Chapter 26

If it weren’t for the presence of so many people, Xia Qingning would have immediately applauded the man in front of her. He was truly amazing.

“What salary?” Lu Lidong asked, puzzled.

“Oh, Lidong, your brother is so ungrateful. He doesn’t appreciate how good I’ve been to this family. He only cares about money…” Wang Mingfang started playing the moral card again when she saw Lu Jingzhe asking her to return the money.

For a moment, there was a continuous stream of voices, crying, and discussions.

Just as the courtyard was in chaos, a steady male voice came from outside:

“What’s all the commotion?”

The voice stopped, and Lu Baichuan walked into the courtyard. He was a refined intellectual, and he didn’t look imposing, but as the head of the family, his words carried weight.

The head of the household was finally back. Xia Qingning breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Mingfang wouldn’t be able to hold onto the original body’s salary anymore.

Looking at the crowd in the courtyard and Wang Mingfang, who was crying, Lu Baichuan frowned and asked, “What’s going on?”

Xia Qingning stepped forward and explained the situation. After understanding the cause and effect, Lu Baichuan looked at Wang Mingfang and said, “Let me see Qingning’s ledger.”

Wang Mingfang held the ledger in her hand and hesitated for a long time before reluctantly handing it over.

Lu Baichuan lowered his head and flipped through the ledger. When he reached the last page, he looked it over carefully and then asked, “Qingning has saved 478 yuan with you in the past two years. Since she wants to keep it herself now, go get the money and give it back to her.”

Wang Mingfang was immediately anxious. Asking her to give back so much money at once was worse than killing her. She quickly defended herself, “No, Lao Lu, you don’t know. I put all the children’s money together to cover the household expenses. Look, the sewing machine, radio, and bicycle in the house, I bought them with the money…”

“Auntie, are you mistaken? The radio in the house is my sister-in-law’s dowry, and the sewing machine was awarded to me last year when I was recognized as an outstanding female worker.” Xia Qingning directly exposed her lie, speaking with logic and reason.

“What about the bicycle? I bought the bicycle with my money, didn’t I? It cost several hundred yuan.” Wang Mingfang seized the last opportunity and retorted.

Xia Qingning looked at her and pretended to be confused, “But I’ve never ridden the bike! Should I pay for it too?”

“The bike is there. I didn’t say you couldn’t ride it. Okay, you can ride it from now on.” Wang Mingfang turned to He Shanshan, “Shanshan, quickly give Qingning the key.”

Xia Qingning’s lips curled into a mocking smile. This woman was so shameless. She called a broken and old second-hand bike several hundred yuan. Now she wanted to use this broken bike to shut her mouth. She really thought she was smart.

At this time, He Shanshan walked over and reluctantly took out the car key and handed it to Xia Qingning.

Xia Qingning didn’t take it. She looked at Wang Mingfang and gave a faint smile, then said, “Auntie, I think it’s better not to.”

“See, it’s not that Auntie won’t let you ride it. It’s that you don’t want to ride it.” Wang Mingfang immediately seized the opportunity.

Xia Qingning pointed to the corner of the courtyard, turned to Wang Mingfang, and said, “Jingzhe bought me a new one. I won’t ride your bike.”

Wang Mingfang and He Shanshan followed Xia Qingning’s finger and saw a brand-new bicycle parked in the corner of the courtyard. The colorful “Phoenix” logo was particularly dazzling in the setting sun.

Wang Mingfang looked surprised, while He Shanshan was full of envy and jealousy.

Lu Jingzhe actually bought her a bike, and it was a Phoenix brand!

“Stop it. Go get the money and give it back to Qingning.” Lu Baichuan spoke again.

Now, Wang Mingfang had no reason to keep the original body’s money and refuse to return it. She reluctantly walked into the house.

After a long time, she came out slowly, holding a wad of bills. She handed it to Xia Qingning, putting on her usual kind and generous face, “Qingning, Auntie only has this on me. Take it for now. Auntie will give you the rest later.”

Xia Qingning glanced at the money in her hand. The ten-yuan bills were stacked together, looking thin. It was probably only about a hundred yuan.

Was she trying to get rid of her with this?

This old shrew wouldn’t be so quick to return the money. She said “later,” but there probably wouldn’t be a later. If she didn’t make her return it all today, she wouldn’t have another chance.

Xia Qingning hid the smile on her lips and pretended to be confused, “Auntie, isn’t the key around your neck? Why don’t you have any money?” Then, as if she had thought of something, she became nervous, “Oh, could it be that your money box has been stolen too? I’ll go get it for you. You can open it and see.” As she spoke, she pretended to walk towards the house.

Wang Mingfang was very careful with her money. She never had the habit of putting money in the bank. She only kept it with her, so she could see and touch it, and she felt at ease.

Every time the original body gave her money, she would put it in a small wooden box in her closet because she thought the original body wouldn’t have any ulterior motives. She never hid it from her when she put money in, so she knew exactly where her money was.

Hearing that Xia Qingning was going to get her money box, Wang Mingfang panicked. She quickly said, “Oh, look at my memory. How could I forget that.” She didn’t want others to know how much money she had saved. She quickly stepped forward and grabbed Xia Qingning, “Auntie will go get it for you now.” Then she quickly walked into the house.

After a long time, Wang Mingfang came out of the house. She controlled her facial expression and smiled as she handed the money to Xia Qingning, “Qingning, Auntie never thought of taking your money. It’s all out of good intentions. I was afraid that you were young and didn’t know how to spend money, so I helped you save it. Look, 478 yuan, not a cent less, it’s all here.”

As expected, Wang Mingfang was good at adapting to the situation. Seeing that there was no way out, she put on a generous and magnanimous act.

Xia Qingning reached out to take the wad of money from Wang Mingfang. The other woman stared at her, with a motherly smile on her face, but her fingers were secretly struggling, refusing to let go. It was clear how reluctant she was to give the money.

Xia Qingning smiled and said, “Thank you, Auntie,” while forcefully pulling the money away.

Holding a wad of heavy money in her hand, Xia Qingning felt incredibly happy.

“Qingning, your salary is now all accounted for and given to you. Make sure you keep it safe. Don’t let someone take it away like Shanshan did. I don’t have any more.” Wang Mingfang said sarcastically.

After all, she had lost face and money today. How could she swallow her anger without venting it?

“As long as Auntie doesn’t covet it, it won’t be lost.” Xia Qingning didn’t indulge her and retorted directly.

Hearing her mother mention that she had lost money, He Shanshan looked at the money in Xia Qingning’s hand and suddenly walked up to Xia Qingning and said, “Now that you have so much money, you should return the ten yuan you stole from me.”

She still wouldn’t give up. After all, it was ten yuan, not a small amount. She had saved it for over a month.

Xia Qingning’s face turned cold. She didn’t expect He Shanshan to continue to wrongly accuse her. She said coldly, “I’ve already proven that the money I used to buy things was given to me by Jingzhe. You wronged me and insulted me in front of so many people. Shouldn’t you apologize?”

“My money was stolen. Why should I apologize to you?” He Shanshan said disdainfully, “If you want me to apologize, you have to show evidence. If you can prove that you didn’t steal the money, I’ll apologize. I’ll even kneel down and apologize.”

She was sure that Xia Qingning couldn’t produce any evidence. If she had evidence, she would have shown it long ago. Why would she have endured it until now?

“I don’t need you to kneel.” Xia Qingning said softly. Her bright eyes sparkled with a bright light. She continued, “Just return the 28 cloth coupons you took from me in the past two years.”

It wouldn’t do her any good if she made her kneel. It would make her look mean. It was better to get something practical.

She had money now, but she lacked cloth coupons. He Shanshan had bought a lot of cloth coupons on the black market because she bought clothes every month.

“Give it to you, give it to you.” He Shanshan didn’t hesitate for a second and agreed. Then she said shamelessly, “But if you can’t produce any evidence, it means you stole it, and you have to return the ten yuan to me.” Then she added, “I’ll give you one day. If you don’t have any evidence after one day, you have to return the money to me.”

As soon as He Shanshan finished speaking, a woman’s voice came from outside the courtyard:

“Excuse me, is Professor Lu home?”

Xia Qingning turned her head and looked back. A faint smile appeared on her lips. She said confidently, “You don’t need a day. The evidence is here.”