Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

The police officer walked up to Aunt Wu, took the money, and looked at it. Sure enough, there was a "王" (Wang) character written in the lower right corner of each bill.

The older police officer waved his hand and shouted sternly, "This child is also an accomplice, arrest him too."

"No! Officer, Banggeng is just a child, this must be a misunderstanding!"

When Qin Huairu saw the police about to arrest Banggeng, she hugged him tightly, tears streaming down her face, trying to stop them from taking him.

She wasn't worried when she saw Jia Zhangshi being arrested; in fact, she was even a little gloating. But Banggeng was her life, and she couldn't let Banggeng be taken to a juvenile detention center no matter what.

"Wang Feng, it must be you? You damned little brat, you must be framing Bang Geng! I didn't steal any money at all, how dare you frame us! You'll die a horrible death!"

"Hey, where did you get the money in your pocket? Did that little bastard Wang Feng put it on you?"

Banggeng shook his head: "Grandma, I don't know."

"Officers, Wang Feng must be framing us! You must investigate this thoroughly! I really didn't steal any money!"

Jia Zhangshi stared fiercely at Wang Feng with her triangular eyes, her gaze filled with resentment.

The police pulled Qin Huairu away and questioned her sternly:

"This money was just found on the child, the evidence is conclusive, what else do you have to say? Get out of the way, we only have suspicions right now. After we take the child back to the station for investigation, if the child is really innocent, we will release him."

Seeing that pleading with the police was useless, Qin Huairu quickly went to Wang Feng, grabbed his arm tightly, and begged:

"Wang Feng, I beg you, please let Banggeng and my mother-in-law go! You're Banggeng's uncle!"

Wang Feng's face was grim as he spoke in a deep voice, "Qin Huairu, how dare you call me Bang Geng's uncle? Why didn't you say anything when they broke into my house to steal things?"

Qin Huairu grabbed Wang Feng's arm and said, "Wang Feng, I really didn't know about this before. If I had known that my mother-in-law had done something like this, I would have stopped her."

"Wang Feng, please, for Jingru's sake, forgive my mother-in-law and Banggeng! I beg you!"

As she spoke, Qin Huairu was about to kowtow to Wang Feng, but Wang Feng stopped her.

"Qin Huairu, it's no use begging me now. The police are the ones who want to arrest them, not me. Even if I plead for them, the police won't let them go."

The older police officer nodded and said to Qin Huairu:

"Comrade Wang Feng is right. Your mother-in-law and son have broken the law. Even if he pleads for leniency, it will be useless. It is only right for us to arrest them. However, if you can obtain a letter of forgiveness from the victim, the punishment will be appropriately reduced. Given that your son is too young, he may be exempted from punishment."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu wiped away her tears and pleaded, "Wang Feng, I know my mother-in-law stole things from your house, but Banggeng is young and doesn't understand. Please forgive him!"

Wang Feng shook his head and said coldly, "Qin Huairu, do you think I'm a fool? That you can fool me with just a few words? Let me tell you, there are consequences for making mistakes."

"They made a complete mess of my house. Jia Zhangshi touched my blankets and sheets. How can I dare to sleep in them? And what about the rice, flour, and cured meat? How can I dare to eat them? Who will compensate me for my losses?"

Just as Qin Huairu was about to speak, Yi Zhonghai rushed over and said to Wang Feng:

"Wang Feng, we're all neighbors in the same compound, and Bang Geng even calls you 'Uncle-in-law.' Why bother with them? You'll see them all the time. I think you should just write them a letter of understanding, and they can return your things. You didn't lose anything, did you?"

When Wang Feng saw Yi Zhonghai arrive, followed by Jia Dongxu with a gloomy expression, he immediately smiled and looked at Yi Zhonghai mockingly:

"Yi Zhonghai, you make it sound so easy. Just because we live in the same compound, does that mean we can tolerate them stealing? Well, I'm your neighbor in the same compound. Can you lend me five thousand yuan? Don't say no. We live in the same compound. I need the money right now. How can you not help me?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai's face instantly darkened.

"Wang Feng, how can you talk like that? Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng can escape punishment with just a word from you. How can that be the same? I've worked hard for most of my life and haven't even saved five thousand yuan. You ask me to borrow so much money as soon as you open your mouth. You're not even anyone to me. Why should I lend you money?"

"Hehe, Yi Zhonghai, you're so generous with other people's money, but when it comes to yourself, you're so stingy. Don't you always say that we're all neighbors in the same courtyard and should help each other? So you're unwilling to help me?" Wang Feng mocked.

Seeing that the two sides could not reach an agreement, the police stepped forward and said, "I'll give you five more minutes. If you still can't reach an agreement, we'll take you back to the station. Just a reminder, even if Comrade Wang Feng writes a letter of understanding for you, we'll still have to take Jia Zhangshi back to the station."

Upon hearing the police's words, Jia Zhangshi had completely resigned herself to her fate. She collapsed to the ground, too frightened to speak, her triangular eyes fixed on Wang Feng, wishing she could tear him to pieces.

Yi Zhonghai knew that Wang Feng wouldn't let things go easily, but he had to save Bang Geng. He looked at Wang Feng and said directly:

"Wang Feng, just tell me, what do you want in order to write a letter of forgiveness?"

Wang Feng smiled slightly and just looked at Yi Zhonghai without saying a word.

"Wang Feng, how about I get the Jia family to compensate you fifty yuan? Your things have been recovered now, so there wasn't really any loss. Fifty yuan is quite a lot."

Seeing that Wang Feng still didn't speak, Yi Zhonghai held up one finger.

"one hundred."

"two hundred?"

"Wang Feng, I've already given you two hundred yuan, what more do you want? We're all in the same courtyard, there's no need to go too far, is there?"

"Hehe, Yi Zhonghai, do you think I, a deputy section chief, earn 87.5 yuan a month? Do you think I'd be short of 200 yuan? Rather than accepting that 200 yuan, I'd rather send them to prison to reform themselves. Maybe they'll even thank me when they come out." Wang Feng joked with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai's face darkened, and he could only sigh helplessly in the end.

"Wang Feng, I'll give you five hundred. If you still don't agree, I'm not going to help you anymore."

Yi Zhonghai knew that Jia Zhangshi should have five hundred yuan. If five hundred yuan could get Wang Feng to write a letter of understanding, then he wouldn't have to pay out his own money.

Wang Feng remained unmoved. His plan this time was to squeeze every last drop of money out of Jia Zhangshi's retirement savings and, incidentally, swindle Yi Zhonghai as well.

Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai say that he no longer cared about Bang Geng, Qin Huairu looked at Yi Zhonghai with teary eyes, her gaze filled with determination.

Seeing Qin Huairu's gaze, Yi Zhonghai sighed inwardly and gritted his teeth, saying:

"Wang Feng, one thousand, I'll offer one thousand. You're Bang Geng's uncle, don't go too far!"

"Alright, go get the money now. Oh, and remember to write me a voluntary compensation agreement."

Wang Feng knew when to stop, so he agreed. Now that he had spiritual awareness, dealing with them would be a piece of cake.