Chapter 34 Innocence

Because the ownership of the watch was still uncertain, the watch remained in Lin Qiao's hands for the time being. She took it out with her when she pushed the man away just now.

Ji Duo took a quick look and asked, "Are you useful?"

All the money in the family is in Lin Qiao's hands. Lin Qiao has never taken the initiative to ask him for anything. When she suddenly brought up this, she lowered her voice. It was probably not for herself.

"No, I want to check where to buy this watch."

Watches are considered big items in this era, not only do they cost money, but they also need tickets. And this kind of electronic watch is obviously very rare. Before getting married, she and Xu Li went to several shopping malls in Yandu, but they didn't see any. It is estimated that they are not easy to buy, and they can only sell for a few dollars.

As long as the purchase channel can be found, it may be possible to prove that Li Xiaoqiu's mother did buy it, and thus prove Li Xiaoqiu's innocence.

She carefully questioned Li Xiaoqiu and the boy named Feng Gang from Class 5. Both watches were newly bought in the past few days, so it shouldn't be that difficult to check.

Of course, there is no need to let Li Xiaoqiu know this. After all, it is an uncertain matter. Given Li Xiaoqiu's personality, knowing this would only increase his psychological burden.

As a result, Ji Duo just took it and took a quick look, then said, "This is smuggled."

"Smuggled?" Lin Qiao really didn't expect this.

"Well, I've seen people take something similar before, and it's not worth much."

It's not even worth a few bucks...

Lin Qiao said that mechanical watches are obviously more valuable than electronic watches, so why is an electronic watch so expensive? She thought it was a problem of age, but it turned out to be a problem of unscrupulous businessmen.

This is a difficult matter. Who would sell smuggled goods openly?

"Try to look for it as much as you can. It doesn't matter if you can't find it." It was a clue after all, so Lin Qiao asked the man for help.

After seeing Ji Duo off, Lin Qiao returned to the office and found Li Xiaoqiu still sitting there obediently in the same position as when she left. Apparently, the girl hadn't touched a single bite of food while she was away.

Thinking about what the man had said before, she explained: "He is not in a good mood today."

Otherwise, you are already uncles, why would you care about a little girl?

Li Xiaoqiu didn't care. She lowered her head and tugged at the corner of her clothes. "I know that the teacher's family are all good people."

This is how I helped her. It was out of my responsibility as a teacher that I didn’t want to wrongly accuse any student. Even Ji Duo became a good person…

Lin Qiao was somewhat helpless. "After dinner, I will send a telegram to your grandmother's house. I'm sure we can find out the truth about this matter. You can go back to class without worry."

But he didn't expect to run into Li Xiaoqiu's father, Mr. Li, as soon as he arrived at the post office. As soon as the two met, each other immediately showed some embarrassment.

You've already fought and made a fuss, and now you want to verify it?

In fact, although Ji Duo felt sorry for her, what he said was still true. Just because a man is in a bad situation outside, can he go home and get angry at his wife and children? He even kept saying that he shouldn't have had you in the first place. It's not the child's fault that the child has no mother. Shouldn't he be better to the child?

Lin Qiao didn't want to say anything more to the other party, so he nodded and went in to send the telegram.

Who knows whether the other party is reliable or not? Instead of relying on the other party, it is better to rely on yourself and hope that the watch lost by Class 5 will be found as soon as possible.

In fact, if we could report this matter to the police, maybe it would be easier to investigate.

But it was just a possibility. If the matter dragged on for too long, no one would investigate it. Besides, the school was full of teachers' children and military personnel's children, so they obviously didn't want to make a big deal out of it, and Teacher Li didn't want to do that either.

The longer the time goes on, the more disadvantageous it will be for Li Xiaoqiu.

If it is dragged on and on and nothing is done, Li Xiaoqiu will not be able to clear herself of the matter even if she wants to.

In the afternoon, Vice Principal Qi also found out about it and called Lin Qiao and Lady Bi over to inquire about the situation.

After asking, Lin Qiao took a few steps back and did not leave in a hurry. "I am not shirking my responsibility. I still think it is more likely that this happened in Class 5. The watch was taken off during the first class and found missing after the break and before the third class. There was a class and a break in between, and there should be people in Class 5. How is it possible that an outsider came and no one knew about it?"

Vice Principal Qi also had the same idea. "I have already asked Xiao Bi to check it again."

"Then can you tell the students that Li Xiaoqiu's mother has been contacted and will be able to come and testify for her right away?" Lin Qiao continued.

This time, Vice Principal Qi looked at her a little longer. "What do you mean?"

"Cheat them." Lin Qiao confirmed the other party's guess. "Assuming that the things were not stolen by Li Xiaoqiu, but by someone else, how would the other party feel now? If they knew that Li Xiaoqiu had been cleared of suspicion, how would they feel?"

Knowing that Li Xiaoqiu was taking the blame, it was very likely that he felt both nervous and relieved.

Knowing that Li Xiaoqiu's suspicion has been cleared, the tension he had just relaxed will immediately lift up, and with his emotions going through such ups and downs, he might reveal something.

"Of course I'm just assuming. It's also possible that the item just fell by accident and no one stole it."

Vice Principal Qi was silent for a long while, obviously weighing the feasibility of this matter. "Then it would be best if I go and ask them in person, one by one."

Xiaobi is a fussy person who always misses the point when speaking. As she is only a class teacher, she does not have much authority among the students. If he wants to amplify the tension and make the other party reveal his true intentions, it would be best for him, the vice-principal, to do it himself.

With a plan in mind, Vice Principal Qi relaxed his frown a little and glanced at Lin Qiao, "Are you really only nineteen this year?"

Lin Qiao was of course not like that. "Principal, when you asked me that, I thought you were complimenting me on my youth, not scolding me for being naive and fearless and saying anything."

In fact, if Vice Principal Qi is given more time, he may be able to come up with a solution. But for Li Xiaoqiu right now, nothing is more precious than time.

This finally made Vice Principal Qi smile. "Let's investigate it quickly. I hope there will be a result as soon as possible."

From that afternoon until evening self-study, the entire high school department was investigating this matter. Vice Principal Qi went to the office one by one to ask the fifth class, the fourth class, and even the sixth class, which was also next to the fifth class, so that if anyone knew something, they would not have to speak it out in front of others.

After questioning all the classes, it was already the next morning.

Vice Principal Qi's throat started to smoke as he spoke, and he even drank several mouthfuls of honeysuckle to relieve internal heat. "Keep an eye on these students. They are a little nervous."

In fact, Lin Qiao had already received a telegram from Li Xiaoqiu's grandmother in the morning, and to be honest, it was not very satisfactory.

It was obvious that Li Xiaoqiu's grandmother didn't know her mother's exact address. They only said they would help look for her, but they had no way of guaranteeing when they would find her.

But she was not idle that day. "I also have a list of the five classes that did not go to the physical education class and the classes that did not do the break exercises that day."

When the two sides compared the names of the students, they found that there were several overlaps. This narrowed the scope a lot, and the subject teachers of several classes were called in to help monitor the students together.

Ji Duo didn't come back at noon because of something. Lin Qiao had just sat down in the office after lunch when someone from the security department came and said there was a call for her.

She rushed over and answered the phone. It was Ji Duo's low voice that came from the other end of the phone, "The smuggler has been found. I wonder if he has the information you want."

"Found it?" Lin Qiao was a little surprised. "How did you find it?"

This man seems to be quite law-abiding. Does he have any connections in this regard?

"I caught him." Ji Duo said succinctly, "I'll have someone answer the phone. If you have anything to ask, just ask him directly."

He actually tried to catch smugglers directly...

But if you think about it carefully, it really looks like his style of doing things.

.

Lin Qiao didn't have time to think about it, because someone else had called. She immediately perked up and asked carefully how much the electronic watch had been sold for recently and whether she remembered who she had sold it to.

The other party was quite cooperative and quickly recalled a similar person based on Lin Qiao's description. "Isn't she very thin, not very tall, and has a slightly broken left eyebrow? There was only one woman with a southern accent. At that time, I thought she was from the same industry and came to ask me for information."

Li Xiaoqiu's grandmother's family moved to the north after the founding of the People's Republic of China. She lived in the south when she was a child and still retains her southern accent.

This time Lin Qiao finally breathed a sigh of relief and waited for the phone to return to Ji Duo's hands. "Please ask him to give me a confession of what he just said."

With this confession, even if Li Xiaoqiu's mother cannot be contacted, Li Xiaoqiu can be cleared of suspicion.

The man said "hmm" and hung up the phone without asking any more questions. But a laugh came from the side. "You went to so much trouble to arrest someone just for your wife to ask these two questions?"

The young man in the same uniform knocked on the table and said, "Do you think he was wronged? He was very cautious. The people who were caught were smuggled large items."

A row of newly captured children were squatting by the wall not far away. Upon hearing what was said, they could not help but steal a glance at the two of them.

With the country's reform and opening up, it is inevitable that some people with quick minds and courage will take a fancy to the smuggling business. They go to the ports in the south and the Russians in the north. The profit from a round trip is at least several times. These people were arrested this morning, and among them is the one who was just questioned by Lin Qiao.

Being watched by so many eyes, Ji Duo remained calm, "I didn't ask you to catch me, you were already targeting me."

"Okay, okay, you're lucky to have met her, okay? At least I've done your wife a favor. When can you ask her to treat me to a meal?"

Let Lin Qiao treat him to a meal? Ji Duo thought about what Lin Qiao said about poison not being able to kill people, and said nothing.

"Really? You don't even want to do this?" The young man was shocked. "Are you marrying a wife? Or a baby?"

As soon as Lin Qiao put down the phone, she met Qi Huaiwen's gaze outside the window.

The boy's face was slightly red from the sun, and no one knew how long he had been listening there. His eyes were calm and his face was expressionless. For a moment, Lin Qiao actually thought of Ji Duo.

But although they both talk less and give people a cold feeling, Ji Duo is different from him.

Ji Duo's emotions were very restrained, as if nothing could make him waver. The boy's coldness was more like a silent resistance, with thorns all underneath the calmness.

Lin Qiao walked out of the guard post and looked at his watch. "You're almost late, aren't you?"

Qi Huaiwen didn't say anything, nor did he rush to the classroom like other students who were reminded. He just walked silently beside her, two meters away from her.

When we were almost at the teaching building, he suddenly asked, "Are all you teachers so dedicated?"

Not only was this statement sudden, but it also sounded somewhat sarcastic if you listened carefully. It was clear that Li Xiaoqiu was wrongly accused yesterday, and he had come out to testify.

Lin Qiao was a little confused. The boy didn't look at her and continued talking to himself, "You can spend all your time, energy and even money on students. You are more anxious when something happens to students than when something happens to your own family. Are all you teachers so dedicated? Obviously, the students' families are doing better than you."

There was emotion in these words, and it seemed more like they were spoken to someone else than to Lin Qiao.

Lin Qiao thought of Vice Principal Qi, paused, and asked, "Do you think I shouldn't care if Li Xiaoqiu gets into trouble?"

The boy stopped talking, his eyes dropped to the ground, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Lin Qiao simply stopped and faced him. "First of all, the school has reimbursed me for the money I spent on sending the telegram yesterday. Secondly, I asked my husband for help just to give it a try. If he has the ability, he can help. If not, I won't force him. Being a teacher is just a profession. You can't become a saint if you become one."

To be honest, whether you are a teacher or a doctor, what you are tested on when you get the job is your professional ability, not your moral character.

The reason why we talk about teacher ethics and medical ethics is that teachers teach and educate people, and doctors save lives and heal the wounded, so they are naturally surrounded by a halo, and people have higher requirements for their moral character.

But apart from this halo, teachers and doctors are ordinary people, and ordinary people have seven emotions and six desires, some good and some bad. Some people are like Vice Principal Qi and Lao Jiao, who are mentally ill and should retire, but still stick to their posts. Naturally, there are also people like Teacher Zheng who just sloppily teach.

"I help you improve your grades because I'm paid to do my part. As for the rest..."

Lin Qiao paused and looked directly at the boy. "Perhaps when you stand on the podium and look at the young seedlings below, you will know that many of the things you do will affect their future destiny, so you will be cautious and have a sense of responsibility. This sense of responsibility is what distinguishes us from others."

This time Qi Huaiwen was silent for even longer, and it was unclear whether he had heard it or not.

Seeing that the class bell was about to ring and there were no students around, Lin Qiao was about to remind him to go back to the classroom, but he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye and suddenly heard a "click".

Qi Huaiwen was about to raise his eyes, but Lin Qiao pulled him back, and the two of them hid behind the wall of the teaching building.

Just as he hid himself, the window of the office next door was opened wider and a head popped out. It turned out to be Vice-Principal Qi.

The two sides met each other and were both stunned. No one spoke, and all three of them looked towards the toilet.

Soon they saw a figure looking around furtively, then turned into the back of the men's restroom, and soon came out with his hands in his pockets.

Without anyone saying anything, Qi Huaiwen had already rushed out, followed closely by Lin Qiao, and finally it was Vice-Principal Qi, who flipped out directly from the window and almost lost his glasses when he landed.

However, he could not care less and just helped the other party and ran behind him. By the time the other party realized something was wrong, Qi Huaiwen had already pinned him down and captured him.

Seeing the electronic watch that Qi Huaiwen had found and the boy's face turning pale, Vice Principal Qi let out a sigh of relief and said, "Take the man to my office."

The father and son had been fighting against each other, but it was rare for them to agree. However, Qi Huaiwen still looked at him and said, "You have a bad heart and yet you dare to run. You are really not afraid of death."

It seemed impossible to have a good conversation, but at this time, Lin Qiao and Vice Principal Qi could not care about him. They quickly took the boy to the office, and soon Xiao Fang also sent Ji Duo's confession. With this, Li Xiaoqiu's suspicion was completely cleared.

Lin Qiao did not participate in the rest of the matter. She only knew that all of Lady Bi's afternoon classes were cancelled, and soon the boy's parents were also found at the school.

Vice Principal Qi was making a lot of noise. The boy explained that he didn't mean to steal, but he just didn't like Feng Gang's constant show-off, so he wanted to hide the things and scare him. He hid the things under the tiles on the toilet roof, and was going to return them later, but he didn't expect that things would get out of hand.

"Then why didn't Li Xiaoqiu return the things when he was wrongly accused of stealing?"

He said he was going to return Lin Qiaoxin, but it was hard to say whether he had been preparing to return it for a long time or had just started.

That day Qi Huaiwen was caught passing around pornographic books, but someone soon came and slipped a note to her, fearing that Qi Huaiwen was being wrongly accused.

The one who was wrongly accused was Lin Qiao's student. Li Xiaoqiu was slapped for this. If it wasn't for Lin Qiao blocking her, she might have been slapped more. When she said this, no one thought it was a big deal.

But this boy will definitely be severely punished. Team Leader Gao kept shaking his head in the office, "What do you think he wants? His family conditions are not bad."

In addition to the children of teachers in the school, there are also children of the army. Those whose family members can join the army must either have a high enough level or have been in the army for long enough, and the conditions are really not bad.

It is said that when one is full of food and drink, one thinks of lust, and when one is hungry and cold, one becomes greedy. Although poor living conditions do make some people give up their bottom line, Lin Qiao does not think that moral problems can be completely attributed to material conditions. "At least the truth is out, and I can return the watch and my innocence to Li Xiaoqiu."

She took the item to the classroom and handed it to Li Xiaoqiu in front of the whole class, "Wear it openly in the future. It's not embarrassing to have it bought by your mother."

The girl nodded with red eyes, her dark pupils were clean as if they had been washed with water, "Thank you, teacher."

Lin Qiao suddenly felt a little sorry for this girl. The swelling on her face hadn't completely gone away yet. Looking at her father's expression, it seemed unlikely that he would apologize to her.

Even if her parents' relationship wasn't so bad, she wouldn't have been afraid to let anyone know when she got the stuff and was almost mistaken for a thief.

Lin Qiao patted the girl on the head and said, "Study hard. I remember you are good at physics. Maybe the watches we wear and the TVs we watch in the future are all researched by you."

Now not only Li Xiaoqiu's eyes but also his ears turned red, but he did not shyly avoid looking away. He looked at Lin Qiao and nodded solemnly.

Can

It was this feeling of being trusted and expected that made Lin Qiao feel more responsible as they spent time together. She asked the girl to go back and was about to say something else when the soldier behind her started yelling, "I said Li Xiaoqiu didn't steal, but Feng Gang's grandson said such nasty things. He really didn't punish her too lightly."

Even if Junzi didn't mention it, Lin Qiao would still ask Feng Gang to apologize to Li Xiaoqiu.

But before she could settle the score with him, he bumped into her.

Lin Qiao raised her eyebrows, "Don't think that Li Xiaoqiu was wronged. You were right to hit him. Submit a 1,000-word self-reflection tomorrow."

Soldier: “…”

There were a few chuckles, and the troublemakers in the back row all laughed. Even Qi Huaiwen couldn't help but curled his lips.

Lin Qiao saw this and remembered what he said before. She returned to the office and saw Team Leader Gao taking a break and drinking water, so she asked, "Has Principal Qi always been so concerned about students?"

Team leader Gao thought she was talking about Li Xiaoqiu. "That's nothing. When Lao Qi was the head teacher, he treated students better."

As expected, Qi Huaiwen wanted to talk about Vice Principal Qi. Lin Qiao put down his things and pretended to be ready to listen. "Can it be better than this? Tell me."

"There are many. Before Lao Qi became the principal, the office had banners sent by students' parents. In particular, he taught a boy who had a fever and was hospitalized when he was a child. The injection damaged his leg, so one leg was thick and the other was thin. He walked with a limp and was bullied a lot in school."

"Are you talking about Wu Haiyang?" The head teacher of Class 3 obviously also knew about this.

Team leader Gao nodded. "That's him. Old Qi was very worried about him back then. In 1973, when he heard that the college entrance examination would be reinstated, he helped him with his studies for a long time. He hoped that he could get into a university. Otherwise, he couldn't join the army with his broken legs, and it would be inconvenient for him to do anything else."

If Lin Qiao had not traveled to this era, he would not have known that the college entrance examination was actually resumed in 1973.

It's just that a hero with a blank paper appeared that year, shattering the dreams of many people who relied on their grades to make a living. It was also after that year that everyone completely realized that studying was useless.

"Did he pass the exam later?" Lin Qiao asked.

This time, it was the head teacher of Class 3 who answered her, "He passed the exam. He passed it in 1977, the year the college entrance examination was resumed. Principal Qi was very happy for several days at that time."

"Yes." Team leader Gao also sighed, "No one in our school's current batch passed the exam, but he went to the countryside for several years and didn't lose his books."

Before they said a few words, the parents of the students had already left and the school held an impromptu meeting for all teachers.

The meeting was naturally to discuss how to deal with the boy, and to give everyone a lesson so that everyone can learn from this and pay more attention to the moral education of students.

After returning home and seeing Ji Duo, Lin Qiao finally remembered to ask about what happened in the afternoon, "How did you catch that person? Does the army still care about this?"

"There is a classmate of mine who works in a related department and is being arrested recently."

Lin Qiao understood what he said. After dinner, she asked the man, "Do you think we should treat him to a meal to thank him? He did us a favor after all."

"I'll treat you on Saturday." Ji Duo had obviously made an appointment with the other party, "I'll take you with me."

Seeing that Lin Qiao was still thinking about thanking him, the man who was reading the news on the sofa raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why don't you thank me?"

This made Lin Qiaowen stunned.

Yes, why didn't she think of thanking him?

It seems that subconsciously I feel that I don't need to be so polite to him, unlike when we first met, when everything was just a trouble for him.

Is this because you have been working together for a long time and have become familiar with each other?

Lin Qiao thought about it, then simply moved a little, sat on the man's lap, and put her hands on his shoulders. "How do you want me to thank you?"

It was daytime, Ji Duo immediately frowned and subconsciously looked out the window.

Their house has its own door and yard, and outside the window is their own yard. Apart from the setting sun, there is no one around.

Lin Qiao couldn't help laughing, and just as he was about to stand up, someone grabbed his waist and pulled him back.

The man's brows were still furrowed, and upon closer inspection there was even a hint of surprise in his eyes. It was obvious that the pull just now was a completely subconscious reaction.

Ji Duo also noticed it, but he didn't let go even after pulling her hand. He just stared at her and asked, "Are you really that insincere?"

The news on TV was still on, and the atmosphere suddenly became subtle. Even Lin Qiao was a little curious about whether he could really do something in broad daylight if she didn't leave.

At this moment, the loud voice of Liang Brigade Commander's wife came from next door, "Xiao Ji! There's a call for you!"

Ji Duo paused, then let her go and went to the next door. Not long after, he came back and said, "I have something to go out for."