Li Long had barely ridden away before he turned back.
The two police officers were taking notes, and both looked surprised to see him return.
"Comrade Li, was there something else?" one of the officers asked.
"I forgot something important." Li Long got off his bicycle, pulled a stack of wallets from his pocket, and handed them over. "When I questioned them earlier, I made them hand over their wallets and stuffed them in my pocket. Then I handed the men over to you and forgot about these-if I'd taken them home, I'd never have been able to explain myself! Good thing I remembered. Five wallets, here!"
The officer froze for a moment. The other officer leaned over, saw how bulging one of the wallets was, and couldn't help asking:
"Is that all money in there?"
"Yes, I checked. Quite a bit, too." Li Long smiled. "All right, I need to head back."
"It's really good of you to remember to bring it back!" one officer couldn't help saying.
"That money would burn a hole in my hand." Li Long smiled. "I'd be afraid I couldn't sleep at night."
Li Long rode off on his bicycle. Only after the two officers watched him disappear along Ma River Bridge did they begin counting the money.
"Five hundred and sixteen yuan, five jiao, and one fen in total," one officer said after counting it twice. "That's a huge sum. That Comrade Li is quite something."
"We'll report this exactly as it happened. Even though we're in different jurisdictions, I think we can at least send a letter of commendation," the other officer said, recording the amount. "These days, someone like him deserves plenty of praise."
Li Long actually had mixed feelings. He felt a tiny trace of regret over handing the money