"What's going on? Why call the police?" Xu Changxia immediately perked up her ears.
In her previous life, Xu Changxia had returned for her marital home visit tomorrow, and being entangled with various personal troubles, she had been completely unaware of Xiaolin's Mom calling the police.
"Last month, your aunt took Xiaolin's Mom to buy a television together. Xiaolin's Mom said it broke down just a few days after she bought it, so she exchanged it for a new one. But that one broke too after a few days! When she went back to the manufacturer where she originally bought it, the place was already empty! Most importantly, Xiaolin's Mom, she…"
As she listened, Xu Changxia felt something wasn't right.
Before Xu Fangfei could finish, she interrupted and asked, "Mom, is the television from our dowry the same brand?"
Xu Fangfei froze for a moment: "Yes… it's the same brand! I forgot all about it until you mentioned it! Could she have scammed us too?"
Xu Changxia only knew that in her previous life, Zhou Yun had bought her a defective television, but she never expected their neighbor had been cheated too!
If that were the case, what Zhou Yun had done was even more serious!
This wasn't just consumers being deceived—this was Zhou Yun colluding with the manufacturer in a group fraud scheme!
"Come on! Let's go see what's happening!" Xu Changxia immediately grabbed Xu Fangfei's hand with a smile.
Heaven has eyes—Zhou Yun's retribution had come so quickly!
"…Today, I'm dragging you to the police station to file a report whether you like it or not!" In the courtyard, Xiaolin's Mom tightly gripped one of Zhou Yun's sleeves, which was already half torn.
"Xiaolin's Mom, let's talk this through calmly!" Xu Cheng stood anxiously by the door, rubbing his hands. With the old saying about men and women not touching each other, he couldn't intervene physically and could only block the entrance.
"Then let the neighbors judge! She told me the television was on sale and said she bought the same brand for Xiaoxia's dowry. I thought, if she bought it for her own niece, it couldn't be bad, right? That's why I fell for her lies!" Xiaolin's Mom shouted.
"She said buying two together would be cheaper, so I bought another one as a wedding gift for my nephew! The two televisions cost five hundred yuan total! Today, your family either compensates me for the money or sends her to jail!"
Five hundred yuan!!!
Xu Changxia remembered clearly from the news reports later: to quickly clear out the defective batch, the manufacturer offered rebates directly exceeding their cost price.
Zhou Yun had paid less than one hundred yuan for her own purchase—basically the cost price.
That meant she had taken four hundred yuan in rebates from Xiaolin's Mom!
To treat a neighbor of over twenty years like this—how heartless!
"But I didn't know the brand was unreliable either!" Zhou Yun cried pitifully. "I'm a victim too!"
"If you didn't know, then why did you drag me along to buy it? You must have taken a rebate from the television factory!" Xiaolin's Mom grew more agitated as she spoke.
Just then, Xiaolin's Mom spotted Xu Changxia joining the crowd and pulled her over. "Xiaoxia! Tell me, is the television in your dowry also Chunhua Brand?"
All eyes in the courtyard fixed on Xu Changxia.
Though Xu Changxia understood the situation perfectly, she couldn't reveal too much—only the unscrupulous factory and intermediaries like Zhou Yun knew the full story at this point.
"Look at that expression—you must have been tricked by Zhou Yun too!" Before Xu Changxia could speak, Xiaolin's Mom immediately launched into a fiery, righteous tirade.
"Zhou Yun! If you'd only scammed me into buying it alone, you might have lied and claimed ignorance. But you've deceived so many people and still call yourself innocent? Who would believe that?! You're definitely going to jail today!"
Anxious and flustered, Xu Cheng, hearing how severe Xiaolin's Mom made it sound, urged, "Xiaxia, say something! Did she get it wrong?"
Moreover, Xiaolin's Mom's words sent a jolt through Xu Cheng's heart, suddenly reminding him of what Xu Changxia had mentioned that morning about the betrothal gifts.
If the television was indeed problematic, then the wristwatch and bicycle were likely faulty too!
Xu Changxia thought for a moment and replied earnestly, "I already said this morning that Auntie was the one who bought the dowry television. You should ask Auntie."
As she spoke, she fixed her gaze on Zhou Yun.
She had made everything clear to Xu Cheng that morning; it was up to him whether he chose to believe it.
Hearing this, Xu Cheng understood immediately.
He turned around and stared at Zhou Yun in disbelief.
Only now, with the situation blown out of proportion, did he realize how serious the consequences were.
Zhou Yun, sitting on the ground, couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.
"Don't be afraid, Xiaxia! Just tell the truth! If it really is the same brand, we'll join forces and report her for fraud! If Zhou Yun even swindles her own niece's betrothal gifts, is she even human?" Xiaolin's Mom chimed in from the side.
"Besides, your fiancé is a high-ranking official—you won't have to put up with her attitude anymore!"
Nearby, someone murmured in agreement, "That's right…"
"Xiaolin's Mom, what do you mean by that?" Zhou Yun shrieked upon hearing those words. "When have I ever mistreated Xiaxia? Which eye of yours saw me treating her poorly?!"
"Hmph!" Xiaolin's Mom sneered coldly. "Do you think we neighbors are blind and deaf? You, Zhou Yun, are nothing but rotten to the core! And the son you raised is even worse!"
Xiaolin's Mom lived diagonally across from the Xu family and had witnessed many things clearly.
Feeling sorry for Xu Changxia, she had always been relatively kind to her.
"Why are you bringing my son into this?!" Zhou Yun leaped up from the ground.
"What? Afraid people will find out what your son did? Then why didn't you stop him when he was doing it?" Xiaolin's Mom pointed at Zhou Yun and scolded, "You and your son are utterly heartless—you deserve to be struck by lightning! If your ancestors knew, they'd climb out of their graves to settle the score with you!"
"Xiaolin's Mom, what are you talking about?" Xu Cheng asked, utterly confused.
"You, as her uncle, are blind!" Xiaolin's Mom turned her scolding toward Xu Cheng. "Xiaxia…"
"Xiaolin's Mom!!!" Xu Fangfei immediately shouted to stop her.
Startled by the outburst, Xiaolin's Mom snapped back to reality. She had been too carried away and nearly tarnished Xu Changxia's reputation in front of everyone!