So Mrs. Fu put on a stern face and coldly said to those who wanted to follow her into the room to check the situation.
"I’m going to see if the place where I hide money has been stolen. Why are you all following me?"
"If you all know the place where I keep my savings at home, that wouldn’t be very secure."
"You people really have no sense of boundaries. Wait here; I’ll go into the room to check first." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
Jiang Xin quietly watched Mrs. Fu act.
She thought to herself, she really wants to see how long Mrs. Fu can keep up the act.
It’s really tough on her, putting on an act for the villagers and the police.
Little did they know that she’s so guilty now; didn’t they see her walking with shaking steps? She’s probably terrified inside, yet she has to pretend to be calm on the outside.
If you didn’t know, you’d think the clothes in her wardrobe weren’t really stolen by her.
After Mrs. Fu entered the room of her and Mr. Fu, Jiang Xin turned back and continued talking to the police officer:
"Officer, I think the thief must have come in through the window."
"This morning when I left home, I purposely locked my room with a padlock. When I returned, I found the lock was not broken, so it’s very likely the thief came in through the window."
"Of course, this is just my guess. Let’s wait for my mother-in-law to see if any money is missing. If not, then perhaps it’s just my items that are stolen."
After hearing Jiang Xin’s words, the police officer immediately went to check the window area.
Sure enough, they found several shoe prints with mud on the windowsill.
The shoe prints were clearly visible.
Especially since it had rained a bit last night.
So it would be hard for the shoe soles not to pick up mud.
Therefore, it was quickly confirmed that the thief entered through the window.
Now, everyone inside the house was waiting for Mrs. Fu to come out.
To see how much property they had lost altogether, so they could make a collective summary.
Inside the room, Mrs. Fu pretended to search around, when in reality, only she knew there hadn’t been a thief in their home at all.
The thief was herself.
Her check for financial loss was just a facade.
After pretending to search inside the room for a while.
Mrs. Fu came out of the room with a confident look and spoke to the police officer handling the case:
"Officer, I’ve searched thoroughly; nothing in my room has been stolen."
"Who would have thought, that in these times, you could still have a thief come into your home!"
"Luckily, the spot where I hide things is quite hidden, and the thief couldn’t find it at all."
Upon hearing Mrs. Fu’s words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as the person who really managed the money in the house seemed to be Mrs. Fu.
And surely, all the money in the house must be placed together in one place. If the thief had found it, it would have been disastrous.
At that point, the loss would have been significant. Fortunately, her hiding spot was quite secluded.
Everyone unconsciously felt relieved on behalf of Mrs. Fu.
After all, although her son earns money, the household wealth was accumulated over many years.
If the money were lost, it wouldn’t be easy to save up so much again quickly.
Moreover, their house was still a mud-brick house from years ago, almost falling apart.
If this money were lost, Mrs. Fu’s wish to build a big tile house would have fallen through.
As soon as everyone thought about this, they immediately felt the poverty gap had widened, and naturally felt a bit jealous.
After all, they all knew the Fu Family was genuinely wealthy.
For a moment, feelings were mixed.
People always have a bit of jealousy; when they see others living better lives, they naturally feel uncomfortable.
Upon hearing Mrs. Fu say that the money wasn’t stolen from the house, they felt relieved, yet some wished for a loss so they could see the excitement unfold.
Otherwise, how can you say, that you can never truly know someone’s heart?
These villagers seemed to show an expression of happiness for Mrs. Fu, on the surface.
But internally, who knows what they were thinking?
There were some regrets for sure, but it couldn’t be openly expressed.
Jiang Xin observed all the strange looks on these people’s faces.
After hearing Mrs. Fu say that nothing was stolen from her room.
Jiang Xin showed an expression of understanding.
But she still spoke, feigning innocence and puzzlement, saying to Mrs. Fu:
"This thief is really odd."
"Why did they only steal things from my room, even when I had it locked?"
"Mom, weren’t you home all afternoon? You usually don’t go out much, so why weren’t you home today?"
"Logically, the eastern room should be the elders’ room."
"Usually in our village, isn’t it the elders who manage the money at home?"
"This thief is really puzzling; leaving the elders’ room untouched and only stealing from me, the young pauper."
"It really is quite strange."
After Jiang Xin finished speaking, everyone looked puzzled while staring at Mrs. Fu.
Because they all felt Jiang Xin’s words made some sense.
After all, Mrs. Fu was really the one who managed the money in their house, and even if a thief wanted to steal, there’s no way they would steal from Jiang Xin’s room.
Furthermore, Jiang Xin implied that she locked her room when she was home, which wasn’t normal — who locks their door when they’re home?
Clearly, she didn’t want anyone to enter her room without permission when she wasn’t home, and it was obvious who that "anyone" might be.
Mrs. Fu was already feeling guilty, and after hearing Jiang Xin’s words.
She stammered directly, her tone faltering.
"What... what are you saying?"
"I can’t understand you, don’t bully an old lady like me. Who knows what’s going on with that thief, just stealing your things."
"Or maybe I’ve hidden my stuff so securely that the thief couldn’t find it and chose to steal your clothes instead."
Mrs. Fu, even though feeling guilty, continued to argue stubbornly.