Chapter 26 : Calling Home for Money

“You go back first! I’ll tell my grandfather when he comes home for lunch.”

“Go back! Uncle Fugui will come to the Youth Home when he finds out.”

Nangong Ruochen rubbed his nose awkwardly and glanced at Yun Siying with a guilty conscience. Seeing no sign of disgust or fear in her expression, he quietly let out a sigh of relief.

“Okay!” Yun Siying looked at Nangong Ruochen inquiringly and asked,”Why did you go to the countryside?”

She remembered that he seemed to be a soldier in the army, he shouldn’t have needed to go to the countryside.

“You don’t know, my brother’s in the army too and he’s rarely home. My mom saw that all her friends already had grandchildren. Since she couldn’t pressure my brother, she turned to me and forced me to go on blind dates every day. The girls I met were each weirder than the last. To escape that kind of life, I secretly signed up to go to the countryside. My mom’s still mad at me!”

“She told me not to come back unless I bring home a wife. Isn’t that just putting me on the spot?”

Nangong Ruochen spoke with a trace of frustration. Life in the countryside wasn’t nearly as easy and comfortable as he had imagined.

“Hahaha! I didn’t expect someone as handsome as you to be pressured into marriage by your parents,” Yun Siying said, laughing at the thought.

“There are so many pretty girls in the military compound, don’t you like any of them?” she asked, stopping her laughter.

“None of the girls in the compound wanted to go on a blind date with me. They were all scared off by my fighting. My mom got even more anxious and said I’d never find a wife in this lifetime. She even asked her friends to introduce woman to me for blind dates, but none of them caught my interest.”

Nangong Ruochen sighed. He really didn’t like any of them.

“Don’t people get married these days when they find the right one?” Yun Siying recalled the original owner’s memories, most people did indeed make that kind of choice.

“If I’m going to get married, it has to be to a woman I truly love. If I can’t find her, I’d rather stay single my whole life,” Nangong Ruochen said, looking at Yun Siying as he added the last part.

Yun Siying didn’t respond. She no longer had any expectations for love. She was only interested in money. Everything else might betray you but money never would.

—

Meanwhile, Shu Ruxue and Shen Subai rode their bicycles to the police station to report the case.

The police looked at them with a bit of sympathy and said,”We’ll contact the train staff, but you probably won’t get your money back. There were so many people on the train, and you don’t know who took it. With no clues, it’s very hard to find the thief. You should be prepared for that.”

“Aren’t you police? How can you not solve something this minor? What’s the point of the country supporting you?”

Upon hearing that the money might not be recovered, Shu Ruxue’s tone turned sour, clearly filled with blame.

“Miss, please go back. We’ll do our best. If there’s any news, we’ll definitely inform you. I have other cases to handle.” The young policeman was a bit annoyed but still tried to keep his tone calm.

In this kind of case, it was almost impossible to find the thief. There were too many people on the train, too many stops, and countless passengers boarding and exiting. The woman didn’t even know what the thief looked like and yet blamed the police’s ability. She should’ve taken better care of her own money.

“Then hurry up! My dad is the head of the Kyoto Military Region. If you dare to brush me off, I’ll definitely report you to him. Hmph!” Shu Ruxue warned, then rode away in a sulky mood with Shen Subai.

The policeman watched her back as she left, then shook his head and sighed before returning to the office.

When his colleague saw his expression, he asked, “Jiang Jizhong, what kind of case did you get today?”

“Don’t even bring it up. Two educated youths who went to the countryside came to report a theft. The female brought 1,000 yuan and the male brought 1,500 yuan. Their money was stolen on the train. I told them to prepare for the possibility that the money wouldn’t be recovered. But the female youth questioned our abilities and demanded that I help her recover the money as soon as possible.”

“She also said her father is the head of the Kyoto Military Region and used that to threaten me! She doesn’t even know when the money was stolen or what the thief looked like. How are we supposed to recover it? It’s completely unrealistic.” Jiang Jizhong couldn’t help but complain as he spoke.

“Xiao Jiang, it’s not like this is the first strange case you’ve handled. Why are you getting so worked up?” another colleague chimed in.

“You didn’t witness her attitude firsthand. If you had, you wouldn’t be speaking so calmly right now,” Jiang Jizhong grumbled. He really didn’t like that female comrade.

“Everyone, focus on your own work. We’ve seen all kinds of strange cases.” The captain spoke up at that moment, and the office returned to its usual busy rhythm.

—

After Shu Ruxue left the police station, she went straight to the post office and immediately called Shu Guofeng.

Before long, someone answered the phone: “Hello, this is the Third Corps of the Kyoto Military Region. Who’s speaking?”

“Dad, it’s me, Ruxue.”

The moment Shu Ruxue heard Shu Guofeng’s voice, she suddenly felt wronged, and her voice turned a bit hoarse.

“Ruxue, did you arrive safely at the Hongxing Brigade?” Shu Guofeng was clearly excited to hear his daughter’s voice. He had been worried ever since she boarded the train.

“Dad, I got to the Hongxing Brigade safely, but the 1,000 yuan you gave me was stolen on the train. Am I just useless?” Shu Ruxue sobbed, deeply upset.

Shu Guofeng’s heart ached. That 1,000 yuan represented most of his yearly salary. But hearing the self-blame and anxiety in his daughter’s voice, he quickly tried to comfort her.

“It’s okay if the money was stolen, as long as you’re safe. Just be more careful in the future. I’ll go to the post office and wire you 200 yuan.”

“Okay. Thanks, Dad. I know you’re the best dad in the world.” Shu Ruxue was a little dissatisfied with the amount but still spoke sweetly.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they hung up. Shu Ruxue was now all smiles. She then handed the phone to Shen Subai, who dialed his mother’s office.

Soon, a familiar voice came from the other end. “Hello, this is the Municipal Secretariat.”

“Mom, it’s me, Subai. I arrived safely at the Hongxing Brigade today,” Shen Subai said, sounding a little embarrassed.

“Subai, that’s great to hear. Are you getting used to things over there?” His mother’s voice was full of concern.

“Mom, the money I brought with me got stolen on the train. I don’t have any money left. Can you send me some?” Shen Subai spoke a bit urgently.

“These damn thieves are getting out of hand. Don’t worry, Subai. I’ll send you money right away.”

After saying that, Shen’s mother hung up quickly and immediately took time off to go to the bank and withdraw money.