Chapter 52: “took The Wrong Medicine”
Old Man Lu heard that the money at home was gone and hurriedly ran back home.
The first thing he did when he got home was to check the money box at home.
Seeing the situation, Lu Mu’s face turned pale, and she forced herself to ask: “You didn’t touch the money?”
“Even if I touched it, I wouldn’t take it all.” Lu Father said irritably.
He frantically searched for the money, but couldn’t find even a single cent.
Lu Father angrily smashed the money box on the ground, his expression fierce and menacing.
“Where’s the money? Who exactly took the money!”
His gloomy gaze swept over everyone.
Su Yuxian felt her scalp go numb and quickly said: “It wasn’t me. My foot is injured, so it’s inconvenient for me to go anywhere. I haven’t been to the main house.”
Lu Father thought what she said made sense and shifted his gaze away, looking toward Lu Xiaomei.
“It wasn’t me either. If I took it, why would I confess without being asked?” Lu Xiaomei said unhappily.
Lu Father kept a cold face, “Can so much money just disappear into thin air?”
The whole family searched the house upside down again, even poking into mouse holes, but still didn’t find a single bill.
Lu Mu sat on the ground and cried loudly, crying over her money.
“Damn thief brat, thing that gave birth to a son without an asshole, so much money, how could you have the nerve to take it all, oh my heart hurts so much, my goodness.”
“Once I catch that dog bastard, I’ll chop off his dog paws and let his parents see if they raised a human or a beast.”
She was angry, but when it came to Lu Xiaomei, she wanted to cry.
There was her dowry in that money.
Her mother had said that when she got married, she would give her two hundred yuan as private spending money. Now the money was gone—could she still have it?!
Lu Father angrily said: “Cry, cry, cry—what’s the use of crying? Report to the police, or at worst go to the neighborhood committee. You’re all a bunch of useless people.”
After cursing, he rushed out the door to find the neighborhood committee captain.
Once he started looking, the matter of the Lu Family losing money couldn’t be kept secret anymore. The entire Fengshou Brigade knew about the Lu Family being stolen from.
Under the big banyan tree in the village, a group of women who had no mind for an afternoon nap because of the gossip gathered in a circle, sharing the Lu Family’s gossip.
“Hey, have you heard? The Lu Family seems to have been robbed.”
“I’ve heard! The news has spread everywhere!”
“Does anyone know exactly how much money was stolen from their house?”
Everyone shook their heads.
Yuan Bao’s Mother looked at the silent Brigade Leader’s Wife and asked: “Sister-in-law, do you know?”
“You only just thought of me.” The Brigade Leader’s Wife rolled her eyes and slowly stood up, picking up a stool and sitting in the middle of the crowd.
Being stared at by several pairs of eyes, she felt deeply satisfied.
“I don’t know the exact amount.”
Hearing this, the excitement in the eyes of the crowd of gossipers faded. Wasn’t this just teasing them?
If it had been anyone other than the Brigade Leader’s Wife speaking, they would have cursed a few sentences no matter what.
“Oh, don’t be anxious.” The Brigade Leader’s Wife said.
Everyone thought she had inside information and looked over excitedly again.
“I don’t know the exact number, but I know roughly.”
One sentence piqued everyone’s curiosity to the maximum.
“How much?”
“How much? At least three or five hundred, right?”
“Yi Zhou has an allowance, so three or five hundred should be possible.”
…
The crowd chattered one after another.
The Brigade Leader’s Wife thought of the amount of money the Lu Family had lost, and her heart felt sour. It even showed on her face.
“I heard it was over a thousand yuan.”
To be honest, when she first heard that amount, she was quite shocked.
Over a thousand! She had never seen so much money in her life!
As soon as the Brigade Leader’s Wife finished speaking, gasps of surprise rose one after another.
Everyone was shocked.
“Hiss!! Over a thousand yuan?!” Yuan Bao’s Mother gasped the loudest, her lips trembling.
Her family couldn’t even come up with a hundred yuan.
“Does being a soldier make this much money?” Her eyes lit up as she mentally calculated letting her family’s Yuan Bao grow up and join the army.
The Brigade Leader’s Wife was stumped by the question and vaguely said: “It must earn much more than going to the fields to earn work points.”
Even if you earned full work points every day, didn’t get sick or miss work all year, by the end of the year it would be less than two hundred yuan. After deducting household expenses, you couldn’t save much over the year.
No wonder anyone with assets over a hundred yuan was considered rich.
“I wonder if my family’s Yuan Bao has the fortune to join the army.”
The Brigade Leader’s Wife didn’t think joining the army was fortunate. It was true there was an allowance, but she heard that soldiers had to go to the battlefield and catch spies—it was very dangerous. That allowance was earned with one’s life. What fortune was there in that?
“Over a thousand yuan…” Someone muttered, looking slightly suspicious. “Did that kid from the Lu Family send all his allowance home?”
“Who knows.” Wang Chunhua said.
It was as if there was a big loudspeaker under the banyan tree—as soon as words were spoken, they quickly spread throughout the village.
Several old ladies specifically ran to the Gu Family.
As soon as they arrived, they gave Gu Mu an extremely complicated look.
Before Gu Mu could ask the purpose of their visit, Old Woman Li said sourly: “Cheng Huai’s mother, having just Cheng Huai as your son is worth several from other families.”
Gu Mu: “……?”
Gu Mu looked at her blankly, “Why say something like that out of the blue?”
“Did you take the wrong medicine?”
Old Woman Li felt stifled.
“You still don’t know.” Old Woman Qian, from the same village as Gu Mu’s maternal family, smiled and said: “The Lu Family lost money. Haven’t you heard?”
“Lost money?” Gu Mu’s tone rose slightly.
“Yeah, they say it’s over a thousand yuan.” Speaking of over a thousand yuan, everyone’s tone was shocked, pitying, envious, and complex beyond description.
“Over a thousand yuan?!” Gu Mu was equally astonished.
Was the Lu Family that rich?
However…
“The Lu Family losing money—what does that have to do with my old third?”
Old Woman Qian clicked her tongue, “Everyone is guessing that the Lu Family kid’s allowance is not low.”
“They say he’s just a deputy battalion commander, and the family has saved that much money. Your old third is a battalion commander, one rank higher than him, so his allowance must be even higher.”
And he’s saved even more.
What she didn’t say was that quite a few people had their eyes on the Gu Family, planning to come borrow money when they were short in the future.
Gu Mu knew the principle of not revealing one’s wealth and immediately said: “I’m not clear on this. We separated households early on. I never inquire about Cheng Huai’s allowance. How could I have the nerve to ask for money that the child earns with his life.”
“His allowance is so high, and he doesn’t give you money for elder care?” Old Woman Li was full of disbelief.
Gu Mu bluntly said: “His father and I aren’t incapable of work. Why take the child’s money? We have food and drink at home.”
“Could it be… your third son’s wife is reluctant to give it?” As if this would make her happy, Old Woman Li laughed until her face was full of wrinkles.
“…”
Gu Mu said the most pretentious words in a flat tone, “Zhaozhao said taking care of the four kids is hard work, so she’ll give me two yuan every month from now on.”
She didn’t mention that the money would be directly exchanged for food.
Two yuan was quite a lot.
Immediately, the several mothers-in-law sighed, feeling so upset they couldn’t speak.
Even Old Woman Qian, who was closest to Gu Mu, gave her a sour look.
“Alright, we know your third son’s wife is filial. Laughing like that is scary. Do you still think you’re a young girl?”
“They’re all filial. My three daughters-in-law are all filial.” Gu Mu’s face was full of smiles, with threads of pride spilling from the corners of her eyes. “The third son’s wife said that even at an older age, one can still be pretty and apply cold cream. She’ll buy some and send it to me the other day.”
Unable to stand her showing off, the several little old ladies gathered their things and left.
When they got home, they saw their sons with noses not looking like noses and eyes not looking like eyes.
The sons in each family were full of confusion.
What wrong medicine had they taken again?
They didn’t dare ask and quickly found something to do, afraid of being scolded.
–
The Lu Family had lost over a thousand yuan—a huge amount.
The neighborhood committee comrades naturally used all their knowledge, checking what needed checking and asking what needed asking, using every method, but still came up empty.
They could only close it as an “unsolved case.”
Hearing the investigation results, Lu Mu was unwilling and stepped forward to grab the neighborhood committee captain’s patched sweatshirt.
With a ripping sound, it was the sound of the fabric tearing.
The other neighborhood committee members were stunned.
Someone suddenly let out a “pfft.”
Then, gasps of suppressed laughter rose one after another.
Uncle Chang Sheng was also a neighborhood committee member. Seeing this scene, he couldn’t help laughing: “Aunt, you’re treating us too much like family. Right in front of us, you rip off our captain’s clothes—this isn’t good, right?”
Neighborhood committee captain Zhang Yongqiang gave him a warning glance, signaling him to tone it down.
Lu Mu’s face turned bright red with embarrassment. She glared hatefully at Uncle Chang Sheng with her eyes, “I’ll compensate, alright?”
Uncle Chang Sheng was a cheeky type. If you spoke nicely to him, he might give you face. If you didn’t speak nicely to him, sorry, don’t expect any kind words.
“Look at what you’re saying. You tore it, so compensating is only right. Why yell so loud?”
Lu Mu leaned back in anger, ignored him, and chased after Zhang Yongqiang: “Captain Zhang, what did you just mean?”
“Our family lost so much money, and you say you did your best—what’s that supposed to mean? You’re not looking anymore? Then what about my family?”
She got agitated again and wanted to make a move.
Zhang Yongqiang frowned and stepped back two steps.
“Then what do you want us to do! We’ve checked everywhere we should and asked everyone we should. No leads—what do you want us to do?”
Lu Mu shrieked, “Keep looking! Until you find it!”
Uncle Chang Sheng sneered, “That’s a pretty reckless demand.”
The other neighborhood committee members gave him an encouraging look: If you can talk, say more.
The young man was greatly encouraged, puffed out his chest, stepped forward, and continued: “Our neighborhood committee isn’t your Lu Family’s personal service. We don’t revolve around your house all day.”
“We’ve checked what needs checking. If we didn’t find it, even if you beat us to death, we still won’t find it.”
“Some things don’t have results just from effort.” He used this as his closing remark.
Lu Mu realized that her family’s money was probably really gone. Her heart ached, her vision went black, she plopped down on the ground, and cried desperately: “My family’s money!”
She had always been difficult to deal with. Afraid something might happen, the neighborhood committee people all left.
The Lu Family members numbly sat in various spots, dark clouds hanging over their heads, the atmosphere cold and heavy.
Lu Baozhen clutched her rumbling belly and walked out of the room. Just as she reached the yard, she slipped and fell with a splat.
For this little lucky star recognized by the entire brigade, it was the first time.
She was completely dumbfounded and didn’t react for a long time.
Lu Mu’s old eyes suddenly lit up. She stepped forward and picked up her granddaughter. Her face, wrinkled like old tree bark, relaxed. “With Bao Zhen, with Bao Zhen, that bit of money is nothing.”
She looked at Lu Father, “Tomorrow I’ll take leave and take Bao Zhen to the county to walk around.”
The money in the blue cloth bag, and the gold ring, were “picked up” by Bao Zhen in the county. If she took Bao Zhen to the county, the money and ring would definitely come back.
Lu Father’s motion of smoking his pipe paused slightly, “Go.”
Su Yuxian’s gaze, seemingly casual, fell on Lu Baozhen, and something quickly flashed in her eyes.
–
In the county.
After Lin Zhao got off work, she took Li Fen to the match factory, picked up materials for gluing 500 matchboxes, learned how to do it clearly, thanked the enthusiastic eldest sister Li Fen, and said goodbye to leave.
After leaving the match factory, she went to the photo studio again, handed over the film, paid to have the old master at the photo studio develop the photos, and confirmed the time to pick them up.
Then she rode her bicycle home.
Just as she reached the village entrance, the two kids and one big and one small dog came to welcome her.
Er Zai hugged Lin Zhao’s waist at once, “Mom, I want to ride the bicycle.”
Da Zai pulled his younger brother, “Er Zai, Mom is tired from work.”
“…Alright.” Er Zai looked disappointed and sighed: “When can I ride a bicycle by myself?”
“In another three to five years.” Lin Zhao answered.
She bent down to pick up Er Zai, put the little friend on the back seat, and looked at Da Zai: “Mom will push you home. Er Zai sits first, then you sit, okay?”
Da Zai said: “Sure, I’ll help Mom push the bike.”
As soon as he said it, he grabbed the bicycle’s back seat.
Er Zai sat on the bicycle and was completely thrilled, swinging his two legs, his loud voice full of joy, “Mom, so high, I like the bicycle.”
The villagers thought to themselves, no one doesn’t like bicycles.
Old Woman Qian smiled: “Er Zai, when your dad comes back, let him carry you on his neck even higher.”
Er Zai looked at Lin Zhao, “Mom, how tall is my dad? Taller than my second uncle?”
“Of course. Your dad is famously tall in the ten miles and eight villages. Taller than your grandpa, your uncle, them all, and also taller than your uncles.” Lin Zhao explained warmly.
Back then, when she and Comrade Gu Chenghuai were dating, his height and face were both important plus points.
“Wow!” Er Zai exclaimed in awe, looking at his mom eagerly, “Mom, can I grow that tall too?”
“Yes, you’re your dad’s sons. As long as you eat well, of course you can grow that tall.” Lin Zhao’s eyes held a smile. She suddenly thought of her kids’ dad and wondered how he was doing.
As they walked, Er Zai suddenly spoke up, “Mom, stop, it’s my brother’s turn to sit.”
“Er Zai did very well, not greedy and thinking of his older brother.” Lin Zhao praised.
Er Zai puffed out his chest proudly, feeling elated.
Praised by Mom again, hee hee hee.
Da Zai sat on the bicycle back seat, his posture much more well-behaved than his younger brother’s, looking calm. Except for his mouth corners being a bit higher than usual, his joy wasn’t outwardly shown.
“Was there anything happening in the village today?” Lin Zhao asked casually.
Er Zai ran up small steps to walk side by side with Mom, his eyes sparkling, “Yes! There was super lots happening in the village today.”
He cautiously glanced around and said mysteriously: “Mom, Lu Baozhen is super weird.”
Lin Zhao couldn’t help laughing and asked puzzledly, “Where is she weird?”
“She was shouting at her own hand… Li Li!” The little friend without even kindergarten education didn’t know which Li Li it was and could only think of the fruit pear.
Lin Zhao stopped and asked in astonishment: “You said Bao Zhen was talking to her own hand?”
“Yes.” Er Zai nodded his head, “Brother and I both saw it, right brother?”
Lin Zhao followed his gaze and turned to look at the steady Da Zai.
“Mm, I saw it too. She was calling Li Li.” Da Zai spoke clearly and logically, with a little gentleman’s courteous air, like Lin Father. “Mom, Lu Baozhen also tried to rob the boxes that brother and I dug up.”
He kept a serious face, “She also threatened me and Er Zai, telling us to give her the boxes, or she’d tell the brigade.”
Er Zai jumped in front of Lin Zhao and quickly added: “She also bit me! Mom, look at the mark she bit on me.” He raised his own hand.
