Chapter 94 A Thief Appears at the Workplace
As for the Qiu family from the village, Old Lady Qiu and her two daughters-in-law arrived late. They had gone to another mountain to forage for local products. Old Lady Qiu knew that her youngest daughter-in-law, Tao Meiyu, would fake a miscarriage in a few days, so she needed to prepare some medicinal herbs to nourish her. So, returning late, she learned something was amiss in the village. Upon inquiry, she discovered it was the Qiu family again!
Qiu Xiangnan's wife screamed, jumped up and rushed out, followed by Old Mrs. Qiu and the second daughter-in-law.
Seeing that it was Old Lady Sui and Sui Qiang, Old Lady Qiu rolled her eyes and grabbed her eldest daughter-in-law who was about to rush over to fight her daughter. She turned around and asked calmly, "Sister Sun, we're late. Can you tell me what's going on?"
The old lady Sun who was being questioned spoke eloquently and explained the matter clearly.
Old Mrs. Qiu was smug, glancing at her granddaughter with admiration. She hadn't expected this woman to be so scheming, even marrying a second time and finding a employed man. While Sui Qiang wasn't an oilfield worker, he worked at a textile factory, which was a respectable position. He had several aunts at home to support him, and if he had a son and married him off, maybe he could even find a job for the family.
It must be said that while the Sui family was planning their daughter's in-laws' affairs, someone else was thinking about marrying off their daughter and planning the Sui family's affairs. It wasn't that there was no retribution, it was just that the time hadn't come yet.
Old Lady Qiu spoke first, "Sister Sui, do you think this is fate between our two families? My granddaughter, after many twists and turns, finally married into your family! It's destined that we should become in-laws."
Qiu Xiangnan's daughter-in-law looked at her mother-in-law, glanced at her daughter who lowered her head and said nothing, and then shut up obediently.
Mrs. Sui, who was about to make a scene, suddenly stopped. As for the Qiu family, Qiu Xiangdong still had a job that no one was taking over, so he wasn't completely useless. Although this woman wasn't Qiu Xiangdong's daughter, she was still his niece. Mrs. Sui didn't make a scene, but went to help Sui Qiang. Seeing this, Mrs. Qiu also went to help Qiu Sheng'er. The two families, each with their own ulterior motives, tacitly shut up and left, closing the door to discuss things secretly.
I don’t know what the two sides talked about, but when they went home at night, Qiu Sheng’er carried a small bag and followed Old Lady Sui and Sui Qiang. She entered the No. 1 Courtyard and became the young wife of the No. 1 Courtyard.
This shocked everyone. They were confused. Did the West River Bank belong to Hongniang? How could a man go there and bring back a wife? How could a man go there and bring back a wife?
Because of this incident, several old widowers in the courtyard wanted to give the West River Bank a try.
Jiang Mancheng couldn't pretend not to know her. He was from Xihe'an and had seen Qiu Sheng'er before. He took the initiative to greet her, "Sheng'er, why are you here? Why are you suddenly marrying Qiangzi?"
Qiu Sheng'er raised her head and glanced at Jiang Nan who was looking at her, feeling secretly proud.
If she envied her cousin Qiu Pan'er the most, then Jiang Nan was definitely her second most enviable. Both of them were blessed with good fortunes, spoiled by their parents, free to do whatever they wanted, and free from farm work. Whenever they returned to the village, they were dressed to the nines: brand new leather shoes, beautiful skirts, and a lovely hair ornament.
She was madly jealous of every one of them! Not to mention, two people had all three!
But now, she's married and become a member of the oil field! Humph, she must be more powerful than both of them.
For a woman, it is better to marry well than to be born well, and she is the one who will definitely win in the end!
Qiu Shenger said proudly, "Uncle Jiang, Qiangzi went to visit friends on the west bank of the river today and fell in love with me at first sight. Our two families have discussed the marriage and will register for marriage tomorrow. From now on, I will be a resident of our No. 1 Courtyard. Uncle Jiang, you have to take good care of me."
She glanced at Jiang Nan and said with a smile, "Sister Nan, we will see each other every day from now on. You can't look down on me because I'm from the country." As she said this, she glanced shyly at Zhou Zhixing who was standing beside her.
Old Lady Sui was not very satisfied to begin with. How could she be satisfied if she didn’t get any advantage from the Qiu family? Seeing Qiu Sheng’er’s face now, she was even more upset. She said angrily: “Talk, talk, talk, what is there to talk about! Go home, and all the housework will be yours from now on. Sweeping, mopping, washing clothes, cooking, buying groceries, which one is not a big deal? How can you be careless? Just tell me who you know. You don’t feel ashamed, but I feel it’s a waste of time. Let’s go, dinner is not ready yet, you are so tactless…”
After saying that, he walked ahead in a huff, not even saying hello, leaving Old Lady Liu, Old Lady Cao, and the others baffled. Did this old man get bullied on the West River Bank?
She was really upset. Old Mrs. Sui regretted it so much that her intestines turned green. She deeply regretted it. Why did she say she wanted to marry the educated youth in advance? Now she was getting married for the second time, and she still couldn't get the upper hand. Her son Qiangzi's life was really miserable!
Old Mrs. Sui felt bitter, but the people sitting downstairs and chatting suddenly exploded. They all pulled Jiang Mancheng and refused to let him go, insisting on telling him the whole story.
Jiang Mancheng was very proud and happy to help spread gossip. He said, "Qiu Sheng'er is Qiu Xiangdong's niece, the daughter of his eldest brother Qiu Xiangnan. She was married before, but unfortunately her husband fell to his death while sweeping snow on the roof in winter. I never thought she would be so lucky as to fall in love with Sui Qiang at first sight. This is really unexpected."
Old Lady Liu immediately grasped the point and shrilly asked, "Second marriage? Is Sui Qiang crazy? Why would he marry someone who's been married twice?"
Glancing upstairs, Old Lady Liu lowered her voice and said, "Pan'er is still resting at home. If she knew, wouldn't she be scared to death?"
"Didn't you hear that girl say that Sui Qiang fell in love with her at first sight? Why are you so scared? Pan'er is so happy. She's her cousin. Don't think too badly of her."
"Come on, that girl isn't that good looking. Not to mention Xiaonan, she can't even compare to Pan'er. I think something might have happened to her."
"Who knows? Sui Qiang is really ambitious. Didn't he say before that he would never marry someone without a job? Now he's married to a second-married woman from the countryside. There must be something fishy going on!"
"Yes, let me ask my sister-in-law's brother's third daughter-in-law's cousin. Her family is from Xihe'an. Maybe she knows something. Hey, Mancheng, aren't you from Xihe'an? How come you don't know?"
Jiang Mancheng spread his hands and desperately cried out for justice: "Auntie, I didn't go back to my hometown today. I don't know if this is normal."
The old ladies chuckled and started talking about other things. Jiang Mancheng and the others listened for a while, but when they saw that everyone was talking endlessly about Sui Qiang, they quietly stood up and left.
They still had to go home and cook dinner, because they were going to scare the tigers at night and they had to make some good nourishment.
The four of them quickly returned to the Jiang family's house, and Jiang Mancheng began to arrange dinner: "While no one is around, Xiaonan, quickly exchange some spare ribs. We went shopping today, so it's normal to buy some meat. They didn't look at our baskets anyway, so it doesn't matter if we exchange a little more. Let's have a good meal tonight, because your mother and I still have to work tonight."
Jiang Nan: "Okay, then I'll exchange it for three pounds?"
Jiang Mancheng said generously: "In exchange for five pounds, there's not much pork ribs, let's eat to our heart's content. I just bought some garlic, let's have some steamed pork ribs with garlic."
The four of them quickly cleaned up dinner. Jiang Nan waited and waited, and when dinner was ready, Cheng Gaigai didn't come to see her. Well, that's right. Ever since she started dating Jing Aihua, Cheng Gaigai rarely came to see her. Was she afraid that she would poach him?
Jiang Nan didn't understand. If she didn't understand something, she asked Jiang Mancheng directly: "Dad, why doesn't Gaigai come to me to complain? I can also help with some advice."
"Silly girl, you want to meddle in the affairs of a young couple?" Jiang Mancheng looked at her like a fool and said earnestly, "Don't even mention that she won't come. Even if she does, you shouldn't get involved. I don't think Gaigai will break up with Jing Aihua. What advice can you give? Let Dad guess, and persuade them to break up?"
Seeing Jiang Nan's matter-of-fact expression, Jiang Mancheng shook his head. This silly girl who didn't understand the ways of the world, he didn't know how she had grown up in her previous life. He said, "They say it's better to demolish ten temples than to ruin a marriage. They've always encouraged reconciliation, not separation. Do you know why?"
Without waiting for his daughter's answer, he said to himself, "Because there are risks in persuading people to break up."
He broke it down and explained to his daughter, "As for trying to reconcile, even if the couple breaks up, they'll know you meant well and won't blame you. But trying to reconcile is different. If they don't break up and stay together, won't you be seen as someone with bad intentions? In the end, neither side will remember your kindness, so why bother? Listen to Dad. You can interfere in anything, but not in the affairs of this couple."
Jiang Nan uttered a disgruntled "oh!" and the pork ribs she ate weren't as delicious as she'd imagined. Luckily, she was a good self-comforter. The second piece was fine! Yeah, it was that quick.
Wow, her dad is such a great cook, these ribs are so delicious! Sizzle...
It smelled so good that the two brothers next door, Fang Nansheng and Fang Nanhai, started to roll around on the ground, demanding to eat the meat.
The Jiang family didn't care about this at all. They closed the door and ate happily. They ate and discussed their plan for the evening.
Jiang Mancheng: "Xiao Nan, go see where that jerk Wan Hu is staying at night so your mother and I can plan our actions."
Jiang Nan nodded obediently, opened the system, and began to read. Not long after, she said, "The small villa next to the Revolutionary Committee was left behind during the previous house search. Wan Hu now often lives there."
Jiang Mancheng nodded, not finding it strange. The last time they'd scared Wanhu, he'd lived there, and the couple were quite familiar with the area. He pondered, thinking about how to act at night to give Wanhu a good beating.
Zhou Zhixing raised his head and asked carefully: "With Dong Tingting?"
Jiang Nan was stunned for a moment, then clicked on Dong Tingting's channel. It was hard to explain: "Yes, Dong Tingting also has two shows tonight. First, with Cheng Meijuan's father, and then she will go to see Wan Hu at nine o'clock."
The three of them twitched their lips after hearing this. There were still people who dared to do such a thing. They really had too little experience.
Zhou Zhixing quickly coughed and asked, "Will Dong Tingting stay overnight? If she is, Uncle Jiang, Aunt Chen, won't you be a little restricted? If not, let's change the day."
Jiang Nan glanced at Dong Tingting's channel again, then switched back to Wan Hu's, saying, "He probably won't stay. Ever since Wan Hu was frightened by the female ghost, he won't keep a woman around after midnight. But he's left a few strong men from the Revolutionary Committee in the villa. Dad, Mom, you'd better be careful if you go there."
Jiang Mancheng didn't care: "As long as Dong Tingting is not here, it's fine. I don't want to hurt innocent people. Those little brothers in the Revolutionary Committee are not innocent. Don't worry about it. Your father and I have plenty of ways to deal with them. Okay, let's eat."
Jiang Nan chuckled twice, stopped talking about these trivial things, and concentrated on eating, really not caring about this matter. Anyway, Jiang Mancheng was as smart as a monkey, so she didn't worry about it.
Sure enough, early the next morning, Jiang Mancheng and Chen Jinhua sat at the dining table with great enthusiasm, their faces beaming.
Jiang Nan yawned, not even washing his face, and sat down to eat some wontons. While blowing on them, he asked, "Dad, Mom, how was last night? Was Wan Hu scared?"
Jiang Mancheng was pleased with himself: "Humph, he must have been frightened. That jerk must have peed his pants this time! I wonder how he dares to act so arrogantly in the future."
Chen Jinhua was also very excited: "That's right. If he jumps around again, your dad and I will scare him. What a fool! I tell you, if your dad and I hadn't arrived in time, who knows whose house he would have raided next."
Jiang Nan's eyes widened as he listened with great interest. He praised her sweetly, "Dad, Mom, you're amazing! Dad, you came home so late, and you still had time to make wontons?"
Jiang Mancheng: "It's okay, I'm in good spirits. If I can't sleep, I'll just get up and eat something. I'm not tired at all."
Chen Jinhua: "Hurry up and eat. I've sent two bowls to Xiaoxing and the others."
The three of them ate breakfast happily, packed up quickly, and went to work.
Jiang Nan was the last one to leave. When he opened the door, Cheng Gaigai was also leaving. Thinking of his father's instructions yesterday, Jiang Nan greeted him naturally, "Gaigai, good morning."
Cheng Gaigai was quite natural. She smiled and said, "Good morning, Xiaonan."
The two chatted casually, and before they reached the corner of the third floor, they heard Wang Jian's voice: "Xiao Nan, wait for me."
Jiang Nan turned around and saw Wang Jianyi struggling to come over with a big belly. She hurried over to support her and said, "Sister Jianyi, your belly is so big, why don't you ask for leave?"
Wang Jianyi smiled and said, "It's okay, I'm in good health. I want to wait until the last few days to ask for leave. Maternity leave is only three months, so I can still breastfeed for another month."
Jiang Nan carefully helped the man down the stairs and asked, "Why haven't Brother Jianguo and Uncle Dachui come back yet?"
Wang Jianyi: "Jianguo swapped shifts with someone else and went straight out of town without going home. He also wanted to swap shifts with someone else so he could have more time to rest."
Seeing that the couple had a plan in mind, Jiang Nan didn't say anything more and asked about the child: "Sister Yan, have you checked the gender of the baby? Are the clothes and shoes ready?"
"Everything is ready, don't worry." Wang Jianyi said with a very casual smile, "There's no need to check the gender of the child, we'll know when it's born. I don't favor boys over girls. As the great man said, women hold up half the sky. Jianguo and I both love having a daughter."
Cheng Gaigai listened intently, but her mind was wandering. She and Jing Aihua were getting married, but the more they spent time together, the more exhausted she felt. Jing Aihua was too eager to take on responsibilities, even his cousins, who weren't much younger than him, were considered his responsibilities. She couldn't understand why he acted like such a "patriarch" when they were roughly the same age.
With this kind of personality, won’t he be sucked dry by the leeches of the Jing family when he gets married?
Cheng Gaigai complained to her father and grandparents, but her family wouldn't let her break up with Jing Aihua. They'd been together for almost a year, and the wedding date was set. If they didn't get married, wouldn't everyone else laugh at them? Although the Cheng family loved Gaigai, they didn't want to lose face.
Cheng Gaigai wasn't a very opinionated person, or rather, she was indecisive when it came to family matters, dragging things out until now. Yesterday's argument with Jing Aihua wasn't the first. Perhaps it was pre-wedding tension, but they'd argued once before, and only a few days after reconciling, they were arguing again yesterday. Cheng Gaigai was debating what to do, and even as she said goodbye to Jiang Nan and Wang Jianyi, she was a bit distracted.
Jiang Nan saw it all, but felt relieved. Cheng Gaigai hadn't thought of telling her, and she wasn't rushing to be a close sister. Besides, in this life, she was younger than Cheng Gaigai.
Jiang Nan cheered up, met up with Zhou Zhixing, and quickly rode his bike to the police station.
After a weekend of rest, everyone at the police station had regained their spirits and looked full of energy. Shao Yong, the "Jingang Barbie," was even more delighted, quacking with joy. He was incredibly happy early in the morning, his laughter churning out like twenty ducks.
Well, the name "King Kong Barbie" wasn't coined by Jiang Nan, but rather, was accurately summarized by Jiang Mancheng after listening to Jiang Nan's introduction. Of course, his original words were "Lu Zhishen on the outside, Lin Daiyu on the inside." The King Kong Barbie was a product of the uneducated Jiang Nan's description.
How accurate! Shao Yong really deserves this nickname.
Seeing the two, Shao Yong was also very proud. He showed off by giving them candies and said, "Wedding candy, I had a successful blind date yesterday, please have some wedding candy."
Although Shao Yong is the team leader, he is only 26 years old and still a bachelor. When everyone heard that his blind date was successful, they started to cheer.
"Brother Yong, what does your sister-in-law do? Tell me."
"That's right, which matchmaker introduced you? Brother Yong, you can't hide it. We are all waiting to find a matchmaker to find a partner."
Well, there are still quite a lot of singles in the police station. Who cares if they're busy? They're the type that often works day and night. Because of this, many of the field officers have concerns about finding partners, and their relationships fall through one after another, which means most of them remain single. After all, no one wants to marry a man who's away from home all day.
Shao Yong raised his eyebrows, his expression extremely arrogant. "Your sister-in-law is a kindergarten teacher, and she's very patient with children. The matchmaker's surname is Ma, so if you want to find her, go find her. She lives in the Fiberglass Residential Complex, and she's quite famous. You'll know once you ask."
Jiang Nan's heart skipped a beat. Kindergarten teacher? Wasn't Qiu Pan'er's job, which took over her mother's shift, in a kindergarten? Now that Tian Jiaguang had tricked her into working there, it wasn't clear if it was the same kindergarten. Because their office was so crowded, they had two kindergartens. Jiang Nan asked, "Which one, East Garden or West Garden?"
Shao Yong: "Dongyuan, your sister-in-law only started working last year. Wasn't she busy with work before? She only thought about going on a blind date this year. Hehe, isn't she attracted to me?"
His tone was quite smug, and Jiang Nan breathed a sigh of relief. Tian Jiaguang was in Xiyuan, so the two of them weren't together. That was great. It wasn't that she was thinking the worst. It was just that Dong Tingting had given her such a shock yesterday that she was really afraid of a 'male Dong Tingting' emerging. Shao Yong was a good person, but he couldn't let Tian Jiaguang harm him.
Everyone laughed and giggled for a while, then quickly got busy. A new week, new trivialities awaited them.
Group 6 had a strange scene today. This scene was not somewhere else, but their No. 1 Courtyard.
The person who came to report the crime was not someone else, but Dong Tingting's mother, Aunt Dong. She didn't even bother looking for anyone else when she entered the police station. Instead, she shouted at Zhou Zhixing, "Zhou boy, Zhou boy, someone's causing trouble for my Tingting! Go arrest that person!"
Zhou Zhixing said sternly, "Auntie Dong, please tell me clearly, who is causing trouble for Dong Tingting? And why?"
Aunt Dong curled her lips and muttered quietly, "There are so many things to do. If I tell you to arrest someone, then just go. Why are you asking so many questions?"
Zhou Zhixing asked again with a stern face.
Aunt Dong said reluctantly, "Ye Chunping, that's Yuan Jianshe's new daughter-in-law. She's causing trouble for my Tingting. Oh, go and see that vicious woman. She's going to beat up my Tingting. You can't just ignore her."
Hearing it was a fight between two women, Zhou Zhixing thought for a moment and decided there was no need for all six of them to go. He ordered, "Brother Zou, you wait here with Zili and Gengsheng. If anyone else calls the police, you all go together. Wen Qiang, Xiaonan, the three of us will go to the scene."
Everyone hummed, stood up, picked up their hats, and went their separate ways.
On the way, Zhou Zhixing asked Aunt Dong: "Why did Ye Chunping cause trouble for Dong Tingting?"
Aunt Dong said impatiently, "She can't stand my daughter Tingting's popularity. She's just jealous. She's jealous that my daughter Tingting is prettier than her, has a better life than her, and even if she gets divorced, she can marry someone better than her!"
Yes, Ye Chunping knew that Dong Tingting was also a divorced woman, and she became even more jealous of her. Why was she so popular even though they were both divorced, while she had to do some shady business on the West River Bank?
After that argument, Ye Chunping had considered Dong Tingting her chosen rival and kept a close eye on her. Seeing Dong Tingting talking to Yuan Jianshe today, she was furious! Shameless Dong Tingting, not only was she flirting with someone else, she was even trying to steal Ye Chunping's boyfriend! If she didn't mess with Dong Tingting, she'd be bullied to death in Courtyard No. 1!
Ye Chunping would scold Dong Tingting whenever she caught her. She had been to the countryside and had seen countless people swearing in the streets of the village. She never repeated herself when scolding people, and spoke quickly and frequently. She scolded Dong Tingting so badly that she had no room to defend herself and felt very aggrieved.
Yes, Dong Tingting felt deeply wronged. She'd gone to Yuan Jianshe today because she'd finally found a notebook among her sister's belongings. Inside was a list of names, and she'd seen Fang Nanshan's. She'd come to ask Yuan Jianshe, her sister's former lover, about the situation. She'd try to find out indirectly, to see if he knew what was going on.
Who knew it was so mean? It was so unlucky to be seen by a woman like Ye Chunping.
Dong Tingting had taught her sister how to secretly record the name and hobbies of her lover. Now that she had finally found someone she could exploit, Dong Tingting hadn't even begun to rejoice when someone picked on her. She could only sigh inwardly at her bad luck.
When Zhou Zhixing and the other three arrived, the quarrel was still going on. Yuan Jianshe stood aside, seemingly enjoying the two women bickering over him, a mysterious smile occasionally flashing across his face, leaving Jiang Nan speechless.
The three of them, dressed in police uniforms, easily made their way to the center of the crowd. Ye Chunping's cursing gradually died down. Zhou Zhixing glanced at Jiang Nan, who spoke up, "Ye Chunping, if you keep cursing, we'll go to the police station and talk it out. If you stop, we'll question you in the family compound. The choice is yours, how about that?"
Ye Chunping curled her lips, very reluctantly: "What a bullshit choice! What can I choose? It's so hypocritical."
Jiang Nan ignored her. Seeing that she had stopped scolding him, he asked Dong Tingting, "Tell me, what happened today? Why are you arguing?"
Before Dong Tingting could say anything, Ye Chunping was dissatisfied and cried out, "Why ask her? I don't care, I have to speak first. I was watching her, she is a vixen, who knows if she will seduce my man. It's a good thing I was watching her, you see, she pulled my Jianshe and kept talking. Think about it, before Dong Jiaojiao died, she and my man had never met, what could she say? What talk? Bah, she must be trying to seduce my man! I am Yuan Jianshe's wife, of course I have to quarrel with her. I am not wrong in what happened today. Although I am a woman, I don't want to be cuckolded."
She held her head high, jumped up and down, and cursed with great confidence.
Dong Tingting snorted and crossed her arms, saying disdainfully, "You think Yuan Jianshe is your treasure and think everyone is like you! What a joke! I just asked about my sister, and you put the blame on me like that. How stupid and vicious! Jiang Nan, right? You have to make the decision for me."
She looked very proud.
Humph, she wasn't blind. She'd seen this family before when she was shopping at the department store with Wan Hu. The man standing by her side had to be someone as powerful as Wan Hu. How could she possibly be interested in Yuan Jianshe?!
What a joke, what a joke!
Dong Tingting gave Jiang Nan a look that said "you know what I mean" and was very arrogant.
Jiang Nan received it. To be honest, she knew without looking at the system that Dong Tingting looked down on Yuan Jianshe.
Jiang Nan still remembers what Dong Tingting said when they visited the grave during the Qingming Festival.
Jiang Nan tried to smooth things over: "Ye Chunping, you're overthinking it. Comrade Dong Tingting, well, she...she has many suitors and would never get involved with a married man, so don't worry."
She turned to Dong Tingting and said, "Dong Tingting, tell me, am I right?"
Tong Tingting held her head high, looking down at Ye Chunping and Jiang Nan, and said, "Of course. I, Dong Tingting, have had no shortage of suitors since I was a child. I've never hooked up with anyone else. It's always others who have been begging me to date them. Ye Chunping, it's useless to stare at me. Stare at your man, idiot. You don't even know who your rival is."
As she spoke, she pretended to glance at Sun Qiaolian unintentionally, with undisguised contempt in her eyes.
What a waste of his good looks, he actually hooked up with a useless guy like Yuan Jianshe, who has no vision!
But she quickly averted her gaze. Since Ye Chunping didn't know, why bother reminding her? Whether Yuan Jianshe had other intentions or not was none of her business, Dong Tingting, so she didn't want to meddle in other people's business. She was the kind of person who would never do anything that didn't benefit her. Why bother? It was a thankless task. All her energy had to be used to carve out benefits for herself. Anything she gave away would be a waste.
Meanwhile, Sun Qiaolian, unnerved by that glance, carefully hid in the crowd. She didn't want to be noticed in this bustling scene. Yuan Jianshe needed to be let loose. Ye Chunping was too aggressive, and Dong Tingting was no pushover either, with her sharp eyes. She'd noticed so quickly, and there was no guarantee others would have suspicions too. She couldn't keep Yuan Jianshe hanging any longer.
Sun Qiaolian didn't want to ruin her reputation! Last time, she wasn't careful enough and was accused of sleepwalking. Now, if something goes wrong again, her son will blame her.
Rolling her eyes, Sun Qiaolian suddenly realized that she could ask Yuan Jianshe to seduce Tong Lili! Tong Lili is rich now! Thinking of this, she raised her head again and shyly glanced at Yuan Jianshe. Her eyes were full of affection and passion, and Yuan Jianshe was so moved that he melted half of his body. Sun Qiaolian felt proud and quickly lowered her head.
Ye Chunping didn't pay attention to the eye contact between the two. After hearing what Dong Tingting said, she was so angry. Why did she look down on her? Why? They were both divorced women. Why was Dong Tingting so noble?
Ye Chunping was extremely angry, but because there were three policemen present, she couldn't show it. She clenched and unclenched her fists in anger, gasping for breath.
Ye Chunping repeatedly reminded herself that she must not be taken to the police station. If a woman was taken to such a place, who knows what would happen to her in the future.
Aunt Dong was pleased with herself and snorted heavily. This unpresentable person wanted to compete with her daughter! Her eldest daughter was going to marry a big shot! A scumbag like Yuan Jianshe was not even worthy of carrying her daughter Tingting's shoes!
Everyone had their own thoughts. Jiang Nan, Zhou Zhixing, and Wen Qiang took notes and had everyone sign them, and the matter was settled. Usually, such minor quarrels didn't need to be taken to the police station. The three of them exchanged a few words of mediation before leaving.
After only a few steps, Jiang Nan turned back in confusion, looked at the crowd again, and scratched her head, feeling that something was a little strange. She whispered to Zhou Zhixing, "Are there a few people missing in the crowd? I remember there were more than this many people when we got here."
Zhou Zhixing glanced back and said nonchalantly, "He should have gone back to make lunch. Do you think there's anything strange about that?"
Jiang Nan said uncertainly: "When I came, there seemed to be one or two strangers. I'm not sure."
Wen Qiang: "If you're not sure, don't even think about it. With so many people in the oil field, it's perfectly normal for one or two relatives to come and live with you. Don't overthink it."
Jiang Nan nodded, and the three of them stopped talking and quickly returned to the police station.
At the station, Zou Li took Zili and Gengsheng to another scene. It was said that they also had a quarrel and they haven't returned yet.
As the temperature gradually rose, everyone's tempers seemed to be getting worse, and there had been a lot of quarrels and fights recently. On Monday, the police station was full of field work like this, and Jiang Nan's legs were thin from running around, and his throat was almost hoarse from talking so much.
When Jiang Nan got off work, she was exhausted from riding her bike for the first time. She used to ride it so fast, but today she was really tired.
Zhou Zhixing suggested: "How about I take you with me?"
Jiang Nan squinted his eyes and said, "How are we going to carry two bicycles?"
She stood up and encouraged herself: "It's okay, it's only a few steps away, we'll be there soon."
Zhou Zhixing: "Go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some things? Didn't you say that shopping can cure all diseases?"
Jiang Nan: "It's already this late, there's nothing good to eat. Let's go home. My parents must have made something delicious. Let's go back and eat."
She gave a small cheer and instantly shot off into the distance as if she had taken a powerful pill. Zhou Zhixing watched, shaking his head. As expected, women's words were deceitful.
The two quickly returned to Courtyard No. 1 and, without further delay downstairs, quickly ascended to the fourth floor. Zhou Zhixing had moved all his food to the Jiang family, and besides living there, he basically ate there all day, so he was used to the living conditions. Although the Zhou family had Old Lady Cao, it was, after all, a house allocated by his uncle's family, and his cousins would come back from time to time. The house was the same size as Jiang Nan's, and with so many people, it felt cramped. The Jiang family was still the best; the four of them knew each other well, and being together felt completely comfortable.
As soon as I reached the fourth floor, I heard Qiu Sheng'er's voice, tinged with jealousy: "Pan'er, the baby hasn't even been born yet, and you're already buying a stroller. That's too extravagant, isn't it? I'm not saying anything bad, but you really don't know how to manage your life. If it were a girl, wouldn't it be a waste to buy a stroller?"
Qiu Paner's voice wasn't as angry as one might imagine. Instead, she said with a hint of boasting, "Oh, this was bought by my dad. I told him not to, but he said it was his first grandchild, so any extravagance was fine. Look, he even bought the most expensive Phoenix brand. Really, men just don't calculate when it comes to life."
Jiang Nan's mouth twitched. Such a boastful tone! She glanced at Qiu Sheng'er from the corner of her eye, her face distorted with jealousy. Qiu Pan'er was no less enraged, even glancing at Jiang Nan who had just come up with an extraordinarily proud look.
Jiang Nan pretended to know nothing and quickly opened the door and walked in. As soon as she entered, she saw her father and mother hiding behind the door. They must have been listening to what was happening.
Zhou Zhixing went inside. Jiang Nan quickly closed the door and whispered, "How long have these two been talking?"
Jiang Mancheng whispered, "He's been talking about it since I was making dinner. For about half an hour."
Jiang Nan was surprised: "Qiu Sheng'er doesn't have to cook dinner?"
Chen Jinhua quickly replied, "She said she came to see Qiu Pan'er, and Old Lady Sui agreed. I don't know what she's up to."
Jiang Mancheng's voice became even lower. "It's Qiu Xiangdong's job. Qiu Pan'er and the others must be taking the jobs of Sui's aunts. And there's also Sui Qiang's parents' job. Wait, there will be some trouble between these two families. Hehehe, I don't know which one will be more powerful." He listened attentively for a while, and then patted Jiang Nan and Zhou Zhixing on the shoulders. "Go wash your hands, and eat later."
The east and west doors were too far apart for Jiang Nan to hear, so he shrugged and went to the bathroom to wash up. Soon, the four of them sat at the dining table and started eating dinner.
While eating, Jiang Mancheng suddenly suggested, "The weather is getting better and better. Let's go out for an outing this weekend. If we don't go now, it will be difficult to go when the weather gets hot."
Chen Jinhua nodded frantically: "Okay, okay, there must be a lot of flowers blooming on the mountain. Let's go pick some flowers and put them in a vase when we come back. It will be fun to look at them at home."
Jiang Nan: "Then I'll get some more fruit drinks and other things, and we can have a good meal."
Zhou Zhixing was also very happy: "Maybe we can catch some prey."
The four of them were very interested and quickly discussed the details.
However, plans cannot keep pace with changes. No matter how well the four planned, they were still delayed by unexpected cases.
The next morning, as soon as I arrived at the police station, someone came to report a case. It was a half-grown child, who looked less than ten years old. He was thin and small, wearing gray cloth clothes. His little face was red from running, and he was panting when he spoke angry words.
"Uncle police, I want to report a crime. Uncle police, there's a burglary in our No. 10 compound in Liushugou. Uncle police, please go and catch the thief quickly. Several houses have been robbed."
Jiang Nan poured the little boy a glass of water and said softly, "Don't be anxious, little boy. Drink some water first. Tell me, how many houses have been robbed? Why did you come to report it?"
The little boy was thirsty too. He took the cup and gulped down the rest. He said hurriedly, "My name is Xiao Nengzi. I live in the Liushugou compound. There's been a thief in our compound. All the flour we bought yesterday is gone! Five pounds of it! There are three families in the compound who have lost something. Yes, including mine, that makes three. I wonder if anything has been stolen in other compounds. Police uncle, police sister, please come with me to check it out."
At the end of the speech, he was so anxious that his eyes turned red.
Jiang Nan, Zhou Zhixing, and the others had already put on their hats and, not wanting to delay, hurriedly asked the child to lead the way. From what the child had said, it seemed like more than one house had been robbed, and they had to check on all of them.
The predecessors of the Operations Office were the Liushugou and Yangjiawa brigades. Although neither brigades had discovered oil, their strategic location, close to nearby brigades that had discovered oil, made them ideal locations for the Operations Office. The people of the two brigades were transformed from farmers into urban dwellers enjoying a commercial grain diet, each with their own job. They were overjoyed.
It was early days, before the wave of splitting up families began. Some families only had one person working, and since they couldn't continue farming, life wasn't easy. They were crammed into large, chaotic compounds, where there was constant noise and disorder, and public security was poor.
The Liushugou and Yangjiawa courtyards were mostly inhabited by people from the village at the time, and they were all familiar with each other. Normally, it was incredible that thieves could break into such a large courtyard.
You know, nowadays, every slum has a manager, just like every tube-shaped building has a building manager. These days, everyone is very vigilant, and even a fly entering the slum would be discovered. How could a thief suddenly break in?
The six people in the group all had very serious expressions on their faces. They all knew in their hearts that this thief was probably no simple person. He was either a master thief or an insider!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
