The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 336 There’s Something Else Going on_1
If it were last year’s sheep prices, eight sheep might have cost close to twenty thousand.
But since the beginning of this year, meat prices have plummeted, and both sheep and beef prices have been basically halved.
"Call the police, call the police, what kind of bastard thing is this? I lost eight sheep, and you only want to compensate a little?" the young man roared, shouting at the top of his voice, "Sixteen thousand is the bottom line, or else, I’ll just stay at their house."
"Yes, young man, they didn’t plan to sell those sheep. You can’t calculate based on the market rate!" someone chimed in.
"If we don’t calculate based on the current market rate, are we supposed to calculate it a hundred years from now? Moreover, we have put up warning signs on the land. You didn’t watch your sheep and led them in, and now you are being reasonable?" Li Qing shouted.
"Who the hell are you? Is it your place to make decisions in this matter?" The young man scrutinized Li Qing with a sidelong glance, his brows furrowing fiercely as a threatening gleam flashed in his eyes.
Actually, not only was this leather-clad young man puzzled about Li Qing’s identity.
Even Wu Xingxing’s mother was somewhat bewildered.
"He’s my boyfriend, and he has the authority in this matter!" Wu Xingxing said loudly.
"Zhao Xiaohu, we will definitely compensate you for your sheep, but you are being too excessive. If you’re going to be so greedy, then let’s call the police."
Wu Xingxing’s mother brightened up a bit, as she naturally recognized Li Qing.
She had also seen Li Qing’s photo at Han Mei’s but it was somewhat dark at the moment and she hadn’t recognized him right away.
"Boyfriend?" Zhao Xiaohu sneered derisively, spitting out a curse, "Such a young age, what kind of bullshit boyfriend is that. I don’t care who it is, but it’s sixteen thousand or I’ll stay right here today."
This guy was truly a troublemaker.
He was completely unreasonable and fixated only on getting money.
Li Qing thought for a moment, and decided to call the police.
He did have money with him, but he didn’t want to just throw it away.
"Then let’s call the police!" Li Qing said calmly.
"Call, call, call; once the police come, you might even end up paying more." Zhao Xiaohu’s eyes flickered for a moment as he lay down right in front of Wu Xingxing’s house, "First, I’ll find a place to sleep."
Li Qing glanced at Zhao Xiaohu and immediately called the police.
Then he said to Wu Xingxing’s mother, "Auntie, don’t worry, let the police decide when they arrive."
"This... if it really doesn’t work out, we’ll just compensate them," Wu Xingxing’s mother sighed and said, "Before Xingxing’s father left, he left some money for the family, so we can afford it."
With a father who was a small business owner, Li Qing knew they could afford it.
"Auntie, it’s not about the money," Li Qing shook his head and said, "First of all, you put up warning signs, so the fault is half yours. Besides, his asking price is clearly exorbitant. That would have been almost reasonable last year."
Wu Xingxing’s mother hesitated for a moment then nodded, "Then, Qingzi, you handle it. If it really doesn’t work, we’ll compensate and settle it."
Li Qing nodded.
The police arrived quickly, less than an hour, two police cars rolled into the village.
"Who called the police?"
Three officers walked into the crowd.
"You again?!" the young leading officer stopped short when he saw Li Qing.
"Ah, Officer Wang?" Li Qing was also surprised to see Officer Wang.
That was quite a coincidence.
Officer Wang looked at Li Qing with a bit of annoyance and asked irritably, "What’s the matter today?"
He discovered that wherever Li Qing was, nothing good ever happened.
"It’s like this..." Li Qing explained the whole incident to Officer Wang in great detail.
Then, with a faint smile, she emphasized, "Officer Wang, we really aren’t to blame for today’s incident, and I didn’t want to trouble you!"
"If he hadn’t been so greedy for money, I definitely would have settled it privately a long time ago."
"Cut the nonsense, take us to the field to have a look first," Officer Wang waved his hand and said.
Wu Xingxing’s mother led the way, and everyone followed with flashlights, hurrying to the field in the dark.
"Huh, I clearly put up a sign, how could it be missing?" Wu Xingxing’s mother exclaimed in surprise.
Officer Wang, however, had sharp eyes and spotted the cardboard sign in the weeds, "Is this it?"
"Yes, yes, yes, I wrote three of these signs and set them up anywhere someone could enter the field," Wu Xingxing’s mother nodded repeatedly, "I was also worried that someone might accidentally drive their sheep inside."
"Anyway, I didn’t see it!" Zhao Xiaohu snorted coldly.
Officer Wang bent down and looked at the stick tied to the wooden sign, "Auntie, where was this sign originally placed?"
Everyone was somewhat puzzled and didn’t understand why Officer Wang was so fixated on a sign.
Especially Zhao Xiaohu, who started shouting at the top of his voice, "Officer, I truly didn’t see the sign, stop fussing over it and make a decision for me, will you? I’ve lost eight sheep, nearly half of all my assets."
"Quiet!" Officer Wang turned and shouted, following Wu Xingxing’s mother onto the field.
"Officer, it’s right here!" Wu Xingxing’s mother pointed to a spot on the ground.
Officer Wang squatted down, closely inspected with his flashlight, and suddenly turned to Zhao Xiaohu, demanding, "Did you break the sign?"
"Me? Officer, you can’t wrong a good person like this!" Zhao Xiaohu immediately cried out in defense, "If I had seen that sign, why would I have led my sheep into the field? Even if I were that stupid, I wouldn’t have done something like that!"
"Take off your shoes!" Officer Wang ordered in a stern voice.
"What? Why do I need to take off my shoes? I won’t!" Zhao Xiaohu vehemently refused.
Li Qing’s expression slightly changed; she hadn’t expected there to be another twist in the story.
Zhao Xiaohu’s resistance was a clear sign of his guilt.
"Take them off!" Officer Wang commanded again.
When the other two police officers moved to Zhao Xiaohu’s sides, one on the left and one on the right, Zhao Xiaohu dared not refuse any longer and honestly took off his shoes, handing them over to Officer Wang.
Everyone was somewhat puzzled, not understanding what Officer Wang was trying to do.
Officer Wang took the shoes and compared them to a footprint on the ground; even the tread pattern was an exact match.
"Why did you break the warning sign and drive the sheep in? Come clean!" Officer Wang demanded furiously, "The footprints left here are yours, the sole patterns are identical, no point in trying to deny it!" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
"You must have heard the saying ’leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist’; don’t try to challenge the law!"
Everyone was instantly stunned.
They all thought the police had come just to mediate.
But they hadn’t expected there to be a hidden story within the case.
And the clue that broke the case turned out to be a footprint.
Even Li Qing had to admire the police’s professionalism at this moment.
Zhao Xiaohu’s face turned ashen, and after a long silence, he said in a voice as woeful as if mourning the dead, "I confess..."
