Chapter 59: Li Lijuan Robs Things (Part 3)

As soon as Zhao Weiguo heard about the demand for five yuan compensation, he was dumbfounded.

Five yuan?

They only had ten yuan in total at home. If they gave away five yuan, wouldn’t that empty half of their savings?

Their life at home was already tight, and every penny was carefully spent. Because of what Li Lijuan had caused, taking out five yuan at once would result in a huge loss.

When Li Lijuan heard that she might be taken to the police station, she cried out in fear, “Mom, save me! I don’t want to go to jail, I don’t want to become a bad person.”

If she became a bad person, she feared she wouldn’t be able to face anyone in the production team in future. She didn’t want to be discriminated against or bullied.

Ma Yumei helped Li Lijuan plead, “Weiguo, why don’t we just give them the five yuan? Lijuan is still young and doesn’t know any better. If she’s taken to the police station, it’ll ruin her. If she’s labeled a bad person, our whole family will suffer together!”

Originally, Zhao Weiguo didn’t want to give the money. Whatever punishment Li Lijuan received for her actions would be deserved. But when he thought about Li Lijuan possibly implicating the Zhao family, he had no choice but to give in.

With a heavy heart, Zhao Weiguo took out the money and gave it to the men.

The three men who had come with Li Lijuan accepted the money and let the matter rest.

As soon as the outsiders left, Zhao Weiguo immediately scolded Li Lijuan, “Kneel down for me!”

Li Lijuan knew she had done something wrong. Under Zhao Weiguo’s scolding, she trembled and knelt down.

Zhao Weiguo angrily interrogated her, “You tell me, why did you go and rob someone else?”

Li Lijuan sobbed with grievances and then angrily pointed to Zhao Xiulan who was watching from the side, “It’s all Zhao Xiulan’s fault. She asked me to go to the county town to beg for food. If it wasn’t for Zhao Xiulan, I wouldn’t have gone, and I wouldn’t have resorted to stealing other people’s food. So it’s all Zhao Xiulan’s fault.”

Zhao Xiulan was impressed by Li Lijuan’s bizarre reasoning. This woman was really good at shifting blame onto others.

Unfortunately, Li Lijuan encountered Zhao Xiulan, who was not a good-natured person. Seeing Li Lijuan trying to push the blame onto her, Zhao Xiulan coldly said, “Li Lijuan, what does this have to do with me? You said yourself that going to the county town to beg for food wasn’t a big deal. It was your own decision. When did I ask you to go beg for food?

“You’re incompetent and couldn’t beg for food, so you resorted to stealing and robbing. But when you make a mistake, instead of reflecting on it, you blame others?

“Fortunately, they only asked for money and didn’t take you to the police station. Otherwise, our whole family would have been affected by you. If you were labeled a bad person, you would have become a joke in the entire production team, and people would look down on us!”

Ma Yumei had wanted to defend Li Lijuan a few words, but when she thought about how Li Lijuan’s actions today could even implicate her, she was also a bit dissatisfied with Li Lijuan and didn’t have the heart to speak up for her anymore.

Thinking about the five yuan they had to give away, Ma Yumei felt even more distressed.

That money could have been spent on them in the future. Just because of Li Lijuan, they wasted so much money for nothing.

With a dark and solemn face, Zhao Weiguo listened to Zhao Xiulan’s words and scolded Li Lijuan even more, “Xiulan is right. When you make a mistake, you should reflect on it yourself instead of always trying to blame others. No one taught you to steal and rob.

“Today, our family suffered such a big loss because of you. You’ll have to work harder in the future and make up for the money we lost! If you slack off and don’t work hard, but still complain, then get out of our Zhao family.

“Also, reflect on yourself. Don’t eat dinner tonight!”

(End of Chapter 59)