Chen Qingqing snorted coldly and pointed to the cloth bag on the ground, "Caught red-handed, still trying to deny it, you're shameless."
Old Mrs. Chen swayed and almost fainted.
Ever since she separated from the first wife and severed ties with her family, she felt like she had fallen into Chen Qingqing's trap.
Before, this brat was so stupid she couldn't even fart properly; she was both dull and slow-witted.
But now, not only has she become smarter, she's even making money. Why is she doing better and better?
They originally intended to steal some bricks to build three large tiled houses, so that the villagers could see that they weren't doing badly.
But how did this brat find out? The more Old Mrs. Chen thought about it, the angrier she got, her teeth itching with rage.
Thinking of the more than a thousand blue bricks in the room, she couldn't help but shudder.
No, I absolutely cannot admit to stealing bricks. If they find out, returning the bricks is a small matter, but if I'm expelled from Nanshan Village, that would be terrible.
Thinking of this, Old Mrs. Chen started acting like a rogue, "Who are you cursing? What do you mean by 'caught red-handed'? I was just idly putting a few bricks in my pocket to play with for a while. Why are you accusing me?"
Erdanzi walked up from behind, carrying a lantern. Qingyatou had hired him to guard the supplies for one night for ten coins, but now, a thief had appeared right under his nose, and he looked annoyed.
"Alright, old lady, stop making excuses. We've been watching you for ages. Just return the stolen bricks, and we'll call it a day. If you keep holding onto this grudge, you'll be seeing the authorities!"
Grandma Chen knew she absolutely couldn't admit it, or she'd be in big trouble.
With a stern face, she said angrily, "Erdanzi, shut up! Don't try to pin this on me. Let me tell you, if you dare to spout nonsense again, I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your father, as your elder."
"Pah!" Erdanzi spat fiercely. "The facts are right in front of you, and you're still being stubborn. Do you really think I'm stupid!"
"Believe it or not, I just can't sleep, so I'm playing around with these bricks."
"You're really good at making excuses. Do you think Uncle Zhonghou is just idly exercising by hugging bricks?" Wu Baoan said angrily as he emerged from the darkness.
Old Mrs. Chen's face turned pale. Only then did she notice that Old Mr. Chen was standing there dumbfounded, holding a stack of blue bricks. She chuckled and said, "Security guard, you guessed right. Your Uncle Zhonghou and I have been having trouble sleeping these past two nights, so we got up at night to exercise."
With a stern face, Wu Baoan said in a stern voice, "You're getting more and more despicable as you get older. You've committed such a petty theft, and you're still pretending to be stupid. Tell me now, how many bricks did you steal?"
"Yes, tell us quickly, how many bricks did you steal? No arguing, just tell the truth." Erdanzi chimed in to help.
Upon seeing this, Old Man Chen panicked and stammered, "Security guard, security guard, what are you doing here? This, this, this is all a misunderstanding! We're upright and honest, how could we do theft? This is no joke!"
"Yes, security guard, now that you're here, you have to stand up for us old folks!"
Old Mrs. Chen quickly put on an act of being wronged and suffering a great injustice, pointing her finger at Chen Qingqing.
"That brat must hate me for kicking them out, and she's deliberately framing us old folks. You have to stand up for us!"
Seeing them secretly move the blue bricks into his house and continue to distort the truth, Chen Zhanshan's face was so dark it looked like it could be wrung out.
This is his filial piety; he has been obedient to his parents for decades.
He stole first, and then kept calling his beloved daughter a "dead girl."
He was so angry that he trembled all over and shouted their names, "Chen Zhonghou, Wu Fang, shut up! The facts are right in front of you and you still refuse to talk back. You are hopeless."
Wu Baoan said with a dark face, "Uncle Zhonghou, Auntie, so many eyes watched you two take the bricks home, so stop talking nonsense!"
Old Mrs. Chen's face stiffened. Although she felt guilty, as long as she didn't admit it, no one would dare to do anything to her.
She retorted sharply, "What do you mean, security guard? You're clearly biased towards this brat and wronging an innocent person!"
Although Wu Baoan felt that the old couple's behavior was shameful, they were still Chen Zhanshan's parents after all. If things really got out of hand, Zhanshan would feel bad.
He patiently persuaded her, "Auntie, stop being so stubborn. Apologize to Qing'er and return the bricks. Then it will be as if this never happened. Otherwise, I can't help you."
Old Mrs. Chen and the others thought they were just bluffing, so they put on an innocent face, shrugged, and
"I didn't do anything, why are you helping me? Don't play the good guy, I don't need it."
Seeing Old Mrs. Chen's stubborn refusal to admit anything, Chen Qingqing really wanted to report it to the authorities immediately so that they would receive the punishment they deserved.
But when she turned her head and saw the disappointed and conflicted look in Chen Zhanshan's eyes, Chen Qingqing's heart softened again.
It's not impossible to go to extremes, but it would inevitably leave a scar on Chen Zhanshan's heart.
Forget it, sending them to the authorities will only subject Old Mrs. Chen and her husband to legal punishment, giving her temporary relief. It would be more satisfying to watch them slowly become lonely and isolated.
She raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Grandma Chen, since you're so adamant about not admitting it, don't cry later."
Old Mrs. Chen's breath hitched. "What are you going to do?"
"What are you doing? You're so stubborn, aren't you? I'll make you shut up." After saying that, Chen Qingqing ignored Old Lady Chen and turned to walk towards her house.
The others followed closely behind.
Old Chen was so anxious he almost wet himself. "Old woman, something terrible has happened! They're going to our house!"
"What are you standing there for? Stop them! Don't let them into the house!" Old Mrs. Chen was so frightened that her face turned pale. She quickly ran after them, yelling, "What are you doing, you brat? Stop right there!"
Old Chen knew how serious the consequences would be if they discovered the house was full of blue bricks, so he used all his strength to finally chase after Chen Qingqing and the others to his doorstep and stop them.
"Stop right there! I'm reminding you, trespassing is illegal!"
“Yes, that’s trespassing.” Old Mrs. Chen followed closely behind and warned loudly, “Breaking into someone’s house in the middle of the night is burglary. If I report you to the authorities, you will all lose your heads.”
Chen Qingqing scoffed, "Go ahead and sue. According to the laws of Da Ning, stealing someone else's property is punishable by thirty strokes of the cane and imprisonment for up to three years. In serious cases, the property will be confiscated and the person exiled. Just wait to be sent to the authorities!"
"You, you, you, you're talking nonsense! Who the hell stole anything? Don't make false accusations."
"Whether they stole anything or not, we'll know once we go in."
"You dare! This is my home. Anyone who dares to go in, I'll fight them to the death."
"Yes, I'd like to see who dares to take even half a step forward. All of you, step back!" Old Chen picked up a wooden stick from the ground and began gesturing...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
