Lu Haibo did not waste words with them anymore: "Three days ago, Director He asked me to deliver twenty pounds of fine flour, twenty pounds of cornmeal, some eggs, and a small piece of meat to the house. Sister Qiao, I just want to know, how did you manage to consume so much food in only three days?"
Moreover, when I delivered them, there was already some cornmeal at home. Director He said that he could indeed eat one egg each morning, but the two children might not necessarily be able to, Sister Qiao. I’m just here to ask, where did all that food go?"
Qiao Shuanzhu initially thought it was embarrassing enough for his wife to be dismissed, but now he really wanted to find a hole to hide in. No need to ask; he knew his wife must have taken the flour back to her own family.
When asked how he knew, it was naturally because he entered and saw the mother and son eating pure flour noodles. He glared fiercely at his wife: "Bai Cuilin."
Yet, even so, Bai Cuilin insisted: "Don’t wrong people, okay? They, the father and sons, haven’t been eating or drinking these days? Besides, the new one who just arrived has been cooking all day today, so who knows if she took it away?"
Xinyan, who had followed the commotion to watch the drama, was not willing to let this pass upon hearing Bai Cuilin’s words: "Sister-in-law, I am right here. If you say so, why not report it to the police?"
Upon hearing the mention of involving the police, Bai Cuilin reacted: "What nonsense are you spouting?"
But hearing about the police, Niqiu was frightened and ran out: "Don’t report to the police."
His shout caught everyone’s attention, and from next door, Sister Cheng saw the clothes he was wearing: "Niqiu, aren’t those Sili’s clothes? Why are they on you?"
These clothes were ones she helped make, so she recognized them at a glance.
Upon hearing this, Yu Xinyan chimed in: "Sili cried for half a day today, saying his newly made clothes were missing."
Niqiu was terrified because he was afraid everyone would call him a thief, so he hurriedly explained: "I didn’t steal them. My mom said to wear them for a while and then return them."
Qiao Shuanzhu, who felt humiliated enough to want to die, found himself even more disgraced. He roared at Bai Cuilin: "What the hell else are you hiding from me?"
Standing in a spot where he could see further into the room, Lu Haibo noticed the kettle on the table behind Niqiu was indeed just like the one from the He family: "Your family’s kettle is nice, like a twin to the He family’s; even the dents from falling are identical."
The onlookers laughed: "I remember the Qiao Family only had a bamboo kettle, which Bai Cuilin’s mother took away. So where did this metal kettle come from?"
Qiao Shuanzhu really felt like slapping this shameless woman dead, having gone back to his hometown for a few days on leave only to come back to such a mess, he ordered with clenched teeth: "Hurry and return those things."
With so many people watching, Bai Cuilin couldn’t deny it anymore, but still muttered quietly: "It’s not like I said I wouldn’t return them; I was just borrowing them for a bit."
Lu Haibo came from a well-off family, with his father being a cadre, and he was somewhat of a neat freak himself. He directly intercepted her: "Besides the kettle, the others should be converted into money. Your son has already worn the clothes, and there’s oil all over the sleeves; returning them like this is not appropriate, right?"
Upon hearing they needed to convert into money, Bai Cuilin refused: "If it’s dirty, just wash it; it’s not a big deal. Why insist on such trivial matters?"
This infuriated Lu Haibo: "Fine, then don’t bother returning them. It’s too disgusting. Better report it to the Public Security Bureau, because this isn’t a trivial matter after all."