Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“There’s three hundred yuan!” When Ding Jiayi did a count of the ten-yuan stack in the envelope and realized that there was three hundred yuan, her eyes lit up. She was both happy and angry as she said, “Qiao Nan’s age is so young but she dares to hide away the money. She’s really ill-disciplined and beyond my control. If Old Qiao doesn’t always side with Qiao Nan, I’ll be able to teach her a lesson based on what she did with this sum of money. Qiao Nan is still a child but has a knack for hiding things in private. She doesn’t treat me as her family member at all, hiding things so treacherously!”
She did not expect that this wretched girl had her means. Earlier, she managed to borrow money for Old Qiao’s medical expenses. Now, she brought home another three hundred yuan.
This would not do. She had to think of a way to get Qiao Nan to bring more money back. In that case, she did not have to worry anymore even if Qiao Zijin went to college.
She had already mentioned before that it was needless for that wretched girl to continue with her studies. It would be better if she stepped out into society to find a job and earn some money. This would lessen the burden for the family. However, Old Qiao would not listen to it.
If Qiao Nan wished to continue with her studies, then it’s fine. There was still one-third of the vacation period left.
As long as Qiao Nan managed to earn five hundred yuan during the remaining period of her vacation and gradually pay off the loan for Old Qiao’s earlier medical expenses by herself, she would allow her to continue with her studies.
Otherwise, Qiao Nan could forget about going to school. Qiao Nan, this wretched girl, was useless. She only knew how to consume!
“With this three hundred yuan, I don’t need to worry about Zijin’s tuition fees anymore. I heard that all of Zijin’s classmates have good family backgrounds. This won’t do. I must quickly buy two sets of clothes for Zijin in case she doesn’t have any new clothes to wear to school. She’ll lose face in front of her classmates.”
Having said that, Ding Jiayi happily went to buy new clothes for Qiao Zijin.
Ding Jiayi had deferred her annual leave previously. It was a rare occasion that she could get off work two hours earlier today.
Ding Jiayi was carrying the new clothes she specially bought for Qiao Zijin and humming a small tune as she walked home leisurely.
Just as she was reaching the entrance of her house, Ding Jiayi halted her steps. She restrained her happy expression and combined the two bags of new clothing into one.
After doing all these, Ding Jiayi then felt assured to go home. “Hm?”
Ding Jiayi was shocked to find a crowd at the doorstep. There were even police vehicles parking by the side. Ding Jiayi jumped. “What happened… What happened to us? Did something happen to Old Qiao?”
Could it be that Old Qiao had another accident just after he was discharged and had to be sent to the hospital again?
Or could it be…
“Is it because they managed to find the driver whose car hit Old Qiao that day?!” As long as the culprit could be found, they should be able to receive a huge sum of compensation!
“Ding Jiayi, you’re finally back. I wonder which of your family member offended the deities this year for one thing to happen after another. A burglar broke into your house and stole five hundred yuan!” The neighbor quickly told the ‘clueless’ Ding Jiayi, who had just returned from work, about what happened.
“Five hundred yuan was stolen? Impossible!” Even if she searched the whole house and overturned the beds, she would not find five hundred yuan.
“It’s true. I’m not lying to you. If there was no burglary in your house, then why did the police come? Aiyo, quickly go home. Ask your Old Qiao if you want to find out more.” The neighbor gave Ding Jiayi a push and asked her to go home quickly to discuss with Old Qiao.
During the end of the 20th century, five hundred yuan was not a small sum of money. If any household lost this amount of money, they would surely feel the pinch and lose their appetite for a few months.
Ding Jiayi was in a state of confusion. She felt very uneasy but she squeezed herself into the crowd and went inside. “Old Qiao, what happened? Why are there so many police officers in our house? The neighbor told me that there was a burglary in our house and that we lost five hundred yuan. When did we have five hundred yuan?”
All the money at home had long been spent.
If there were five hundred yuan, wouldn’t she have used it to pay for Old Qiao’s medical expenses earlier?
Qiao Dongliang looked at Ding Jiayi coldly. Thereafter, he glanced at the bag in Ding Jiayi’s hands. “We don’t have any money, but Nan Nan has. Some time ago, Nan Nan found a job and earned five hundred yuan. It was stolen this morning, so we had to report to the police directly. The police said that we can file a report with five hundred yuan.”
“F-Five hundred?” Ding Jiayi’s heart and soul were shivering. She was shocked by the figure she heard from Qiao Dongliang. “Are… are you mistaken?”
Five hundred yuan! Where did the five hundred yuan come from? She had counted a few times. There were only three hundred yuan.
Wrong. She was the one who took Qiao Nan’s money. When did it become a burglary? Even the police came. Could they file a case?
“Where’s Zijin?!” As an ordinary citizen, although she was the wife of a former military officer, Ding Jiayi’s legs shivered and wobbled when she saw the policemen.
“Mom…” Qiao Zijin came out from her bedroom quietly and ran toward Ding Jiayi.
Ding Jiayi quickly pulled Qiao Zijin to one side and asked her, “What’s the matter? Why did they report to the police?!”
As she said that, Ding Jiayi gave Qiao Zijin a hard push, reproaching Zijin for being so muddle-headed. Others might not know, but would Qiao Zijin not know where Qiao Nan’s money went to? Moreover, this matter was initiated by Qiao Zijin.
She took the money. Why did they report to the police? Who would the police catch? Her?!
Qiao Zijin face was sulky as she cried. “Qiao Nan said she wanted to report to the police and Dad agreed. I could not stop them. Qiao Nan immediately discovered that the money was lost once she reached home. She simply told Dad…”
There was no need for Qiao Zijin to continue. Ding Jiayi could guess what happened thereafter.
“You! Why didn’t you stop them?” Ding Jiayi was so anxious. The police were already here. How were they going to resolve this matter? If the police found out that she was the one who took the money, then would she be imprisoned?
Qiao Zijin was annoyed as well. “Dad wanted to report to the police. Could I possibly stop him? Mom, if you’re around, would you be able to stop him?”
She had already told her father the truth, but her father insisted on filing a police report. What else could she have done!
Till now, Qiao Zijin could not understand why her father insisted on reporting this to the police when he clearly knew that her mother was the one who took Qiao Nan’s money.
“Then… then, what do we do now? Will the police find out?” Ding Jiayi’s face was red and swollen. She felt extremely nervous.
The thing she feared most happened. As Ding Jiayi was worrying about the police’s findings, they already had the preliminary results of the investigation. “We’ve finished investigating. Only your younger daughter’s bedroom was turned upside down. Your doors and windows have no traces of being pried open. Most importantly, the thief only searched your younger daughter’s room. This shows that the thief who came to your house knew that your daughter had a sum of money, and that the money was kept in her room.”
