Old Chen secretly rejoiced that he had been shrewd enough, otherwise he would have been in jail for sure.
Old Mrs. Chen looked gloomy and her heart was pounding. Fortunately, she had told Wu Baoan the truth. If it had really gone to the county government, she would have been in big trouble and would have been severely punished, if not killed.
She was so angry she wanted to slap herself. How could she not have known this?
If I had known this would happen, I would have just stolen something anyway.
Now look what happened! He didn't get anything, and almost got himself into a mess.
No, she had to go home quickly. If Wu Baoan pressed her for answers, she wouldn't know how to explain herself.
Thinking of this, Old Mrs. Chen quickly put on a smiling face, "Security guard, you're wrong to say that. No matter what, that girl Qing is my granddaughter. How could I harm her?"
I was worried she might go astray, and that's why I lost my composure in my anxiety. Now that things are clear, I'm relieved.
After saying that, he nudged the stunned old man Chen with his hand and said, "Old man, let's go. Don't delay the security guard from going to the county town to run errands."
Wu Baoan didn't believe her lies and felt contempt for her.
They spoke in a grand and respectable manner, but in reality, they just thought they had caught Chen Qingqing red-handed and wanted to file a complaint with the county government in order to receive a reward.
Even tigers don't eat their cubs. This couple is inhuman. Even if Zhan Shan's family did something wrong, as parents, they shouldn't kick them when they're down.
He stared intently at Old Lady Chen and demanded, "Auntie, what were you doing at Zhan Shan's house? Why were you sneaking around like that?"
"No, nothing like that. Why would I go to their house?"
Old Mrs. Chen shook her head vigorously. She had already made up her mind; she would rather die than admit it, because it wouldn't sound good if word got out.
She didn't want people talking behind her back and calling her a thief who cheated on her.
Wu Baoan's face darkened, and he said sternly,
"Don't try to fool me anymore. Zhanshan and you are now two different families, so stop causing trouble for his family."
If you go to someone's house without permission when they are not home, that is a violation of the law.
If you take anything you shouldn't from his house, I advise you to return it immediately. Otherwise, if Qingya comes back and reports it to the authorities, I won't stand idly by.
At that point, the consequences could range from being paraded through the streets in public and humiliating to being punished with beatings and fines, leaving your family heavily in debt.
"You've thought it through carefully, considering which is more important. Don't act recklessly and then come crying to me for help, even if I can't help you."
Old Mrs. Chen curled her lip and smiled contemptuously, "Hey security guard, do you think I'm the kind of person who likes to take advantage of others? As the village head, you can't talk people down like that."
"That's right, what can we take? We just saw no one was home, so we helped them bolt the door," Old Chen chimed in.
After saying that, he glanced into the courtyard. Upon seeing it, his face turned bright red. The door was wide open and hadn't been closed at all.
He smiled awkwardly, "It wasn't closed properly, and the wind blew it open again."
Wu Baoan shook his head and sighed, "Uncle, Aunt, tell the truth, did you take their things or not?"
Old Mrs. Chen's face burned with embarrassment, and she shook her head vigorously, "No, absolutely not, we guarantee we didn't even touch the thorns."
“Yes, yes, we didn’t do anything. We were scared away when we saw that dead-looking man.” Old Chen nodded repeatedly.
Wu Baoan was so angry that he stomped his feet and started berating them, pointing his finger at their noses.
"You're all getting more and more senile as you get older; how could you do such a despicable thing?"
"Luckily you didn't take anything, otherwise you would really be considered thieves. If word got out, wouldn't you be ashamed?"
Old Mrs. Chen was terrified. If word got out, she would never be able to face anyone again.
"Security guard, no one else knows about this. You can't let it get out. If it gets to Qing's ears, we'll be in big trouble."
"If you knew this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? If you don't want me to talk about it, fine, but you have to promise me that you won't go running around to other people's places again."
"Okay, okay, I promise I'll never go to their house again."
"Okay, remember what you said."
"Don't worry, security guard, I promise I won't forget. Let's go home now." Old Mrs. Chen pulled Old Mr. Chen, who was still in a daze, and turned to walk towards home.
Seeing them enter the courtyard, Wu Baoan shook his head and laughed. Such parents were truly rare; they did nothing but think about how to take advantage of others.
Luckily, he asked a few more questions. If it had gone to the county government, the old couple would have been in big trouble!
He started walking forward, and hadn't gone far when he heard a shout behind him.
Turning around, he saw Liu Laohan park the oxcart in front of the Chen family's house. He touched the documents in his pocket and then turned back.
******
Chen Qingqing returned home and busied herself looking for a suitable place to store the beets in the yard.
After looking for a long time, I couldn't find a suitable place. After all, the yard was too small. It would be much better if the yard were bigger.
But those four acres of land wouldn't truly belong to him until the autumn harvest.
Five thousand catties of sugar beets will arrive soon, so we need to find a slightly larger place to store them.
Thinking of this, she quickly said to Lin, who was also worried, "Mother, why don't you go inside and rest for a while? I'll go and discuss something with the village head."
"Okay, then go ahead!"
As soon as Lin finished speaking, Wu Baoan walked in from outside the door. "Qing girl, what have you been doing?"
Upon seeing the visitor, Chen Qingqing was delighted and quickly greeted him with a smile, "Uncle Village Head, please come in and sit down. My mother and I went to town to take Xiaohan to school, and we were just about to look for you when you arrived."
"Don't stand on ceremony with me, just sit in the courtyard for a while. Our village has gained another scholar, that's truly remarkable."
Wu Baoan sat down, then took out several pieces of paper from his pocket and handed them to Chen Qingqing one by one.
"Qing girl, I've done everything you asked me to do. This is the household registration document, this is the land deed for the four acres of land you bought, and this is the document for your plan to build a house on this land. Keep these safe."
"Thank you, Uncle Village Head. I didn't expect it to be done so quickly."
Wu Baoan smiled and said, "Yes, it's thanks to the three taels of silver you gave me that I bought two boxes of pastries for the clerk, gave him a two-tael silver red envelope, and used the remaining money to buy a few catties of wine for the constables. That's how I got things done so quickly."
Wu Baoan now admires Chen Qingqing more and more; she brings so many surprises.
In just a few dozen days, not only did they feed their family, but they also bought four acres of land, and now they've even got Chen Han enrolled in an academy.
Her actions were beyond the reach of ordinary people; she was practically a reincarnation of a lucky star.
"By the way, Qing girl, what did you want to see me about? Tell me, and I'll do my best to help as long as it's within my capabilities."
Seeing how readily he agreed, Chen Qingqing explained the matter of buying five thousand catties of sugar beets...
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