Friends n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Seeing that he couldnât escape, Qian Duoduo reluctantly admitted his guilt. âPlease, donât take off my shoes! I confess, I stole the corn.â
The shoes he wore were his only pair of cloth shoes. If they were taken away, he feared he would be left without any footwear.
âYou little rascal! You stole it yourself and now youâre trying to frame Su Cheng!â Qian Erhu exclaimed, his hand ready to strike, but Ms. Lin intervened just in time.
âStop! Donât hit him! If you do, he might go back on his confession, and we wonât receive any compensation!â Ms. Lin cautioned.
Qian Duoduoâs father was not someone to be trifled with. While stealing a hundred yuan was beyond belief, stealing even a single yuan would result in a punishment ten times worse. Ms. Lin had to make sure they got something out of it.
Angry and sorrowful, Su Cheng confronted Qian Duoduo, âWhy did you hide the corn in my sweet potato field? Were you intentionally trying to frame me?!â
Qian Duoduo guiltily explained, âI didnât mean to. I had nowhere else to hide it, and I never expected it to implicate you. I even tried to defend youâ¦â
Interrupting him with anger, Su Cheng retorted, âNo matter how much nonsense you spout, it doesnât excuse you from owning up to your actions!â
âI considered you a friend, but what about you?â
Moments ago, Su Cheng had almost been humiliated. Qian Duoduo knew Su Cheng was innocent, yet he still failed to confess.
Blushing, Qian Duoduo lowered his head in shame.
At that moment, the village chief, Qian Guangcai, arrived with two men trailing behind him.
Qian Guangcai, who earned two liang a month as the village chief, was responsible for managing the villageâs affairs.
Ms. Lin was a troublemaker in the village, and Qian Guangcaiâs mood would sour every time he encountered her.
He asked with a stern expression, âWhat is going on here, Ms. Lin? I heard you were planning to publicly humiliate your nephew by taking off his pants?â
Ms. Lin put on a fake smile. âVillage Chief, it was just a misunderstanding. I was merely trying to scare him.â
Then, Ms. Lin recounted the incident, conveniently leaving out her wrongdoing towards Su Cheng.
However, Su Cheng stood up and courageously told the truth, not caring if it offended his aunt.
The young boys took turns testifying, supporting Su Chengâs account.
The village chiefâs face turned dark. âMs. Lin! You are the most troublesome and unreasonable person in this village! Consider this your final warning. If such an incident occurs again in the future, I will personally ensure you receive 30 lashes!â
Qin Zhenzhen had no interest in witnessing how the village chief would handle the stolen corn situation. She turned around and headed home.
âFifth Brother, letâs not watch any longer. This is just bad luck!â Su Ning hastily pulled Su Cheng along and followed Qin Zhenzhen home.
Despite being exonerated, Su Cheng couldnât find happiness in the outcome. Qian Duoduo had been his only friend in the village, but this friend had nearly subjected him to humiliation.
To say that he wasnât angry would be a lie.
To say that he wasnât saddened would be a lie as well.
Su Ning expressed his disdain for Qian Duoduo as they walked along.
âI never expected Qian Duoduo to be like this!â
âFifth Brother, letâs not play with him anymore. Thereâs definitely something wrong with his character!â
âIf it werenât for Third Sister-in-lawâs intervention today, Aunt would have stripped off your pants!â
âIn such a situation, Qian Duoduo didnât have the courage to confess. I can forgive him, but he shouldnât have hidden the corn in our sweet potato field!â
âRight next to us is Qian Shanâs familyâs sweet potato field, but he chose to hide it on our side. I suspect he did it on purpose!â
âHe knew we were clearing the annual ragweeds nearby, making it easier for Aunt and others to misunderstand us!â
Su Cheng felt a deep sadness but remained silent.