The conspiracy of the courtyard

Chapter 199: Lost Chicken Incident

After the matter was settled and a full month had passed, Lu Zixuan reviewed the matter of combining reality and fiction, but still had many doubts, and then asked a soul-searching question:

"What is the truth?"

Old Chen, who had just entered the room, laughed:

“Things in the world are originally formless. What is reasonable is the truth. What you are willing to believe is the truth. What you can accept is the truth. Isn’t that Zen enough?

The truth is that Fan Rong was willing to take the blame, but also that he had no choice but to flee; the truth is that the county magistrate sincerely serves the people, but also that he ruthlessly passes the blame on. "

Lu Zixuan carefully considered Lao Chen's words and smiled silently...

At the same time, thousands of miles away in Sijiu City, a good show was also staged in a courtyard.

"Sister Chen, the two dried chickens I brought from home yesterday are lost. What should I do? I have already told Xiaoman to let Zhuzi come home early to stew the chicken."

Lou Xiao'e rushed into Chen Ping's house and said in annoyance.

Chen Ping was counting the days since Lu Zixuan left, and when she heard about this, she felt very surprised. She had been in the Siheyuan for more than ten years, and except for the one time when the Yan family took something without permission when she first came, she had never heard of anything being lost in the Siheyuan. She asked Lou Xiao'e to tell her the details.

Xu Damao had been showing movies in the countryside for more than half a month, so he had no time to go home and cook. Lou Xiao'e could only eat in the canteen every day. Although Wu Guihua had tried her best to cook in different ways, coarse grains were coarse grains, and no matter how finely they were ground, they were still cornmeal.

The problem of hoarseness was solved, but the food was not very oily, and how could Lou Xiao'e, a rich lady, bear it? So she begged Cheng Xiaoman to discuss with He Yuzhu, she would provide the ingredients and He Yuzhu would cook, and the two families would have a good meal.

I went back to my mother's house yesterday and brought back two dried chickens. I thought I could use them today, so I casually hung them on a rope hanging in the middle of the kitchen. But when I went to get them just now, they were gone.

"Don't worry. I haven't heard of anything being lost in the yard. Let's go to Sister Guihua's house and ask."

After Chen Ping finished speaking, she took Lou Xiao'e to Wu Guihua's house, explained the reason, and asked her to recall whether she had seen any strangers today.

Wu Guihua thought about it for a while and shook his head:

"No, I didn't see any strangers entering the yard today, let alone the backyard. Only Xiaohua came to the backyard to ask me for pickles, but she went straight home and didn't pass by the Xu family's door."

Several people went to the front yard to find Xiaohua again, and the result was the same. The matter of losing things could be big or small, and could not be left unchecked. Wu Guihua and Xiaohua suggested that a meeting of the entire courtyard be held.

After obtaining the consent of the entire institute, Chen Ping organized the first institute-wide meeting of the year.

"Today is an impromptu meeting. There is no notice on the blackboard in advance. Let me first talk about the theme of today's meeting. Xu Damao's wife in the backyard asked someone to send two dried chickens from another place. They disappeared in the kitchen yesterday. We just confirmed with each family that no strangers entered the yard all day.

If someone's child secretly took it because he was greedy, just tell them, and we won't have to trouble the police station to look for it. If it's reported to the police, it will have a huge impact on the family."

Chen Ping looked around and waited for a few minutes until no one acknowledged her. She continued:

"Okay, since you are unwilling to admit it, then I will not show you mercy. Now you can report it. All valuable clues will be rewarded after verification. The minimum reward is 50 cents, and there is no upper limit."

Everyone started talking at once.

"Will you really give me money?"

"Of course, Chen Ping has never lied to us before."

"I saw Xiaohua go to the backyard. Is that a clue?"

"You're talking nonsense. Her family doesn't lack food. Haven't you seen her second son eating biscuits and drinking foreign milk powder every day?"

……

Ten minutes later, Jia Zhang stood up and said:

"I don't know if it counts as a clue, but I saw Xiaohua go to Xu's house in the backyard."

When Xiaohua heard this, she immediately cursed:

"You're talking nonsense. When did I ever go to Xu's house? I went to Sister Guihua's house to get some pickles, so I went to the backyard. Sister Guihua can testify to that."

Before she finished speaking, Aunt Huang directly said:

"Yes, old Jia, please don't talk nonsense. I just said that I saw Xiaohua come to the backyard, but I didn't say that she went to Xu's house. Don't be like a money-grubber and want to take any money."

Jia Zhang immediately put on a confident attitude and said:

"I saw it, and I have evidence. The Xu family's kitchen floor was plastered with cement yesterday, and today I saw cement on the soles of Xiaohua's shoes drying on the windowsill. Who else could it be but her?"

After saying this, everyone looked at Xiaohua. In order to prove her innocence, she asked someone to go to the windowsill and get her shoes. But when they looked at the soles of the shoes, they were shocked to see that there really were solidified cement marks on them.

Xiaohua burst into tears instantly.

"It's really not me. I didn't even know when this thing appeared on the soles of shoes. Sister Chen, believe me..."

Chen Ping made a calming gesture to her, then turned around and asked Lou Xiao'e:

"Then why are there no marks on the soles of your feet?"

Lou Xiao'e also explained for Xiaohua:

"I only applied half of it, and waited until this side was dry before applying the other half. I also don't think it was Xiaohua. If her family was greedy, they would definitely tell me directly. She would ask me to buy such expensive milk powder. Why would she care about this?"

To be on the safe side, Chen Ping asked He Yuzhu to take the shoes to Xu's kitchen to compare the footprints. When she saw He Yuzhu come back and nod slightly, she understood that since it was an intentional frame-up, it would definitely be foolproof. She then decided to let the matter go for the time being and investigate secretly.

While she was thinking, Jia Zhang raised her head proudly and reached out to Chen Ping.

"The evidence is all here, and you still want to deny it? It's up to you to decide how to deal with it. You have to give me the money first, and don't set a limit. One dollar is fine. Take it. You're not going to default on the debt just because you have a good relationship with her, are you?"

Chen Ping looked at Jia Zhang and asked:

"Have you seen the soles of Xiaohua's shoes? Otherwise, how would you know there was cement on the soles of her shoes? When did you see her go to Xu's house?"

Jia Zhang spoke very quickly:

"Yes, I have. I saw her there last night and saw the soles of her shoes this morning. Do you really want to deny it?"

Xiaohua couldn't bear it any longer, so she wiped her tears and reached out to grab Jia Zhang's face.

"You're full of shit. I was at home taking care of the kids last night and didn't go anywhere."

Seeing this, Chen Ping hurriedly stopped him, and after calming down, she took out the money and said:

"Ms. Jia Zhang, I will temporarily pay this one dollar. Once the truth is revealed, if it is not Xiaohua's fault, you must not only return the money, but also apologize to her."

Then he looked at Lou Xiao'e and asked:

"Xiao'e, what are you going to do?"

Lou Xiao'e knew that Chen Ping didn't believe Jia Zhang's nonsense either, so she wanted to calm things down for the time being and said she would not pursue Xiaohua's matter any further.

Chen Ping stared at Jia Zhang and warned loudly:

“Although Lou Xiao’e will no longer pursue the matter, I still want to give you a word of advice and ask you to bear witness.

The reason why we are holding a meeting today to discuss this matter in such a solemn manner is that the chicken mailed to her is not an ordinary chicken. It is sealed with a layer of wax on the outside. Don't be stupid and eat it directly. It must be handled properly, otherwise it may cost someone's life.

If it was an ordinary chicken, why didn't you eat it yesterday and wait until today for Zhuzi to deal with it? The harm has been mentioned, and if anything happens later, don't hold me accountable."

Just as he was about to adjourn the meeting, Jia Zhang stopped him with a "wait a minute".