“What’s the use of being so big? Your sister wanted to take the money and the household registration book, and you just let her take them?” Yingying’s parents’ eyes turned red when they saw the opened box when they got home.
"She brought that scarred man over. I tried to stop her, but he grabbed me. I was no match for him," the younger brother said, sounding aggrieved.
“She stole, she robbed us! She took all 80,000 yuan! Why didn’t you call the police?” Yingying’s mother said as she ran to the small shop downstairs to call the police. “I need to call the police! My house has been burgled! 80,000 yuan has been stolen! Our life’s savings are gone…”
"Don't worry, tell me your address and we'll send someone over right away." Even if it's just now, 80,000 yuan won't be a small amount later on.
After she hung up the phone, the shop owner asked, "Did your Yingying take it?"
"That's right, it's that heartless woman. Her father and I gave birth to her and raised her, we didn't mistreat her. What girl doesn't get married when she reaches a certain age? We picked someone for her, and if she didn't agree, fine, but she even called the police to arrest me and her father. If I had known it would be like this, I shouldn't have given birth to her, I should have just strangled her." She was really gritting her teeth when she talked about Yingying.
Soon, the police arrived. She led the police back to the courtyard, where many people came out and realized that they had returned and had called the police again.
“Ailan, Yingying took that money from your family in front of many people. She also made it clear to everyone that the 50,000 yuan was to be handed over to the police, and that the cripple would return the money to him when he came out. She didn’t take a single penny of the rest.” The neighbor lady stepped forward.
"Impossible! All the money we saved is gone too. If she didn't take it, who did?" Wu Ailan said angrily. "Officer, that girl must have taken all the money and even stole our household registration book. You must arrest her and get the money back for me! That money is what we've saved up our whole lives."
"You're saying your daughter stole the money?" the policeman frowned.
"No, I was there that day too. I saw her daughter leave with 50,000 yuan. There was another 30,000 yuan left there untouched. The 50,000 yuan was the betrothal money they received. Her daughter didn't want to marry him, so she took the money and returned it to the man. Could it have been your son who took it?" the neighbor lady said.
“Nonsense, our little Bao is the best boy, he would never steal money. Besides, we save money and give it all to him anyway, why would he steal?” Wu Ailan refused to believe that her good son would steal money.
The police found it quite interesting. The daughter had a neighbor witness when she took the money, so where were her parents and brothers at that time, and why didn't they stop her? They asked the people around them to find out what happened and learned that the two men had just been released from the police station because they had forced their daughter to marry a lame man in his forties. After learning what had happened, the two policemen looked at Wu Ailan differently.
"You'd better think it through before you speak, otherwise making a false police report could also lead to detention."
Hearing that she was going to be detained, Wu Ailan panicked. Those few days inside were really unpleasant.
“Yes, all your neighbors saw it; it wasn’t your daughter who took it,” another policeman chimed in.
“Yes. Five or six of us went in to witness. There was a total of 80,000 yuan in the box. Yingying took 50,000 yuan, saying she would hand it over to the police. We don’t know if she actually did, but she definitely didn’t take the 30,000 yuan. We’ll stick to the facts and we won’t lie,” an old man said.
"Impossible. If it wasn't Yingying who stole it, it was you who stole it." Wu Ailan firmly refused to believe that her son would steal money.
“Wu Ailan, you need to provide evidence before you speak. I’m an old Party member, and I’ve never done anything wrong in my life. Don’t make things up without evidence. If you don’t clarify things, we’ll call the police.”
"That's hard to say. It's 30,000 yuan. Maybe you two stole it together and split it up." Wu Ailan's words became increasingly outrageous.
"What are you all shouting about?" The workshop director pushed his bicycle in. "I was there the day Yingying came back, and I was one of the witnesses. Yingying did only take 50,000 yuan, and she handed it over to the police. The people who went in to witness that day were all advanced workers in the factory, including one national model worker. Would they get their hands dirty for your little bit of money? Wu Ailan, don't talk nonsense without evidence."
The workshop director pulled out a receipt and a household registration book from his pocket. "Yingying specially brought this to me that night. The receipt was issued to her by the police station. I believe the money has been returned to Li Weiguo. Here's the household registration book back to you. We understand you're anxious about the lost money, but you can't say anything carelessly, right, Lao Xu?"
Yingying's father, who came out of the house, was called over by the workshop director and quickly came over. He offered cigarettes to the police and the workshop director, and said with a smile, "I was really flustered because so much money was suddenly lost from the house. I'm really sorry, everyone. Ailan has always been a straightforward person. I apologize to everyone and I will definitely come to apologize in person later."
He apologized, and many people stopped making a fuss. However, the old man snorted unhappily, "Instead of suspecting us, why not check around? I saw your son leaving in a panic the day before yesterday, carrying a black bag."
"It wasn't me, I... I didn't take it." Yingying's younger brother, Xu Bao, took a few steps back in a panic.
The two policemen exchanged a glance, and one of them stepped forward. "What's the rush? We didn't take anything from you. Come with us to the police station."
"Why are you arresting my son? He didn't steal anything," Wu Ailan said agitatedly.
"I didn't arrest him, I just asked him to come to the police station to make a statement. Thirty thousand yuan is not a small amount; it's enough to go to jail for several years. We need to investigate thoroughly," the policeman said seriously.
"I didn't steal it. That's my own family's money. Why should I go to jail for taking my own family's money?" Xu Bao confessed everything after being intimidated by the police.
The two policemen exchanged a glance. Well, he's a coward.
Old Xu's eyes widened. "Did you really take it? Thirty thousand yuan, what did you do with it?"
“I had no choice. Lili said that if I didn’t buy a house there soon, it would be gone, so I used the money to buy a house.” Xu Bao shrank his neck. Even though his parents spoiled him, he was still afraid of his parents’ occasional temper.
"You used it to buy a house?" The couple breathed a sigh of relief, but Wu Ailan immediately asked, "Where's the property certificate? Where is it?"
"The property certificate is with Lili," Xu Bao said, bewildered.
"Whose name is it? Huh? Whose name is it?" Wu Ailan grabbed his hand and asked excitedly.
“It’s about Lili.” Xu Bao said matter-of-factly.
"I'll beat you to death, you idiot!" Old Xu slapped him across the face. "You two aren't even married yet, how can you put her name on the deed when you buy the house?"
Xu Bao covered his face, "Lili will definitely marry me, what difference does it make whose name is on the deed?"
Old Xu wanted to hit her again, but Wu Ailan stopped him with tears and a fuss.
"Alright, alright, now that we've found out who stole it, come with me."
"Officer, we won't call the police anymore," Wu Ailan quickly said.
"Yes, yes, we won't call the police anymore, we're dropping the case. Sorry to have troubled you to come all this way. Why don't you come inside and have some tea? Ailan, go and cook a dish for the two comrades." Old Xu quickly said.
"Next time, find out the facts before calling the police. If this happens again, we'll really arrest them." Of course, the two weren't going to have tea; they gave a few verbal warnings and went back.
The couple were now only thinking about marrying Lili as soon as possible. They took Xu Bao with them to Lili's house, but she turned her back on them and ignored them completely.
"Lili, Lili, come out here!" Xu Bao shouted in a panic.
"I already told you my Lili isn't home, hurry up and leave." Lili's mother poured out a basin of water, almost spilling it on Old Xu.
“You said you wouldn’t get married without a house, but now you have a house, and it’s even in your Lili’s name on the deed, so why can’t we get married?” Wu Ailan was getting anxious.
"Hmph! I never intended to agree. Your son has been a toad lusting after a swan, constantly pestering my Lili. Don't come again, or don't blame us for being impolite."
"We can choose not to get married, but give us back the 30,000 yuan." Old Xu glared at Xu Bao, who was about to speak, and said.
"What 30,000 yuan? I've never seen it before, I have no idea about it, so don't talk nonsense."
“My son spent 30,000 yuan to buy that house. That’s our family’s money. Either give the money back to us, or marry Lili to my son.” Wu Ailan felt dizzy.
"When did you give Lili 30,000 yuan to buy a house? Do you have any proof? That house was bought for Lili by us. It cost 38,000 yuan in total. My husband and I withdrew the money from the bank and gave it to the homeowner. People from the bank and the housing management bureau saw it. Your son didn't use a single penny. Don't talk nonsense. Look at your son. He's poor, ugly, and unemployed. He still wants to marry my Lili? Dream on."
"Call the police! I want to call the police!" Wu Ailan trembled with anger.
"Go ahead and call the police, I'm not afraid of you." Lili's mother said confidently.
Old Xu stopped Wu Ailan. They had just called the police, and they absolutely couldn't make another random call. He asked Xu Bao, "Where did you buy the house? Have you met the landlord?"
“No, Lili was the one who contacted us. She said her relative wanted to move, so she was selling this one cheaply. Yesterday, when she heard me say that we had 30,000 yuan at home, she said she would have her parents contribute some money to buy the house first. I… I originally wanted to go with her, but Lili didn’t agree. However, I saw the property certificate.” Xu Bao said blankly.
Old Xu really wanted to slap him again. What good was seeing the property certificate if his name wasn't even on it?
"So you're saying you didn't handle anything?" Wu Ailan suddenly felt dizzy and confused.
"No, Lili would never lie to me, Auntie. Tell me where Lili is? I'll go find her." Xu Bao didn't believe that such a gentle and kind person like Lili would lie to him.
As they were talking, they saw Lili walking towards them arm in arm with a man, chatting and laughing. When Xu Bao saw this, his eyes immediately turned red and he rushed over.
As Lili watched the smile on his face slowly fade, he raised his chin haughtily and said, "This is my boyfriend. He works for the government. We're getting engaged next month. I hope you won't bother me anymore."
"I'll beat you adulterers to death!" Xu Bao swung his fist and charged forward.
They hadn't gone to the police station earlier, but now they were. The police were speechless when they saw Old Xu, his wife, and Xu Bao. At the police station, Xu Bao hung his head and told them everything in detail.
Since no third party was present when he gave the money to Lili, and he was not present when he bought the house, there is no way to prove that the 30,000 yuan was his. There is also no IOU, and the money for the house purchase was indeed withdrawn from Lili's father's bank account. Therefore, there is no way to prove that he gave the money to Lili. It will be a long time to resolve this matter.
Putting that aside, Xu Bao will be detained for 7 days for assaulting someone, and if Lili's boyfriend's injuries are serious, he may also face prosecution and imprisonment.
Old Xu and Wu Ailan were dumbfounded.
It's been three or four days since Yingying's parents were released from prison, and there's still no news.
During lunch, Shu Yan said, "I doubt they'll dare to come. You don't need to stay here all day. You've taken so many days off; the boss must be upset. Don't worry, I've hired two new employees at the store. With Xiu Xiu and me, that makes four people. A few employees from the Qianxue lingerie shop across the street can also come and help. With so many women, how can we not hold off three of them?"
"I'll have someone find out why they haven't come. Let's not be careless," Fang Zeyu said.
"That works too," Shu Yan nodded.
"I heard from Lao Liu that you're going to buy goods tonight?"
Shu Yan glanced at him in surprise, not expecting him to be so direct about Lao Liu's inside information. She smiled slightly and said, "Yes, many clothes in the store are sold out in many sizes. I'll go restock."
"I'm actually going to see DouDou. Do you mind if I share a ride?"
Shu Yan always felt that there was a deeper meaning in this sentence.
"I didn't mean anything by it, it was just a coincidence."
Shu Yan said "Oh," and added, "The road is difficult to travel tonight, are you going too?"
Fang Zeyu's hands, which were resting on his thighs, instantly clenched into fists. "I've died several times. Is any road more difficult than the road to the underworld?"
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