dmims Chapter 393 - 391: Caught Red-Handed (2)
Chapter 393 - 391: Caught Red-Handed (2)
After Li Xiangyang and Zhou Xiaohong gave their statements at the police station, they were told to go home and wait for the results.
The police then questioned Zhang Yazhen and the others. Zhang Yazhen and Huihui confessed everything in a rush, recounting the entire sequence of events.
In just a few days, they had hit almost every slightly larger clothing store in the East Market. They took as few as two or three items from some, and as many as six or seven from others. Some of the more absent-minded shop owners might not have even noticed the thefts yet.
The police officer told the two of them they could receive a more lenient punishment if they returned the stolen goods and compensated the shop owners for their losses.
The two told the officer that the stolen clothes had already been given to a buyer by Liu Jinbao. They didn’t know who the buyer was.
Zhang Yazhen looked at the officer. "Officer, I’ve explained everything clearly. Can I go home now? They’re waiting for me at home to pull the rapeseed stalks."
The officer glanced at her and said, "This was organized theft. You caused immense losses for the merchants, and the total value is substantial."
"The law stipulates that anyone who steals public or private property of a large value, or commits multiple thefts, burglaries, armed thefts, or pickpocketing, shall be sentenced to up to three years in prison, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and may also be fined."
Zhang Yazhen never dreamed she could be sentenced for stealing a few pieces of clothing. She burst into tears with a wail. "WAH... WAH... I only took a few of her clothes! I have all the money from the sale right here, I haven’t spent a single cent."
As she spoke, she took out the twenty-some yuan she’d received over the past few days from a small pocket in her waistband and handed it to the officer. Pitifully, she said, "Officer, the money’s all here. I haven’t spent any of it. I’ll give it back to them, I’ll apologize! I don’t want to go to jail... WAH... WAH... WAH..."
The officer taking the report took the money, placed it on the table, and watched her as tears and snot streamed down her face. He found her both pitiful and contemptible.
’How could a grown woman not know that stealing is a crime?’
Meanwhile, Zhang Hua and Jiang Xiu gave their accounts, which largely matched what Zhang Yazhen and Huihui had said.
Liu Jinbao and Little Song finally told the police they had sold the stolen clothes to Huanhuan Clothing at the end of Limin Road. They also revealed that the owner of Huanhuan Clothing had been the one to ask them to steal, promising to buy whatever they could get, no matter the quantity.
The police asked them how they had come up with this method for stealing from clothing stores.
Little Song told the police that Liu Jinbao had taken her to Huanhuan Clothing to buy clothes. She accidentally walked out with an extra item, and the owner chased after her and found it. Through this encounter, they got to know each other.
Inspired by this incident, Liu Jinbao and the owner of Huanhuan Clothing decided to take action...
The police brought the owner of Huanhuan Clothing to the station on charges of receiving stolen goods. The owner of Huanhuan Clothing was none other than Xu Huan.
During the interrogation, Xu Huan admitted to receiving the stolen goods. She looked at the interrogating officer and asked, "I’m willing to compensate the shop owners for their losses. If I do that, can I avoid criminal charges?"
The police officer told her that compensating the merchants who had suffered losses would only reduce her criminal punishment, not get her exempted from it.
Xu Huan was stunned. She slumped into her chair, head bowed, and mumbled to herself, "Shen Hao clearly told me this... He said as long as I paid the money, I wouldn’t be detained or go to jail. Why did he lie to me..."
When the Xiong and Zhang families learned their wives had been arrested for stealing clothes and were being held in a detention center, they couldn’t believe their ears. Sun Xiuhua was so angry she fainted on the spot, while Liu Guozhi was so enraged he collapsed to the ground.
Xu Chunyan clapped her hands and cheered, pointing at Liu Guozhi. She said it was a good thing she never had a son, and that he never paid much attention to his daughters, otherwise they would have ended up just like Liu Jinbao.
A few days later, a police officer went to Lanyang Clothing to inform Li Xiangyang that the person fencing the stolen goods was Xu Huan. The officer remarked that she was like a mad dog...
The officer also told him that because the total value of the goods Liu Jinbao, Xu Huan, and the others had stolen and sold was so high, it constituted a criminal offense. They would likely be sentenced, and Li Xiangyang should wait for the official outcome.
The few pieces of clothing were evidence and would only be returned to them after the case was concluded.
Li Xiangyang nodded. "That’s fine. Thank you for all your hard work."
"It’s our duty," the officer said with a smile before leaving.
During dinner, Li Xiangyang told Lin Lan what had happened. When everyone heard that the thieves had hit nearly every clothing store in the East Market and would be sentenced because the cumulative value was so high, they were first surprised, then they all clapped and cheered.
Lin Lan remembered how the original owner of her body had been so terrified by Liu Jinbao that she had resorted to framing Yang Dingbang. "Serves him right," she said. "That bastard Liu Jinbao finally got himself thrown in prison."
Li Xiangyang nodded. "And those two crazy women, Zhang Yazhen and Xu Huan. I really don’t get how people like that think."
Little Douzi looked at him. "Uncle Xiangyang, their brains are sick!"
Lin Lan laughed. "That’s right. Little Douzi’s right. They’re just sick."
Everyone laughed.
Little Douzi nodded and looked at Lin Lan. "Mama, Cousin Jun said they’re coming back after school to help our family pull up the rice seedlings. Are we going back?"
Lin Lan smiled. "We are. After we eat, you and Grandpa go to Limin Road to help watch the shop. The rest of us will go back and plant the seedlings."
The paddy fields had already been prepared. During the busy farming season, every household was busy planting rice seedlings.
Lin Lan had tried to hire some help but couldn’t find anyone. After discussing it with Lin Changyou, they decided to close the shop in the afternoon and go back to plant the seedlings themselves.
Little Douzi hesitated for a moment and said, "I don’t want to watch the shop. I want to help plant the seedlings."
Old Li ruffled his hair and said to Lin Lan, "Let him go. Otherwise, he’ll grow up not even being able to tell the difference between weeds and rice seedlings."
Little Douzi looked up at him. "Grandpa, I can recognize barnyard grass. Great-grandma taught me before."
Old Li chuckled, amused. "Alright! Later, you can go teach your Uncle Xiangyang how to spot them."
After the meal, Lin Lan closed the pastry shop and headed back to Lexing with Little Douzi, Li Xiangyang, Tong Xinglan, and Qiaohui.
In the large field behind the old matriarch’s house, Lin Changyou, Lin Guoliang and his two brothers, and the couple Zhou Shitou and his wife were already busy in the fields.
Lin Lan and the others went back to change their clothes, while Little Douzi ran to the edge of the field. "Uncles! Grandpa! We’re here to plant the seedlings!"
Lin Guozhu looked at him with a grin. "Douzi, you’re not even as tall as a rice seedling!"
Little Douzi glanced at the seedlings in a bamboo basket on the ridge. "Third Uncle, you’re talking nonsense! The seedlings only come up to my shin."
Lin Changyou and Lin Guoliang walked out of the paddy field. "Come on, Grandpa will take you to Niu Bei Mountain to find your Brother Jun and the others."
Little Douzi nodded. "Okay, I’ll go!"
Lin Guoliang and his father tossed the tied bundles of seedlings from their baskets into the paddy field like they were tossing embroidered balls, then hoisted their carrying poles and headed for Niu Bei Mountain.
Just as the three of them left, Lin Lan’s group of four arrived at the edge of the paddy field. "Cousin Shisong, sister-in-law, Second Brother, Third Brother, thank you for your hard work."
Zhou Shisong and his wife smiled. "Don’t be so polite, cousin."
Lin Guodong straightened up. "Little Lan, go to the seedling patch and help pull seedlings." ’With their group of four plus our group of four, and with Dad and Big Brother coming back later, it’s going to be too crowded in this paddy.’
Lin Lan nodded. "Okay, I’ll head over now."