Chapter 423: Chapter 423 Theft Chapter 423: Chapter 423 Theft Luo Qiao said, “Forgot to bring back the puppy you were supposed to get? You must have been so busy you completely forgot.”
Lu Yichen said, “It’s alright, I’m going back to Capital City in a few days, I’ll bring it for you then.”
After getting to school, Xiao Ya hurried over from a distance, “Qiaoqiao, have you grown taller over the New Year? Your skin is getting better and better.”
Luo Qiao laughed, “You’re so enthusiastic, you must want something, right?”
Xiao Ya said sheepishly, “You caught me, good Qiaoqiao, I really need to ask you for a favor.”
Luo Qiao didn’t stop, just walking forward, but heard Xiao Ya say, “Qiaoqiao, before the New Year you gave me a jar of skincare cream, my mom also used it a few times and found that her skin has become much better than before, and then she requisitioned it.
I just wanted to ask if there’s any more of that skincare cream, don’t worry, I’ll buy it this time, I know that it definitely took a lot of time and ingredients, but the effect is really amazing, my mom said she’s willing to spend any amount of money on it.”
Luo Qiao said, “You’re not wrong, I put a lot of good stuff in there, for that small jar you want, it’s no less than thirty.”
Although she was mentally prepared, hearing that number still made Xiao Ya gasp, but after a moment she firmly said, “I’ll buy it for thirty.”
Luo Qiao said, “You’ll have to wait a few days, until I gather all the herbal ingredients and make some more.”
Xiao Ya said, “Thank you so much.”
The two entered the classroom together, where the classmates all greeted Luo Qiao warmly. Today they came to clean, collect homework, and hand out new books.
Luo Qiao did do some of her homework, after all, it’s a sign of respect to the teacher, and she also didn’t want to be too special.
Originally, Luo Tianming and his spouse planned to come to the school gate early in the morning to wait for someone, but it was unfortunate that they had another argument with the eldest house before leaving. By the time they got to the school, the gate had already closed, so they had to wait outside for Luo Qiao to finish school.
Feng Hui might have been waiting for too long and started to feel unsure, “Tianming, do you think that girl will help us?”
Luo Tianming looked at the gate of the school, “Do we have any other choice? Who knows if we don’t try?”
It turned out that their beloved son had caused trouble again a few days ago, following a gang of ruffians who sold the newly purchased machinery of a village mill in the suburbs as scrap metal. The gang knew that the mill had replaced several old machines and piled them up in a room next to it.
Their information was indeed correct, but unfortunately, the roof of the rooms where the machinery was usually placed had started to leak, and the village officials took advantage of the decrease in people milling flour during the New Year to arrange for the new machines to be moved next to the old ones.
As a result, the ruffians sneaked in at night and discreetly transported the machines out. It wasn’t until they reached the place to make the transaction that they realized something was wrong, but by then it was too late to return them.
On the following day, there was a wedding in the village, and the workers went to help, so the theft wasn’t discovered in time.
When the workers returned the day after and found the unlocked door of the next room, they realized that the machines inside were gone.
The mill was communal property of the village, and when the party secretary came to inspect the scene, he suspected it had to do with several local troublemakers. But since most villagers were related in some way, he first sent people to investigate.
As expected, three from the village and two from outside were all in debt; the five of them had stolen and sold the items.
Following the provided clues, they found the buyer, and the few new machines still hadn’t been resold, but the old machines had already been shipped off as scrap metal.
This alarmed the village officials because the old machines could have been fixed and re-used. The village had already collected the money for them, as people were supposed to come to take the machinery after the New Year.
Now that the machinery was gone, they couldn’t just let it slide. Though they should have taken legal action, the troublemakers from the village included two households that were particularly problematic and their uproar could disturb the entire village.
The third household had some prestige in the village, and the culprit was an afterborn child, the sole successor of that branch of the family. If he were sent to jail, it would likely cause a commotion.