Her gaze shifted back to Jiang Chengzhou, and she continued, “Even if what you say is true, you didn’t see him take the money with your own eyes. How can you be so sure it was them? There are other people living in your house—did you ask if any of them touched that money?”
Jiang Chengzhou felt a twinge of annoyance at her question, but he still answered earnestly. “When I left this morning, I was the last one out. I counted how much money was left when I took some. I was also the first one back through the door. I can guarantee it wasn’t anyone in my family. It has to be him!”
He pointed a finger at Liang Ping.
Liang Ping jumped up in agitation. “I told you, I didn’t do it! If you’re so sure, show me the proof!”
“Alright, stop arguing for now.”
He Guiqin furrowed her brows, signaling for both boys to calm down.
“Liang Ping,” He Guiqin beckoned him to sit back down. “Jiang Chengzhou said he saw you walking out of his house. Is that true?”
Liang Ping’s lips trembled as he spoke in a shaky voice, “I… I was just passing by.”
Jiang Chengzhou opened his mouth to retort, but Lin Zhilan pulled him back.
“Aunt?”
“Sit down. You can speak when it’s your turn, okay?”
Jiang Chengzhou let out a huff and obediently sat down beside Lin Zhilan.
He Guiqin stared at Liang Ping. “Are you sure you never went inside?”
“No,” Liang Ping shook his head, his fingers unconsciously picking at the seams of his trousers.
Watching his demeanor, He Guiqin already had a few guesses.
But without solid evidence, she couldn’t make a hasty judgment.
By now, Wang Xiuzhi had pieced together what was going on.
Lin Zhilan’s nephew suspected Liang Ping of stealing money from their family.
Wang Xiuzhi felt both embarrassed and furious. Her face flushed red as she yanked Liang Ping up from the stool. “Did you steal from them? If you took it, give it back right now!”
“I didn’t!” Liang Ping denied it flatly, his tone even more defiant before his mother. “I said I didn’t take it, so I didn’t!”
Wang Xiuzhi, frantic with anger, raised her hand to strike Liang Ping.
He clenched his teeth, refusing to cry out.
He Guiqin quickly intervened, pulling Wang Xiuzhi away, and said sternly, “We haven’t sorted this out yet. You can’t just hit the child like that. If he really didn’t steal the money, you’d be wronging him!”
Wang Xiuzhi froze, glancing hesitantly in Lin Zhilan’s direction.
Back in their hometown, that’s how things were done—if a kid got into trouble, the adults would give them a beating first, at least to show they weren’t covering up.
It also helped cool the other party’s anger, making them less harsh on the child.
Lin Zhilan didn’t care for this muddled approach to discipline. She shot Jiang Chengzhou a look.
Jiang Chengzhou blinked, catching on immediately.
Just moments ago, he had been tussling with Liang Ping, but now he stepped in front of Liang Ping to plead with Wang Xiuzhi. “Auntie, I already beat him. Why don’t you take a rest? Don’t tire yourself out.”
Wang Xiuzhi: “…”
She had no idea how to respond to that.
Seeing her silent, Jiang Chengzhou asked something completely out of left field. “Auntie, do you know how much money Liang Ping has on him?”
Wang Xiuzhi shook her head and answered instinctively, “He’s just a kid. Where would he get money?”
“Then do you ever give him money to buy things for you at the supply cooperative?” Jiang Chengzhou pressed.
Wang Xiuzhi had no idea what he was getting at, but she shook her head again.
She rarely went to the supply cooperative herself and certainly wouldn’t trust a child to take money there.
Lin Zhilan knew Jiang Chengzhou too well.
At this point, she already understood what he was about to do.
She covered her eyes and let out a helpless, amused laugh.
A kid’s idea—immature, yet oddly irrefutable.
He Guiqin, meanwhile, was curious about what Jiang Chengzhou was up to.
Jiang Chengzhou grinned at Wang Xiuzhi. “Auntie, can you promise me one thing? From now on, don’t give Liang Ping a single cent, and don’t send him to the supply cooperative to buy anything.”
Wang Xiuzhi was taken aback.
It was a strange request, but not difficult to fulfill.
Their family never gave the kids pocket money, and they didn’t usually send them on errands alone.
Without overthinking, Wang Xiuzhi agreed.
Once he got her promise, Jiang Chengzhou turned to Liang Ping, smirked, and made a face—a triumphant, provoking expression of youthful arrogance.
“From now on, I’ll be watching you. You say you didn’t steal our money, so you’d better hope I never see you spending any at the supply cooperative. If I ever catch you with money to spend, I’ll report you to the military, and they’ll lock you up.”
Liang Ping’s face went pale for a moment. He swallowed hard. “W-watch all you want. I still didn’t steal your money.”
He held his ground. Jiang Chengzhou gave him a fake smile, then pulled Lin Zhilan up from the sofa. “Aunt, it’s settled. Let’s go.”
He Guiqin looked like she wanted to say something.
Was it settled or wasn’t it?
Lin Zhilan stood up and said, “Sister-in-law, do you have a better idea? I’m backing Chengzhou on this. If you can convince him, I’ll go along with it.”
He Guiqin was torn.
In the past, when handling such matters, they would first talk to the parents. If the parents couldn’t get the truth, they couldn’t just search the person or the house.
These days, respecting rights meant that random searches were against regulations.
Since Liang Ping wouldn’t admit to stealing and there was no physical evidence, it really was a tough spot.
Jiang Chengzhou slumped his shoulders. “Grandma He, I’ve come up with a perfectly good solution. I’m not pressing the issue anymore, so just let it go, alright?”
Lin Zhilan couldn’t help rapping the cheeky kid on the head. “Mind your manners, Comrade Jiang Chengzhou.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Jiang Chengzhou snapped to attention and grinned at He Guiqin. “Comrade He, can we go home now?”
He Guiqin was both exasperated and amused. “I’ll go along with your plan about the money. But hitting someone was wrong. You need to apologize to Liang Ping.”
Jiang Chengzhou looked at his aunt.
Lin Zhilan nodded at him.
There were better ways to resolve this, and fighting was never a good habit.
Jiang Chengzhou walked up to Liang Ping and bowed to him.
Liang Ping jumped back in surprise.
“Liang Ping, I was wrong to hit you today. I’m sorry.”
Liang Ping turned his head away and said nothing.
Jiang Chengzhou straightened up. “But if I ever catch you stealing that money, you have to apologize to everyone—to me, and to my whole family.”
Liang Ping remained silent.
Jiang Chengzhou frowned, thinking the boy had no backbone.
“Auntie,” he said to Wang Xiuzhi, “He won’t talk. You’re his mother—can you answer for him?”
Wang Xiuzhi licked her lips.
She noticed that Lin Zhilan had hardly said a word since arriving.
The whole time, it had been this child steering the situation.
Wang Xiuzhi glanced at Liang Ping again. “Fine, I’ll answer for him.”
