By the time Chu Nanzhi and the rest got home, Lin Jinxiao had already consoled the two children. He was relieved when he saw that she had brought back Lin Ruiwen and Lin Ruichong.
Chu Nanzhi invited the Village Chief and the villagers to sit down in the courtyard before she went to the kitchen to boil a pot of water.
Lin Jinxiao could not understand what crazy thing she was up to now. He was really worried that she would do something embarrassing in front of so many people. If it ended in another fight, he would not be able to help much. In the end, his family would be at a disadvantage.
He knew Madam Chen's family very well. They only dared to act so recklessly because they knew that he was crippled now. When he regained his mobility, they would naturally maintain their distance.
So he could not watch this crazy woman make trouble for no reason and implicate himself and his children. He limped into the kitchen with a sullen expression and scolded,
"What are you doing? The Village Chief and so many villagers are here. Are you deliberately making a fool of yourself? Don't you know that Jinhong is a ruffian? What can you gain from arguing with him?"
"Mind your own business."
He might be lame, but she was not. Chu Nanzhi glared at him fiercely.
How dare he steal from a police officer in broad daylight?
"I'm not someone to be trifled with."
If that family was really in trouble and came to discuss matters with her, she might be able to come up with some money to help them.
But that family was really detestable.
First, the daughter and daughter-in-law framed them to try to get money. Now, they were just stealing.
How shameless!
If she did not punish them a little, these people might really think that she was an easy target.
She could not tolerate such an annoyance.
In her previous life as a police officer, her responsibility was to bring the wicked to justice and let them face trial.
After the water boiled, she ignored Lin Jinxiao and poured the boiling water into a wooden bucket before carrying it out.
Liu Qingbo, Lin Jinhong, and the villagers did not know why she was carrying a bucket of water.
Lin Jinhong's expression was cold, as if he had lost his patience. "Chu Nanzhi, are you crazy? You said you can make the silver speak. Is that how you're going to make it speak? Do you take me for a fool?"
"What's the hurry? If it's really your money, it won't run away."
Chu Nanzhi stretched out her hand and gestured. "Give me the silver."
Lin Jinhong was a little unwilling, afraid that she would take the opportunity to snatch the silver.
Village Chief Liu crossed his arms and said thoughtfully, "Everyone is watching. What are you worried about?"
Lin Jinhong had no choice. Bewildered, he passed the silver to Chu Nanzhi.
Chu Nanzhi threw the silver and gold into the wooden bucket.
When Lin Jinhong saw that, he sneered nonchalantly. "You crazy woman, you're really sick. Do you think that the silver will acknowledge you as its master just because you give it a hot bath?"
But Chu Nanzhi was not in the mood to pay attention to him. She looked at the gold and silver in the hot water.
If a person was forced to think of a way to prove that his own money belonged to him, it showed how detestable the world was.
After a while, she slowly asked Liu Qingbo, "Village Chief Liu, do you notice any changes in the water?"
Liu Qingbo carefully observed the water for a long time, but could not see anything.
Lin Jinhong and the others came over to take a look. They all thought that this woman was really unreasonable.
At this moment, Little Rujiao broke free from a gloomy Lin Jinxiao and ran over. She leaned over the bucket and looked at it for a while. Suddenly, she raised her head to look at everyone and pointed at the bucket in surprise.
"Wow, look, there's a thick layer of grease floating on the surface of the water. Hmm…"
She sniffed carefully. "There's also a little fragrance. It's the same smell as the pancakes we ate two days ago."
Liu Qingbo and the others looked over and saw a thick layer of grease floating on the surface of the water.
Liu Qingbo put his nose near the bucket and sniffed, "It smells like mutton and some wheat."
Because Elder Nie held him in high regard, he had the honor of accompanying Elder Nie to the county several times to eat grilled mutton. The taste was still fresh in his mind.
When Lin Jinhong saw the group of people acting mysterious, he could not help but retort, "So what? Does this prove that the silver belongs to this evil woman?"
As he spoke, he pointed at Chu Nanzhi angrily. "This evil woman swore that silver would talk."
Chu Nanzhi flung his hand away and said sternly, "It's already talking."
"It is?"
Everyone gathered around the bucket and carefully listened for a while, but they were still at a loss.
Chu Nanzhi laughed wryly and explained patiently,
"Lin Jinhong said that he won the silver from the casino. The silver in the casino is touched by gamblers all day long. It should be very smooth and clean. Why would there be such a thick layer of grease when it's placed in water? Moreover, there's the smell of mutton."
"That's right."
When everyone heard this, they looked at Lin Jinhong suspiciously.
Lin Jinhong smiled awkwardly. "It might be a coincidence."
After saying that, he pointed at Chu Nanzhi. "Then how can you prove that this silver is yours? Just based on the smell of the mutton and the word of these brats?"
Then, he deliberately looked at Lin Jinxiao, who was sitting at the stone table. "I'm afraid Eldest Brother won't tolerate an evil woman like you framing his own brother."
"If you think that a child's words are not trustworthy enough, the grease and the smell of mutton can explain everything."
Chu Nanzhi nonchalantly took out the cloth bag containing the silver. "You should be familiar with this cloth bag, right?"
Lin Jinhong did not like mutton. Although he had never been to the teahouse selling mutton pancakes, he had seen this cloth bag before.
Just now, he thought that the cloth bag was sticky and smelly, so he only took the silver and casually threw it in the hut.
He did not expect this woman to make an issue out of this lousy bag.
However, he would not confess until he was forced to. He stammered, "So… so what? It's just a cloth bag. What can it mean?"
"You're so stupid but you dare to act so shamelessly?"
Chu Nanzhi smiled angrily. "Lin Ruijia already said that we had mutton pancakes at home a few days ago. Smell this bag carefully."
She brought the cloth bag to Lin Jinhong's nose, and the ruffian quickly pinched his nose shut.
Chu Nanzhi gave the cloth bag to Liu Qingbo and the villagers to smell again. They nodded and said, "There's the smell of mutton and pancakes."
"A few days ago, I helped the county magistrate solve the case. The county magistrate rewarded me with 40 taels of silver and one tael of gold. I think many people know about this."
Chu Nanzhi explained in detail,
"That day, when I came out of the magistrate's office, my stomach was rumbling with hunger, so I went to the teahouse and spent two taels of silver to buy a few mutton pancakes. When I returned home, I used this cloth bag to store the remaining silver. The cloth bag was soaked in mutton grease and had the fragrance of pancakes. The silver would naturally be stained with grease and the smell of wheat after being placed in the cloth bag for a few days. That's what the Village Chief smelled just now."
Of course, she had to admit that Little Ruijia was extremely smart. She had actually seen the implications first.
When Liu Qingbo heard that, he understood and nodded his head.
He was happy, not just because this woman had given him a satisfactory explanation, but also because he had finally seen someone with the ability to get their money back from this ruffian.
If it were him, he would probably have to suffer in silence.
He could not help but admire this woman's wit.
He vaguely began to realize that this woman had deliberately pretended to be stupid in front of Elder Chang yesterday.
Chu Nanzhi's words were reasonable and logical. The villagers were convinced and turned their gazes to Lin Jinhong.
"Lin Jinhong, you're really heartless. Your brother has treated you well. Why didn't you come and visit when his family was in trouble? His leg is so badly injured, but you didn't help him. Instead, you bullied his family. You're really heartless."
Liu Qingbo was livid. He glared at Lin Jinhong and shouted,
"Lin Jinhong, what else do you have to say? Madam Chu has clearly explained the origins of the silver. If the amount of silver on you is coincidentally the same as hers, did you also coincidentally eat mutton pancakes and use the cloth bag to store the silver?"