Zhong Lingling's words, "more than two hundred yuan," were like a drop of water falling into hot oil, instantly causing an uproar among the crowd.
Both the villagers and the educated youth gasped in shock.
At first, no one paid much attention to the loss of money. Although the village of Qingshan Brigade had a good atmosphere, there are all kinds of birds in a big forest, and petty theft is not uncommon.
The same thing happened at the educated youth settlements; it wasn't uncommon for people to lose food, or even just a few cents or dimes.
So when Zhong Lingling first said she lost money, no one paid much attention, thinking it was just a matter of losing ten or eight yuan at most.
After all, no one is rich these days. If someone had that much money, they would have to hide it well.
So everyone started whispering among themselves, some saying that Zhong Lingling was stupid and rich, and others secretly plotting to snatch her away from Wang Wenqi.
For a moment, no one paid attention to Wang Wenqi and Wang Wenfang, the brother and sister.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, while Zhong Lingling was recounting what had happened, Wang Wenqi squeezed out of the crowd and approached Wang Wenfang, who had been hiding behind the crowd.
He pulled her aside and whispered, "Wenfang, tell me the truth, did you take that money?"
Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Wang Wenfang panicked and didn't know what to do. When her brother asked her about it, she naturally didn't dare to hide it anymore, so she nodded slightly.
When Wang Wenqi saw with his own eyes that his sister had indeed stolen money, he immediately blushed.
Thinking back to when Zhong Lingling told him about this, he not only didn't believe her, but also suspected that she was forgetful and had forgotten where she put the money.
Lingling's eyes were filled with disappointment at that time. Thinking back carefully, it seems that I have always made Lingling suffer because of her younger sister.
The more Wang Wenqi thought about it, the angrier he became. He glared at Wang Wenfang with hatred, raising his hand and then lowering it again. He never dreamed that his sister would steal money.
When exactly did her sister become this kind of person, complaining about being tired at work? At least half of the work points she earned were earned by him and Lingling.
I remember he clearly told her that her smooth transfer here was all thanks to Lingling's money and connections. But what did Wenfang say at the time? She said that Lingling was her girlfriend, and it was only right that she paid to help her.
Moreover, after Wenfang arrived here, Lingling took care of everything, from food to accommodation. Wenfang, who used to be able to do some housework at home, started to act like a pampered young lady, not only refusing to do any housework but also frequently criticizing Lingling for not doing enough.
And what did he do? He always used the excuse that his parents' accident might have affected Wenfang to ask Lingling to accommodate his younger sister. Lingling, who hadn't even entered the Wang family yet, really did it, treating Wenfang like her own sister and spoiling her.
But what did Wenfang do? Not only did she show no gratitude, she even stole Lingling's money.
Thinking about all this, Wang Wenqi suddenly realized how much he had wronged Zhong Lingling.
Even if he was furious, he had to find a way to smooth things over first; he absolutely couldn't let his sister be branded as a thief.
So he quickly pulled Wang Wenfang aside and whispered, "Go find Lingling right now and tell her that you felt there were too many people at home last night, and you felt it was unsafe because the cabinet where she kept her money wasn't locked, so you put the money and tickets in the locked cabinet on the kang (heated brick bed). But you've been so busy since last night that you forgot to tell her."
By now, a large crowd had gathered in the courtyard. The villagers who went to find the brigade leader had not offered any cover-up for the educated youth. They would recount the events that had occurred at the educated youth settlement whenever anyone asked, which has resulted in the backyard of the settlement now being filled with onlookers.
Therefore, Wang Wenfang was very resistant to bringing up this matter at this time. Instead of explaining it according to Wang Wenqi's suggestion, she took a few steps back.
Shaking his head in refusal, he said, "No, I'm not going. I'm scared, brother. Can't you just tell Sister Lingling that she misremembered where she put the money? If I really say that, a lot of people won't believe me. I don't want to be ridiculed for being a thief."
Seeing his sister's complete lack of responsibility, still thinking about making others take the blame even at this point, Wang Wenqi was truly disappointed.
She grabbed Wang Wenfang, who looked like she was about to run away at any moment, and said angrily, "When you took the money, why didn't you think about your reputation? Wenfang, you really disappoint me. I asked you about it when Lingling first discovered the money was missing this morning, but what did you say? You kept saying you didn't see it."
"If you had told me the truth back then, things wouldn't have escalated to this point."
"Brother, things have already come to this, what's the use of saying all this? You should hurry up and help me think of a solution! There are so many people here, I don't want to be mistaken for a thief and have people pointing fingers at me behind my back."
“There’s no other way. If you don’t want to be seen as a thief, do as I say. Now that things have gotten so big, I can’t let Lingling take the blame for you. Do you know that if Lingling says she misremembered where she put the money, Yang Wanqiu will insist that Lingling deliberately framed her for stealing the money. What will happen to Lingling’s reputation then?”
Seeing that his younger sister was still thinking about him even now, not only did she not dare to face the mistakes she had made, but she always wanted others to clean up her messes and use the people around her who cared about her to take the blame for her, it would be a lie to say that Wang Wenqi was not disappointed.
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