Rebooting 60, let's go on a rampage with the orange cat!

After everyone had left, the house finally quieted down. The Shi family then began tidying up the slightly messy room. Shi Renmei and Xiuzhi were seen frantically searching through every corner, their expressions somewhat anxious.

Suddenly, Shi Renmei turned around and asked Huai'an, who was busy beside her, "Huai'an, do you still have your bankbooks? Don't lose them!"

Hearing her father's concerned question, Huai'an stopped what she was doing and replied with a smile, "Dad, don't worry, I've told you before, no one can find my things if I put them there." As she spoke, she gently patted her pocket to indicate that her bankbook was lying there safely.

Actually, Huai'an had already secretly retrieved the deposit slip from that magical space before, and showed it to her parents to confirm that it was correct before carefully putting it away again. Seeing her daughter's confident demeanor, Shi Renmei finally felt relieved, and a relieved smile appeared on her face as she nodded and said, "That's good, that's good! Fortunately, none of these important things were lost."

As he spoke, he bent down and began rummaging under the bed. Soon, he found a worn-out shoe riddled with holes. It turned out that the 95 yuan that Master Liu had brought last time had been stuffed into the shoe's holes, which were covered by an old sock.

Meanwhile, Xiuzhi was also struggling to move the heavy rice jar, and then pulled out a loose brick from underneath. She gently lifted the brick, and there was a small cloth bag hidden inside. When she opened it, she found several hundred yuan neatly stacked inside, which were leftovers from the last time she bought a bicycle, as well as money she had saved by living frugally.

Huai'an frowned and said worriedly, "Doing this is too dangerous! These things are easily eaten and destroyed by rats, and they are very likely to be stolen. They could also be burned or soaked in water. In my opinion, either we should just let me keep them safe, or we should deposit them in the bank and only keep less than ten yuan at home."

Seeing that Huai'an had kept the passbook safe and prevented any opportunity for a thief, Shi Renmei felt much more at ease. Without hesitation, he nodded and handed the stack of banknotes to Huai'an, adding, "As the saying goes, a tall tree catches the wind! Having too much money in the bank can attract attention. So we have to be careful in everything we do! This money came from selling ginseng, so you should keep it safe. It'll be more convenient to withdraw it whenever needed. Besides, we still receive salaries every month, which should be more than enough to cover our daily expenses."

Seeing his parents' unconditional trust in him, Huai'an's face lit up with joy. Without a word, he took the cloth bag containing the money, went back to his room, carefully opened it, neatly folded the money inside, and then with a gentle wave of his hand, the money instantly disappeared before his eyes—thrown into a magical space.

After finishing all this, the family ate a simple meal. At the dinner table, the parents complained that the radio had only been used for about two months before it was targeted by thieves. They said they should make sure to lock the doors and windows properly when they go out in the future.

After dinner, Huai'an saw that his parents were still tidying up the house, so he quietly left the house.

It was exactly eight o'clock in the evening. The night was as dark as ink, completely enveloping the sky. Only the warm glow of lights from individual windows illuminated the darkness. She hesitated for a moment at her doorstep, her steps somewhat faltering, but finally she arrived at Old Yu's house.

She raised her hand and gently knocked on the slightly worn wooden door. After a moment, the door opened, and standing behind it was Taozi's mother. When she saw that it was Huai'an standing outside, a hint of embarrassment unconsciously appeared on her face, followed by a slightly surprised "Oh dear!": "An'an, what brings you here so late? Is something the matter? Come in and sit down."

Huai'an entered the room and saw Yu Tao's father and his two older brothers sitting there with heavy expressions. When the three of them saw Huai'an come in, they just nodded slightly but did not say a word.

After finding a seat, Huai'an went straight to the point: "Uncles and aunts, older brothers, I came here today to tell you that five yuan and a radio have gone missing from my house. We just bought the radio recently, about two months ago. It's a Panda brand, and it cost 128 yuan, plus a radio receipt..."

However, before Huai'an could finish speaking, Taozi's father interrupted her. His face darkened, and he said stiffly, "Young lady, don't be so hasty. The police haven't given a clear conclusion yet; they have to wait until the investigation is complete before they can make a decision. Maybe Taozi didn't even do it! We're good neighbors, we see each other all the time, so don't be so absolute. Besides, even if something really happened, it should be your parents who handle it, not a little girl like you coming here."

Taozi's mother, while clearing away the dishes, complained a little, "Why is a young girl like you bringing this up? Let your mother do it. A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. If Taozi did it, we'll definitely compensate her without hesitation, but what if she didn't? We haven't reached a conclusion yet."

"Hmph, if Taozi did it, I'll break his legs!" said Yu Liang, the eldest brother, his face flushed red.

Seeing that they weren't unreasonable people, Huai'an said, "I know your family isn't bad people, and you don't want anything to happen to Brother Tao, but if we wait until the police have investigated this matter thoroughly, there probably won't be any room for maneuver."

Taozi's father looked at her with a furrowed brow, and said in a calm but authoritative tone, "Do you know something? Just say it directly, there's no need to beat around the bush."

Standing to the side, Huai'an took a deep breath, composed himself, and replied, "Uncle, it really was Taozi and his friend, the skinny guy, who did it. Don't ask me how I know. But I can guarantee it's all true! And I haven't revealed a single word of this to the police yet. If you don't believe me, you can go ask your Taozi; he still has a scar on his right cheek from a cat scratch, right? That's one piece of evidence!"

If he doesn't voluntarily turn himself in to the police, things could get very serious when they come knocking! The nature of the matter might completely change! So, I hope you can carefully consider what to do. If you continue to let this situation escalate, they might end up in jail, with a criminal record that they can never erase!

The second son, Yu Zhong, exclaimed, "Dad, Mom, Tao Zi does have a friend nicknamed 'Skinny.' It's all because of him that Tao Zi was led astray. We've been advising Tao Zi not to play with him for a long time, but he just won't listen."

Huai'an slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over the faces of each member of Taozi's family, and then said softly, "My parents know nothing about this, and I have only told you the truth. The decision to proceed is entirely up to you. Alright, I'll be going now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Huai'an quickly turned around and left the room, leaving Taozi's family standing there dumbfounded, looking at each other, at a loss for what to do.

Huai'an returned home, thinking that it was now up to their family. If they couldn't find Taozi or let him go, Taozi would face severe legal punishment. If there was still no movement after three days, Huai'an would report Taozi's whereabouts to the police. He had done all he could and wouldn't bother with the matter any further.

Around 4 a.m., a soft knocking sound came from outside the window of the Shi family's master bedroom. Old Yu called softly from outside the window, "Brother Shi, it's me, Old Yu. Open the door, I need to talk to you."

Upon hearing this, Shi Renmei quickly got up, put on her coat and cloth shoes, and opened the door. It was still dark outside. The Yu family father and son brought Taozi in. Shi Huai'an and his mother Xiuzhi also came out of the bedroom upon hearing the noise. As soon as the chubby orange cat Duoduo saw Taozi, it bared its teeth and meowed at him. Taozi, holding the radio in his hands, took two steps back guiltily.

As soon as he entered, Old Yu's eyes widened in fury, his face flushed crimson. He raised his right hand and, with lightning speed, slapped Taozi hard across the back of the head. The force of the slap was so great that Taozi staggered and almost fell to the ground. Immediately afterward, Old Yu kicked Taozi, all the while cursing, "You ignorant little beast! How dare you do such a disgraceful thing! Go and apologize to Uncle Shi's family right now! Brother Shi, I'm handing him over to you. You can beat him to death, I won't complain."

Seeing this, Yu Liang was shocked. He rushed to the door, glanced nervously outside, and quickly slammed the door shut. Then he turned back and anxiously pleaded with his father, "Dad, calm down! Don't be so impulsive! Taozi has already realized his mistake and regrets it!"

Yu Zhong quickly stepped forward to support his younger brother, took the radio from his hands, and gently placed it on the table.

It turned out that the three of them, Old Yu and his sons, had been searching for Taozi all night. When they finally found him, Taozi said that they had already sold the radio. So they took Taozi to the family and paid a little more money to redeem the radio.

Taozi was already terrified, his face ashen and his whole body trembling. He hung his head, like a deflated balloon, and huddled weakly to one side, his lips trembling as he spoke in a barely audible voice, "Uncle Shi... I'm so sorry... It was my brothers and I talking about how well-off your family was, and Skinny asked me to lead the way to your house to see if there was anything valuable. It was all my fault; I was blinded by greed and actually had the thought of stealing... Please forgive me for this mistake, my magnanimity!"

Shi Renxiu was initially bewildered by what he was seeing, completely clueless. It wasn't until he saw Taozi put the radio on the table that he suddenly realized what was going on.

He said gently, "Taozi! It's good to admit your mistakes and correct them. Let's leave this matter here. As the saying goes, 'A prodigal son who returns is more precious than gold.' As long as you can repent and start anew, you'll still be a good kid!"

Old Yu shakily reached into his slightly faded pocket, fumbled around for a while, and then slowly pulled out two crumpled five-yuan bills. He gently placed them on the table, his face full of shame, and said in a low voice, "Alas, it's all my fault as a father for not raising my child well! Look at the awful things he's done, he's really made me lose all face!"

Seeing this, Shi Renmei, who was sitting to the side, quickly reached out and picked up one of the five-yuan bills, then forcefully stuffed it back into Old Yu's hand, saying gently, "Brother Yu, I only lost five yuan, so I'll just take these five. You can take the rest back. It's getting late, you should go home and rest. Let's just leave it at that. I definitely won't go around saying anything, so you can rest assured."

At this moment, Yu Liang, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly spoke up. He looked at Shi Renmei earnestly and pleaded, "Uncle Shi, Taozi has truly wronged you this time. Please, have mercy and ask you to go to the police station and have the case dropped. Give him another chance to reform, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Renmei nodded without hesitation and replied, "Sure, sure, no problem! When I go to work at dawn, I'll just stop by the police station and take care of this matter properly!"

Shi Huai'an shook his head and said, "If your home is burglarized, you can't settle it privately and then drop the case at the police station. Theft is a public prosecution case, and even if the victim agrees not to pursue the matter, the police cannot drop the case."

Shi Renmei could only look at Lao Yu apologetically and said, "If I had known it was Taozi, I wouldn't have reported it to the police. What should we do now?"

The Yu family father and son were also dumbfounded. Taozi squatted down in despair, holding his head. No one knew what to do.

Huai'an continued, "Although the case cannot be dropped, if the thief reaches a compensation agreement with the victim and obtains forgiveness after the theft, the public security authorities may consider leniency or mitigation of punishment. Since Brother Tao has already admitted his mistake, if you promise not to associate with these bad friends again and not to steal again, our family can issue a letter of forgiveness. Moreover, we will underreport the price of the radio, saying that it was bought secondhand and only cost thirty-odd yuan. This way, the amount stolen is not high, and you are under eighteen years old. We might see if you can avoid sentencing. Of course, the final decision rests with the public security authorities. This is all we can do. We hope you will behave well and be careful in making friends in the future."

The Yu family father and son thanked him repeatedly and were about to leave when Taozi suddenly looked at the fat orange cat and asked Huai'an, "Can you tell me how you knew it was me and the skinny guy who did it?"

Duoduo meowed at him hostilely, seemingly venting her dissatisfaction.

Huai'an chuckled and said, "Someone saw you and Skinny in the alley. If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. I won't tell you who said it. What? You're not happy and want revenge?"

Taozi's scar twitched, and he quickly joked, "No, no, I admit it, I admit it. I was just curious. I thought this fat cat could talk."

Old Yu slapped him again: "Get home now! If you keep hanging out with those people, I'll break your legs."

Taozi reluctantly followed his father and brothers away.