Li Rui nodded to himself. Mother Ding was very business-minded. She didn't rent out such a large store to collect rent. Instead, she opened such a large supermarket. There were customers every day, and there was income every day. When the year-end accounts were tabulated, it would be an explosive figure. Just thinking about it made him very happy. However, Mother Ding's business behavior reflected the Ding family's wealth. Not only did they have a mansion, luxury car, and savings, but they also had hidden wealth like the store. If it weren't for his elder brother Huang Xinghua's legacy, his total assets might be far less than the Ding family's.
However, he was also puzzled. Old Ding, Ding Zhiguo, had been pranked some time ago. Although he had saved him and he had accepted punishment from the unit and the Commission for Discipline Inspection, the illegally obtained money and properties had been privately returned. However, why hadn't this store been returned? On second thought, the other properties had come from unknown sources and had to be returned. However, he had "bought" this store with money and had gone through the proper procedures. Therefore, he wasn't afraid of outsiders saying anything. Naturally, there was no need to return it. In that case, besides this store, the Ding family didn't have any other wealth. It was no wonder that Mother Ding suddenly opened this supermarket. She wanted to earn more money. Obviously, opening a supermarket was more profitable than simply renting out and collecting rent.
At this moment, he suddenly understood a lot of things. Thinking about the rise and fall of the Ding family, he sighed in his heart.
"Li Rui, you're here. Haha, I haven't seen you in a long time!"
Mother Ding's voice suddenly came from behind Li Rui. He turned around and saw Ding Yijing accompanying Mother Ding out of an office-like door. Mother Ding was greeting him with a smile. He hurriedly went forward and said, "Hello, Auntie. I've been a little busy recently. Haha, I didn't have time to visit you. Are you feeling well?"
Mother Ding thought in her heart that this little guy was really filial. However, her face darkened. Such a good young man, but he wasn't her son-in-law. How depressing! She forced a smile and said, "I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me. As long as you and Jingjing are fine, it's fine."
Li Rui asked casually, "Auntie, it must have cost a lot to run such a big supermarket, right?"
Mrs. Ding nodded and said, "That's right. Apart from the fact that the store is ours and we don't need to spend money, everything else is free. Not to mention the license and the like, just the payment for the goods alone is close to a million. There's also the renovation and hiring …"
In her heart, she had long regarded Li Rui as one of her family members. She used the words "our family" very smoothly. Including Li Rui and Ding Yijing, none of the three people felt that it was out of place.
Li Rui said, "Oh, that's a lot of money." Then, he added, "Auntie, if you don't have enough money in the future, or if there's anything else, feel free to tell me. Don't treat me as an outsider."
When Mother Ding heard this, a smile bloomed on her face. She looked at him as if she was looking at her proud son-in-law. Her eyes were full of love and fondness. She said, "Don't worry. If there is any trouble, I will ask you. Our Jingjing and you are not outsiders. Haha …"
When Ding Yijing heard this, the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, but she didn't say anything else.
Just as Mother Ding was about to say something to Li Rui, she suddenly heard someone shouting at the door, "Boss, come and take a look. I caught the thief."
Mrs. Ding turned her head and saw Peng Dan, the store manager she had hired, standing at the door. Peng Dan was holding a middle-aged woman in her thirties. The woman was dressed like an ordinary woman and was pulling at Peng Dan with an awkward expression, saying, "Why are you grabbing me?" "Who's stealing?"
When Li Rui and Ding Yijing heard this, they also looked over. After seeing it, they understood that the shop assistant had caught a thief in the supermarket. However, they didn't know how she had caught the thief.
Mother Ding said hatefully, "Good, I finally caught the thief who deserves to be cut into pieces. Watch how I deal with her this time." After saying that, she walked over angrily.
Ding Yijing curiously followed behind and asked, "Mom, why did you use the word 'finally'?"
Mother Ding explained as she walked, "It's been a few days. The supermarket has been losing things, but I couldn't catch the thief. I was so angry that I had a belly full of anger. Today, I finally caught the thief. I definitely won't let her off."
Li Rui, who was following behind the mother and daughter, looked at the surveillance camera installed on the roof of the supermarket and asked curiously, "The surveillance camera hasn't started running yet?"
Mother Ding said, "It started running the day it was installed. However, there weren't enough cameras, so I couldn't see it all."
Ding Yijing said, "Then install more. The camera isn't expensive. Anyway, it's already installed."
Mother Ding said, "Okay, I'll listen to you. Install more later."
The three of them walked to the store manager, Peng Dan. Mother Ding asked Peng Dan, "What's going on?"
Peng Dan stared at the woman in her hand with disdain and said, "I just found this person sneaking around the shelves for a long time without buying anything, so I secretly watched her. Later, I saw her hide from the surveillance camera, steal a pair of socks and an automatic pencil, and stuff them into her bag. After she came out, she didn't go to the checkout aisle, so I quickly stopped her. In the end, she had a guilty conscience and wanted to run away. Didn't I quickly run over to catch her? Boss, what do you think we should do with her? Our supermarket has a penalty of ten times the amount of money for each stolen item. According to that system, we can make her pay ten times the amount. We can also send her to the police station. "
Before Mother Ding could speak, the woman who was called a thief defended herself. "I didn't steal anything. Really, I didn't take anything. I went in for a walk and found that I didn't have enough money to buy what I wanted, so I came out first. Really, let me go. I'll go back and get the money. "
Peng Dan said coldly, "I caught you lying. How can you be so shameless? Hand it over. Don't make me do it myself. Otherwise, you'll lose even more face. "
The woman blushed and lowered her head. After a while, she suddenly said, "I really didn't take anything!"
Peng Dan corrected her and said, "You stole, not took. You don't want to hand it over, right?" After saying that, she reached out to grab her bag.
The woman was very anxious. She protected her bag with both hands, as if it was the most precious thing in the world.
Mother Ding snorted and said, "You said you didn't steal anything. Then, open your bag and let us see. If there's really nothing in it from my store, I'll let you go."
The woman's expression was awkward and embarrassed. At this time, many customers who were coming in and out gathered around, making the scene more and more grand. It was like a public trial.
Seeing that she was acting shamelessly, Peng Dan suddenly reached out and grabbed her bag. After pulling it from her arm, she reached into the bag.
The woman's expression changed greatly. She hurriedly reached out to grab it, but it was too late. Peng Dan had already taken out a brand new red plastic automatic pencil. The woman was stunned for a moment and was quite helpless.
Peng Dan said angrily, "You dare to say you didn't steal? What is this? "
Seeing that the thief was caught, the woman lowered her head dejectedly.
Ding Yijing's mother was about to ask when Ding Yijing noticed that the woman's leather bag was old and worn. There were holes in the bottom corner, revealing the artificial leather inside. The woman's clothes were also not of high quality, like the style and material of the clothes at the end of the last century. Ding Yijing's heart skipped a beat and she asked, "Where are you from?"
The woman said weakly, "I … I'm from the district."
Ding Yijing asked again, "Why did you steal from our supermarket?"
The woman was so embarrassed that her head was about to hit the ground. She did not answer.
Ding Yijing asked again, "You can explain stealing socks, but why did you steal the automatic pencil?"
The woman said in a low voice, "For my son. He … he really wants an automatic pencil."
Ding Yijing was very surprised. She turned to look at Li Rui.
Li Ruixin said, "Why are you looking at me? I'm not her accomplice." However, he had already noticed that this old deskmate's expression was full of infinite pity. He knew that she was moved, but he did not say anything to her. He wanted to see how she would deal with this matter.
He turned to look at the woman. His gaze inadvertently swept across her left hand. He was shocked to see that this woman only had three fingers on her left hand. Her ring finger and pinky finger were missing. It was very frighteningly bare. His heart skipped a beat. It turned out that she was a disabled person.
"Ahem!"
Li Rui coughed lightly to attract Ding Yijing's attention. When she looked over, he used his eyes to signal her to look at the thief's left hand.
Ding Yijing quickly noticed this. Her expression changed slightly. She pursed her lips and asked, "Let me ask you. Did you steal all the things that were stolen from our supermarket?"
The woman hurriedly shook her head and said, "No, no. This is the first time. It's my first time stealing. I … I've never stolen anything before. "
Ding Yijing's mother heard this and frowned slightly. She said, "It wasn't you?"
The woman nodded repeatedly. "It wasn't me. It really wasn't me. I swear!"
Peng Dan said mockingly, "You swear? Does your vow count? You just said that you didn't steal anything. In the end, didn't I catch the stolen goods? Who dares to believe you now? "
The woman was speechless. Her eyes turned red and tears rolled in her eyes.
Ding Yijing sighed inwardly and asked, "The things you stole are not worth much. Why didn't you buy them? Why did you have to steal them?"
The woman said timidly, "My … my salary is very low. It's just enough to feed our family. My child's father lost his ability to work and can't work to earn money. My son really wanted an automatic pencil. His socks are so broken that they can't be mended anymore. I thought about it for a long time, but there was really no other way. So I … I …"
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
