Chapter 33: Jia Zhangshi is Thrown into Prison

At this moment, Shazhu was clearly beyond saving.

As for the mother and son still lying on the ground, Zhao Gangzi naturally had no intention of letting them off; after all, Zhao Gangzi was not some cowardly protagonist from another novel, so he chose to report the case on the spot.

No matter how bitterly Qin Huairu pleaded, it was to no avail.

By the next day, when the public security officers came to the Siheyuan to make arrests, Jia Dongxu, that brat, finally realized what was happening and began to make a scene, shouting and yelling.

"You can't arrest my mother, and you can't arrest my son! Public security comrades, this must be a frame-up by Zhao Gangzi; you must investigate this thoroughly!"

Jia Dongxu scrambled on his hands and knees into the courtyard and threw himself onto a public security officer's leg, refusing to let them leave.

Meanwhile, Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng, who had been knocked unconscious, woke up; by now, the two of them were barely recognizable, and both had handcuffs on their wrists.

Bang Geng was quite young, but he had been carrying quite a lot of stolen goods on him, so even though he wasn't handcuffed, he still had to be taken away for education.

"The human and material evidence is now conclusive, and with so many witnesses testifying, it is useless for you to say anything more."

"Look at yourselves—what could you not have done? You just had to engage in this kind of petty theft; if your hands aren't clean, you have to accept the punishment. There is nothing more to say."

The public security officers who came this time were the same ones from last time.

Having long known that this old woman was no good, they showed no great surprise when arresting Jia Zhangshi this time.

"Public security comrades! Just look at my advanced age and let me off this once!"

"I am already so old; if I go in and serve a few years, I might not make it out alive, and my grandson is still so young..."

Jia Zhangshi, her face swollen, knelt on the ground and begged incessantly.

"Mom, why are you saying that? Bang Geng is only four years old; can you bear to let Bang Geng go to prison?"

"Why is my life so bitter? Sob sob sob..."

Qin Huairu had already cried until she was a mess of tears.

The thought that her precious son was about to have a criminal record, which would affect his future schooling and military service, and might even make it impossible for him to find a wife later, haunted her.

He would end up lonely for the rest of his life, living alone in a dog hole.

"You bitch, you still have the nerve to speak? If you hadn't lost our family's subsidy, leaving us to struggle every day, would I, an old woman, have needed to go out and steal?"

"Public security lords, if you're going to arrest someone, take this bitch away too!"

Jia Zhangshi looked at the silver handcuffs on her wrists and was nearly scared to the point of wetting herself.

But the public security comrades clearly ignored the two women's bickering.

After all, the true victim was Zhao Gangzi.

If Zhao Gangzi had chosen to show leniency, they might not have needed to pursue the matter so deeply.

But that was clearly impossible.

Given the deep-seated hatred between their Zhao Family and the Jia Family, not pushing for the harshest possible punishment was already an act of great mercy.

However, before leaving, Uncle Yi stepped forward to put in a few good words for the Jia Family, saying how difficult things were for them and asking for a lighter sentence.

No one in the crowd knew exactly what kind of relationship Yi Zhonghai had with the Jia Family, but even in this situation, he was still pleading on their behalf.

Not long after, the verdict from above came down.

After all, the human and material evidence for such a case was conclusive, and there were many such petty thieves at the time; furthermore, Jia Zhangshi was only in her fifties, still within the age of legal accountability.

It was decided that she would be sentenced to ten years!

As for Bang Geng, he was truly too young, and having been diagnosed by the Hospital as having a slight intellectual disability, it was decided he would be locked up for six months of education.

But such a matter would leave a criminal record, which would make it impossible for him to even attend school later.

Moreover, the public factory would not tolerate such a person.

Jia Zhangshi was one thing—she was old, and her absence would save the family a portion of food—but Bang Geng still had his whole youth to squander; he absolutely could not be ruined here.

Jia Dongxu was truly serious this time; after all, he had deep feelings for his mother, and Bang Geng was his only son.

If he went inside and ran into some thugs who beat him into a paraplegic like himself, their Lao Jia family line would be finished.

"Huairu, this is the money Mom saved up, plus the 90-something yuan stolen from Shazhu; scrape it all together—no matter what, we have to get our son out, and our mother too," Jia Dongxu had gone all out this time.

Qin Huairu also understood the severity of the situation.

She hurriedly took the money to pull strings; other places were manageable, but the most important thing was Zhao Gangzi.

Other neighbors claimed Jia Zhangshi had stolen things, but they couldn't produce evidence, whereas Zhao Gangzi had both human and material evidence.

As long as Zhao Gangzi was willing to let it go, everything else would be easy to handle.

Otherwise, they would really have to go in for ten years.

In the end, Qin Huairu paid a very high price to get Zhao Gangzi to relent, but he demanded compensation for his losses: a full 500 yuan.

Even if they turned the entire Jia Family upside down, they couldn't find 200, and no neighbors were willing to lend them any.

Shazhu wanted to lend them some, but unfortunately, his pockets were cleaner than his face.

Qin Huairu's maiden family was even poorer; five yuan a month was more than enough for them to spend, let alone lending out a hundred or so—it would practically be the death of her elderly parents.

"Dongxu, Zhao Gangzi said that as long as we come up with these 500 yuan, Mom's ten-year prison sentence can be changed to six months, and Bang Geng won't have to go to the juvenile detention center," Qin Huairu said; her stomach had been feeling unwell lately, she was constantly nauseous, and she kept craving spicy food.

"That damn Zhao Gangzi, he's asking for an exorbitant price! Even if you sold me, I wouldn't be worth that much money; that god-forsaken thing!"

Jia Dongxu did not notice Qin Huairu's condition, but instead looked toward the Back Courtyard and cursed viciously.

This Zhao Gangzi simply didn't want to leave them a way to live.

A full 500 yuan!

The total cash in the entire Siheyuan might not even add up to five hundred!

"It's not that there's no way," Qin Huairu said, though she was afraid to voice some of her thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"What way? Speak up, damn it!"

"Dongxu, you have to be mentally prepared," Qin Huairu gritted her teeth and finally said it, "Zhao Gangzi said he thinks his house is too small and wants to swap houses with us; that way, we won't have to pay the 500 yuan..."

Hearing this, Jia Dongxu's heart skipped a beat.

In the entire Siheyuan, including the Front Courtyard, Middle Courtyard, and Back Courtyard, only the houses of the Jia Family and Shazhu were the largest; the others were either gatehouses, rear-screen rooms, or side rooms.

Just look at Zhao Gangzi's small rear-screen room.

It wouldn't even have enough space to raise two pigs, let alone house the five members of the Jia Family!

"Dongxu, hurry and make a decision! Our Bang Geng is still suffering in there!"

Qin Huairu was so anxious that tears were about to fall.

She was unwilling to move into that kind of small house in the back, but there was truly no other way; if they couldn't scrape together those 500 yuan, they would have to swap houses.

Otherwise, they would have to wait ten years to collect Jia Zhangshi's urn from the prison.

That was only a minor matter; the most important thing was that Bang Geng's future would be gone.

Without her son, even living in such a large house would be flavorless; the hope that kept Qin Huairu going in the Jia Family was Bang Geng.

Qin Huairu was still counting on Bang Geng to succeed in his studies in the future, to be able to provide her with a good life, and to no longer live this miserable life they had now.