Worried that Chen Qingqing would be taken advantage of, Chen Zhanshan quickly shielded her behind him and angrily rebuked Old Man Chen.
"Put down the stick right now. How old are you? Can't you have any manners? The facts are right in front of you, what are you still trying to argue about? Stop making a fool of yourself here."
"You unfilial brat, who are you calling a jerk?" Old Man Chen was furious that Chen Zhanshan dared to talk back to him like that, his eyes turning red with anger.
Old Mrs. Chen was also furious. "Who the hell do you think you are, daring to lecture me like this? Get out! Get out of here!"
Wu Baoan frowned and couldn't help but offer his advice.
"Auntie, please stop making a scene!"
After all, you were indeed moving someone else's bricks, which constitutes theft.
"As long as you apologize to Qingya and return the blue brick, I guarantee no one will know about this, and no one will tell anyone."
Old Mrs. Chen snorted disdainfully and continued to argue, "Security guard, how could you so hastily conclude that we are stealing? As the saying goes, seeing is not necessarily believing."
"I already said, my wife and I are just bored, so we count bricks for fun when we have nothing else to do. Why won't you believe me!"
"Since you didn't steal anything, why don't you just let us in for a look? Why are you making such a fuss?"
Old Mrs. Chen threatened, "What are you doing coming into my house in the middle of the night? Let me tell you, anyone who dares to step into my house is trespassing."
According to village rules, he should be flogged and paraded through the streets as a public spectacle, and then handed over to the authorities.
As the village head, you can't just stand by and watch evildoers commit crimes; you must stand up for us!
"That's right, if you really dare to break into my house, I'll go to the yamen and sue you for fabricating facts and trying to frame someone's innocence," Old Man Chen chimed in.
Chen Qingqing sneered, "Fine, go ahead and sue! When the officials find stolen goods in your house, let's see how you explain that?"
"You, you dare?" Old Mrs. Chen's heart trembled.
Chen Qingqing stared intently at Old Lady Chen, "Let's see if I dare. If you don't want to die, get out of my way and don't force me to take action."
"What are you going to do? I'm warning you, I have all sorts of problems. If you dare to touch me, I'll be your crony for the rest of my life."
"Stop talking nonsense and get out of here!" Chen Qingqing didn't want to argue with her anymore, so she shoved him aside.
Caught off guard, Old Mrs. Chen stumbled and fell heavily to the ground, wincing in pain. "You brat, how dare you lay a hand on me! I... I... I'll never forgive you!"
Seeing this, Old Man Chen quickly stepped forward to help her up, asking, "Old woman, are you alright?"
Seeing Chen Qingqing heading straight for the door, Old Mrs. Chen clapped her hands and stamped her feet in frustration, "You stupid old man, don't worry about me, stop that brat right now!"
Knowing the situation was urgent, Old Man Chen grabbed his stick and quickly blocked the door. Feeling guilty, he pointed at Chen Qingqing and stammered,
"You, you, you unfilial bastard! Not only do you not know how to be filial to us, but you also dare to hit people! I think you're really, really, really a damn redhead! Try taking another step forward and I'll beat you to death, you bastard!"
Chen Qingqing sneered, "You old codger who acts like a spoiled brat and has no respect for elders, who are you trying to scare!"
Chen Qingqing said to Xiaoyu, "Xiaoyu, move him aside."
Chen Xiaoyu could no longer restrain herself. She stepped forward, grabbed Old Man Chen by the collar, and warned him sternly, "You better behave yourself, or I'll give you a black eye."
"You reckless idiot, let me go right now!" Old Chen cursed, but the more he was strangled, the more he couldn't breathe, so he was too scared to utter another sound.
Wu Baoan glared at the two of them, annoyed. "You two better behave yourselves. If you find anything you shouldn't have, you'll be facing legal trouble."
As he spoke, he led everyone into the house.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Old Man Chen lowered his head dejectedly, his previous arrogance completely gone.
Old Mrs. Chen was also heartbroken and collapsed to the ground again...
Chen Qingqing threw the blue brick in her hand at the feet of Old Man Chen and his wife, and sneered.
"What is this? Don't tell me this is your family's stuff."
As everyone entered the house, they were all astonished by what they saw. Apart from the sleeping area, the entire house was made of blue bricks, to the point that there was no room to step.
Wu Baoan was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode. "What do you have to say now? You've been caught red-handed. Just wait to be punished!"
Old Chen was completely terrified, his whole body trembling uncontrollably. He wanted to say something more, but he could only open his mouth and no words came out.
Old Mrs. Chen was still fairly clear-headed. She knew that this matter wasn't a big deal, but it wasn't small either; it all depended on how Wu Baoan handled it. She quickly forced a smile that looked more like a grimace and began to say kind words.
"Security guard, my nephew, it's all my old man's fault for being greedy and acting impulsively to commit this petty theft. Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against us."
Upon hearing this, Wu Baoan's anger flared up again. "You call this petty theft? I just did a rough calculation, and the stolen goods far exceed five hundred coins. Do you know what that means? If the amount stolen reaches fifty coins, you won't get the owner's forgiveness, and according to the village rules, you can be expelled from the village. If the amount stolen reaches five hundred coins, you'll go to jail."
Old Mrs. Chen was terrified by these words. She already knew that if she was caught stealing bricks, she would not only go to jail, but she might also be expelled from the village. But fortune favors the bold, and who wouldn't want to make some unexpected money?
Seeing Wu Baoan's angry face, Old Mrs. Chen calmed herself down. All the blue bricks in the house were brought back by Old Mr. Chen; they had nothing to do with her.
They wanted to shift all the blame onto Old Man Chen, but felt that doing so would be too unfair.
But then I thought, as the saying goes, "Husbands and wives are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately." I can't worry about that now; to avoid imprisonment, this is the only way.
Thinking it over, Old Mrs. Chen gritted her teeth, feigning a heartbroken and tearful expression.
"My security guard, my nephew, don't scare your aunt. Your honest uncle acted impulsively. Don't send him to the government office. His old arms and legs can't take the strain. Let alone going to jail, even a few dozen lashes could kill him. Don't leave me to live a life of widowhood!"
Upon hearing this, Old Man Chen's heart sank. He trembled with rage and couldn't help but curse, "You wretched old woman, you, you, you are too cruel! This was all your bad idea, why are you trying to pin the blame on me?"
"Shut up, what nonsense are you spouting!" Old Mrs. Chen hurriedly gave him a meaningful look...
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