In an era when the average wage was only a few dozen yuan, twelve hundred yuan was absolutely no small sum.
When the constable heard that Zhang Chen had lost over a thousand yuan, on top of the eight hundred-plus yuan Wang Fang had lost, as well as all those gold and silver ornaments, he immediately felt his head swell enormously—enormously!
"Constable, you must get my money back! That's the nest egg I was saving to marry a wife!" Zhang Chen shouted, his voice brimming with anxiety, his performance utterly lifelike.
The constable looked at Zhang Chen, then at Wang Fang, who was crying, sniveling, and cursing in the street, and felt his head grow as large as a bushel.
Based on his past experience, cases like this had to start with acquaintances. Zhang Chen and Wang Fang did not get along, so Zhang Chen should have been the prime suspect. But Wang Fang said Zhang Chen had not been home, leaving him with his thoughts tangled like hemp and no idea where to begin.
He could only soothe the victims before investigating Zhang Chen's whereabouts that day. Zhang Chen accurately described where he had been, and the chief constable sent junior constables to verify it. Before long, word came back proving Zhang Chen had not lied. At a loss, he planned to first investigate the Zhang Family from within, then look into criminals recently released from prison, to see whether he could uncover even a trace of a clue or hear any useful news.
And so, a theft case came to nothing. Without high-tech assistance like surveillance cameras, investigating such a case was anything but easy.
When Zhang Fang returned and heard the money was gone, he felt as though the sky had collapsed. He did not blame Wang