Chapter 36

Lu’s mother was about to retort when Yan Fusheng agreed, “Alright.”

“Comrade, do you know Lu Huaijing? Are you deliberately siding with them?”

Lu’s mother’s thoughtless words caused Yan Fusheng’s face to darken.

“I don’t know him.”

He genuinely believed that Lu Huaijing, a soldier, wouldn’t be involved in such a ridiculous situation.

He also found this old woman incredibly troublesome, suspecting that she might be crying wolf.

“Third brother’s wife is simply defending our family. If you don’t agree, are you trying to falsely accuse us?”

Wang Dani feigned enlightenment, turning to Yan Fusheng and saying, “Comrade, my son got married yesterday, and we didn’t invite them. They must be holding a grudge. They’re claiming money was lost when there was none, just to frame us. That’s definitely what’s happening!”

“Wang Dani, you’re talking nonsense!”

Lu’s mother pointed at Wang Dani, about to lunge at her, but Yan Fusheng stopped her.

“What’s all this noise? Are you going to search or not?”

“Search, search.”

Lu’s father pulled back his furious wife. “Comrade, please be thorough. We lost two thousand yuan, along with other things. We’ve had conflicts in the past, and their family is the main suspect.”

“Alright.”

Yan Fusheng nodded and strode into the Lu family’s courtyard. Li Cuihua, annoyed, muttered under her breath.

“Why do they have to search our house? Third brother is such a pushover. Why did he agree to this?”

Hearing this, Tang Wan couldn’t help but remind her, “Big sister, Huaijing and I are leaving the village on the afternoon train. If rumors spread, it’s you who will be affected. Huaijing is doing this for your sake.”

“Li Cuihua, say another word and you’ll be sorry!”

Wang Dani glared threateningly at Li Cuihua, who shut her mouth meekly.

If her husband found out that their savings were gone, she didn’t know how he would react.

As Li Cuihua fretted, Lu’s mother pointed at Wang Dani’s room and said, “Search her room first. Everyone in this family listens to her. Maybe it’s hidden there.”

“Alright.”

Wang Dani scoffed, took out her key, and opened her door. She turned to Guihua, who lived nearby, and said, “Guihua, come in and help me look.”

It wouldn’t sound good if male officers were searching her room. Wang Dani had always been concerned about appearances.

People had encouraged her to remarry, but she was determined to stay true to Jian Guo, no matter what anyone said.

“Don’t worry, my girl. With me here, no one can wrong you!”

Guihua knew what kind of person Lu’s mother was. She looked at her with contempt.

Lu’s mother, though angry, couldn’t help but let her eyes dart around Wang Dani’s room.

She saw a thermos, a semi-new enamel basin, and realized that Wang Dani’s life was better than hers.

Lu’s mother felt a surge of envy.

Yan Fusheng and Zhao Bin searched meticulously, but they didn’t touch the wardrobe.

“Let’s find a female officer.”

Wang Dani was about to call out to Guihua, “Guihua…”

Lu’s mother immediately interjected, “Guihua is close to you. She’ll definitely cover for you.”

She wanted to be the one to search, to look everywhere thoroughly.

“Mother, I just asked my younger brother to invite the women’s committee director.”

Tang Wan had anticipated this. With so many women in their family, they couldn’t allow male officers to search freely.

“Then let the women’s committee director come.”

Yan Fusheng’s approving gaze swept over Tang Wan. A few minutes later, Lu Huaiyi arrived with Liu Ting, the women’s committee director of Shi Ping village.

She had already learned about the situation and, seeing the police officers, greeted Wang Dani warmly, saying, “

“Don’t worry, sister-in-law, I’ll be gentle and won’t damage anything in your house.”

“Thank you, Director.”

Although Wang Dani had a fiery temper, she was kind and had always been well-liked in the village, even when she was married to Lu Jian Guo.

Therefore, people preferred Wang Dani over the old Lu family.

Lu’s mother immediately protested, “Comrade, I’m worried she won’t search thoroughly. I want to go in and look too.”

She reached out to open the wardrobe, but Tang Wan grabbed her wrist, “Who knows if you might have hidden the money in my mother’s wardrobe? Then you’ll say it was my mother who took it, and she’ll never be able to clear her name.”

“Third brother’s wife is right. Comrade, I absolutely disagree with her entering our room to search!”

Wang Dani looked sternly at Yan Fusheng, who nodded in agreement.

“You two families have a history of conflict, so it’s best to avoid any suspicion.”

“Let go of me!”

Lu’s mother hadn’t expected Tang Wan, who looked so thin and frail, to have such a strong grip.

It felt like a pair of pliers clamping down on her hand.

Tang Wan released her grip, her smile innocent. “I meant no offense. Please be considerate.”

Her polite words infuriated Lu’s mother, but seeing Yan Fusheng’s serious expression, she could only watch the room longingly.

“Director Liu, please be thorough.”

Liu Ting ignored Lu’s mother and carefully searched Wang Dani’s wardrobe.

In those days, people didn’t have many clothes, so it didn’t take long to search.

She pulled out Wang Dani’s purse from the bottom drawer of the wardrobe.

Lu’s mother immediately exclaimed, “See, this money must have been taken from our house!”

“Comrade Yan, I manage the family finances. My second son works in the city and sends me money and coupons every month. My third son sends money from the army, and my fourth daughter, who is married, also sends some money occasionally.”

Wang Dani took the purse, covering the amount on the passbook, and showed it to Yan Fusheng.

“This is our family’s passbook, with my name on it. I wouldn’t have stolen her money and deposited it secretly last night, would I? The credit union isn’t open yet, so I’ll keep this for now.”

She put the passbook away, and Yan Fusheng had no objections. The rest of the money was only a few dozen yuan, scattered and loose.

It didn’t match what Lu’s mother had claimed.

Lu’s mother was dumbfounded!

It… it wasn’t Wang Dani who stole it?

“Is that enough proof of my innocence?”

Wang Dani looked at Lu’s mother and father with a mocking smile. They looked like they had lost their souls.

The two old people’s faces burned with shame.

The villagers who had gathered to watch looked at them with disdain and disgust, but Lu’s mother was still unconvinced.

“Maybe the money is hidden in her son’s room. We need to search there too!”

“Search away.”

Wang Dani rolled her eyes. She was determined to make this old woman lose face in the village!

“Mother, there’s nothing in our room. We don’t need to search, do we?”

Li Cuihua glared angrily at Lu’s mother. This troublemaker, why did she have to call the police?

“Look at her, she’s so guilty. Director, search her room first!”

Lu’s mother’s eyes lit up. She quickly pulled Liu Ting, who was coming out of the room.

Tang Wan and Lu Huaijing stood behind them. She discreetly tugged on Lu Huaijing’s sleeve.

“Why is big sister so nervous?”

The money was in her spatial storage device. Li Cuihua’s behavior was strange.

“I don’t know.”

Lu Huaijing genuinely didn’t know. After all, he wasn’t very familiar with his big sister-in-law.