"Granny Jia lost her money, didn't she?"
"Who's so wicked as to even take a widow's money?"
"In my opinion, it's probably a thief from the Jia Family who took it. Just now, Granny Jia was about to hit Qin Huairu."
"Someone is in the Jia Family's room every day, and it's full of widows. Who could have entered?"
"The Grandpas in the Courtyard are all polite people; they wouldn't even walk past the Jia Family's door if they took a wrong turn. Who could steal the Jia Family's money?"
Everyone was discussing animatedly.
They all felt quite puzzled.
Granny Jia's money was in the Jia Family's room, so how could it have been stolen?
"When Jia Dongxu died, was Granny Jia this sad?"
Liu Haizhong quietly asked Yan Fugui beside him.
"Don't talk nonsense."
Yan Fugui adjusted his glasses.
After a moment, he also lowered his voice and replied, "It really doesn't seem like she was that sad."
Liu Haizhong clicked his tongue twice.
A widow who lost her son wasn't as sad as losing money; that's truly something else.
"Old Woman Jia, you lost your money?"
Yi Zhonghai also found it very suspicious.
With so many people in the Courtyard, no one entered the Jia Family's house, so there was no opportunity to steal anything.
Besides the Jia Family themselves, who could steal from the Jia Family?
"Lost, it's lost!"
"My whole bag of money is gone!"
"Inside, besides my savings from these years, there was also Dongxu's pension. It's all gone!"
Jia Zhangshi stomped her feet repeatedly.
"Mom, how could our family's money be lost? No one usually comes into our house."
Qin Huairu's heart felt utterly cold.
The Jia Family's savings were her savings too.
Now that the money was gone and the savings were empty, how would they live in the future?
To get more pension money, the Jia Family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had desperately caused trouble.
As a result, they ended up doing someone else's bidding.
Who could tolerate that?
"I can't figure it out either. No one usually comes into our house, so how did my money disappear?"
"Qin Huairu, tell me, how did my money get lost?"
Jia Zhangshi slightly raised her head, her red eyes fixed on Qin Huairu, wishing she could swallow her whole.
"Mom, you... you suspect I stole the money?"
"Mom, I'm pregnant and at home taking care of the child every day. Where would I find the time to steal your money?"
"Besides, I'm the Jia Family's daughter-in-law. What would I steal money for?"
Qin Huairu got anxious.
"I saved that money; it wasn't in your hands, so you didn't need to use it."
"Staying at home every day, it's normal for you to come up with crooked ideas."
Jia Zhangshi's tone suddenly became gentle.
If she were in the same situation, she would definitely steal her mother-in-law's money.
And Jia Zhangshi had indeed done such a thing before.
A daughter-in-law stealing her mother-in-law's money, in Jia Zhangshi's view, was perfectly normal.
"Mom, I really didn't steal your money."
Qin Huairu was crying.
She couldn't bear this blame.
Next door, in the Chen Family.
While Chen Jianye was feasting, he also listened to the commotion from the Jia Family next door.
Hearing this, Chen Jianye's mouth twitched a few times.
Jia Zhangshi was truly something.
She didn't even need him to say or do anything; she directly identified the suspect.
This way, Chen Jianye was immediately safe.
As for defending Qin Huairu?
Chen Jianye didn't even consider it.
There were so many people in the Courtyard; they wouldn't just watch Qin Huairu get bullied.
Someone was bound to speak up.
Just as he was thinking, Chen Jianye heard Sha Zhu's voice.
"Jia Family's Aunt, you're confused. Your money is Qin Jie's money. Why would Qin Jie steal your money?"
"I believe Qin Jie is definitely not that kind of person."
Sha Zhu's words were forceful, and he stood out with a firm attitude, supporting Qin Huairu.
"Sha Zhu, shut up!"
Jia Zhangshi turned her head, glaring fiercely at Sha Zhu.
"Sha Zhu, this is the Jia Family's private matter; don't say anything."
Yi Zhonghai also reminded him.
"Qin Huairu, if you take out the money, I'll pretend this never happened today."
Jia Zhangshi looked at Qin Huairu and said kindly.
"Mom, I really didn't take your money!"
Qin Huairu took two steps back, feeling that Jia Zhangshi was very abnormal.
"If you didn't take it, then who did you say took my money?"
Jia Zhangshi gnashed her teeth.
"I, I don't know either."
Qin Huairu stammered in reply.
"Yi Zhonghai, my money is gone. Can you find the person who stole it?"
Jia Zhangshi then looked at Yi Zhonghai.
"How could I find them? I'm not a god."
Yi Zhonghai said helplessly.
"Alright then, you find someone to report it to the Public Security for me. Call the Public Security over."
"Whoever stole my money, I'll make them go to jail and face the firing squad!"
Jia Zhangshi roared viciously.
"Old Woman Jia, if our Courtyard has a theft incident, then winning the Advanced Courtyard title this year is definitely out of the question."
Yi Zhonghai said somewhat unhappily.
"My money is all gone, and you're still thinking about the Advanced Courtyard!"
Jia Zhangshi raised her voice.
"That's not what I mean. This money was lost in a strange way. This is your family's matter; you should close the door and talk it over."
"If you call the Public Security, and they find something out, it might be hard to clean up."
Yi Zhonghai kindly advised.
"Lao Yi is right. Don't call the Public Security if you don't have to. Try to talk it out nicely."
Yan Fugui expressed his support.
"Between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, there's nothing that can't be talked about. Calling the Public Security will ruin our Courtyard's reputation, and there will be no turning back for you two."
Liu Haizhong also said.
What the Three Great Masters said also represented the opinions of most people.
The vast majority of Courtyard residents believed that the money Jia Zhangshi lost was definitely taken by Qin Huairu.
Given that, the Jia Family should just close the door and discuss it among themselves.
If it escalated and ruined the Courtyard's reputation because of the Jia Family's matter, leading to the Courtyard not getting the Advanced Courtyard title,
it would drag down all the Courtyard residents.
Moreover, if the Public Security came and truly found out that Qin Huairu stole the money, could the Jia Family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law still get along afterward?
"I don't care. Since no one is admitting to stealing my money, I'm going to report it to the Public Security."
Jia Zhangshi's attitude was firm.
Yi Zhonghai gave Yan Fugui a look.
"Jiecheng, go report it to the Public Security."
Yan Fugui ordered.
Yan Jiecheng pursed his lips, feeling a bit unwilling; he always did all the dirty work.
Running errands usually came with a tip, but working for the Courtyard was purely for free.
"Go on my bicycle, be careful."
Yan Fugui added.
Only then did Yan Jiecheng crack a smile.
Normally, Yan Fugui's bicycle was guarded very carefully; he wouldn't even let his children use it.
Riding the bicycle to practice his riding skills, this trip wouldn't be in vain for Yan Jiecheng.
"Qin Huairu, the Public Security hasn't arrived yet. If you take out the money, I'll still give you a chance."
Jia Zhangshi stared intently at Qin Huairu, her voice low.
"Mom, I really didn't take your money. Even if the Public Security comes, I'll say the same thing."
"If I took your money, may I be struck by five bolts of lightning and have my line cut off!"
Qin Huairu also got angry.
In front of so many people in the Courtyard, Jia Zhangshi hadn't given her any face.
The implications from the Three Great Masters' words all pointed to her having stolen the money.
Since that was the case, then let the Public Security investigate.
"Qin Huairu, you can't say such things carelessly."
Yi Zhonghai quickly said.
"That's right, if your line is cut off, it's also the Jia Family Sister-in-law's roots that are cut off."
Liu Haizhong helped to say.
"Why bother? When things escalate to this point, who benefits?"
Yan Fugui sighed.
It wasn't that he felt sorry for the Jia Family's people or their situation.
He was mainly distressed about the Advanced Courtyard reward.
If they received the Advanced Courtyard reward, the street committee would give residents half a catty of meat coupons, or towels, soap, thermos bottles, and so on.
These were all useful items.
With the Jia Family causing such a ruckus, the Advanced Courtyard title for South Gong and Drum Lane No. 95 Courtyard this year was in doubt.
