Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

Chapter 695 Picking the Soft Persimmon? This persimmon is anything but soft!
Not long after, Bai Xiuwen led the police to the back building.

"Officer, my water pipe was damaged by someone. Look how clearly the cut is made; it's obviously caused by a sharp weapon."

Bai Xiuwen showed the fracture to the police.

With just one glance, he determined that this was a malicious act and immediately inquired about the details as usual.

"The water pipes were fine before I went to bed last night, they weren't broken. They were probably still working fine around 8 or 9 o'clock, definitely after 8 or 9 o'clock."

The police officer nodded: "This clue is very important. Have you offended anyone recently?"

The two shook their heads.

Bai Xiuwen said, "We are very well-behaved in the courtyard and never provoke others. Everyone knows that."

Xu Sinan chimed in, "Yeah, we don't understand why anyone would do that either. We guess it's because someone's jealous of our renovation and they're just angry about it?"

"We've kept the renovation low-key. We didn't even have a housewarming party yesterday when we moved into our new house, just so we wouldn't make anyone jealous."

This explanation immediately put the police in a difficult position.

Have we been at odds with you guys lately?

Bai Xiuwen and Xu Sinan exchanged a glance. "We don't actually get along, but something minor happened yesterday."

Immediately, Bai Xiuwen recounted Xu Damao's pointed remarks from the previous day, especially emphasizing Jia Zhangshi's reaction.

Yan Bugui also said about holding a housewarming banquet, "However, I think it's highly unlikely that the Third Uncle would do such a thing; he's not that kind of person."

Immediately, suspicion fell on Xu Damao and Jia Zhangshi.

Immediately, a policeman went over to the two men to inquire about the situation.

Actually, there was no need to go. When the people in the courtyard saw the police coming, they all brought their breakfasts and came over to see what was going on.

Seeing that the Bai family's water pipes had been cut, they all whispered and discussed it among themselves.

"Look, it's only been two days and someone's already got their pipes stuck. Someone must be jealous of them."

"That's right, the Bai family's house is decorated so beautifully, I'm so envious and jealous. I wonder who did this? It's just that they can't stand seeing others do well."

Xu Damao happened to be watching the commotion when the police came looking for him.

Xu Damao looked completely innocent: "What does this have to do with me? I didn't do it. Why would I do something so despicable? I'm not jealous of the Bai family."

At this moment, the police suspected Xu Damao, but mere explanations were useless; they needed substantial evidence.

“I was with my wife last night, we didn’t go out, and I didn’t get up in the middle of the night. You can ask my wife about this, she knows everything.”

Sai Fengxian happened to be eating melon seeds next to him and immediately added her explanation.

But since the two are a married couple, they are suspected of forging documents, so we can't trust the police.

He then went to ask Jia Zhangshi about the situation, but luckily she hadn't come over to watch the commotion.

Upon arriving at the Jia family home, the police conducted their routine questioning. Jia Zhangshi, of course, had prepared her explanation and vehemently denied ever doing it.

"This is troublesome." Bai Xiuwen frowned as soon as he heard the police explain the situation.

Without sufficient evidence, the police cannot stay there indefinitely, as there are not many clues at the scene.

"Are we just going to let this go like this?"

"We can't just let this go!" Xu Sinan stood up and said firmly, "If this happens once, it will happen again. They might be laughing at us."

"If we don't find the murderer, they might cause trouble for us again in the future. This matter cannot be left unresolved no matter what! We must find the murderer."

"We're not doing this for money, we're doing it for pride. We're not the same people we used to be, we can't be pushovers!"

Xu Sinan's resolute determination to find the murderer caused the onlookers to frown slightly.

Look at each other.

"The Bai family is not to be trifled with from today onwards. We must not provoke them unless absolutely necessary."

"Yes, they've laughed it off when we scolded or criticized them before, but they're still holding onto this. I think the Bai family is trying to establish their authority through this!"

"Things are different now, the Bai family has confidence! Even without arresting anyone, the Bai family has achieved its goal of establishing its authority."

The Bai family's image changed dramatically in an instant.

The other people in the back room looked at Xu Sinan in a daze.

Having fled here, they have lived in the courtyard for almost a year, but they still can't integrate.

They are often teased and joked about by some residents, but they don't dare to talk back.

The four people looked at each other, and one of them immediately stepped forward.

Zhang Wei said, "Well, last night I vaguely saw a shadow."

"What shadow? Tell me more?"

Zhang Wei scratched his head and recalled, "It was around nine or ten o'clock last night when I got up to go to the bathroom and saw a dark figure loitering around the back building."

"Because it was so late, I didn't dare to look too closely. I thought it was someone who went out to use the restroom and came back. Now it seems that he was the one who did it."

"Did you see who it was? What were their specific characteristics?"

Zhang Wei thought for a moment: "I don't know who it was. It was too dark for me to see the face clearly, but the person's figure wasn't tall."

"Not tall? How tall exactly?" the police officer pressed.

Zhang Wei added, "I felt it should have reached my chest, but I wasn't sure. I didn't see clearly if the person was crouching or bending their knees, so it might have been higher."

After all that talk, there was still no key information.

It's unknown whether she's male or female, and her height is also uncertain.

The only certainty is the time, but everyone is asleep around 9 or 10 pm, so it's impossible for them to go out and check.

The trail ends here.

Suddenly, Yan Bugui spoke up: "Well, I opened the door this morning, and no one asked me to open the door last night."

Yan Bugui's words were of little help to everyone.

"Any other clues?" the police officer pressed Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei racked his brains for a while, then suddenly clapped his hands.

"By the way, last night when I was half asleep, I heard a 'thud' and a 'spit' sound. I was so sleepy at the time that I thought something had fallen and didn't pay much attention."

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned and pondered what was going on.

Suddenly, a policeman looked at the water pipe: "It must have been when the criminal cut the water pipe that the water suddenly flowed out and hit the ground."

"That 'pui pui' sound is most likely from someone accidentally getting sprayed with water while cutting the water pipe and spitting out the water in their mouth."

After this analysis, the situation suddenly became clear.

The police officer immediately said, "You definitely need to change your clothes if they get wet at night, and they won't dry without the sun. This is an important clue!"

"Search! Search house to house. Whoever's clothes are wet, that's the person! Search one after the other!"

"Yes!"

Immediately, two police officers were dispatched to search from the outside in.

The first place we looked for was naturally the back building.

It's the middle of summer now, and people usually wash their clothes after taking a shower at night.

After a night, the clothes were mostly dry, and you could tell how dry they were just by touching them.

In the back house, the rear house, the front yard, and the back yard, many people's clothes were almost dry, so they were not very suspicious.

Finally, only the Intermediate People's Court remained.

As Jia Zhangshi was making breakfast, she watched as everyone arrived at the central courtyard. Suddenly, a bad feeling crept into her heart.

Just then, a policeman walked up to the clothes rack and reached out to touch the Jia family's clothes.

Qin Huairu, Banggeng, and Xiaodang were all mostly dry, but when they touched Jia Zhangshi's clothes, they could clearly feel that they were wetter than the other clothes.

"Captain, look, this shirt is a bit wet," the policeman said.

Which piece of clothing?

Other police officers also reached out to touch the clothes and confirmed that only Jia Zhangshi's clothes were wet.

Instantly, Jia Zhangshi's expression changed drastically.

"What are you doing! What are you doing! Are you trying to steal my clothes?" Jia Zhangshi hurriedly picked up a shovel and ran over, shouting loudly.

"Calm down, ma'am! Calm down!" The captain raised his hand to signal, "We are investigating a case, please cooperate with us."

Jia Zhangshi, naturally, was not going to cooperate with the police. She argued unreasonably, saying, "What work? What are you trying to do by touching my clothes? What do you want to do!"

"Look at your dirty hands! You might have touched some filthy stuff and wiped it on my clothes. What if you get my clothes dirty!" Taking advantage of the opportunity, Jia Zhangshi directly grabbed the wet clothes and said out of the blue, "Look! My clothes were perfectly fine, and you've gotten them dirty. You two wash them clean for me!"

"Ma'am, calm down. If we've made it dirty, we'll definitely wash it clean for you. If we can't wash it clean, we'll compensate you!" the team leader said.

The police officers looked embarrassed. They had all come all the way here without saying anything, but Jia Zhangshi's clothes were so precious that they couldn't be touched.

Even if everyone's hands are really dirty, they'll definitely be clean after touching the previous few places.

Jia Zhangshi's actions immediately aroused a slight sense of disgust among the police officers.

Xu Damao naturally cracked a joke: "Oh, Jia Zhangshi, your clothes are so exquisite, more precious than gold."

"We can touch each other's clothes without any problems, but yours can't be touched. I bet you're hiding something!"

Immediately, everyone looked at Jia Zhangshi with a meaningful gaze, vaguely sensing something.

Jia Zhangshi panicked immediately and cursed, "What's it to you! Xu Damao! You worthless bastard!"

Hearing Jia Zhangshi's curses, Xu Damao didn't care at all; on the contrary, it was like listening to celestial music, and his ears were temporarily clear.

This time, it's definitely Jia Zhangshi who's involved.

"Ma'am, could you please cooperate with our work?" the team leader stepped forward and said, "Could you please explain why your clothes are wet?"

"So what if my clothes are wet? Is that a problem?"

The captain nodded: "Okay, of course. May I ask how these clothes got wet? Can you give a reasonable explanation?"

"This..." Madam Jia stammered, "This morning I...I accidentally knocked over the chamber pot, and my clothes got wet. Can't I wash my dirty clothes?"

This reason is reasonable, but it still doesn't fully explain the situation.

After all, if these clothes were wet this morning, they would be completely soaked. Judging from the fact that the clothes are indeed half wet and not dry, they must have been drying for at least a few hours.

"Hey, that's not right, is it? I came to the courtyard to get water this morning, and I didn't see Aunt Jia washing clothes." Sai Fengxian asked in confusion.

"Has anyone seen Aunt Jia washing clothes?"

No, I didn't see it.

"I do not have either."

Everyone chimed in, and Sai Fengxian asked in confusion, "That's strange, Aunt Jia, when did you start washing clothes? So early in the morning."

Madam Jia scolded, "Do I need to sue you for washing clothes?"

But her rebuke seemed so pale and powerless.

Xu Damao said, "There's no need to sue us, but now there's a thief in the yard who deliberately damaged other people's things. We all live in the same yard, so we have to find the culprit. Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep."

With the evidence laid bare, Jia Zhangshi was speechless with grievances.

Qin Huairu was watching the commotion from the sidelines when Jia Zhangshi suddenly grabbed her wrist tightly.

Madam Jia's fingernails almost dug into her flesh as she said in a low voice, "Say something for your mother!"

Qin Huairu abruptly pulled her hand back: "Mom, the police have already come to the door. You should just admit it's true."

After saying that, Qin Huairu immediately distanced herself from Jia Zhangshi, fearing that she would be implicated by her.

The police captain shouted, "Tell me! Why did you cut their water pipe? They did nothing to you."

Seeing that there was no way to escape, Jia Zhangshi gave up and said, "I can't stand them anymore. Why is their house so nicely decorated? Why can they live in a new house!"

"If I can't live a good life, they can't live a good life either! Xu Damao, you son of a bitch!"

Hearing Jia Zhangshi's cursing, everyone understood what was going on; she was simply jealous.

It was also Xu Damao's fault for being so talkative. The Bai family was originally able to live in peace, but it was his loose tongue that aroused Jia Zhangshi's envy, jealousy, and hatred, which led to him being implicated and suffering an undeserved disaster.

"Hehe~" Xu Damao chuckled awkwardly.

"Alright, the matter is clear now. How do you want to resolve this?" The police officer looked at Xu Sinan and Bai Xiuwen.

Xu Sinan hurriedly asked, "Officer, what will be the sentence for Jia Zhangshi's crime?"

The police explained, "According to the 'Regulations on Administrative Penalties for Public Security,' those who intentionally damage property may be subject to detention, fines, or re-education through labor."

"Depending on the extent of the damage, you might be detained for three to five days as a warning, or you could choose mediation and ask the old lady to pay you money, then the matter would be settled."

"Three to five days is fine too." Xu Sinan nodded. Although the time was short, it didn't matter.

As for mediation, I never even considered it.

Xu Damao suddenly asked, "Officer, what if someone who has been to jail commits another crime?"

Immediately, the police officer said sternly, "You've committed a crime before, but this was a deliberate offense? That's an even more serious crime, and you'll need to be detained for at least ten days to two weeks."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao looked at Jia Zhangshi with schadenfreude: "Jia Zhangshi, you're in trouble. You'll be spending half a month in jail, hahaha~"

"What? I'm not going! I'd rather die than go!"

Jia Zhangshi's face turned deathly pale instantly. She knew that she was old and in poor health, and if she really went to jail, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Seeing Jia Zhangshi's flustered state, Xu Sinan decided to make an example of her to deter others.

They wanted to dissuade the people in the courtyard from thinking that they were still the same easy targets they used to be, easy prey to be bullied and slaughtered.

"Officer, please arrest him," Xu Sinan said.

"you sure?"

"It's confirmed, that's the decision!" Bai Xiuwen affirmed.

"Alright, ma'am, come with us." Several policemen approached Jia Zhangshi and pulled out handcuffs.

"I don't want to go to jail, I won't go, I won't go!" Jia Zhangshi struggled to get away.

Qin Huairu, who was standing to the side, couldn't sit still either. She had finally managed to get Jia Zhangshi under control. If she really let her go to jail, what would happen to the children in this family?
She's already exhausted from work, and she doesn't want to be exhausted again after get off work.

Once Jia Zhangshi is in jail, she will not only have to breastfeed Kuihua at noon, but also cook and deliver meals to Jia Zhangshi.

We have to keep coming tonight, with no time to rest at all.

"Xiao Xu, please, I beg you, please let my mom off this time, okay? It was my mom's fault, I'll have her apologize to you."

After saying that, Qin Huairu glared fiercely at Jia Zhangshi: "Go apologize to her! Do you want to go to jail?!"

"boom!"

Without saying a word, Jia Zhangshi immediately knelt down and cried out, "I'm sorry, it was my fault, I'm so sorry. As long as I don't go to jail, I'll do whatever you want with me, please!"

"You only regret it now? You're finished! You deserve it! Go to jail!" Xu Damao said indignantly.

"Xu Damao, it's none of your business! Get out of here!" Qin Huairu shouted.

Turning to Xu Sinan with a gentle smile, he asked, "Xiao Xu, how much money do you want to release my mother?"

Xu Sinan didn't want the money; she just wanted to make an example of someone. She casually quoted a number: "Can you give me 100 yuan?"

"What?! 100 yuan?! You're trying to kill me!" Jia Zhangshi scrambled to her feet, her finger almost poking Xu Sinan's nose.

"How many copper coins is a broken water pipe worth? You heartless, rotten beast!"

Xu Sinan slapped her wrist away, her voice as cold as ice: "I still want your money, go to jail!"

"Squat then! You want my money? Dream on!" Jia Zhangshi roared hoarsely.

She had just been swindled out of 400 yuan by Qin Huairu a few days ago, so if she gave her 100 yuan, she wouldn't have much money left.

It's just a two-week jail sentence, nothing compared to the money!
Jia Zhangshi stood in front of the police with her hands raised, shouting, "Come on! Arrest me! I'd rather go to jail than give you a single penny!"

Everyone stared at Jia Zhangshi in shock. "She's really blinded by money. She'd rather go to jail for money."

"I really don't know what to say about Jia Zhangshi. She'd rather go to jail for money."

"I think only Jia Zhangshi would do something like this. Don't forget that she served a year in prison before, what's half a month?"

"that's true."

Considering that Jia Zhangshi had previously served time in prison, this short period of imprisonment was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

"Take them away!" the police captain waved.

Since Jia Zhangshi was unwilling to pay compensation, she had no choice but to take her people away.

As for the damaged water pipe, Bai Xiuwen had no choice but to accept it and buy a new one.

"Let's go, let's go, there's no more excitement to see."

After Jia Zhangshi was taken away, everyone went back to their own homes.

"No time, I need to get to work!"

(End of this chapter)