Old Man Lin was still shaken and frightened. His mind was in a mess, and he couldn’t think of what to do.
After a long while, he finally remembered to tell his eldest son to take the old woman to the hospital.
At this point, Wang Chunhua also realized that something was wrong with her. Crying, she urged Lin Youde to hurry and take her to the hospital.
But going to the hospital cost money!
However, when Wang Chunhua scratched her face with one hand and opened the drawer to get money with the other, she discovered that not a single cent was left.
“Ah! My money! My money! Old man, my money is gone!”
She searched through the drawer for a long time without finding a single coin. Then she started rummaging through boxes and cabinets.
In the end, there wasn’t a single cent left in the house. Even the things she had hidden away were gone.
Wang Chunhua sat down on the ground and began slapping her thigh as she wailed.
“My money! Which damned bastard stole my money?!”
At this moment, her face and hands no longer itched. All she could think about was her money.
“Mom, what money? How could your money have been stolen?”
Lin Youde felt like his head was about to split from dealing with his mother.
“The family’s money. It’s all gone.”
“All gone? Look carefully. Maybe you put it somewhere else.”
It wasn’t that Lin Youde didn’t believe her. The truth was that no one in Guyun Village had heard of anyone losing money to theft for many years. Besides, most families couldn’t even afford enough food, let alone have much money.
“My money! Which turtle bastard stole my money?!”
The more Wang Chunhua cursed, the nastier and louder she became.
Before long, the area around the Lin family house was packed with villagers. The village chief and the party secretary soon arrived once again.
Village Chief Lin said, “What is going on with your Lin family? Why are you making such a fuss again?”
Wang Chunhua cried, “Village Chief, you have to help me! My money was stolen!”
“How much was stolen?”
Wang Chunhua wanted to say more than one thousand yuan, but after hesitating, she could only say a little over one hundred.
Village Chief Lin knew that she had just received one hundred yuan in bride price money from the Zhao family, so having a little over one hundred yuan sounded normal.
“Have you searched carefully? Could someone in your family have taken it? If it can be settled at home, settle it at home. If not, then report it to the Public Security Bureau.”
At that moment, Lin Qiaofeng suddenly spoke up.
“Village Chief Uncle, Grandma’s money was definitely stolen by Lin Qiaoyun. Last time she even stole my admission notice.”
Wang Chunhua immediately agreed.
“That’s right! It must have been her! No one else in this family would steal things.”
“And you think so too, Lin Zhong?”
Old Man Lin lay on the bed pretending to be dead. He neither agreed nor denied it.
Village Chief Lin said angrily, “I think you’ve all gone crazy. Lin Youshui’s family doesn’t even live with you. How could they steal your money? What evidence do you have that Lin Qiaoyun stole anything?
“You just open your mouths and make accusations.
“Enough. I can’t deal with your family matters. Report it to the Public Security Bureau yourselves.”
After saying that, Village Chief Lin left.
Secretary Zhou Qiming did not leave immediately.
Instead, he carefully inspected the Lin family’s house inside and out.
He found no signs that the locks had been forced open, no unusual traces, and no suspicious footprints.
After finishing his inspection, he also prepared to leave.
“I’ll make a phone call and help you contact the Public Security Bureau.”
He personally believed that it was far more likely that someone in the Lin family had taken the money.
After all, under his and Lin Dajun’s management, there wasn’t even anyone stealing chickens in Guyun Village.
Who would be bold enough to steal so much money?
Unless someone from outside the village had learned that the Lin family had money and came specifically to steal it.
If that was the case, there was nothing he could do.
…
That afternoon, shortly after Lin Qiaoyun woke up from her nap, Public Security officers came to her door.
The officers were accompanied by the village chief and the secretary.
That day, Zhao’s father, Zhao’s mother, Lin Youshui, and Xu Nian’en had not yet gone to work. It wasn’t time yet.
Grandpa Zhao, Zhao Dahu, received the visitors.
As soon as the Public Security officers, the village chief, and the secretary entered, they all greeted Zhao Dahu respectfully.
The old man had six grandsons serving in the military.
The Zhao family was a truly honorable military family.
As relatives of soldiers, they were not people others could casually come and trouble.
However, since the Lin family had reported the case, the Public Security officers still had to come and ask a few questions.
Before coming here, they had already inspected the crime scene.
The methods used were extremely professional. Not a single clue had been left behind, and the crime had been committed late at night.
At first glance, it looked like the work of an experienced criminal.
Moreover, the officers had detected the smell of sleeping drugs at the Lin family home, a method commonly used by people from the underworld.
They also felt that Wang Chunhua’s condition looked as though she had been drugged.
Still, the officers questioned both Lin Youshui and Xu Nian’en.
The answers they received were the same.
Neither of them had gone to the Lin family’s old house recently.
Both Lin Youshui and Xu Nian’en looked like extremely honest people.
As for Lin Qiaoyun…
The young girl had just woken up from her nap.
She looked even younger than usual, like a little girl who hadn’t fully grown up yet.
The officers asked her a few questions but got nothing useful.
Soon, they prepared to leave.
However, before they could even walk out of the Zhao family’s yard, Wang Chunhua arrived with Lin Qiaofeng and her two daughters-in-law.
Seeing the officers at the Zhao house, she immediately assumed that Lin Qiaoyun was the thief.
“You little bitch! Give me back my money, or I’ll make you regret it!”
Lin Qiaofeng added, “Lin Qiaoyun, I know Grandma’s money was taken by you. Hand it over now, or I’ll have the Public Security officers arrest you.”
Lin Qiaoyun looked at them calmly.
“Grandma, if your money is missing, shouldn’t you be searching your own house? My father, my mother, and I don’t even live there. How can you say I stole your money? Isn’t that ridiculous?
“And Lin Qiaofeng, you should know that falsely accusing people can also get you sent to prison. The Public Security officers are standing right here today. If you keep slandering me, I’ll report you.”
“Stop making excuses! You’re the one who stole it!”
At that moment, one of the officers could no longer stand listening to them.
“Don’t make accusations without evidence. Lin Qiaoyun did not steal your money.
“Your money was most likely stolen by someone else, and that person has dangerous drugs capable of harming people.
“You should think carefully about whether someone in your family offended the wrong person outside. If you’ve attracted someone like that, then your entire family could be in danger.”
At this point, the villagers watching the commotion finally understood what had happened.
“Old Lady Lin, your family must have offended someone from the underworld. They drugged your family, stole your money, and even gave you itching medicine. You deserve it. Who told you to run your mouth and tell everyone everything? Now you’ve gotten your punishment.”
“To hell with you! I’ll curse whoever I want!”
Wang Chunhua continued scratching herself while shouting abuse.
The vicious scene was almost unbearable to watch.
The Public Security officers looked at her and truly didn’t know what to say.
All her money had been stolen, yet she was still acting so arrogantly.
They were genuinely worried about the family.
They even wondered whether the family would be drugged again that very night.
The villagers didn’t understand, but the officers did.
These wandering underworld people who could make all kinds of drugs were the hardest to deal with.
The authorities had very few ways of handling such people.
Fortunately, there weren’t many truly vicious criminals among them.
Otherwise, these villagers wouldn’t stand a chance against them.
The Public Security officers eventually left.
Before leaving, they told the village chief to stay alert over the next few days.
It would be best to organize a patrol team for night patrols.
Lin Qiaoyun had not expected that two ordinary Public Security officers would actually discover that sleeping drugs had been used.
Looks like she wouldn’t be able to use sleeping drugs in the future.
But she had plenty of other methods.
If she couldn’t use sleeping drugs, she could always use an electric baton instead!
Haha…