boyutpedia Chapter 207
Chapter 207
Zhao Da'e was dumbfounded: "Why does it belong to Accountant Yao? What extra does he have? If it's something from your village, just return it. Even if it belongs to Accountant Yao, just give it to him. It's such a small matter, why go to the police station?"
Zhou Chunwen spread his hands: "I don't know. Your aunt told me not to ask."
Zhao Da'e nodded, went inside, and asked Cheng Jinxi, "Auntie, what's going on?"
Cheng Jinxi gave a brief explanation, which was largely the same as what Zhou Chunwen said.
Zhou Yuren saw that there was a stove in the collapsed village office building, which nobody wanted, so he moved it into his home. However, Accountant Yao claimed that the stove belonged to him, so he called the police station.
"And what about my uncle?"
“They’re all at the old pigsty,” Cheng Jinxi said.
"That won't work. It would be great if my great-grandfather were available. He could just say a word to your village chief. But my uncle is back today, and he's busy right now." Zhao Da'e had a bit of a headache.
After thinking it over, Zhao Da'e finally remembered someone and said, "It's okay, Auntie. It's a small problem. Wait for me."
"I'm going back. I'll get them to release him in a bit. What a piece of junk! A furnace, a piece of broken metal, made of cast iron, worth maybe three or five yuan at most. And they're going to the police station? Are they crazy for money?" Zhao Da'e cursed as he ran off towards the Wu family's house.
The Wu family has a telephone, which is very important.
Zhao Da'e rushed to the Wu family's house. Because things were in a hurry, she didn't have time for small talk and asked to borrow the phone.
Then he dialed the number that Kwong Shou-yee had given him before.
This was the first time Zhao Da'e had ever made a phone call, and he didn't even know if the call would go through.
Fortunately, the call went through, and Kwong Sau-yee answered.
"Hello, who is it?"
“Nephew, it’s me, Zhao Da’e, your aunt…”
There was a noticeable long pause on the other end of the phone...
Kuang Shouyi was naturally uncomfortable with Zhao Da'e calling him his nephew. He was old and had a high status. He was a bureau chief, after all. Didn't he have any face?
"It's a goose..."
“I am your aunt.”
"Uh..." Kuang Shouyi coughed strategically twice on the other end of the phone: "I haven't gotten off work yet. Just tell me what's up."
It's obvious that Kwong Sau-yee has colleagues around him, so asking him to call her "Auntie" is a bit of a stretch for him.
Fortunately, Zhao Da'e is a "generous" person: "Hehehe. There's something I want to ask you..."
So Zhao Da'e recounted in detail how his uncle Zhou Yuren had been taken to the police station by Accountant Yao for taking a stove from the collapsed village office.
Finally, Zhao Da'e said, "I also hope that everything can be handled officially. But it's obvious that there's something wrong with the nature of this matter. The village office in Jurenzhangzi has been collapsed for many, many years. The things inside theoretically belong to all the villagers. Although my uncle's actions were not very ethical, how much is a broken cast iron furnace worth? Nobody would want it for a single yuan. It's just a cast iron thing, worthless. So, it's obvious that Accountant Yao is trying to extort money. And the police station may not have known the situation before coming to investigate, and they've already formed a prejudice."
"Yes, you're right, then it'll be simple."
"Really," Zhao Da'e promised earnestly.
"I'll handle it."
……
Then Zhao Da'e ran back to her aunt's house.
Cheng Jinxi didn't seem to be acting strangely, except that she was clearly in a bad mood and was still picking fights with Zhou Chunwen at home.
Zhou Chunwen remained silent until Zhao Dage returned, at which point she pouted and whispered, "Look at your aunt, she's a complete shrew."
Zhao Da'e gasped, "Hiss... Sister, you're using the wrong word. My aunt is definitely more 'savage'."
"蛮" is an adjective used here, sometimes to describe someone as unreasonable, and sometimes to describe someone as being completely out of touch with reality.
Of course, what Zhao Da'e meant was that Cheng Jinxi was being unreasonable and domineering right now. After all, even Zhao Da'e himself didn't know what it meant for Si Liu not to be online.
However, Zhao Da'e couldn't comfort Cheng Jinxi now, since she was probably in a bad mood and it wouldn't make a difference.
Zhao Da'e asked, "Big sister, where's big brother?"
"Him? I don't know. He gets all flustered when something happens. I think he went next door to see my uncle, Zhou Puren. Humph, what good is seeing him? Does he expect my uncle to kowtow to Accountant Yao?" Zhou Chunwen shook his head in dissatisfaction.
Zhao Da'e chuckled: "This is your village. In our village, we'd be fighting. The other day, Qian Bin even got into a fight with our village chief, but he didn't get hurt. I heard that Old Liu got beaten up by Qian Bin and even suffered a herniated disc, but he didn't go to the police station."
Zhou Chunwen scoffed, "Your grandma even went to the police station."
Zhao Da'e stood up angrily: "No... Sister, you really know how to bring up the wrong thing. Why did you have to mention Wang Guixiang? I feel nauseous just hearing her name now."
"You've been going to the old house every day lately, and you're making me sick."
“You don’t understand,” Zhao Da’e said, feigning profundity. “I was just trying to get my dad and my third uncle to work. I’m planning to get a shredder to grind grain and make some money.”
Zhou Chunwen finally finished selecting the soybeans. Cheng Jinxi probably knew that soaking them in water would speed things up, but maybe she was just in a bad mood and deliberately made Zhou Chunwen go through all this trouble, so Zhou Chunwen couldn't do anything about it.
After preparing the soybeans, Zhou Chunwen poured them into a pot and started cooking.
"Big Goose, go and get some firewood."
"You're making me do chores again. I'm going to tell my aunt on you later," Zhao Da'e said, pouting in dissatisfaction.
Cheng Jinxi poked her head out from the inner room: "What's wrong with you two sisters again?"
Zhou Chunwen snorted and went to gather firewood.
Zhao Da'e said, "Auntie, take me to see my uncle. I've found someone for him. The police won't arrest him. It's nothing serious, he'll be back in a bit. We don't want the stove, we'll return it to them."
Cheng Jinxi said, "Okay."
So he took Zhao Da'e and left home, going to Accountant Yao's house.
.........
At this moment, Accountant Yao was sitting casually on a stool, looking at Zhou Yuren like he was a prisoner.
There were also several police officers from the local police station nearby, who were investigating the situation.
Zhou Yuren squatted on the ground, silent, his face pale.
Accountant Yao said somewhat coldly, "Old Zhou, this stove belongs to my family. What's the big deal if you steal it? Nothing we say will make a difference today. Either you'll be fined, or you'll have to go to the police station to talk to them."
Zhou Yuren was furious, but dared not speak out. He said in a low voice, "We're all neighbors. Why are you going to the police station?"
"We're good friends, but let's keep things separate," Accountant Yao said casually. "I don't want to make things difficult for you. Why don't you just pay the fine and we'll call it even? Stealing isn't a minor offense. If you get to the police station, you're in for a beating."
Zhou Yuren had also heard that people were beaten inside the police station, though he had never been inside himself and had only heard about it from others.
I got a little scared.
He asked, "How much is the fine?"
"Not much. Five thousand yuan." Accountant Yao held out one hand.
Zhou Yuren was so frightened that he stood up abruptly, his voice trembling: "How much? Five thousand yuan? A broken stove, and you're fining me five thousand yuan?"
Accountant Yao shrugged: "Who told you to steal? You stole something and got caught. What's that saying again? When you're going to get a beating, you have to stand at attention. If you hadn't stolen anything, you wouldn't have been punished."
Zhou Yuren lowered his head, resigning himself to his bad luck.
But he didn't have five thousand yuan. Who has that much money these days?
"Well... I don't have five thousand either!"
"If you don't have five thousand, then go back with the police station. Don't say I didn't give you a chance. Otherwise, you'll have a stain on your record, and the whole village will say I'm unethical," Accountant Yao sneered.
Zhou Yuren was extremely worried: "Can't you give me a smaller amount? I really don't have five thousand yuan."
"Then you should talk to the police station," Accountant Yao refused directly.
Zhao Da'e was walking in when he heard their conversation. He walked in with a smile, glanced at Accountant Yao, and said, "Oh my. Not much of an official position, but quite the airs."
"Whose child are you?" Accountant Yao frowned as she looked at the little girl in front of her. She was wearing a light red cotton-padded jacket and was quite pretty.
“This is my sister-in-law’s daughter,” Zhou Yuren said. Then, looking at Zhao Da’e, he asked, “What brings you here?”
Zhao Da'e chuckled: "Come and take a look, take a look at this Accountant Yao, setting up a private court and extorting money."
Accountant Yao immediately scolded him with dissatisfaction, "Where did this wild child come from? Get out of here."
Zhao Da'e, however, remained unfazed: "A country has its laws, and a family has its rules. This is the village office. It's a place to do practical things for the people. This isn't your home, so who do you think you are? Pointing at me like that? Tch..."
Zhao Da'e snorted coldly: "Aren't these Zhang Yi and Li Er from the police station? You two really have time on your hands. Such a small matter, and you still haven't resolved it? Your station will be calling you in a bit."
Zhang Yi, Li Er, and Zhao Dage had been in contact before. They were the ones who came when Wang Guixiang was arrested last time. After all, the surrounding area isn't too far, and the police station only has a few people, so it's normal for them to come.
Last time, they were completely bewildered by Zhao Da'e's lecture on legal knowledge, and they even got a scolding when they got back. After all, although Zhao Da'e was young, he had relatives in the county town, and those relatives were quite powerful. They were told not to bend the law for personal gain or break the law knowingly, and they almost lost their jobs.
Later, the two brothers studied the Civil Code for a long time... well, now they can basically recite it from memory.
When they saw Zhao Dage arrive, they immediately looked embarrassed and said with a smile, "Well... Auntie, we didn't want to come either, but someone asked us to come because something happened. So we came."
The two men at least had reason and evidence, proving that they were not making baseless accusations or forcing their way in for no reason.
Zhao Da'e naturally recognized them as well.
Accountant Yao noticed something was off. Could it be that this young girl had a problem?
As we were talking, the phone rang.
Accountant Yao answered the phone, but the call was for Zhang Yi, so Zhang Yi went over to answer it.
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yi's expression immediately turned sour again. He said, "Well, if there's nothing else, we'll be going."
"Gone?" Accountant Yao was stunned. "The thief who stole things hasn't been dealt with yet?"
Zhang Yi said bluntly, "That broken stove is nothing. It's not illegal. We'll just give it a verbal warning at most."
Zhang Yi then went over to Zhou Yuren and asked, "Your act of stealing is wrong. Although the stolen items weren't valuable, the act of stealing is wrong. Do you know you were wrong?"
"I know I was wrong," Zhou Yuren answered honestly.
"Alright then. Just return the furnace," Zhang Yi said. "Or, I can compensate you according to the market price. That furnace is made of cast iron, and cast iron costs two cents a pound now. A furnace makes about ten pounds of iron, which is about two yuan. Now I'll fine you twenty yuan, ten times the amount. Do you agree?"
"Twenty? I'll take it." Zhou Yuren readily took out twenty yuan.
Zhang Yi didn't accept the money: "Considering this is your first time stealing and your good attitude, I'll just give you the fine for now. Just return the item, and that'll be the end of it."
"I've already paid it back."
"Then it'll be fine."
Zhang Yi and Li Erjiu were getting ready to leave.
Accountant Yao protested, "Why should he? He stole something and just left?"
Zhang Yi explained, "There are clear regulations. For thefts under two thousand yuan, a verbal warning is sufficient. We've already given him a warning, and he showed remorse. Is there a problem?"
Accountant Yao: "Then I won't do it! I'll fine him five thousand yuan."
“Then we won’t stand on ceremony… This is extortion. That’s a serious offense. Besides, that furnace belongs to the public, not you. I advise you not to misuse public resources in the future.” Zhang Yi said sternly, “Now, I’m giving you a warning as well.”
Then Zhang Yi and Li Er left.
Zhou Yuren also got up to leave, but Accountant Yao stopped him.
Zhao Da'e looked at him coldly: "What? What else do you want to do? We're from the same village, you're really something."
Zhou Yuren shook off Accountant Yao's hand: "From now on, we'll never see each other again."
Before Accountant Yao could say anything more, Zhou Yuren had already grabbed Zhao Da'e and strode away.
When they got home, Cheng Jinxi immediately complained to Zhou Yuren, "Seriously, why did you steal the stove? If it weren't for the goose, you wouldn't be back now. What were you after?"
Zhou Yuren lowered his head, like a child who had made a mistake, and said in a low voice, "I thought no one wanted it, so I picked it up. Who would have thought that Accountant Yao was so disgusting."
Zhao Da'e also said, "That guy is really disgusting. We're from the same village, we see each other all the time. And he still does this kind of thing."
"That accountant Yao is full of bad intentions and doesn't do any decent work," Cheng Jinxi cursed. "Why doesn't he just go out and get hit by a car?"
"Auntie, don't be so angry," Zhao Da'e comforted her. "Calm down. There aren't any cars in your village, so you won't bump into him."
Cheng Jinxi frowned: ? ? ?
"I don't care. Next fall, I'll steal his corn..."
Zhao Da'e had a headache.
This kind of behavior is indeed prevalent these days. They appear amicable on the surface, but once you offend someone, they'll stab you in the back.
There are no surveillance cameras in this era, so you can't catch them. The corn isn't marked either; if it gets lost, there's nothing you can do. Besides, who lives in a cornfield? If you offend someone, they might harm you, and you really can't do anything about it.
Zhou Yuren had done this before, and he was actually quite physically fit. In his previous life, Zhao Da'e had heard that Zhou Yuren could carry a 200-pound sack all night without any problem. In terms of lifestyle, Zhou Yuren didn't have many strengths. Gambling and occasionally stealing food were normal occurrences for him.
However, he was genuinely good to Zhao Da'e.