Chapter 182: The Aunt is Too Much!
Chapter 182: The Aunt is Too Much!
After a round of interrogation by parents and teachers, the children finally confessed that it was Zhou Ziqiang who had instructed them to ask Zhou Zhou for money.
Zhou Ziqiang? Jiang Xia knew exactly who he was, Pan Daidi's grandson.
Jiang Xia turned to the teacher, "What do you have to say about this, Teacher?"
The teacher's lips twitched, and she immediately assured, "I will definitely get to the bottom of this. I'll make sure Zhou Zhou gets her money back and give those kids a proper punishment and education to prevent this from happening again!"
Jiang Xia then put on a more reasonable demeanor, "In that case, please help me find out where that hundred yuan went!"
Jiang Xia asked Zhou Zhou again, "Zhou Zhou, did other classmates ask you for money at school?"
Zhou Zhou shook her head, "No."
Jiang Xia continued, "Did they do anything else to you? Did they bully you? Are you hurt? Auntie will take you to the city hospital for a full-body checkup. We'll see if there are any hidden injuries. Don't worry, someone will cover the medical expenses and transportation costs. If the city hospital can't find anything, we'll go to the provincial hospital or even the capital's hospital. The medical expenses and transportation will be taken care of!"
The parents of the boys: "..."
What kind of person is this?
Who have they offended? They must have picked the wrong person!
The parents glared at their children, "Did you hit her?"
The boys all shook their heads, "No, absolutely not!!"
"No, we only asked her for money twice, and it was just two yuan in total! We asked her again today, and that's when we got caught."
...
Jiang Xia asked Zhou Zhou, "Is that so?"
Zhou Zhou nodded lightly.
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
Jiang Xia fixed her gaze on the boys, "Alright, I'll let this slide this time. Pay me back ten yuan! If I find out that someone is bullying my niece again and her money goes missing, I'll come after all of you!"
The boys: "..."
The parents: "..."
Wait, is this even possible?
Who is this person? Do they even look human?
One of the parents asked, "Why ten yuan? It was only two yuan!"
Jiang Xia replied, "Do you think hospital checkups are free? Will you pay or not? If not, you can take her for a checkup yourselves."
Did Jiang Xia really need that ten yuan? No, but she wanted them to pay a little to ensure they took it seriously.
Two yuan didn't seem like much, but it felt as painful as a two-hundred-yuan fine for illegal parking when you only earn two or three thousand a month.
Next time, they would definitely be more careful!
The parents: "..."
They must have been scammed!
Damn, who have they gotten themselves into trouble with? From now on, they must warn their children to stay away from her family!
One of the frustrated parents took out two yuan, "Here's the money. We're even. Don't bother us again!"
Seeing this, the other parents also reluctantly took out two yuan each to compensate Jiang Xia.
They silently vowed to educate their children thoroughly when they got home, making sure they stayed away from Zhou Zhou to avoid getting scammed again.
Jiang Xia took the money and grabbed Zhou Wenyao's hand, which was holding Zhou Zhou's school bag, "Let me check if anything else is missing. My niece's pencil case is quite expensive; it cost three yuan at the city department store."
"This school bag is new too. It cost ten yuan, and I don't know if it's been torn by any of you."
The parents: "..."
This was outright robbery!
In the end, Jiang Xia pretended to find ten large denomination notes in the pencil case, "So this is where the hundred yuan went!"
Everyone in the room: "..."
So, the hundred yuan wasn't taken after all!
They were almost scared to death! For a moment, they thought they'd have to pay a month's salary.
Jiang Xia continued, "Your children are quite obedient to others. They took money from their classmate just because they were told to. Won't this become a habit? Today, it's my niece's money. What if, in the future, they take money from other classmates? And if they can't get it, will they start stealing from their own homes? What if they grow up and listen to others, doing bad things?"
The parents: "..."
Jiang Xia left them with these words and pulled Zhou Zhou away.
Zhou Wenyao and Zhou Wenzuxiong followed behind, heads held high.
The aunt was too much!
Even the teacher was left helpless by her.
As Jiang Xia walked back with Zhou Zhou, she instructed her, "If anyone bullies you again, be sure to tell an adult at home or find your brothers. Don't keep it to yourself."
Zhou Wenyao said, "Yes! Why didn't you come to me or your eldest brother? We can help teach those bullies a lesson. No one will dare to bully you again!"
Zhou Zhou whispered, "You two run too fast during school and after school, and I can't find you during breaks."
Zhou Wenyao: "..."
After school, they would either go to the bamboo garden to catch and roast bamboo rhinoceros beetles or poke at beehives to roast bee larvae. Sometimes, they would use slingshots to shoot sparrows, climb trees to steal bird eggs, fish for loaches in the river, or catch water snakes...
Zhou Zhou didn't dare to eat those things and didn't enjoy playing the games they played, so they rarely included her in their after-school activities."
Even at school, as soon as class ended, they would go to the convenience store to buy snacks, or sneak some from their classmates. They would also play marbles or origami. It was normal for Zhou Zhou not to be able to find them, as boys and girls played differently.
"You can also tell us when you get home from school, and we brothers will take care of them. If anyone dares to bully you, Zhou Ziqiang's brothers will teach them a lesson! We'll handle it, Auntie!"
Jiang Xia: "Okay, we'll take care of it. If we see anyone bullying Zhou Zhou, we won't hold back. You guys should also pay more attention in the future and not let anyone bully Zhou Zhou. Take good care of your sister, and Auntie will reward you."
As the older brother, he should take the initiative to solve the problem. So, it was left to them.
Children need to learn to solve problems on their own, and if they can't, adults will step in. In Jiang Xia's previous life, he solved all his problems himself, including paying for his school fees.
Although a child's abilities are limited, they also have unlimited potential.
Moreover, Zhou Ziqiang's father hasn't been home recently, and his mother isn't living in the village either. It seems she went back to her mother's house, so Zhou Ziqiang hasn't returned to the village in a while. It's been a long time since Jiang Xia saw them, and he hasn't heard any arguments from next door.
Only Pan Daidi's eldest son and his family live next door, and they are quite polite and honest.
Jiang Xia turned to Zhou Zhou and said, "Zhou Zhou, if something like this happens again, and you don't know what to do, you must tell an adult to handle it. Otherwise, if you endure it once, they will only get worse next time. Do you understand? Your uncle and auntie are not afraid of anything, they're only afraid of you being bullied! Auntie would rather you be the one bullying others than being the one getting bullied. Do you understand?"
Zhou Zhou froze for a moment, then nodded after a while.
She had been pulled along by Jiang Xia as he scolded her classmates, criticized the teacher, and accused the parents. He was like an old mother hen, fluffing up her feathers to protect her.
The male classmates who seemed intimidating to her cowered like turtles in front of Auntie, not daring to speak up.
Watching the teacher and the parents being helpless against Auntie, she felt like she understood something, yet at the same time, she felt like she didn't understand anything at all.
Jiang Xia didn't say more. Zhou Zhou was timid, and this was a personality trait that couldn't be changed overnight, but it needed to be changed, or she would be taken advantage of as she grew up.
Jiang Xia also thought about how, in the book, Zhou Zhou was later taken away by her biological mother. Her mother had been unable to conceive for years and was worried about not having her own children to care for her in her old age. So, eight years after remarrying, when Zhou Zhou was in fourth grade, her mother took her away.
After Zhou Zhou was taken away, she was constantly bullied in her stepfather's home due to her gentle nature. She was made to do all the housework, and eventually, she was even arranged to marry before finishing middle school.
After getting married, her timid nature continued to be a problem, and she was often bullied by her in-laws. Having given birth to two daughters, she felt at a disadvantage for not having a son. She endured severe bullying from her mother-in-law and didn't dare to speak up. Later, when she became pregnant again, the hard work caused a miscarriage, and she almost lost her life. It was then that the Zhou family found out and brought her back home.
Jiang Xia paused in his steps, thinking about how he should stop Zhou Zhou's biological mother from taking her away when the time came.
After all, her biological mother had every right to take her own daughter.
Jiang Xia did have a way to stop her, but he wasn't sure if Zhou Fu and Zhou Mu would agree. He decided to discuss it with them when Zhou Chenglei returned.
Upon returning home, Zhou Fu and Zhou Mu both asked what had happened.
Jiang Xia explained the situation to Zhou Fu and Zhou Mu.
Zhou Mu started cursing again: "Those little brats, I'll go and settle the score with them! How dare they steal our money, @&%$..."
She unleashed another tirade of curses!
Zhou Wenyao revealed the identities of the families involved.
So, Zhou Mu went to each of their homes and cursed them out! The children hid inside their houses, too scared to come out.
Zhou Ziqiang was also scolded by the four Zhou brothers on his way to school in the afternoon.
There wasn't enough time to go to the city in the afternoon, so Jiang Xia could only go the next day.
Thanks to all the readers who voted and rewarded! I truly appreciate it!
I was supposed to update at 9 pm today, but I received a notification to revise the chapter, hence the delay. A friendly reminder: There have been some modifications to the ending of yesterday's chapter, so please take a look! Apologies!
(End of Chapter)
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