Ma Qian slumped to the ground in defeat. He wanted to argue, but the discovery of the stolen chocolate had already eroded any trust the crowd had in him.
Villagers pointed at him, whispering among themselves:
“So he’s the thief?”
“Aren’t educated youths supposed to be from the city? I didn’t know city folks could have such sticky fingers.”
“That chocolate is from abroad, right? I’ve never even seen foreign goods before. Aren’t his parents afraid of getting arrested for associating with foreigners?”
“They said his father’s a diplomat. What even is a diplomat?”
“I don’t know, but it sounds important.”
Despite his resistance, the police searched Ma Qian and found a key and some leftover biscuits.
“That biscuit is mine!” Zhao Su exclaimed. He hadn’t noticed the theft because he hadn’t counted the biscuits in his box.
The discovery solidified Ma Qian’s guilt.
When they found the key, Ma Qian stopped resisting. Instead, he looked at Bai Yunjiao with a sinister smile.
“Heh… Go ahead, search. You’d better check thoroughly.”
Bai Yunjiao’s face faltered for a moment. She glanced at Song Wei, who gave her a reassuring nod, easing her tension.
The police soon uncovered Song Wei’s marked money and Zhao Su’s stolen sausage.
“As Song Zhiqing said, this bill indeed has an inconspicuous ‘Song’ character in the lower-right corner,” one officer confirmed.
“Ma Zhiqing, you’ll need to come with us now,” the officer said firmly.
Ma Qian, cornered and unable to deny his guilt, turned malicious. “That’s not all! I took other things, too. Check the bedside cabinet—I bet you missed it!”
Even now, Ma Qian couldn’t resist dragging others down with him.
He glared hatefully at Song Wei and spat, “You scheming witch! You set me up!”
Song Wei crossed her arms and sneered. “Don’t flatter yourself. You think you’re worth my time? You’re ugly, and your imagination is too grand. Do you think I told you to steal from me? I’m cautious by nature. Deal with it.”
The police exchanged glances. Despite her demure appearance, this girl had quite the sharp tongue.
Realizing he couldn’t escape, Ma Qian decided to make things as unpleasant as possible.
“You missed it, didn’t you? There’s more in my cabinet—like Bai Zhiqing’s undergarments! That tramp’s things were…”
Before he could finish, Song Wei took two swift steps and slapped him hard across the face.
“Disgusting!” she snapped. “Caught red-handed, and now you’re trying to ruin a girl’s reputation? You’re the lowest of the low.”
Ma Qian’s face swelled from the blow, blood trickling from his mouth. One of his teeth was knocked loose.
Bai Yunjiao, leaning on Li Juan for support, started sobbing weakly. “Ma Zhiqing, even if I exposed you, you shouldn’t tarnish my name like this. I only told the truth; I didn’t cover for you. Why do you hate me so much?”
The crowd erupted in anger.
“What a vile person. He should be sent to labor reform immediately!”
“Even after being caught, he shows no remorse. Get him out of our village before he causes more trouble!”
“Bai Zhiqing did the right thing. Why should she be slandered for it? She’s a good girl!”
Ma Qian, still struggling, shouted, “Search my room! You’ll see I’m telling the truth!”
A police officer replied coldly, “We’ve already searched your room thoroughly. There’s no such evidence. Stop making baseless accusations.”
“No! That’s impossible! It must be there!” Ma Qian shouted, his eyes wild with desperation.
“Did one of you steal it to cover for her?!”
Liu Linlin, another educated youth, spat on the ground. “Disgusting. Even now, he’s trying to drag others down. Officers, just take him away already. The thought of sharing space with someone like him makes me sick.”
Eventually, the police escorted Ma Qian away. As soon as they left, the villagers swarmed to gossip.
Bai Yunjiao seized the moment, putting on her trademark pitiful act. Her tearful demeanor earned her the sympathy of many onlookers.
Song Wei couldn’t help but smirk. She really knows how to work an audience.
As long as Bai Yunjiao’s dramatics didn’t target her or cause harm, Song Wei could respect her ability to play the game and gain advantages.
Meanwhile, the village’s older women, already familiar with Song Wei through past gossip sessions, surrounded her for details.
“Song Zhiqing, you’re so clever! I wouldn’t have thought of all this.”
“Marking money like that is such a smart idea! I’m going to try it, too. If anyone steals my money, I’ll know.”
Song Wei chuckled. “No need to go that far. Money is meant to be spent. If it circulates and ends up in the hands of another villager, it could cause misunderstandings.”
Realizing her point, the women nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Never mind, then.”
At that moment, Lin Zhen approached, carrying two small wolf pups. He placed them in Song Wei’s arms.
“These two are hungry.”
Song Wei excused herself with a laugh. “I need to feed them. You ladies carry on chatting!”
“What do you mean, ‘feed them’? Can’t you just give them some rice porridge?” one woman asked.
Another quickly chimed in, “Oh, they don’t know. Lin Zhen keeps sika deer at his place. Beautiful creatures! One of them is a doe nursing her fawn.”
“Deer? I’ve never seen a live deer before! Can we go see them?”
Lin Zhen, ever generous, replied, “Of course, you can. Just don’t come every day, or you might scare the doe into stopping her milk production. The fawn needs it.”
The group burst into laughter. “We’ll behave ourselves!”
And so, a lively crowd followed Lin Zhen back to his home, chatting excitedly along the way. Children bombarded Heidan, Lin Zhen’s younger brother, with questions about the deer.
“I wish my family could raise sika deer too!” one child exclaimed.
Heidan, puffing up with pride, strutted confidently. “Not only do we have deer, but I’ve even drunk their milk. Sister Song cooks it, and it’s delicious!”
The children looked at him with envy.
An adult teased, “Well, no wonder little Heidan’s cheeks are so chubby—you’ve been drinking deer milk!”
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