Chapter 62 : Money Stolen Again

“Nangong, you’re here too?” Han Yuecheng’s eyes lit up when he saw Nangong Ruochen. He excitedly walked over and sat beside him.

“What? You all can come but I can’t?” Nangong Ruochen replied with a hint of satisfaction upon seeing the others’ surprised reactions.

“I called Nangong over. You all have a good relationship, how could we let him eat alone in the Youth courtyard?” Li Hongying welcomed them warmly and brought out bowls of sweet soup for everyone. The table was also filled with melon seeds and walnuts, treats usually reserved for Chinese New Year.

” Comrade Yun, I’m Jiang Aiyuan, Aimin’s fourth sister. I’ve heard my mother talk about you so many times, and now I finally get to meet you in person. You’re really beautiful,” said Jiang Aiyuan enthusiastically. In all the villages nearby, she had never seen a female comrade as lovely as Yun Siying, not even among the educated youths.

“Hello, Sister Aiyuan. Just call me Siying. Aunt Hongying has been very kind to me.” Yun Siying looked at the young woman with clear, sincere eyes, full of appreciation for her looks.

“Thank you for saving my brother and Dazhuang today. I can’t imagine what might’ve happened otherwise. I work at the supply and marketing cooperative if you ever need anything, just let me know. I’ll bring it for you,” Jiang Aiyuan said earnestly.

“Okay! I’ll remember that.” Yun Siying was delighted. Through their chat, she learned that Aunt Hongying had five children, three sons and two daughters. The eldest, Jiang Aihai, was serving in the army as a platoon leader. The second, Jiang Aihe, worked in a county textile factory. The third daughter was married and living in the county. The fourth daughter, Aiyuan, worked at the county’s supply and marketing cooperative. Only the youngest, Jiang Aimin, had yet to settle into any work.

Soon, the food was served. There were two tables, Yun Siying and the others sat at the main table while the children ate at the other. Li Hongying’s cooking was excellent, and everyone enjoyed the meal while receiving warm thanks from the Jiang family.

—

The next day, the entire brigade had a day off to rest and prepare for the upcoming autumn harvest. Many villagers went into the county to sell goods. With Nangong Ruochen acting as tractor driver, Yun Siying was the first to get on at the threshing ground. When they reached the village entrance, the ox cart driven by an old man was already full.

Those who couldn’t squeeze onto the ox cart climbed aboard the tractor instead. Glancing around, Yun Siying realized that all the educated youths from the Youth Academy were there.

To her surprise, Shen Subai and Shu Ruxue were also on the tractor. This put her in an especially good mood, she was already thinking about the remittance money the two were about to collect, which would soon end up inher* pocket. The thought alone made her feel as light as spring wind.

When they arrived in the county town, everyone disembarked. Yun Siying got off as well but didn’t walk with Nangong Ruochen. Instead, she followed Shen Subai and Shu Ruxue at a distance, keeping her mental energy focused on them.

She had guessed correctly, both of them had received remittance slips that day. After they withdrew their money, Yun Siying discreetly stored it away in her personal space. Watching the two leave the post office smiling, completely unaware, she couldn’t help the smirk on her face. She was already looking forward to their reactions once they noticed the money was gone.

She didn’t go to the supply and marketing cooperative because it was too crowded. Instead, she headed to the department store, which had more variety, though prices were higher.

There, she bought White Rabbit milk candies, malted milk, cakes, glutinous rice flour, biscuits, two sets of cotton-padded winter clothes, a few pounds of wool yarn, knitting needles, and more.

After paying, she caught sight of Shen Subai and Shu Ruxue out of the corner of her eye and was once again in the mood for a little entertainment. She strolled into a nearby store just far enough to watch them without being noticed, waiting for the inevitable breakdown.

Sure enough, just a few minutes later, she heard a familiar scream.

“Ah! Where’s my money? Who stole my money?!”

Shu Ruxue glared suspiciously at the people around her and shouted angrily. The 200 yuan she had just withdrawn, she hadn’t even had time to warm her pocket before it was gone again!

Some kindhearted people initially wanted to comfort her and offer advice, but after hearing Shu Ruxue’s accusatory words, they gave up the idea. They didn’t want to get involved and risk suspicion, so they turned around to leave.

Shu Ruxue shouted loudly, “Stop! None of you are allowed to leave!”

“What do you mean by that, little comrade?” someone asked, frowning. These days, everyone was either busy working in the fields or handling their own affairs, who had the time to deal with this?

“You can’t leave until my money is found,” Shu Ruxue said, blocking the door and refusing to let anyone pass.

Shen Subai felt a sinking feeling in his stomach the moment Shu Ruxue said the money had been stolen. He reached into his bag and sure enough, his money was gone too.

“My money’s gone as well,” he announced. “Whoever took it, if you return it now, we won’t pursue the matter.”

A mocking laugh came from a well-dressed female comrade. “Are you two here to entertain us? Your money’s gone? Maybe you never had any money and are just trying to scam us!”

“What we’re saying is true. We just withdrew money from the post office,” Shen Subai explained anxiously. He was flustered now and couldn’t help blaming Shu Ruxue in his heart.

Ever since he came to the countryside with her, bad luck kept following them his money was stolen, Li Minglang fell into a toilet pit, Shu Ruxue knocked out her front teeth, broke her arm trying to pick up money, and now this. He was beginning to think she was a walking disaster.

“Then how do you know it was stolen here and not somewhere on the road?” an older woman asked. While she had some sympathy for their loss, their attitude annoyed her.

“In any case, no one can leave. If you want to go, you’ll have to let us search you first,” Shu Ruxue declared, standing in front of the doorway with arms spread wide to block anyone from leaving.

The salesperson looked at the escalating scene and grew increasingly frustrated, but she couldn’t just kick everyone out by force. In the end, she ran to the store director’s office to call the police. If this continued and disrupted business for the day, they could lose their bonuses.

Soon, three policemen arrived. Officer Jiang Jizhong looked at the dozen or so people in the store and asked, “Who called the police?”

“I did, Comrade Officer,” a salesperson stepped forward.

“Tell me what you called about,” Jiang Jizhong said, glancing around the store. Though slightly exasperated, he still approached the matter professionally.

“Comrade Officer, these two claim their money was stolen here in our store, and they’re preventing the other customers from leaving. So I called the police and asked for help investigating the matter,” the salesperson explained, pointing at Shu Ruxue and Shen Subai.

When Jiang Jizhong got a better look at them, he realized with a sinking heart, it was those two again. But he maintained his composure and asked, “How much money was stolen this time?”

“Comrade Officer, I lost 200 yuan today, and Shen Subai lost 300 yuan. I suspect someone in this store stole it. No one should leave until they’re cleared,” Shu Ruxue stated firmly, looking directly at Jiang Jizhong.

“Very well. Everyone is now a suspect,” Jiang Jizhong said. “Please come with me to the office next door to give your statements and cooperate with the investigation.”

In the office, over a dozen people lined up. A young police officer took out a notebook and began recording everyone’s testimony.