“What happened to Deaf Old Lady?”
Jia Zhangshi ran over to ask.
“It's none of your business.”
Yi Zhonghai replied irritably.
“Why is it none of my business? I'm concerned about Old Lady, does that bother you?”
“Old Lady is gone.”
Liu Haizhong said in a low voice.
“Ah? Old Lady is gone!”
Jia Zhangshi was startled at first, but soon a smile she couldn't hold back appeared on her face.
It's good she's gone.
Old Lady is gone, and a large house in the Courtyard is now empty.
Moreover, there are so many items in Old Lady's room.
Last time, when the head of the Chen Family passed away, Jia Zhangshi instigated Bang梗, and the two of them moved many things from the Chen Family home.
Later, Chen Jianye became ruthless, and Jia returned all the stolen items.
Jia Zhangshi's efforts were all in vain.
But Deaf Old Lady is different; she has no descendants.
If she's gone, whoever has the ability to get their hands on her family's things, they're theirs.
Jia Zhangshi couldn't wait to go wander around in Deaf Old Lady's room right now; she didn't want to wait a moment.
“What, Deaf Old Lady is gone, and you're quite happy?”
Liu Haizhong said, feeling a bit displeased.
“Old Woman Jia, Deaf Old Lady might have been murdered by a criminal from outside, you cannot enter Jia.”
“Stop having those crooked ideas.”
Yi Zhonghai said with a solemn expression.
“Lao Yi, Old Lady is gone, and you still want to hide it from me? I think you're afraid I'll share Old Lady's family property.”
Jia Zhangshi sneered, unable to resist mocking.
“You're talking nonsense, my salary is the highest in the Siheyuan (Courtyard), who can compare to the money I have saved?”
“Do I still need to covet Old Lady's few items?”
Yi Zhonghai was furious.
His monthly salary was 99 yuan, no one could suspect him.
Yi Zhonghai felt that he had been personally insulted.
“That's hard to say, but anyway, I'll say it upfront, Old Lady is gone, and her family's property belongs to all residents of the Courtyard.”
“If some people want to monopolize it, I'll be the first to disagree.”
Jia Zhangshi hummed.
“Get out of here, Old Lady is gone, and you don't have any thought of seeing her off, only thinking about her family's items.”
“Aren't you afraid Old Lady will come looking for you later?”
Yi Zhonghai said with a look of disgust.
“What am I afraid of? I have Lao Jia and my son protecting me.”
Jia Zhangshi felt a little guilty and forced herself to make excuses.
“Granny Jia, whatever schemes you're plotting, I'm too lazy to argue with you.”
“In short, you cannot enter Old Lady's room until the Public Security investigation is over.”
“I promise I won't take anything from Old Lady, you don't need to guard against me.”
Yi Zhonghai said helplessly.
“Alright, I'll believe you for now. If you try to snatch Deaf Old Lady's Relics from me or stop me from fulfilling my filial duty, I'll fight you.”
Jia Zhangshi quickly said.
First, she needed to settle the matter of Yi Zhonghai not taking Deaf Old Lady's inheritance, to facilitate her own subsequent actions.
Yi Zhonghai closed Deaf Old Lady's front door and stepped towards the Middle Courtyard.
Jia Zhangshi stopped in place.
“Let's go, why are you staying here alone?”
Liu Haizhong shouted.
“I want to accompany Old Lady for a while. Alas, Old Lady is so miserable, with no children, she left all alone.”
“There will be no one to burn money for her in the future.”
Jia Zhangshi sighed.
Yi Zhonghai, walking at the very front, tried hard to hold back his tears.
Others praised him as an Eighth-Grade Fitter at the Rolling Mill, a great craftsman, but when he got old and retired.
What difference would there be between him and Deaf Old Lady?
“When it's time for the burial, wail a bit more, that's better than anything.”
“Hurry back to the Middle Courtyard and see about the mess at your doorstep.”
Liu Haizhong dragged Jia Zhangshi towards the Middle Courtyard.
Yi Zhonghai knew what Jia Zhangshi was planning, and Liu Haizhong naturally knew as well.
She just wanted to wait for them to leave and sneak into Deaf Old Lady's room to steal money.
Even if she couldn't steal money, taking a few valuable items would be a big gain.
For example, thermos flasks, cotton quilts, bedsheet sets, and the like.
Liu Haizhong wouldn't give Jia Zhangshi this opportunity.
The Liu Family also lacked money and cotton cloth.
Jia Zhangshi grumbled and followed Yi Zhonghai and the others back to the Middle Courtyard.
Seeing the corpse lying at the entrance, Jia Zhangshi looked disgusted, but facing Chen Jianye, she very consciously remained silent.
“Public Security is here.”
“Public Security is here.”
Several Grandpas ran over from the front Courtyard, shouting loudly.
Several Public Security officers, holding pistols and flashlights, ran into the Courtyard.
“Where is the dead person?”
The leading Public Security officer shouted.
“Here.”
Chen Jianye raised his hand.
Several Public Security officers quickly focused their flashlights on the corpse on the ground.
“It's the criminal!”
“Damn, finally caught him!”
“If he's dead, then he's dead. At least we can report back.”
Several Public Security officers discussed excitedly.
Being able to report back was a good thing; at least they could deal with the Leader.
“The one Chen Jianye killed really is the criminal.”
“Third Master is truly amazing.”
“Now Jianye has even performed a meritorious service.”
Several leading residents of the Courtyard also discussed it animatedly.
Originally, murder should be a serious crime, and even if someone was killed accidentally, a large sum of money would have to be paid to get away.
Chen Jianye was clearly about to be in trouble.
Unexpectedly, the situation took a turn, and the one Chen Jianye killed was the criminal.
This way, his killing was not only not a crime, but instead, it was assisting Public Security in solving the case, a great meritorious service.
“What happened? Who can explain?”
The leading Public Security officer looked at Chen Jianye and others, asking.
Other Public Security officers were responsible for surveying the surroundings and recording the situation.
“I'll explain.”
Chen Jianye offered.
His statement was very consistent, the same as what he had just told the people in the Siheyuan (Courtyard).
He was woken up by needing to relieve himself at night, went out to do so, and when he reached the entrance of Jia, he suddenly saw a flash of cold light ahead and subconsciously stopped.
Realizing someone was rushing over, he reached out and pushed, and the person rushing over fell to the ground.
“At that time, I was terrified, and quickly called for help. Soon, First Master, Second Master, and Third Master all arrived.”
Chen Jianye said.
“Yes, in the afternoon, Public Security came to our door to remind us to be careful of the criminal. I couldn't sleep soundly at night, and when I heard a commotion, I immediately got up and went out to check the situation, even without fully dressing.”
Yi Zhonghai quickly chimed in.
The criminal died in the Courtyard, a great meritorious service.
Every little bit they could get credit for helped.
“Me too, although I live in the Middle Courtyard, when I heard Jianye's shouts, the time it took me to run to the Middle Courtyard was no slower than Lao Yi's.”
“And I also discovered something big!”
Liu Haizhong naturally didn't want to be left behind.
“What big thing?”
The leading Public Security officer became interested.
Yan Fugui was about to talk about his contribution in guarding the gate, but he didn't expect Liu Haizhong's interruption to leave him no chance to speak.
Although he was unhappy, since Public Security had spoken, Yan Fugui couldn't interject and could only wait on the side.
“An Old Lady with no children lives in our Backyard; she's very old.”
“Her front door was open. Just now, Lao Yi and I went to check, and Old Lady is gone.”
Liu Haizhong's voice was eerie, very deliberately creating a terrifying atmosphere.
“Ah? Deaf Old Lady is gone?”
“Hiss, Old Lady is just gone like that.”
“Our Courtyard has lost another person. Old Lady was all alone, it's too unlucky for her to be targeted by the criminal.”
Everyone discussed it animatedly, either regretting or lamenting.
The dead are to be respected. Even if someone was secretly pleased, it was impossible to burst out laughing in front of everyone.
