match and lit it for Wang Dabao, looking exactly like his father, Liu Haizhong.
Liu Guangtian told Wang Dabao everything he knew.
After listening, Wang Dabao nodded, already having identified his target. This matter was definitely going to involve the legendary thief Jia Bang.
At this moment, Xu Damao pulled a piece of cloth out of his pocket: "I'm telling you, I have evidence. These are footprints I cut from the bedding. Whether Jia Banggeng has been wronged or not, you'll know once you compare them."
Wang Dabao's eyes lit up, and he winked at Liu Guangtian.
"Guangtian, watch my signals and act accordingly. If things don't go well, I'll trouble you to go to the police station and report it to the police."
"Okay, Uncle Bao!"
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