Wang Dabao's eyelids drooped, and he was just about to stand up and confront Jia Zhangshi when someone else stepped forward for him.
“Mrs. Jia, don’t be ridiculous. I’m the one who told my family to report this to the police.”
Liu Haizhong stepped forward without hesitation, displaying a commanding presence. "Since such a heinous theft has occurred in the compound, as the person in charge, I cannot ignore the property of my neighbors. I must find the thief and restore peace to the compound."
"Even if we can't be selected as an advanced compound, we can't let our neighbors live in fear. If this issue isn't resolved, who can leave home to go to work with peace of mind?"
Upon hearing Liu Haizhong's words, the neighbors nodded in agreement, unanimously agreeing that what Liu Haizhong said made sense.
Compared to being recognized as an advanced compound, the towels and soap awarded by the neighborhood committee are not as important as ensuring the safety of one's own home. As Liu Haizhong said, who wants to go to work and then have to worry about their home being raided?
"Please do not obstruct us from performing our official duties."
The middle-aged policeman entered the house carrying a piece of cloth.
Wang Dabao, Xu Damao, Liu Haizhong, and Yi Zhonghai then went inside one after another. When Jia Dongxu and Yan Bugui tried to go in, they were stopped by the young policeman.
Upon seeing Qin Huairu and Banggeng, the middle-aged police officer immediately identified himself.
Yi Zhonghai stepped forward to comfort her, saying, "Huai Ru, don't be afraid, the police are just doing their job. Just follow their instructions. If Bang Geng is innocent, the police will definitely give you justice."
"I'm afraid someone might feel guilty after doing something wrong."
Liu Haizhong grumbled from the side, "Bang Geng, take off your shoes and let the police check them."
Jia Zhangshi squeezed through the crowd, glaring angrily at Liu Haizhong: "Liu Haizhong, who do you think you are? You dare to point fingers here? Get out of my house right now!"
Jia Zhangshi is a vengeful person. In the last incident involving the big red underwear, and the incident before that involving Sha Zhu peeping at Qin Huairu, Liu Haizhong did not speak up for the Jia family.
“Madam, he is the old man in charge of the compound. He is cooperating with our work. Although he is in your house, he cannot leave now.”
The young police officer spoke up, "And what he said is exactly the procedure we need to follow. Please have the child take off his shoes so we can check them."
"Hmph, let them check then."
Banggeng jumped onto the kang (a heated brick bed), took off his shoe, and threw it at Liu Haizhong, saying, "Here you go, investigate."
Behind Liu Haizhong was Wang Dabao. He dared not hide, so he hurriedly hugged Banggeng's smelly shoes to his chest, glaring angrily: "Banggeng, is this how your parents raised you? I've always thought you were a bad person since you were little."
Jia Zhangshi rolled up her sleeves and was about to get the kang (a heated brick bed) broom, looking like she was about to beat Liu Haizhong out.
Qin Huairu hurriedly hugged Jia Zhangshi, "Mom, the police are still here, what are you doing?!"
"Why are you talking to me? How dare you insult my grandson? I'll fight you to the death."
The middle-aged policeman slammed his hand on the cabinet next to him, the loud noise immediately silencing the people in the room: "What do you want? Do you want to fight in front of us?"
The young policeman snorted coldly, took the shoe from Liu Haizhong's arms, and then compared it with the piece of cloth in the middle-aged policeman's hand.
Wang Dabao took two steps forward and approached the middle-aged policeman. The policeman instinctively moved aside, allowing Wang Dabao to see him more clearly.
However, when Yi Zhonghai approached, he was stopped by a young policeman's eyes.
The shoe print pattern can be ignored, since a thief can simply change shoes after stealing something and getting home.
However, the shoes of the stick figure in front of him were clearly a size smaller than the shoe print on the cloth, greatly reducing the possibility of determining that the stick figure was the thief by comparing the shoe prints.
Wang Dabao turned his head to look at the ten-year-old boy sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed). He saw the boy sitting with his legs crossed, looking very calm and relaxed, and a hint of pride flashed in his eyes.
If Wang Dabao hadn't known this little rascal so well, he might have been fooled by his nonchalant attitude. Moreover, based on Sha Zhu's words, it was basically confirmed that this kid was the one who broke into Xu Damao's house to steal money and cause damage.
Seeing the two police officers looking at him questioningly, Wang Dabao pondered for a moment and lowered his voice, saying, "Let's find it. Since it's a size larger, maybe he was wearing cotton shoes when he stole it."
The two police officers' eyes lit up.
The middle-aged policeman ordered Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu to sit on the kang (a heated brick bed), and then instructed Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai to help find all of Banggeng's shoes.
Soon, the group found two pairs of shoes belonging to Bang Geng.
A pair that was slightly newer, with patches on the toes.
The other pair had several holes in each shoe, and the heels were worn smooth, suggesting that the shoe was worn as slippers at home by the owner.
However, neither of these pairs were cotton shoes, and they were also a size smaller than the shoe prints on the cloth.
Through the conversation between the two policemen, Xu Damao also learned that they were looking for Banggeng's cotton shoes. He immediately questioned Banggeng, who had his eye on them: "Jiageng, where are your cotton shoes? Don't tell me you don't have any, and don't give me that nonsense about them being torn and thrown away. I don't believe any of that."
Wang Dabao noticed that Banggeng's eyes flickered for a moment after hearing Xu Damao's words. Following Banggeng's gaze, he looked directly at the narrow gap under the wardrobe.
“I don’t have any cotton-padded shoes. Last year’s cotton-padded shoes were burned by the fire at school, and I couldn’t wear them anymore after winter, so I threw them away.”
Bang Geng's tone was noticeably weaker than before when he said this, "It's not even winter yet, my grandma hasn't made it for me."
Wang Dabao nodded inwardly. He had to admit that this naughty kid could lie so convincingly. Although he was guilty, he still managed to say it without stammering and explained the reason: if it was burned, of course it would be thrown away.
Wang Dabao sidled up to Xu Damao and winked at the area under the cabinet.
Xu Damao was stunned for only two seconds before he reacted immediately, lying down on the ground and reaching into the gap under the cabinet.
"Hey Xu Damao, you big idiot, what are you trying to do?"
Banggeng jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed) and kicked Xu Damao's arm.
Don't let Bang Geng's young age fool you; he's got the skills of Sha Zhu. If that kick really lands, Xu Damao will definitely be seriously injured.
The gap under the cabinet was already narrow, and Xu Damao could barely put his hand in. Judging from this, if it were serious, Xu Damao could have broken his arm by kicking it.
"Holy crap, you dare to do that, Bang Geng...!"
Before Xu Damao could finish his sentence, the young policeman grabbed the stalk of the stick and carried it back to the kang (a heated brick bed) like a chick.
Startled, Xu Damao actually managed to touch something with a bit of effort.
Upon pulling it out, it was indeed a cotton shoe.
He bent down and rummaged around again, and found another shoe. Both cotton shoes were bulging. When he opened them, Xu Damao was delighted to find that they were stuffed full of money.
Needless to say, this must be the money Xu Damao lost.
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