Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 103

Tie Dan said, "Stop trying to hide it. I know it was you who sold it. You're the only one who has a large quantity of flour. Tell me, who did you sell it to? How much did you sell it to?"

"not a lot."

He Yuzhu said, "This is what happened. Three old men in our courtyard came to me together and said that everyone was short of food, so I sold them 500 jin for 3 mao (0.3 yuan) each."

"After all, they were elderly people who watched me grow up. I couldn't bear to see them without food, so I sold it to them for three cents. The market price at the time was 36 cents. So this doesn't count, does it?"

"Besides them, who else did you sell to?"

"After I sold them, the third old man in our courtyard, Xu Wude, the one you caught, came to me and said that he had many relatives and friends and needed a lot of flour. He asked me to think of a way to help them. So I sold him the remaining two meals of flour for three cents."

Finally, he said, "I'm not just anyone, they're all neighbors, from the front and back yards. They've come to me for help, I can't just not help them!"

Tie Dan asked, "Two tons is a bit much, but you're neighbors, so it's somewhat understandable. Have you been secretly selling to other strangers?"

"That's all. After giving Hüwood those two tons, I'm out of flour."

“You don’t run a grain store, so you’re not hoarding goods and driving up prices like they do. You’re selling to acquaintances at prices lower than the market price, so this doesn’t count as reselling.”

Finally, he said, "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"Now I feel relieved. By the way, what will happen to Xu Wude? Will he go to jail?"

Tie Dan said, "I also participated in the interrogation just now. His matter is not a big deal. He is not the same kind of person as those grain merchants. However, his behavior was a bit bad. For people like him, they are usually confiscated, fined, and detained for a few days before being released."

He Yuzhu thought Xu Wude would go to jail, so he gritted his teeth and came to Tiezhu to confess. If he had any problems, it could be considered turning himself in.

After hearing Tiedan's words, I can finally relax.

At that time, there were no restrictions on doing business, and I didn't think of hoarding grain to drive up prices and disrupt the economic order.

It's just that prices have gone up in the market, and then you sell them to others at a lower price. According to current laws, you don't fall into the category of reselling.

Those grain merchants hoarded grain themselves and then used various rumors to drive up prices.

Restricting stores from selling to the public created a buying frenzy, which in turn drove up grain prices. This led ordinary people to believe that grain prices would continue to rise, causing them to join the buying frenzy and disrupting overall social order.

He Yuzhu's approach was not wrong; this was not the era of unified purchase and sales.

The two spoke, and then Tiedan took He Yuzhu to Ye Dapeng.

Deputy Director Ye said with a smile, "He Yuzhu, what brings you here? I was just about to arrest you."

He Yuzhu said, "I'm here to give you an explanation."

As Li Fugui's son-in-law, Ye Dapeng naturally knew that He Yuzhu was selling them grain at a low price.

Even the Suo Qian family and the Tong Xiaoting family in the courtyard each bought a bag.

Ye Dapeng comforted him, saying, "The higher-ups have already given instructions to focus on the big picture and let go of the small details in this matter. The key is to crack down on these leaders. You have nothing to do with them. Just explain things clearly, and you'll be out of the picture."

Then someone made a new record of He Yuzhu. Although he sold quite a lot, he didn't sell to anyone else. They were all neighbors in the courtyard. He Yuzhu had no problem with that.

After taking his statement, Ye Dapeng said, "You are different from them, but you should be careful in the future and not do anything illegal."

"Don't worry, brother-in-law. If there's anything I'm unsure about, I'll ask you first."

He Yuzhu recognized Tian Zao as his senior apprentice and then recognized Uncle Gui, learning their skills from them. Therefore, Ye Dapeng, as his son-in-law, is He Yuzhu's brother-in-law.

If Xu Wude hadn't gotten into trouble this time, He Yuzhu would have been fine. But even though he did get into trouble, it wasn't his fault.

The only one who suffered was Xu Wude. He Yuzhu overheard that all the grain Xu Wude hadn't sold had been confiscated. Fortunately, he had paid off his debts with the money he had made from the previous sales, since part of the money for buying the grain was borrowed. Although he wouldn't be sentenced to prison, he would be detained for a period of time and would have to pay a fine.

When He Yuzhu came out of the police station, he saw Xu Zhaodi sitting by the roadside crying. He hesitated for a moment but did not go up to her to ask about her situation.

If Xu Wude is willing to confess, what's there to say?

When He Yuzhu returned to the tavern, Xu Huizhen anxiously asked, "Where did you go? Two police officers came looking for you just now. They scared me to death!"

“I just came from the police station and got a few words said to me.”

He Yuzhu recounted his experience at the police station, and Xu Huizhen visibly relaxed after learning that there were no problems.

"Really, you sold him two tons of flour all at once. Now look what's happened!"

He Yuzhu said, "They did this several times last year, and this year they're doing it again with grain. These people only have this one trick up their sleeve. If they don't sell the grain to others when the price is high, are they just going to let it all go to waste?"

Although it wasn't the highest price, He Yuzhu was already very satisfied. Selling so many at once meant he made quite a bit of money.

He Yuzhu had no intention of selling to ordinary people.

After all, if the grain were to fall into the market, everyone would call him a profiteer. He wasn't running a grain store, so he simply wouldn't try to make that money.

As for selling it to Xu Wude, that was because the other party begged to buy it. This situation is different. By reselling it to him, I can secure my own profits.

"What about Xu Damao in the backyard?"

"What can we do? Take him to the police station!"

"Really send them to the police station?" Xu Huizhen said, "Then you'll completely offend them."

"He even tried to stab me with a kitchen knife, why should I care about saving face?"

He Yuzhu countered with a question.

"That's right, then let's send him to the police station."

They called Da Yong, and the two of them dragged Xu Damao out. After taking a few steps, Xu Damao realized something was wrong and lay on the ground, refusing to go.

Helpless, they asked Dayong to go back and bring out the cart. The two of them carried Xu Damao onto the cart and pushed it toward the police station.

Xu Damao was tied up tightly, and a rag was stuffed in his mouth. People passing by pointed and whispered among themselves, which made him furious.

When they were almost at the police station courtyard, He Yuzhu stopped and checked to make sure Xu Zhaodi had left before he and Dayong took Xu Damao inside.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Tie Dan happened to be in the yard and walked over to ask.

“This guy attempted murder with a knife,” He Yuzhu said.

"Wow, such a big case?"

He Yuzhu embellished the story.

"Such a thing really happens? That's incredibly audacious."

Tie Dan asked, "How old is this Xu Damao?"

"He's three years younger than me, only 13."

Xu Damao was terrified the moment he entered the police station. He hadn't thought much about it when he went to see He Yuzhu before, but he started to regret it after he was arrested.

After struggling all the way, he was sent to the police station and despaired.

Losing his composure, he felt a sudden heat in his crotch and immediately wet himself in fear.

Just as Tie Dan was about to speak, he smelled an unusual odor and called for two policemen to take Xu Damao to the backyard.

He Yuzhu was taken to give a statement, and then asked, "Will Xu Damao be sentenced?"

"Probably not. The main issue is that he's quite young, so he'll need to spend some time in a juvenile detention center. The exact duration will have to be determined by the court."

He Yuzhu was somewhat emotional; he hadn't expected Xu Wude to be sentenced, but he hadn't expected Xu Damao to end up in jail.

The courtyard house was already in complete chaos.

After Xu Wude was taken away by the police, Xu Damao ran out with a kitchen knife, and Xu Zhaodi followed him out. After circling around twice without finding Xu Damao, she had no choice but to come back.

Yi Zhonghai then asked hypocritically, "Haven't you found Da Mao yet?"

"You still have the nerve to ask?"

Xu Zhaodi was furious and said fiercely, "It's all your fault! You said that Sha Zhu reported my father, which is why my brother took a knife to fight him. If anything happens to him, I'll make you pay with your life."

The Xu family has three children, but only one boy, Xu Damao. He is treated like a precious treasure, cherished and protected.

Yi Zhonghai said awkwardly, "You can't blame me for this. I didn't tell him to go and fight Sha Zhu. I just said there was an 80% chance that Sha Zhu reported it, after all, he has a criminal record for reporting Jia Dongxu."

"Stop talking nonsense, what evidence do you have?"

"This..." Yi Zhonghai had only said it casually, intending to annoy He Yuzhu, and never expected that Xu Damao would be so impetuous as to take a knife and attack him.

Just then, a police officer came in and said, "Who are Xu Damao's family members? Take some clothes with you. Xu Damao is so scared in the police station that he wet himself."

"What?" Xu Zhaodi was dumbfounded.

Upon hearing this devastating news, Xu Damao's mother, who was standing nearby, realized that her husband was now in jail and her son would also be going to prison. Suddenly, everything went black, and she fainted.

The crowd hurriedly rescued the person. Xu Zhaodi comforted her mother, gave Xu Damao two sets of clothes, and then went to deliver them to him.

I only found out what happened when I went to the police station and asked.

"Damn idiot Zhu, he actually lied to me and said he didn't see it."

"Sister, don't do anything foolish. I don't want to go to jail. Please get me out of here right now."

"What can I do? My father still has a fine to pay, where am I supposed to get the money?"

Xu Zhaodi was furious. She was only 16 years old and was completely bewildered and at a loss in the face of this situation.

After thinking for a long time, I decided to go find He Yuzhu.

Gritting her teeth, she uttered each word slowly and deliberately: "He Yuzhu, you lied to me."

As she spoke, large tears streamed down her face.

Those who don't know the situation might think that He Yuzhu had deceived someone's feelings.

“I told you not to cry, people who don’t know the situation might think I did something to you.”