"A hundred yuan?" The short - haired woman was stunned for a moment and quickly retorted. "Is this thing made of gold? You're asking for an exorbitant price! What evidence do you have that it was my Dongdong who ate it?"
Hua Qingqing ignored her sophistry and spoke at a rapid pace. "Evidence one, your son is holding the Ferrero chocolate wrapper in his hand. Evidence two, there's still some uneaten chocolate in your son's mouth. Evidence three, there are no other outsiders here except you guys. Everything was fine before, but as soon as you came to my house, my things were stolen. I reasonably suspect that your family has been stealing on purpose! I'm going to report this to the police!"
What did she mean by "stealing on purpose"? Wasn't it just that her son took two chocolates? Was it really necessary to report it to the police for such a trivial matter? Sure enough, someone who grew up in the countryside just lacked sophistication.
The short - haired woman sneered disdainfully in her heart. "It's just a chocolate. It's not something valuable. I'll go to the mall and buy some for you later and return them to you."
Hua Qingqing gave a cold laugh. "Since you're willing to return them, that's good. There were fifteen Ferrero chocolates in my schoolbag. They were sent to me by my mother from Hong Kong. Since you're not willing to compensate me with money, then return the exact same ones to me. Otherwise, I'll report your son for breaking into my house and stealing!"
What Ferrero? And it had to be sent from Hong Kong? It wasn't some rare delicacy.
"Who knows if what you're saying is true..." The woman curled her lips and tried to pull her son over.
Hua Qingqing didn't give her the chance and kicked directly.
The woman rolled up her sleeves and was about to strike when someone grabbed her from behind.
"Sister - in - law! Qingqing is telling the truth. If you can't buy the chocolates, just pay her the money!"
Wu Yunhua looked at Hua Qingqing with guilt and embarrassment, then quickly averted her gaze.
Today, her mother and sister - in - law had come unannounced with her nephew. Before she knew it, her nephew had run into Qingqing and Miaomiao's room.
She had even thought at that time that the boy had become well - behaved, quiet, and stopped shouting. After all, her nephew used to be like someone with ADHD and liked to bully Miaomiao.
She never expected that he would do such a thing secretly! It was all her fault. If only she had noticed earlier.
Thinking of this, Wu Yunhua asked anxiously, "Qingqing, check and see if you're missing anything else. I'll ask my sister - in - law to compensate you later."
Sister - in - law Wu glared at Wu Yunhua. How could she side with outsiders!
"Mom, Grandma, save me. I feel so bad. Save me!"
"Let go of my grandson! He's just a child!" Wu Yunhua's old mother walked over tremblingly.
Hua Qingqing didn't listen to anyone. "If you want him back, return the chocolates to me. All talk and no action. I'll let him go as soon as you return the things. Don't try to fool me with cheap stuff from the mall."
Sister - in - law Wu was stunned and realized that Hua Qingqing was serious.
"Where can I get Hong Kong chocolates at this time?" There might be some in the big mall, but they didn't want to go there. It was just a few chocolates. What was so special about them? They were black and tasted bitter, and yet they were so expensive!
It was all this younger sister - in - law's fault. She was good at nothing but siding with outsiders. She was using them to curry favor with this daughter of the ex - wife. Sister - in - law Wu glared fiercely at Wu Yunhua.
Hua Qingqing didn't bother to care about their silent arguments. She grabbed Wu Dong and walked out of the door. Then she turned back and shouted at Sister - in - law Wu, "I've said it. I never joke. Your son will definitely pay a visit to the police station today. Do you think he can get away scot - free after stealing my things? No way!"
With that, she dragged the howling Wu Dong out of the door.
At this time, people in the military compound were cooking. Most of them were at home. Hearing the noise, they all came out to watch.
"What's going on?"
"Hey, isn't that Qingqing from Minister Hua's family?"
"Who is she dragging?"
"Seems to be Teacher Wu's..."
Hua Qingqing didn't leave directly. She stayed and carefully explained to each house why she was doing this.
"The boy in my hand..."
"He took my chocolates. They were sent to me by my biological mother whom I haven't seen for thirteen years from Hong Kong. I usually wouldn't even dare to eat them..."
"Woo, he ate them all!"
It was so embarrassing. Sister - in - law Wu was extremely embarrassed. Everyone here was from a cadre family. If they knew that her son had stolen things, what would they think of them? How could they ask for help then?
Sister - in - law Wu quickly stopped Hua Qingqing and whispered, "I'll give you a hundred yuan. Let go of my son!"
Hua Qingqing successfully got the compensation and took out all the things hidden in the fat boy's pockets.
The Wu family felt too embarrassed to stay any longer and sneaked away.
"Qingqing, I'm sorry. I didn't know Dongdong had gone into your room..."
"Is a hundred yuan enough? If not, I'll give you more." Wu Yunhua felt very guilty. The things her nephew had stolen were good things sent by Qingqing's mother. Usually, when Qingqing gave some to Miaomiao, she didn't think much of it. Who knew they were so valuable?
Hua Qingqing shook her head. "It's enough."
How could she not know Wu Yunhua's situation? She was a housewife, and her husband gave his money to his mother. She had to ask for money every day to buy groceries. I'm afraid the money she had saved up was just the small change left over from buying groceries! She wasn't as stingy as Harpagon or Scrooge!
But Wu Yunhua felt very guilty. At dinner, she took out the money she had saved for a long time to buy chicken and make soup. She gave both chicken drumsticks to Hua Qingqing.
Grandma Lin coughed twice, reminding them that there was still an old person here.
Hua Qingqing pretended not to see and put one drumstick in Hua Miaomiao's bowl.
Grandma Lin was very angry, but she never showed her aggressiveness in front of her son. She could only stare hard at her granddaughter.
Hua Qingqing took a bite of the drumstick and pretended to be puzzled. "Grandma, what's wrong with your eyes? Are they twitching?"
"... Is the drumstick delicious?"
Hua Qingqing nodded. "Of course it's delicious. Aunt Wu's cooking skills are good, but I think her teaching skills are even better. I see that Miaomiao can answer questions recently."
Grandma Lin failed to pick a fight and was very angry. "Answering questions. She's grown up so much but can't even go to school. What's the use?"
Hua Miaomiao, who was burying her head in eating, understood that Grandma was looking down on her. She looked up, her big, clean and clear eyes staring directly at Grandma for a while, then she held out the drumstick in her hand.
"Grandma wants to eat the drumstick?"
Grandma Lin was surprised. She didn't expect this little granddaughter to be more sensible than Hua Qingqing. Just as she was about to take it, Hua Miaomiao turned her hand, and the drumstick was back in front of her mouth.
"I'm small. I eat first."
"Hahaha." Hua Qingqing burst out laughing.
Grandma Lin was made a fool of by her two granddaughters. She wanted to complain to her son.
Hua Jia, who was seriously eating, picked up a chicken tip and put it in her bowl.
"The chicken wing is delicious."
Hua Jia really thought the wings were delicious, especially the tip part. He liked to suck on it. Usually, no one in the family would compete with him for this. This time, he would reluctantly give it to his mother.
"..." Grandma Lin was speechless and on the verge of tears!
They had set up a stall outside the Children's Palace for three days. There were only five schoolbags left in their stock. Today, the three of them decided to wait a little longer to see if they could sell them all.
On the second day of setting up the stall at the Children's Palace, Guang Hei stopped going to the big trading market and instead followed them to sell things.
After witnessing the "spectacle" with his own eyes, Guang Hei's determination grew even stronger.
"Qingqing, this batch of goods is almost sold out. Let's go to the state - run restaurant to celebrate later, okay?"
Hua Qingqing also thought it was time to celebrate. After all, this was their first pot of gold. There had to be some sense of ceremony.
"Then let's go to the... state - run restaurant!" Hua Qingqing wiped the sweat off her forehead. The last time she walked out of Chuantangxiang Restaurant, she took a look at the menu. A meal there cost as much as the price of four schoolbags.
Don't be fooled by its location in a small alley. It was truly a place that relied on its cooking skills. Maybe the people who went there to eat were of a special status. It wasn't that she was stingy. Well, the money had to be spent wisely. They still had to open a factory later. Every cent they spent now was start - up capital!
The Guang siblings exchanged a look. They were halfway to success!
"Here they are!"
"We can't let them get away!" Some new customers came to the stall.
Hua Qingqing took a closer look. Weren't they the grandfather and grandson who had bargained with them before? She didn't say a word and looked at the old man's hand. Oh, it was a schoolbag with a broken strap. She immediately understood what these two were here for.
Guang Hei spoke first. He was tall, strong, and looked fierce. "What do you want to buy?"
The old man muttered to himself. When did a man come? Weren't there only two women last time?
Fear was still no match for greed. The old man took a step forward and threw the thing in his hand on the stall aggressively. "Your stuff is of poor quality. It broke within two days after I took it home. I remember you said before that if there were any quality problems within three days, you would refund the money. Give me the money back."
The old man's voice was very loud. Passers - by nearby heard it and stopped to watch.
Guang Bai picked up the schoolbag and looked at it carefully. After seeing the so - called "quality problem" the old man mentioned, he was so angry that his face turned black. The shoulder strap of this schoolbag had a very neat cut. It was obvious that someone had cut it with scissors and then sewn it up in a clumsy way, but it wasn't stable, and finally it broke.
How could they still have the nerve to say it was a quality problem! Guang Bai was very angry. "This was clearly damaged by you guys. The cut is so neat, and it's in this position. This doesn't count as a quality problem. You damaged the stuff yourself and now you want us to compensate you. Is there such a thing?"
Hua Qingqing took it over and saw that it was indeed as Guang Bai had said. This could never be a quality problem.
The old man got anxious.
"You said you would refund the money if there were any problems within three days. Are you trying to deceive people?"
"Doing business and still deceiving people, taking money from an old man like me. Do you have any conscience? Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning?"
More and more people gathered around and pointed fingers. The expressions on their faces when they looked at them were as if they were looking at swindlers. They were whispering and saying all kinds of bad things.
Most people would subconsciously side with the weak, and some people took advantage of this by pretending to be weak and secretly profiting.
Guang Bai was about to cry from anger.
Hua Qingqing walked to the side and borrowed a gong from the nearby beverage stall.
"Bang, bang, bang -" Three sounds. Everyone present felt refreshed. Their ears were almost deafened!
After the extremely harsh sound disappeared, Hua Qingqing stood on a stone pier, raised the schoolbag in her hand, and shouted.
"Ladies and gentlemen, take a look!"