Chapter 17: A Big Move

That night, Jing Xi set out again.

Her target was still Zhang Jianjun’s house.

However, to her surprise, just as she reached the entrance of Zhang Jianjun’s alley, she saw Zhang Jianjun and Wu Dazhuang drunkenly stumbling home together. They were so intoxicated that their speech was slurred, and they struggled for a long time just to unlock the door. Even after they managed to get inside, they didn’t bother to close the door.

They staggered as they walked, and Jing Xi had no idea how they had made it back from town in such a state.

This made things much easier for her. She simply followed them in.

“Bro, I, I’m telling you… my, my parents are… they’re not good people at all… It would’ve been better if… if they just died together…”

“Brother, d-don’t say that… They, they give you money to spend… Look at me… My dad doesn’t care, my mom doesn’t care…”

Before Wu Dazhuang could finish his sentence, the two of them stumbled into the inner room and collapsed.

Jing Xi was surprised to learn that Wu Dazhuang actually had parents but that they didn’t take care of him.

So, he only had a few relatives in the village?

She stood in the courtyard for a while. Inside, the two men had barely made it onto the bed before they started snoring thunderously.

Once she was sure they were in deep sleep, Jing Xi made her way to Zhang Qiang and Wang Cuihua’s room.

The red cabinet by the bed was locked, and so was the wardrobe on the floor.

Jing Xi tested them and confirmed that they were securely locked.

She rubbed her forehead, recalling scenes from movies where people picked locks by lightly tapping them with a brick or some other hard object. She decided to give it a try.

After double-checking that Zhang Jianjun and Wu Dazhuang were too drunk to wake up, she quietly shut their door and headed to the storage room outside. There, she found a hammer.

She tested its weight in her hand—felt pretty good. Then, she began tapping at the lock.

She paused frequently to listen for any movement from the west room, only continuing when she was sure the snoring was still loud and steady.

After about fifty taps, the lock finally clicked open.

Jing Xi let out a small cheer, then opened the cabinet door. Inside, the two small boxes were buried even deeper under a pile of clothes.

She opened the boxes but didn’t find any money inside.

Frowning, she scanned the room, and her eyes landed on a shoebox on top of the wardrobe.

She stepped off the bed and reached for the box.

It had some weight to it.

When she opened it, she was momentarily stunned.

Wang Cuihua wasn’t stupid after all—she knew that the most dangerous place was sometimes the safest hiding spot. Unfortunately for her, it didn’t work this time.

Inside were ten neatly stacked bundles of fresh banknotes.

Each bundle seemed to contain several hundred yuan at the very least.

Wasting no time, Jing Xi quickly took out all the cash. There was also a bankbook inside.

This money was most likely from selling dihuan vegetables. Judging by the recent arguments between the Zhang couple, they probably hadn’t had the chance to deposit it in the bank yet. That worked out perfectly for her.

But she had no intention of keeping the money for herself.

When she checked the bankbook, she noticed a faint pencil-written note with a string of numbers—likely the account’s password.

She didn’t know whether to call the Zhang family foolish or just plain stupid. Did they really need to write down such an obvious password?

Taking the money and the bankbook, Jing Xi headed straight for Wu Dazhuang’s house.

At first, she was worried there might be someone else at home, but now she was certain there wasn’t. Even better.

Wu Dazhuang’s house wasn’t far from Zhang’s—it was just a few alleys away.

Following her memory, she found it.

It was an old mud house with a low wooden fence surrounding the yard. Inside, there was a chaotic pile of miscellaneous junk. Compared to the Zhang family’s house, the difference was like night and day. Even the homes of ordinary villagers were in better condition than this one.

Jing Xi climbed over the fence and found that the front door was locked.

Circling around to the back, she discovered a rear window.

It was a bit narrow, but luckily, this body of hers was thin and short, allowing her to squeeze through.

The moment she entered, a foul stench of sweaty feet assaulted her senses.

Ugh.

Jing Xi nearly gagged. Her eyes watered from the overwhelming stink.

“Damn, that’s disgusting.”

She quickly found Wu Dazhuang’s bedroom and, among a pile of ragged clothes, stuffed all the stolen money and bankbooks from the Zhang family into his filthy, stinking clothes.

After finishing everything, she hurriedly left.

If she stayed any longer, she would pass out from the stench.

Two Days Later

Zhang Qiang and Wang Cuihua were released from the detention center.

They hadn’t suffered much, but the detention center housed all kinds of people—thieves, swindlers, prostitutes, gamblers, and gang fighters. The past two days had been far from pleasant.

Just as they finally stepped out and took a breath of fresh air, they saw a police officer approaching with the compensation request that Jing Xi had submitted.

Wang Cuihua’s eyes widened in disbelief. She cursed a thousand times in her head before finally losing her patience.

“Officer, isn’t this too much? That girl’s house didn’t even have anything valuable! Buying a new set of bedding and kitchenware wouldn’t cost more than a hundred yuan! And what the hell is this so-called mental distress compensation? I never went to school, so I don’t understand it.”

Li Tao explained patiently.

“First, a new set of bedding and kitchenware costs around fifty to seventy yuan. Second, when we investigated the scene that day, we noted that aside from the bedding and kitchenware, you also destroyed Jing Xi’s food supplies. That included approximately twenty pounds of rice, millet, and sorghum, plus two pounds of white flour.

“You also damaged a bottle of cooking oil, a notebook, a pencil, a chair, a flashlight, ten candles, and…”

Li Tao flipped through his notes, about to continue, but Wang Cuihua interrupted.

“Alright! We’ll compensate a hundred yuan for those things, but we refuse to acknowledge this mental distress fee! Two hundred yuan? That’s enough to pay a bride price for a wife!”

Li Tao continued, “First, this is the victim’s request, which we are relaying to you for resolution. Second, this is not an unreasonable demand—it is justified. If you have any objections, you can discuss the specific amount with Jing Xi herself.

“As law enforcement, this matter is technically beyond our jurisdiction. If mediation fails and Jing Xi decides to sue, your case will be handled by another department.”

“Sue? What does that mean? You mean going to court?”

Zhang Qiang asked, his face full of confusion.

“Yes, going to court. It takes time and resources, and if you lose, you’ll be responsible for all legal expenses. For example, if you lose the case, not only will you have to pay the mental distress compensation, but you will also bear additional court costs.”

Hearing this, Zhang Qiang started to feel uneasy.

If this went to court…

And if they really lost…

Zhang Qiang made up his mind.

“Officer, please wait a moment. My wife and I need to discuss this.”

Wang Cuihua was still confused, but Zhang Qiang pulled her aside for a private conversation.

Li Tao couldn’t hear what Zhang Qiang was saying, but at first, Wang Cuihua looked agitated, arguing heatedly. However, after a moment, her demeanor suddenly changed—she calmed down and even nodded repeatedly.

In just two or three minutes, the couple had reached a decision.

“Officer, we agree to pay the amount. We’ll cover it. But as you can see, we don’t carry that much cash on us, and after being detained for two days, we need to go home to get the money.”

Li Tao nodded.

“I’ll go with you.”