Courtyard House: My max-level medical skills specialize in treating beasts.

He Yudong then turned his gaze to Qin Huairu's family, his tone calm yet authoritative: "Qin Huairu, call your son Banggeng out."

"What do you mean, He Yudong? What's wrong with our Banggeng? You don't suspect that our Banggeng stole your money, do you? What evidence do you have!" Before Qin Huairu could speak, Jia Zhangshi jumped out first.

"That's right! He Yudong, don't slander people like that. My son would never steal anything! Besides, you said whether you lost money or not. Who can be sure you're not lying?" Qin Huairu chimed in.

"Fine, very well." He Yudong nodded, his gaze turning cold. "Since I'm giving you one last chance, and you've refused, don't blame me. When they find out who the thief is, there won't be any going back."

"He Yudong, don't scare us! Our family is upright and has nothing to fear!" Jia Zhangshi said stubbornly.

She was convinced that He Yudong couldn't possibly have any evidence, and that the money was well hidden and would never be found, so she was fearless. "I'll deny it to the death," she thought, "what can He Yudong do to me?"

"Comrade He Yudong, do you have any leads?" Nie Jun asked at this moment.

"That's right, officer." He Yudong nodded. "This morning when I left home, I accidentally spilled some powder. A thief would step on it and leave footprints. The footprints are still there, and they look like they were left by a child of about ten years old. I suspect it's Banggeng from his family. Of the children in the yard, only Banggeng hasn't come out yet; the others are still there. A comparison of the footprints will confirm it."

Upon hearing He Yudong's words, both Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu felt a chill run down their spines—they hadn't expected that Bang Geng had left footprints!

Madam Jia Zhang quickly said, "He Yudong, don't make baseless accusations! What makes you think it was your family's son who did it? Even if it's a child's footprint, aren't all children's footprints the same? What's the difference?"

"Then call out the stick." He Yudong said.

"Comrade, bring your grandson out here. We need to ask him some questions," Nie Jun said, looking at Jia Zhangshi.

"No! My grandson is doing his homework!" Mrs. Jia quickly waved her hand.

"Yes, he's doing his homework! He's had a lot of homework lately, so I can't let something like this bother my son's studies, can I?" Qin Huairu quickly chimed in.

"Your dog, Bangqiang, is supposed to study?" a young man scoffed. "He's always stealing chickens and doing other petty things. He's the least studious dog in the yard. Now he's suddenly required to study? Isn't that suspicious?"

"Exactly! Qin Huairu, hurry up and call Banggeng out! The innocent are innocent. If your son is innocent, then naturally nothing will happen. What are you feeling guilty about?"

"Who said I'm guilty! Let me scream!" Qin Huairu said through gritted teeth.

He immediately turned and went home, urgently instructing Banggeng in a low voice, "In a moment, you'll insist you know nothing, understand?"

"Okay, Mom." Although Banggeng felt a little uneasy, he still nodded calmly.

A short while later, Banggeng came out.

By this time, many people had gathered in front of He Yudong's house because he said there were footprints inside. Now, looking at the scene, sure enough, there was a child's footprint clearly imprinted on the floor.

The group looked at the footprints and then at Banggeng's feet; the sizes were about the same. However, these days shoe styles are limited, so it's really hard to draw a conclusion based solely on footprint size.

Bang Geng was initially startled when he saw the footprints, but after a moment's thought, he made up his mind to deny it to the death! He didn't believe that He Yudong could do anything to him.

"You must be Bang Geng?" Nie Jun looked at Bang Geng with a stern expression.

"Yes...yes, it was me." Bang Geng stammered. He couldn't help it; a guilty conscience like him wouldn't be afraid of a righteous policeman, especially since he was just a child.

"Come here and step on this side," Nie Jun said, pointing to the floor that had just been sprinkled with flour.

"Huh?" Bang Geng was immediately startled again.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai quickly stepped forward and said, "Officer, he's just a child. He's usually very obedient and sensible; he wouldn't steal anything."

"What? Are you teaching me how to do things?" Nie Jun glanced at him indifferently.

He didn't have a good impression of Yi Zhonghai. Wasn't it this old guy who had an affair with Qin Huairu last time? Although Qin Huairu later said she was forced and forgave him, with Nie Jun's experience in handling cases, how could he not see the fishy nature of it?

"No...no." Yi Zhonghai immediately shrank back.

Nie Jun looked at Bang Geng again, his tone softening: "He's young, it's inevitable that he'll make mistakes. As long as he admits his mistakes, he's still a good kid. But if he refuses to admit it, and it gets caught, things will be serious. Tell the police officer—did you take the money or not?"

Nie Jun still intended to give the child a chance. He had already learned from He Yudong that the child had indeed stolen the money. Moreover, He Yudong had told him that the powder in the room was actually fluorescent powder, which could be clearly seen in dark places—this was irrefutable evidence.

Seeing the guilty looks on the Qin family's faces, Nie Jun understood what was going on.

"I...I didn't steal it," Bang Geng said through gritted teeth.

If he confesses, he'll be arrested; if he doesn't confess, they won't have any evidence—that's what Bang Geng thought.

"You need to understand, confession is the best policy, resistance is the worst. If it's really discovered later, the outcome will be different." After Nie Jun finished speaking, his gaze swept over Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi.

Madam Jia hurriedly said, "Officer! My grandson is a good child, how could he steal anything? He Yudong is framing us! What does his lost money have to do with us? You can't wrong an innocent person!"

Nie Jun sighed, "Since that's the case, then I have no choice but to handle this officially."

"Officer, what do you mean by this?" Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi panicked immediately.

"Your grandson's shoes are the evidence."

"Officer, on what grounds? Even if my grandson's footprints are similar to those in He Yudong's house, you can't wrongly accuse my grandson of being a thief!" Jia Zhangshi said anxiously.

"Yes, officer, please be reasonable. Isn't it normal for children's feet to be the same size?" Qin Huairu chimed in.

Yi Zhonghai, mustering his courage, said, "Officer, investigations require evidence. These footprints can't be used as evidence."

"You want evidence, right?" Nie Jun said, looking at He Yudong. "Comrade He Yudong, you tell us."

He Yudong nodded, his gaze sweeping over Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu, and Banggeng, and said in a deep voice, "I've given you chances time and time again, but you still won't admit it until you're faced with the truth. Do you really think I don't have evidence? Would I have accused Banggeng of stealing the money without evidence?"

"He Yudong, don't make false accusations! Show me your evidence! Don't slander my Banggeng, my Banggeng would never steal anything!" Jia Zhangshi shouted, her neck stiff.

"That's right! I didn't steal it! Don't wrong me!" Bang Geng's confidence returned.

"Very well, you want evidence, then I'll give you evidence."

He Yudong pointed to the powder on the floor and said, "Do you think that powder is dust?"

People at the scene became curious and craned their necks to look inside.

He Yudong continued, "The powder on the floor in my room is fluorescent powder. If you step on it, your feet will get covered in it, and it will glow in the dark. Banggeng, you thought you were being careful? Didn't expect that, did you? Now your shoes are covered in fluorescent powder—this is the proof."

"ah--!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi were so frightened that their legs went weak.

By this time, it had gotten dark, and everyone looked at Bang Geng's feet—sure enough, the surface of his shoes was faintly glowing!

"Look! There's definitely a glow! It really was stolen by the stick!"

"I can't believe Bang Geng is so incorrigible! That's over a thousand dollars! He dared to steal so much money!"

The people in the courtyard immediately started discussing it. The evidence was conclusive: the person who entered He Yudong's house was Bang Geng. What else was there to say?

Nie Jun looked at Qin Huairu and asked, "What else do you have to say?"

"No! My grandson didn't steal anything!" Madam Jia Zhang insisted. "Even if he went into He Yudong's house, it was by accident! What makes you think my grandson stole money? Besides, only He Yudong himself knows whether he actually lost any money; maybe he didn't lose any at all!"

"I didn't steal! I didn't steal any money!" Bang Geng quickly shouted as well. "I just saw that his door was open, went in to take a look, and then came out. I didn't steal any money!"

He Yudong framed me!

Although he couldn't deny that he had gone inside, the money had already been hidden by his grandmother, and since they couldn't find it, they had no evidence—Bang Geng suddenly felt much smarter.

"Even now, you still refuse to admit it." He Yudong shook his head, but a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

He turned to Nie Jun and said, "Officer, the money is in their house. Since they won't admit it, let's search it. I want to see how long they can keep up their stubbornness."

"He Yudong, you say your money was stolen, do you have any evidence? I don't think you lost any money at all. You're saying our Banggeng stole money, produce the evidence, otherwise you're just framing him," said Jia Zhangshi.

She was quite confident in her methods of hiding money; as long as the money couldn't be found, there was no evidence. So what if Bang Geng had entered your house? There was no evidence that Bang Geng had taken the money.

Nie Jun looked at Bang Geng, shook his head, and said, "Your name is Bang Geng, right? You look young. If you really get caught stealing money, your future will be ruined. You need to think carefully. If you hand over the money now and apologize, I believe Comrade He Yudong won't pursue the matter further. But if they find evidence, you're finished."

"I..." Bang Geng felt a little guilty at this point.

"Officer, what makes you so sure that my grandson stole the money? What do you mean by that? Do you have any evidence?" Jia Zhangshi continued to shout.

He Yudong looked at Jia Zhangshi and said, "I gave you chance after chance, why didn't you seize them? Did you really think that if you hid the money, I wouldn't be able to find it?"

"If you're so capable, produce the evidence; otherwise, don't make baseless accusations against others," Jia Zhangshi said firmly.

"good."

He Yudong didn't say anything more at this point, told them to wait for him, and then left the courtyard. When he returned, he was walking a white dog with him—a German Shepherd.

This dog is named Xiaobai. It's a spirit dog that the system randomly selected, and it's been kept in the small world ever since.

The people in the yard were quite surprised to see that He Yudong had brought back a dog.

Madam Jia sneered, "He Yudong, is bringing a dog back proof of that?"

"Jia Zhangshi, you're smug for now. You'll be crying later." He Yudong sneered, then took out a ten-yuan note from his pocket, held it to Xiaobai's nose, and said, "Xiaobai, remember this scent, and find me the money."

"Woof woof woof!" Little White barked a few times, seemingly in response to He Yudong's words.

Then the little white dog sniffed around, first going into He Yudong's room to sniff, and then coming out again. Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu were both a little scared; what if the dog could smell the money?

At this moment, the puppy sniffed Bang Geng and Jia Zhangshi again, and then ran towards Qin Huairu's house.

He Yudong, Nie Jun, and the people in the courtyard immediately followed.

"Hey, what are you doing? Who let you into our house?" Jia Zhangshi immediately exclaimed anxiously.

"Jia Zhangshi, isn't it obvious enough now? The money is in your house," He Yudong sneered.

"You're talking nonsense! How could our family possibly have your money!" Jia Zhangshi quickly retorted.

"Whether we find it or not, we'll know if we can find the puppy," Nie Jun said. As soon as he spoke, Jia Zhangshi fell silent, silently praying that the dog wouldn't be found.

"Woof woof woof!" At this moment, the dog came to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and started barking wildly at it.

Jia Zhangshi quickly went over to block the dog, because the money was hidden there. The police quickly pulled Jia Zhangshi away.

He Yudong walked over, took a look, and took out a brick. Sure enough, there was an iron box inside. When he opened the iron box, in addition to some loose change, there was a large stack of ten-yuan notes, which looked to be more than a thousand yuan.

The scene was immediately shocked.

He Yudong looked at Jia Zhangshi and said, "Jia Zhangshi, what else do you have to say? Now you've caught them red-handed."

"You're talking nonsense! That's our family's money, not yours! He Yudong, don't make false accusations. That's money left by my son!" Jia Zhangshi said angrily, still unwilling to give up and refusing to admit it.

"Officer, could you check if my name is written on this money in pencil?" He Yudong said, handing the money to Nie Jun.

Nie Jun took a look and indeed it read "He Yudong".

Jia Zhangshi immediately fell to the ground. She never expected that He Yudong would actually write his name on the money.

No, this must have been He Yudong's doing. Otherwise, why would he leave the door unlocked today? Yes, it must have been him on purpose!

"He Yudong, you heartless bastard! You deliberately framed our family! I'll fight you to the death!" Thinking of this, Jia Zhangshi lunged at He Yudong and tore him apart.

The police quickly stopped Jia Zhangshi.

"Come with us to the bureau," Nie Jun said.

"No! Grandma, Mom, I don't want to go to the police station! I didn't steal the money. Grandma said that all the money He Yudong had belonged to our family, so taking it doesn't count as stealing!" Bang Geng shouted hoarsely.

The people in the courtyard looked rather strange upon hearing this. Such shameless words coming from the mouth of a twelve-year-old child.

He Yudong shook his head. To be honest, if Qin Huairu hadn't repeatedly made things difficult for him, he really wouldn't have bothered to argue with this family, lest they accuse him of bullying a widow.

However, Qin Huairu's suggestion to Deputy Factory Director Li to target Ding Qiunan offended him. Furthermore, if Bang Geng isn't disciplined now, he'll inevitably commit murder and arson; if he's not taught a lesson, he won't behave and will become a ticking time bomb.

"Silly Zhu, Silly Zhu, talk to Yu Dong and tell him not to pursue this matter. I'll definitely discipline Bang Geng properly from now on."

When Sha Zhu saw Qin Huairu crying and begging him, he felt a pang of pity. He looked at his younger brother, He Yudong, and said, "Yudong, about this..."

"Don't speak." Before Sha Zhu could finish speaking, He Yudong told him to shut up.

He was speechless at his foolish older brother. This widow had repeatedly ruined his marriage, and not long ago she had even framed Lou Xiao'e, trying to make her take the blame and cause Qin Jingru to miscarry. It had only been a few days since then?

Sha Zhu was about to say something when Lou Xiao'e pinched him on the waist, and he immediately shut up.

He Yudong looked at Qin Huairu and said, "In the beginning, I gave you chance after chance to apologize and return the money, but you wouldn't admit it until you were faced with the truth. Now that the evidence is conclusive, isn't it a bit too late to beg me?"

"Yu Dong, please forgive him this time, considering he's still young. I promise he'll never do it again," Qin Huai pleaded.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai quickly said, "Yu Dong, we all live in the same courtyard. Qin Huairu's family has had a tough time too. Bang Geng is still young and doesn't understand. Please forgive him."

"Yi Zhonghai, shut up! I know the Qin Huairu family has it tough, but does that give you the right to steal? If they have it tough today, they'll steal from my family; if they have it tough tomorrow, they'll steal from yours. Let's see if they'll still say that!"

"How...how can you talk like that? You have no humanity at all!" Yi Zhonghai said angrily.

"I think Yu Dong is right. That's not fourteen yuan, it's fourteen hundred yuan! An ordinary family would have to save for several years without eating or drinking to save that much money. Bang Geng is too audacious."

"Exactly. If someone steals a needle when they're young, they'll steal gold when they grow up. And Bang Geng is so young and has already stolen so much money; what will he be like when he grows up? I think he should be sent to a juvenile detention center to be disciplined."

"I don't want to! Mom, Grandma, I don't want to go to the juvenile detention center! Grandma, you told me to steal it, it's all your fault, it's all your fault!" Bang Geng cried out.

Upon hearing Bang Geng's cries, everyone's gaze involuntarily turned to Jia Zhangshi.

It turns out that it was this old woman who instigated him, which is why Bang Geng was so bold as to steal money. This old woman is too wicked!

"Jia Zhangshi, you'll come with us too, and explain things clearly."

"I won't leave! I won't leave! If you dare to arrest me, I'll kill myself right here!" Jia Zhangshi immediately started throwing a tantrum, sitting on the ground and acting like a rogue. She was ready to kill herself if the police dared to arrest her.