Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

Chapter 794 Aftermath
The footsteps of the police and the shouts of those escorting the prisoners gradually faded away, leaving only a mess on the ground and a group of terrified figures.

Yan Bugui slumped to the ground, the coldness beneath his buttocks unable to quell the chill in his heart.

"5 cents!" That was money he had painstakingly saved up, every penny he had.

The thermos ticket hadn't even warmed up before it was confiscated; in the blink of an eye, the police took it away, and I didn't even see a splash of water.

He felt a sharp pain in his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, and his vision blurred intermittently.

People around him left one after another, cursing or sighing, but no one looked at him or cared about his losses.

You should be thankful you didn't get caught; why should you care about that little bit of money?

Anyway, money isn't worth much these days.

Jia Zhangshi, who was some distance away, was still cursing and swearing when she saw the police walk away.

Her triangular eyes darted around, and she spat a thick wad of phlegm in the direction the policeman had disappeared: "Pah! You jinx! You childless bastard! You stole my money! One dollar!"

"Old Jia! Dongxu! Look at this world! Is it even possible for people to live like this anymore?!"

Her curses sounded particularly jarring in the empty space, but unfortunately no one paid any attention.

After she finished scolding, she patted the dirt off her clothes and touched her empty pockets with a pained expression.

I brought 5 yuan today and used it all to buy tickets, but I never expected that after spending the money, all the tickets would be gone.

Thinking of this, Jia Zhangshi gritted her teeth in hatred.

She glared fiercely at the equally unfortunate people, her anger finding no outlet, her eyes like poisoned needles.

Just then, she saw Yan Bugui looking distraught.

Choose the softest persimmons you can squeeze, and do business with acquaintances.

Jia Zhangshi rushed up to Yan Bugui in three strides, hands on her hips, spitting almost onto Yan Bugui's face:

"Old Yan! It's all your fault, you old coffin-stuff! You jinx! You're a jinx!"

Yan Bugui, still reeling from the enormous economic losses, was startled by the sudden barrage of insults: "Jia Jia Zhang Shi? What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm crazy? You're the one who's crazy!" Jia Zhangshi's voice was shrill and sharp.

"If you old codger hadn't been arguing and fighting with that ticket scalper in front of the supply and marketing cooperative, would Lei Zi have come? Would we all have ended up getting into this mess?"

"My cloth coupons! My one yuan! All gone! It's all your fault! Pay me back! You bastard, pay me back!"

The commotion drew the attention of a few people who hadn't yet left, and they stopped to watch.

Even people from several courtyards, including Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai, were present. No one dared to show up at this time; it would be too embarrassing.

Yan Bugui was both angry and anxious, his face flushed red: "You...you're slandering me! What does the police raiding the black market have to do with me? I...I was also charged a ticket!"

"You deserve it! Who told you to meddle?" Jia Zhangshi persisted, her finger almost poking Yan Bugui's nose.

"It's you! You jinx! If you don't pay me back this dollar today, I'm going to cause trouble at your school!"

"Let the leaders see what kind of person you are as a teacher! Speculating and profiteering, running black markets! Let's see how you still act as a role model!"

"You're being unreasonable! You shrew!" Yan Bugui was trembling with anger. He was most afraid of damaging his reputation, and Jia Zhangshi's move hit his weak spot.

Moreover, if this is not handled properly, his teacher's rank will most likely not be reduced, but he may not be able to be promoted again in the future.

In short, this matter should not be "promoted".

"The police arrested ticket scalpers! What does that have to do with me! I'm just an ordinary citizen buying something!"

"Ordinary people? Isn't ordinary people's money money? I don't care! It's all your fault! Pay up!" Jia Zhangshi started to throw a tantrum, sitting down on the ground and slapping her thighs as she howled.

"Oh dear! We can't live like this anymore! That old bastard Yan Bugui is a scoundrel! He's ruined us, a widow and her children, and killed us!"

"Old Jia! Dongxu! Please show your power and take this black-hearted bastard away! Send him to the eighteenth level of hell!"

Yan Bugui felt his scalp tingle and his blood pressure spike.

Seeing that there was something to see, the surrounding crowd was in no hurry to go back. They felt that if they could see such a show, they would consider it as paying a lot of money to see a play.

"Mad! You're unreasonable!"

Yan Bugui pointed at Jia Zhangshi with trembling fingers, wanting to scold her but afraid that she would make a bigger scene, so in the end he could only stomp his foot in resentment.

Forget about saving face, he covered his head and fled in panic as if a ghost were chasing him.

"Old Yan! Don't go!"

When Jia Zhangshi saw Yan Bugui run away, she wailed even louder, as if she were the biggest victim in the world.

Only when the onlookers got bored and dispersed did she reluctantly get up, still cursing under her breath, and limp away into the depths of the alley.

This night was destined to be anything but peaceful; each person licked their wounds and harbored resentment.

at the same time.

A hunched figure moved nimbly through the crowd; it was Liu Lishun, who had successfully escaped his predicament.

Once he was completely safe, he straightened his back, and the terrified, cowering "honest man" look vanished without a trace.

Instead of going home immediately, he wandered around the black market area.

After all, he wouldn't feel at ease leaving such a large sum of money and tickets untouched, even if he was certain his hiding place was difficult to discover.

But until I have it in my hands, I still feel uncertain.

However, his years of "experience" told him that although the police had withdrawn, it was hard to guarantee that there were no sentries nearby, or plainclothes officers patrolling the area.

This immediately put him in a dilemma.

"What are we going to do? We've only caught three ticket scalpers, there must be three or four more we haven't caught yet, and we don't know if they've escaped or not?"

The black market has more than one entrance and exit; those ticket scalpers might escape through another entrance, or they might be caught at one of those entrances or exits.

But since he hadn't seen them arrest anyone, Liu Lishun had no idea what to do.

"It's better to be careful."

While thinking this in his mind, his body honestly headed towards the black market.

"I'll only feel at ease once I have the goods in my hands!"

Even if you're absolutely certain you don't know, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Liu Lishun turned his clothes inside out, turned up his collar, and then returned to the black market.

"no one!"

After carefully investigating and confirming that there was no one in the black market, Liu Lishun dared to tiptoe to the hiding place.

He carefully pried open a few inconspicuous old bricks, and only when he touched the familiar oil paper package did his heart finally settle down.

He took out the oil paper package as if it were a rare treasure, peeled off the layers of oil paper, and inside was a thick stack of banknotes and a small stack of various tickets and certificates.

Even though he had personally carried and placed the money and tickets inside, Liu Lishun only dared to feel relieved when he saw the money and tickets with his own eyes!
"Phew~ Great! It's still there!"

I quickly wrapped the oil paper and placed it inside the lining. I pressed it to make sure it wouldn't fall off before I felt a little relieved.

"Don't stay here for long!"

After confirming that no one was around, Liu Lishun got up and walked in the shadows, successfully leaving the black market.

Back home, Liu Lishun finally felt relieved and carefully counted each item.

There are 10 cloth coupons left, none of the hot water coupons left, 5 enamel coupons left, and a number of cigarette and alcohol coupons.

The most important thing is money, a total of one hundred and sixty-seven dollars and thirty-five cents in cash!
More than he expected!

"Ha ha!"

Overwhelmed with joy, he couldn't help but burst into laughter twice, then immediately shut up!

"Making a fortune!"

"Opening a business once will sustain you for three years! That's absolutely true!"

After his initial excitement, Liu Lishun quickly regained his composure.

"The police only arrested two big ticket scalpers this time, and a few small scalpers as well. They certainly won't let this go."

"We need to stay out of the limelight for the next few days and avoid the limelight. We absolutely cannot show our faces in public again."

After making up his mind, Liu Lishun was finally able to go to sleep peacefully!
the other side.

The police station was brightly lit.

"Captain, a preliminary count reveals over 500 coupons in total: cloth coupons, thermos bottle coupons, enamelware coupons, cigarette coupons, and liquor coupons! There's also a rough estimate of over 300 yuan in cash!"

Several bags were spread out in front of Xie Yong, containing the "spoils of war" confiscated that night—a mountain of various tickets and certificates.

A police officer in charge of the interrogation walked in and shook his head: "Captain, those four ticket scalpers are small fry. They haven't been in this business for long. This time, they managed to sell the tickets on the black market."

He casually recounted the details of the four ticket scalpers in detail.

Xie Yong nodded. He didn't pay much attention to it. He had also briefly checked their money and tickets when he searched them on the black market.

It wasn't much, only forty or fifty yuan. Compared to those two big ticket scalpers, it was far too little. Those two had at least 100 yuan each.

He looked at another policeman: "Where are the two big ticket scalpers?"

“They all confessed. Most of the tickets have been sold. We also sent people to search their homes, and there are only a few tickets left.”

Xie Yong nodded, then looked at the third person: "What did the other police stations say? How many were arrested? Were those big ticket scalpers caught?"

The policeman nodded first, then shook his head: "They arrested quite a few ticket scalpers, both big and small, but in the end, they still missed a few big ones who got away!"

"Damn it!" Xie Yong slammed his fist on the table. "They got away! They got away again! These ticket scalpers are as slippery as eels!"

Their intention in this operation was to wipe out the big ticket scalpers in one fell swoop, but unexpectedly, several of them still managed to escape.

Xie Yong recalled the scene of the inspection, but couldn't guess who the ticket scalpers were; they were just too good at hiding.

"Captain, this operation has been quite successful," a young police officer tried to reassure him. "We arrested six people and seized so many tickets; that should be enough to deter others for a while."

Xie Yong nodded, but still poured cold water on the idea: "I don't think it's a deterrent, but rather that they've already made enough money."

Looking at those stuffed bags, how could they not make a fortune?
They're definitely lying low right now; it'll be very difficult to catch them.

"We can't just let this go." Xie Yong turned around, his eyes sharp. "Old Zhang, arrange for a few people to keep an eye on the black market. Maybe those ticket scalpers have left their stuff there."

"Okay." He immediately took his men and went.

Fortunately, Liu Lishun was fighting alone, but he wasn't afraid of being caught.

Xie Yong looked at these tickets again. None of them had any markings, making it difficult to trace their origin. Even if they had markings, it would still be difficult to find them.

After all, scalpers buy tickets from ordinary people.

"Alright, classify and register the tickets, and process them according to the rules," Xie Yong finally decided.

"Everyone has worked hard. Let's see if there are any extra tickets and use some as overtime pay."

The words were phrased tactfully, but the eyes of those below lit up.

These days, tickets are sometimes more valuable than money!

With so many tickets, taking a small portion and distributing it to everyone wouldn't be a big deal.

After all, police officers are human too.

So many tickets and certificates were confiscated, and other police stations also confiscated a lot of them.

With so many fewer tickets available, the impact on supplies has been greatly reduced, which can be considered as achieving the purpose of their operation.

Yan Bugui practically scrambled back to the courtyard house.

However, the courtyard was not silent at this moment.

Dim yellow light shone from the windows of a few houses, from which faint, suppressed discussions and sighs could be heard.

Clearly, the "turmoil" at the black market tonight has spread like wildfire throughout the courtyard.

"My dear husband, you're finally back! I heard... I heard there was trouble at the black market? The police made arrests?" The third aunt's voice was choked with tears. "Are you alright?"

The whole family stared at him.

Yan Bugui waved his hand: "It's okay, I'm back now, aren't I? The police didn't arrest anyone, they just took the ticket."

At this point, he couldn't help but sigh, "What a pity. I finally managed to get a thermos ticket, but it was confiscated, and I even spent the money."

Upon hearing this, the three women patted their chests and said, "It's alright, as long as everyone is safe. It doesn't matter if the money is gone, as long as everyone is safe."

Yan Jiecheng nodded in agreement: "Yes, money can be earned back, but people can't be lost. I heard someone got arrested."

"Yeah. Quite a few people who wanted to hide in the dark got caught. I wonder what will happen to them?"

Thinking of this, Yan Bugui felt much better; at least he hadn't been arrested.

Suddenly, a familiar set of footsteps approached.

It's obviously Jia Zhangshi.

Yan Bugui immediately flew into a rage: "Damn it! That old hag Jia Zhangshi! She's pinning all the blame on me! She insists that I called the police, causing everyone to suffer!"

"She started throwing a tantrum in the street, hurling incredibly foul language, and demanded a dollar from me! She even threatened to report me to the school for speculation and profiteering, so I couldn't continue teaching!"

"What?!" The third aunt was so shocked she almost jumped up. "How could she do this? Isn't this suicidal? Why didn't she go to the ticket scalpers? Why didn't she go to the police? Why is she blaming our family?"

The third aunt knew the importance of her husband's job; it was their livelihood.

If Jia Zhangshi really makes a scene at the school, the consequences will be unimaginable.

"She's a mad dog! She bites anyone she sees! She thinks I'm easy to bully!" Yan Bugui slammed his fist on the ground in anger. "I really, really wanted to..."

He ultimately didn't utter the word "take action," still retaining a touch of intellectual pride.

"Damn it, this can't just be left like this! I'm going to confront her!" the third aunt said angrily, rolling up her sleeves to go find Jia Zhangshi.

"Forget it, forget it." Yan Bugui immediately stopped him: "It's late at night, it's not a good idea, let's talk about it tomorrow."

"I heard she spent five yuan on a ticket on the black market, but it was still confiscated! She lost all her money."

"Haha! Serves you right!" The third aunt spat, feeling immediately pleased.

The whole family was very happy.

Only Jia Zhangshi returned home with a long face, waiting to be scolded by Qin Huairu.
(End of this chapter)