Chapter 24
Crazy About Money
Under the scrutiny of the crowd, Ms. Lin became flustered and shouted, “Fine! I am an outsider, and you are his senior. He stole my cornss, and you should compensate me!”
“You will be fined one liang for the theft!”
A passerby couldn’t remain silent, feeling the need to interject some fairness into the situation.
“Ms. Lin, how can you say that? I’ve heard that the punishment for theft is ten times the value. Besides, he is your own nephew!”
Another woman chimed in, “Yes, one liang is excessive. We can offer a maximum of 100 wen as compensation.”
The surrounding children also joined the chorus, criticizing Ms. Lin.
“You are too fixated on money!”
“Five cornss wouldn’t fetch 10 wen, let alone one liang!”
“You are worse than an outsider!”
Among them, a boy shouted the loudest, “Let’s call the village chief to be the judge. There’s no such thing as 100 penalties for stealing!”
Qin Zhenzhen turned her attention to the boy. It was Qian Duoduo, Su Cheng’s close friend, who appeared to be of similar age and appearance.
Qian Duoduo took the lead in defending Su Cheng, earning a grateful look from him.
Su Cheng had a simple plan. He intended to ask the village chief to intervene and pass judgment. He would swear before the village chief that he hadn’t stolen anything, hoping to clear his name.
However, Qin Zhenzhen found Qian Duoduo’s behavior strange. When their eyes met, he seemed panicked.
Recalling Su Ning’s previous statement, Qin Zhenzhen suspected that there was something amiss with this boy.
She decided to remain vigilant and keep a close eye on him.
Overwhelmed by the voices of the people accusing her of greed, Ms. Lin let out a sigh of relief and said, “Fine then, we will pay half a liang, or we will take off the pants and expose you to the public!”
Qin Zhenzhen asserted with authority, “I won’t give you a single coin!”
She proceeded to untie Su Cheng, ignoring Ms. Lin’s attempts to intervene. This time, Qin Zhenzhen wasn’t as gentle as before and pushed her to the ground.
Ms. Lin threw a fit, complaining, “Ouch! How dare you assault senior family members!”
Qin Zhenzhen remained undeterred, showing no fear.
As Qian Erhu helped his mother up and attempted to intervene, Qin Zhenzhen had already freed Su Cheng from his restraints.
Su Ning assisted her Fifth Brother in putting on his clothes.
Su Cheng’s eyes were still teary, but like his sister, he held hope in his heart for Qin Zhenzhen.
Qian Erhu’s voice turned fierce. “You stole our cornss, and you think you can just walk away? Not so fast!”
“If you don’t pay us, we will report him to the authorities! He’s a corns thief, a repeat offender!”
Qin Zhenzhen remained unperturbed. “That may be true, but before someone can be deemed a thief or a repeat offender, there must be evidence.”
Realizing that more and more people were watching the scene unfold, Ms. Lin raised her voice even louder.
“I personally witnessed Su Cheng turning over the cornss and running away. I even discovered the corns in your sweet potato field. We have all the evidence and witnesses. You must admit it!” Ms. Lin exclaimed, trying to bolster her claim.
Qin Zhenzhen responded with an amused expression, “If you truly saw Su Cheng on the mountain, why didn’t you call out his name? Instead, you hurled insults at him!”
“That suggests you’re lying! You never actually saw who it was!”
Ms. Yuezheng struggled to find an answer. However, she argued, “I wanted to save face for him, so I refrained from calling out his name!”
“But he not only refused to admit his guilt, he even hid the cornss in the sweet potato field, intending to take them home once we left. He shows no remorse, so I decided to punish him!” Ms. Lin explained her reasoning.
Qin Zhenzhen maintained her composure. “Very well, you have your reasons, and I have mine!”
“You claim to have witnessed Su Cheng stealing the cornss, but I possess evidence proving that Su Cheng did not commit the theft!”