Chapter 549

"The beds were all chewed up, the money was all lost, and some gold and silver jewelry was also lost."

"It was all caused by the rats."

"Guess what Jia Zhangshi did all day?"

"She caught rats every day, and she brought live rats back to the Sihe Academy; this isn't exterminating rats. I seriously suspect that the rat plague was caused by Jia Zhangshi."

Liu Haizhong was furious.

"Second Elder, you must have misunderstood."

"I said before, I knew Jia Zhangshi was catching rats, and I criticized her."

"She also realized her mistake and killed all the rats; the rat plague in our courtyard has nothing to do with Jia Zhangshi."

Yi Zhonghai stood up immediately to speak for Jia Zhangshi.

He didn't dare let Jia Zhangshi speak.

Jia Zhangshi would only ruin things!

"First Elder, when did you find out?"

Wan Ping'an asked with a smile.

"I found out the day before yesterday, and I went to find Jia Zhangshi at that time; Jia Zhangshi killed the rats, so yesterday's rat plague couldn't possibly be related to her."

Yi Zhonghai had no preparation at all.

He could only say a random time.

"Jia Zhangshi, when did you kill all the rats?"

Wan Ping'an aimed the spearhead at Jia Zhangshi again.

"The night before yesterday, after the First Elder came to find me, I killed all the rats."

Jia Zhangshi looked at Wan Ping'an with contempt.

She had already heard the time the First Elder said; how could she make a mistake?

"Second Elder, when did you find out that Jia Zhangshi was raising rats?"

Wan Ping'an didn't want to let Jia Zhangshi go.

"I just found out."

Liu Haizhong replied.

"I was the one who told our Old Liu; I heard people talking about it outside today."

The Second Elder's wife replied.

"When was the last time the person who said Jia Zhangshi was catching rats saw her catching them?"

Wan Ping'an pursued the question.

He knew Yi Zhonghai was lying.

Jia Zhangshi didn't kill the rats at all; instead, she put them all in his house, and he just went with the flow and brought a rat plague to the four families, including the Jia family.

"I don't know, I can go find the person."

The Second Elder's wife certainly didn't want to let Jia Zhangshi go.

"I don't think that's necessary."

"I already said, I went to find Jia Zhangshi the day before yesterday, and she killed all the rats; would I lie to deceive you?"

Yi Zhonghai was a bit anxious.

If the witness was brought over, what if Jia Zhangshi caught rats again yesterday or the day before?

Sweat also broke out on Jia Zhangshi's head.

"Officer Song, I think we should find this person and see who is lying; what do you think?"

Wan Ping'an sought Officer Song's opinion.

"We should indeed find the witness and clarify the matter!"

Officer Song nodded.

"I'll go find them right now; they are people from the neighboring courtyard, and I'll bring them back in ten minutes."

The Second Elder's wife walked out.

Yi Zhonghai was very conflicted; should he take the initiative to admit he lied?

Before he could make a decision, the Second Elder's wife had already run out of the Sihe Academy; in just seven or eight minutes, she returned with three people.

"Officer Song, you're here too?"

The three people the Second Elder's wife brought back included two middle-aged men and an old woman with gray hair.

All three knew Officer Song.

They were also from this district, just not living in the Red Star Sihe Academy.

"I'm here to investigate the situation."

"Have all three of you seen Jia Zhangshi catching rats?"

Officer Song inquired about the situation.

"Seen with my own eyes!"

"I saw it!"

"I saw it too!"

All three admitted it.

"When was the last time you saw Jia Zhangshi catching rats?"

Officer Song asked.

Zhonghai clenched his fists subconsciously.

Jia Zhangshi's face turned white.

Jia Dongxu, who had just returned, had a layer of cold sweat on his head.

"Yesterday afternoon!"

The three people answered simultaneously.

"Are you sure?"

Officer Song glared at Yi Zhonghai, his eyes cold.

Yi Zhonghai shivered; it was over!

"Of course we're sure!"

The three people answered simultaneously.

"Actually, we aren't the only three who saw Jia Zhangshi catching rats; quite a few people in our courtyard saw it, but they haven't returned yet."

One of the three added.

Officer Song let the three people leave first.

He turned around.

Facing Yi Zhonghai.

"Officer Song, I admit I lied; it was my fault."

"I wasn't favoring anyone, nor was I intentionally targeting anyone; it's just that the Jia family are orphans and widows, and their life isn't easy, so I took care of them a bit more."

Yi Zhonghai admitted his mistake.

He also found a suitable excuse.

"Wait a moment, I'll deal with you later!"

"Jia Zhangshi, what are you catching live rats for?"

Officer Song stared coldly at Jia Zhangshi.

The subdistrict office had repeatedly ordered the extermination of rats; there was even a period where there was a reward—if you killed a rat and brought the tail, you could collect a reward.

Yet Jia Zhangshi brought live rats back to the Sihe Academy; isn't this going against the subdistrict office?

What does she want to do?

"I, I, I..."

Jia Zhangshi had no preparation at all.

She couldn't say she was preparing them for Wan Ping'an, could she?

In her desperation, she couldn't find an excuse.

"Jia Zhangshi, why don't you speak quickly?"

Officer Song saw it at a glance; Jia Zhangshi wanted to weave a lie, but how could that work?