Could those who had grown used to fast money and large sums really change and genuinely earn hard-earned money through honest work?
Others might not be sure, but Du Heng did not believe the Wu Zhouzhou before him could.
If she could truly earn money honestly, she would have quit this line of work when they were last let go, instead of appearing here now, seemingly as the leader of this group.
Du Heng stepped back. "Auntie, please help her up."
"Alright." The auntie who had blocked the way earlier readily agreed.
Together with another woman beside her, they exerted a little force and lifted the kneeling Wu Zhouzhou as easily as if she were a little chick.
This ti, Wu Zhouzhou was genuinely scared, tears streaming from her eyes.
Suddenly, a fierce argunt erupted beside the dicine-selling car, the noise growing louder as the chaos began to spread.
With no other choice, Du Heng had to quickly head towards the commotion, no longer able to speak with Wu Zhouzhou.
"I bought it first, so I should be refunded!"
"I bought four boxes! I should be refunded!"
"Pfft! That’s because you’re rich and stupid, willing to be cheated."
"Pfft! You’re the fool! I earned my money. You’re just jealous."
...
Two won were spitting at each other, hands still grappling, both trying to reach for a small box inside the car.
Du Heng’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. He looked at the young man standing behind the car, who was staring at the small box with a worried and pained expression. Combined with what the two won were saying, Du Heng guessed this box likely contained the money from the recent dicine sales.
In rural areas, especially among the elderly people present, almost no one used electronic paynt; the "dicine" was all bought with cash.
Although annoyed by the two won’s quarreling, Du Heng felt a sense of relief the mont he saw the box.
At the very least, with this box here, the villagers wouldn’t suffer any losses.
"Stop it!" Du Heng said as he reached out and pulled the two won apart. "Don’t fight over it. This money is all evidence of their scam. Wait for the police from the Police station to arrive; they’ll handle it."
The two won stopped simultaneously. "No way! My money is still in that box. Give back my money; you can have the rest if you want it."
Du Heng glanced at the woman who had spoken, a trace of displeasure in his heart.
People like her deserved to be scamd a couple more tis, to let Society teach her a proper lesson.
Listen to that. Do those even sound like words a human should say?
The other woman imdiately redirected her attack. "Pfft! So what if you have so stinking money? If you hadn’t bought four boxes at once today, would the rest of us have paid for fake goods? I think you’re in cahoots with them! You’re their shill, putting on an act for us to see! Hmph, your money should be used to compensate us!"
Right. These two were as bad as each other; neither was easy to deal with.
Seeing the two about to start tearing at each other again, and with those who had already bought dicine also pressing forward, Du Heng quickly shouted sternly, "What are you all clamoring about? The money is right here! Wait for the police to arrive and verify things. They will definitely sort it out and ensure your money is refunded!"
By now, Du Heng had a certain amount of prestige in Central Lake, and his status was enough for most people to choose to believe him.
When the two quarreling won saw Du Heng’s expression change, and noticed that no one else behind them was surging forward to support them, neither dared to try and snatch the box in front of Du Heng.
But they wouldn’t leave either. They just stared intently at the box, not letting it out of their sight for a mont.
Du Heng breathed a sigh of relief; if these two won hadn’t listened to him, he really wouldn’t have known what else to do.
He glanced ahead. Only six or seven people had gathered in this area. Although they weren’t pushing forward like the two won, it was clear their eyes were also fixed on the box.
As for the others, they were all tightly surrounding the few young swindlers, completely ignoring the commotion over here.
Du Heng understood the situation; it seed that the people who had actually paid for the fake dicine were just these few before him.
However, Du Heng didn’t dare to leave at this mont. He was afraid that if he left, these two won would start eyeing the box again. If they took the money from the box or mixed it all up, it would just create a lot of trouble later.
So, he could only stand guard there, incidentally keeping an eye on the person by the car who was responsible for selling the dicine and collecting money.
Hearing the various pleas, cries, and curses from the young swindlers in the crowd, along with the villagers’ indignant shouts, Du Heng quickly yelled, "Fellow villagers, don’t resort to violence! Please, don’t hit anyone! Just surround them and don’t let them run away!"
The people who had bought the dicine hated these swindlers. They wished they could go up, slap them a couple of tis, and kick them to vent their anger. However, they were more concerned about their money, so their eyes remained glued to that box.
The others, who hadn’t yet paid for any dicine, were relatively relaxed. By this point, they were mostly participating with the ntality of watching a good show.
Seeing the despairing state of the surrounded swindlers, the onlookers felt a sense of satisfaction.
Just monts ago, these swindlers had put on airs, acting haughty and indifferent with a ’take it or leave it’ attitude. Now, rely a few minutes later, seeing them wailing and tear-stricken, the sudden reversal brought a sense of gratification that made the onlookers grin with relief.
So, while they were all for surrounding them to watch the spectacle, and quite adept at it, it was highly unlikely they would actually resort to violence.
The situation in the small square reached a temporary stalemate. However, Gong Daoyang didn’t keep them waiting long.
About thirty minutes later, three police cars, sirens wailing, sped in from another direction.
Seeing the situation in the square, Gong Daoyang let out a soft sigh of relief.
As a police officer who had worked in rural areas for nearly ten years, he understood what country folk were like better than anyone.
These people weren’t exactly known for their understanding or adherence to the law. If they got hot-headed upon realizing they’d been scamd, they might very well beat these swindlers to death.
And such things had happened before.
Now, seeing how stable the scene was, his rapidly beating heart gradually cald down.
After scanning the area and spotting Du Heng’s figure, Gong Daoyang said to the colleagues who had co with him, "First, get all the suspects under control. Then, preserve the evidence and take everyone back to the Police station."
Then, he strode towards Du Heng.
The people who had spent money were tightly crowded around Du Heng and the car. But upon seeing Gong Daoyang in uniform, they consciously made way for him without him even needing to speak.
"Xiao Heng, are you alright?"
Saying this, he hurried forward and looked Du Heng up and down, checking to see if he had sustained any injuries. It was only when he confird that Du Heng was unhard, without even a hair out of place, that he finally relaxed.
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