Chapter 12: Paying the Price

Chu Xuan threw the iron bucket aside and rushed forward to remove the rag from Xiao Feng's mouth.

Immediately after, she untied him.

Chu Feng was overcome with self-reproach. "Sister, I'm sorry! I didn't watch the house properly. An hour ago, Chu Zhi climbed over the wall, tied me up, and stuffed my mouth with a rag. Feng Chunhua stole our rice, flour, fabric, new shoes, and many other things. Chu Zhi bolted the courtyard gate and climbed back over the wall..."

Suppressing her fury, Chu Xuan forced a smile to comfort her younger brother. "Just wait at home! I'm going to get our things back!"

She would also make Feng Chunhua's family pay a price so they would never dare to rob them again.

She headed straight for the village office and explained the situation to Wang Depin.

Without a word, Wang Depin immediately helped her call the security authorities.

At that moment, Feng Chunhua was in her bedroom looking at the stolen fabric. Chu Zhi stood beside her with a wide grin. "Mother, you really have a way with things. Stealing this pile of goods is much more profitable than that hundred yuan from before. Those four pairs of shoes must be worth over a hundred, right?"

"They definitely are!" Feng Chunhua said with pride. "When we asked Chu Xuan for that hundred yuan in compensation, she wouldn't just refuse; she'd use the Village Chief's family as a shield. Now that we've taken these things to offset the money, we don't have to fear her even if she comes knocking. If she says they're hers, I'll just say they're mine!"

They had already checked carefully; none of the stolen items had any markings.

Moreover, whether going to the old house or returning, Chu Zhi had been carrying a bulging burlap sack; no one could tell what was inside.

In reality, Feng Chunhua had been hiding inside the sack during the trip.

Chu Zhi stepped forward to massage his mother's back. "Mother, can you make me a new set of clothes?"

Feng Chunhua chuckled. "Of course I can!"

"And give me a pair of women's leather sandals. I want to give them to someone."

"No problem!" Since these were all scavenged from Chu Xuan's room, Feng Chunhua didn't feel a shred of heartache. "Son! Go pour the rice and flour into our jars."

"Coming right up!"

Chu Zhi went to do it happily.

Feng Chunhua muttered with a hint of regret, "It's such a pity we didn't find any cash this time! Isn't that wench trying to build a new house? Could her money be hidden on her person?"

Half an hour later, three security officers arrived on bicycles.

Wang Depin and Chu Xuan led them to Chu Dashan's house.

When Feng Chunhua saw the newcomers, she showed no fear at all. "Chu Xuan, haven't we severed ties? Why are you here?"

Chu Xuan ignored her and spoke solemnly to the security officers. "Comrades, I want to report Feng Chunhua and Chu Zhi for residential robbery! The two of them stole several hundred yuan worth of supplies from my house. There are forty catties each of rice and flour, twenty meters of fabric, four pairs of new shoes, two bamboo mats, a tin of malted milk..."

Feng Chunhua felt something was off. The rice and flour didn't seem to weigh that much.

Before Chu Xuan could finish, Feng Chunhua spoke up impatiently, "Chu Xuan, I think you're just trying to claim my family's things as your own and making this up! Anything in my house belongs to my house; your name, Chu Xuan, isn't written on them."

Everyone present could see that Feng Chunhua was prepared to act like a rogue.

If she and Chu Zhi refused to admit it, it would be difficult to settle the case if Chu Xuan couldn't produce evidence or witnesses.

After all, no one had passed by Chu Xuan's house when the incident occurred.

However, Chu Xuan was well-prepared. "I have evidence to prove which items belong to my house! I can describe all the characteristics of the fabric, the mats, and the new shoes. Can you, Feng Chunhua? Furthermore, I have receipts from the department store, and the sales clerk there can testify that I indeed purchased these items! Oh, and I also made a mark inside the lid of the malted milk tin."

Hearing this, Feng Chunhua's heart began to race. She hadn't expected there to be receipts; she thought taking just the rice and flour would be enough.

The lead security officer looked at Chu Xuan. "Write down the characteristics of the fabric, the mats, and the new shoes on paper. Do it at the stone table in the courtyard."

He handed her paper and a pen.

Chu Xuan took them and immediately complied.

Feng Chunhua and Chu Zhi were taken into the main hall by another officer to give their statements.

The remaining officer and Wang Depin searched for all the items Chu Xuan mentioned and temporarily piled them in the courtyard.

Chu Dashan was out at sea and was not home.

Auntie Hua from next door heard the commotion and soon gathered half the village to come and watch the spectacle.

Chu Xuan saw her younger brother in the crowd.

He had a psychological trauma regarding the Chu family, so his courage to come here was a sign of progress.

Chu Xuan lowered her head and continued writing.

Chu Feng stepped out from the crowd and said to the lead officer, "Uncle, I am the victim! I want to report Chu Zhi and Feng Chunhua. They climbed over my wall, tied me up, and robbed my house!"

As he spoke, he held out his arm to show the officer the bruises and handed over the crime tools: the coarse hemp rope and the torn rag.

Chu Xuan intentionally raised her voice. "It doesn't matter if Chu Zhi won't admit it. Fingerprints can be extracted from this hemp rope and the rag, which will only add to his crimes!"

In the main hall, Chu Zhi struggled to keep from trembling as he gave his statement, stubbornly refusing to admit anything.

Half an hour later, the lead officer held the statements from Feng Chunhua and Chu Zhi alongside the descriptions of the mats, shoes, and fabric. Aside from the colors, nothing matched.

In contrast, the characteristics Chu Xuan had written down matched perfectly—down to which color of fabric had how many feet, where the white chalk marks were, which part of the mat had a slight flaw, the specific sizes for the different colored shoes, and even a scratch inside the malted milk lid...

Most importantly, Chu Xuan could provide purchase receipts and had witnesses.

Feng Chunhua screamed, "I've been wronged! I didn't rob anything! Those receipts were stolen from my house by Chu Xuan! You are biased toward her! I will sue you!"

Faced with the evidence, the security officers ignored Feng Chunhua's wailing.

Both Feng Chunhua and Chu Zhi were handcuffed.

The pile of items in the courtyard belonged to the Chu Xuan siblings.

It was only when Feng Chunhua's gaze fell upon her own flour and rice jars that she realized Chu Xuan had played her.

No longer shouting about being wronged, she proactively admitted to the crime. "It is true that I robbed Chu Xuan's house, but I didn't steal that much rice and flour. Those are my family's flour and rice jars!"

Chu Xuan picked up her own empty rice and flour bags from the ground and said with a smile, "You're right, those jars belong to your family! But the flour and rice inside were poured from my bags. Everyone can see that my bags are fifty-catty capacity bags. Don't worry! I only poured forty catties into each; I certainly didn't take even half a tael more from your house."

It was true that forty catties was a slight exaggeration by Chu Xuan, but she would never admit it.

To use Feng Chunhua's own logic, there were no names written on the rice and flour.

At this point, if Feng Chunhua denied taking that much, no one would believe her.

Besides, this grain was originally the rations she and Xiao Feng were entitled to, which Feng Chunhua had withheld during the family separation.

Furthermore, she had long since prepared evidence; she had indeed bought forty catties each of rice and flour in the county town, so she wasn't afraid of an investigation. The reason there wasn't that much at home was because she and Xiao Feng had left more than half at Brother Long's house.

Feng Chunhua calmed down and looked at the lead officer. "I beg you, go to the county town and check exactly how much rice and flour Chu Xuan bought. It definitely wasn't forty catties!"

Chu Xuan remained calm. "I am not afraid of an investigation. I bought them at the county grain and oil station. I believe the staff there will certainly remember how much grain I purchased."

Chu Zhi was trembling with fear. "My mother forced me to do this with a knife! I am a victim too!"

Hearing this, Feng Chunhua fainted from rage...