Chapter 24: Staged Accident?

The weather was growing increasingly hot. Worried that the children might suffer from the heat, Lin Wei bought each of them a popsicle on her way home to help them cool off.

"Take these to the Gao family's brother and sister. Hurry now, don't let them melt, and come straight home after you drop them off."

Lin Yuan asked quickly, "Sister, aren't you coming back with us?"

"We're out of rice at home. I'm going to the shop next door to buy two bags. I’ll use the cart to haul them back, so you kids go on ahead. I’ll be back shortly after."

Knowing they couldn't help much, the three children didn't cause any fuss. They took their popsicles and headed into the alley.

Uncle Li, the owner of the small convenience store, was a former worker at the wool mill. Having grown familiar with them over the past few days, he handed Lin Wei her change and asked, "Weiwei, I hear you've been running a street stall. Business seems to be doing quite well—the Su family kids were already helping you, and now even the Gao family kids are pitching in today?"

"It's just a small business, nothing much. It covers the cost of three meals a day. I didn't originally intend to have them help; children can't do much heavy lifting, but it’s lively having them around. Plus, my younger brother likes playing with them. As long as I don't lose money, I just look at it as a way for them to build character."

"Those two Su kids are quite the handful. You don't find them annoying at all? Before you arrived, your Aunt Zhang was scolding them every single day. I haven't heard a peep from their house in days."

Just as Uncle Li finished speaking, Zhang Min appeared behind them with a smile. "Now, Brother Li, why are you gossiping behind people's backs? But honestly, these two little monkeys have become so well-behaved that even I’m not used to it. It finally feels like there's some hope for the future."

Turning to Lin Wei, she asked, "Weiwei, are you done shopping? Let’s head back together."

"Aunt Zhang, I still need to go next door for two bags of rice. We've run out."

"Perfect, I need a bag too. Just load it onto the cart and we can take them back together."

"That’s exactly what I was thinking; I kept the cart specifically for that."

The two of them pushed the cart to the nearby grain and oil store, loaded three bags of rice and a large watermelon, and pushed it into the alley. They hadn't gone far when they heard the commotion of children shouting.

"You little brats, it seems the lesson I gave you last time wasn't enough? You've all gone rogue, haven't you?"

"Bad man! Let go of Brother Hongye!"

"Help! Someone help! Uncle Wang is trying to kill someone!"

Su Sijin’s voice was loud and urgent. Zhang Min was shocked. "It’s Sijin, Yuan, and Hongye. I’m going to take a look."

"I'm coming too."

Abandoning the cart, Lin Wei ran ahead. In the blink of an eye, she saw the children—who had just returned home in good spirits—lying scattered on the ground.

Wang Changzhi, known as "Little Wang," was gripping Wu Hongye’s collar with his left hand, his right fist raised high.

Just as his fist was about to strike the boy’s face, a metallic *clang* echoed as a stainless steel spoon struck Wang Changzhi’s arm with pinpoint precision.

"Ow!" Wang Changzhi cried out in pain, loosening his grip on Wu Hongye. He turned around, cursing angrily, "Who the hell was that?"

"It was me, your grandmother!" Lin Wei roared. Zhang Min, startled by the volume of her shout, quickly regained her composure and yelled at Wang Changzhi, "Wang Changzhi, are you shameless? Beating up children while the adults are away!"

"Mom!"

"Sister!"

Seeing the adults had finally arrived, the children felt they had found their backing. They scrambled up from the ground one by one and hid behind Zhang Min and Lin Wei.

Wang Changzhi wouldn't have it. "Those little brats attacked me first!"

"Our children are good kids. If you hadn't done something, why would they ever provoke you?" Zhang Min pointed at Wang Changzhi, berating him, "Tell us, what exactly did you do while we were gone?"

Children are terrible at keeping secrets. Without giving Wang Changzhi a chance to speak, they began to chime in, eager to tell their side of the story.

"Uncle Wang hit Brother Hongye and bruised his face!"

"Uncle Wang pushed Sister Xiaoling down and tore her clothes!"

"When we tried to stop him, he pushed us down too. Mom, it hurts, I scraped my hand!"

"Sister, he called me a little bastard and said that Auntie’s house would be his sooner or later, and he’d kick us all out!"

"Yes, we all heard him!"

"Nonsense!" Wang Changzhi felt wronged. "These little brats are just lying! The Gao boy started it!"

"How old is the Gao boy? If you weren't bullying them, why would he ever raise a hand against you?" Zhang Min shut him down with a single sentence.

At that moment, Lin Wei noticed something strange.

She scanned the surroundings quickly and demanded, "Don't tell me you were trying to break into my aunt's house to steal money and got caught in the act by the kids, which is how this conflict started?"

The noisy atmosphere fell into an instant silence.

Wang Changzhi gasped, his pupils dilating in shock. Anyone could see from his reaction that Lin Wei had guessed correctly.

But Wang Changzhi wasn't about to admit it. "Rubbish! Don't you dare frame me!"

"Frame you? You're insulting my intelligence."

"My aunt's perimeter wall was raised, and to let the sunlight in, there are decorative hollow bricks in the middle. You can see inside, but you can't get in. The Gao family is home 24/7. Even though Grandma Gao can't move, she can still talk. If she hears a noise and shouts, the children will come out immediately."

"But there's no one at the Su house right now. Their wall isn't that high, and if you stack a few bricks, you can climb over. From their yard, you can easily climb into my aunt's. The bricks outside the Su house are the evidence."

"Lies! How much money could your aunt possibly have that's worth me climbing a wall to steal?"

"My aunt might not have much, but I've been running my snack stall for a few days now. First I had the Su kids help, and now the Gao kids. People outside might see that and get ideas."

"I'm telling you, I was just passing by! This is a public road. Does that mean every time I walk by, I'm trying to steal your money?"

As Wang Changzhi tried to argue his way out, Zhang Min cut him off. "You're the one spouting nonsense! There were no bricks there when I left this morning; you clearly just put them there. You were caught peeping at the young girls from across the yard the other day. I shouldn't have let it slide privately last time; I should have called the security team."

Lin Wei corrected her, "Aunt Zhang, the nature of this incident is different. The security team won't be able to handle this. We need to call the police."

"I'll go right now." Zhang Min’s eyes flashed with a hint of excitement as she realized what needed to be done.

She wouldn't have wanted to be so ruthless if Wang Changzhi hadn't been pushing his luck. But that was fine—others might be afraid of offending him, but she certainly wasn't. She would be the one to handle this.

Zhang Min turned to leave, but seeing that they were serious, Wang Changzhi immediately blocked their path.

"Wait! Why call the police? I’m the one who got hit by this kid! I haven't reported it yet, so why are you?"

"Didn't you say Wu Hongye bullied you? At such a young age, you're already picking fights with adults—what will you be like in the future? It’s perfect—let the police come and teach this kid a lesson. And we’ll have to tell Aunt Gao that since you were injured, you’ll have to pay for the damages, right?"

Just as Zhang Min made to leave again, Wang Changzhi collapsed to the ground and began to wail. "Oh, my leg! My leg hurts so much! This kid hit my leg with a brick! My leg is broken, I need to go to the hospital!"

"You... how can you be so shameless? Your leg was perfectly fine just a second ago."

Lin Wei rolled her eyes, speechless.

Playing the victim? He must have something wrong with his head.

Lin Wei turned around and winked at the children.

Amidst the bewildered looks of the other children, Su Sijin was the first to catch on. He immediately flopped onto the ground and began to howl, "Oh, it hurts! Uncle Wang beat me so hard! Mom, I’m dying! Uncle Wang is going to kill me!"