Zhao Xingwang took out a pre-prepared hairpin and turned it in the keyhole twice. With a light click, the lock sprang open.
Jiang Weiguo had absolutely no idea that someone would enter the shop to check. The batch of cashmere sweaters was casually piled in the storage room behind the shop.
"Damn it, they stole so much?" There were six or seven large bags in total, almost filling the storage room.
After carefully examining the goods, Chen Lishu's eyes flashed with a cold glint.
"What should we do? Find people to move them back now?"
Chen Lishu shook her head. "No moving. We'll leave this place for the police tomorrow."
With such a massive amount of theft, Jiang Weiguo wouldn't be getting out for at least ten years.
Before leaving, to further prove that the batch of goods was hers, Chen Lishu specifically wrote "Shi Se Apparel Store Delivery" on the back of each bag.
Zhao Xingwang watched everything Chen Lishu did and couldn't help but grin and give her a thumbs up. "Sister, your move is truly brilliant."
The two quickly organized the bags back into place, then retreated and re-locked the door.
...
Jiang Zhaodi came to work as usual. Shortly after opening the shop door, several police officers in uniform arrived.
"Are you the owner of this shop?"
Jiang Zhaodi had never seen so many officials before and was immediately scared into silence. She stammered, "No, no, I'm not."
"Where is your shop owner? Go call him over. We suspect stolen goods are hidden in your shop and need to conduct a search."
Jiang Zhaodi was a bit bewildered. "C-comrades, there's nothing hidden in the shop?" She had been in the shop the whole time and hadn't hidden anything.
"Go call the shop owner."
"Yes, yes." Jiang Zhaodi responded and quickly went out to call for him.
Jiang Weiguo was leisurely sitting with his legs crossed. Seeing Jiang Zhaodi enter, he frowned in displeasure and was about to speak when she rushed in, exclaiming, "Uncle, you better go take a look. The police are at the shop, saying they suspect something is hidden and want to search."
As soon as Jiang Zhaodi finished speaking, everyone's gaze fell on Jiang Weiguo. He glared at her angrily, "What nonsense are you babbling about so early in the morning? It's your shop, you opened it, you know it. If the police want to search, let them search!"
Formal employees were not allowed to engage in business, and running a private shop was even more prohibited. Therefore, Jiang Weiguo had warned Jiang Zhaodi early on to say that the shop belonged to her, and he was merely helping out as a relative and elder.
Jiang Zhaodi also realized she had spoken out of turn and quickly tried to cover up. "Yes, I opened the shop, and my uncle has nothing to do with it."
Jiang Weiguo: "..." This was only making things worse.
Having nothing more to say to his niece, he turned to the new shop assistant and explained with a smile, "The relative's child is young and gets flustered when something happens. I'll go take a look."
Jiang Weiguo walked out from behind the counter. Seeing Jiang Zhaodi hadn't moved, he frowned and glared at her. "Didn't people come to the shop? Why aren't you going?"
"Oh, oh."
Several police officers were standing by the entrance. Seeing Jiang Weiguo approach, Yang Shuang directly presented his work ID and a search warrant without waiting for Jiang Weiguo to speak. "Someone reported that your shop is privately storing the batch of cashmere sweaters lost from 'Shi Se' Apparel Store. We are now going to inspect the shop."
Jiang Weiguo's heart sank. Seeing that the situation was set in stone, he knew that any further denial would only arouse suspicion. He thus admitted, "My shop did receive a batch of cashmere sweaters a few days ago, and they are in the storage room in the back. I know about the incident at 'Shi Se' Apparel Store, but I stocked these before they were lost. They absolutely cannot be the batch they lost."
The clothes looked the same. If he adamantly denied it, he didn't believe they could force him.
Yang Shuang and his colleagues exchanged glances and followed Jiang Weiguo to the storage room in the back.
"I think their family is just desperate after losing their clothes and trying to frame anyone they can. Comrades, I'm telling you, these clothes are definitely not from their shop. I bought them cleanly from someone else."
Yang Shuang opened a bag, took out a cashmere sweater, and flipped it over to show Jiang Weiguo the label. "As far as I know, the 'Peony' brand cashmere sweater was only sold in twelve hundred pieces by the wool mill."
Jiang Weiguo genuinely didn't know this, so he began to play dumb. "I really don't know this. The person who sold them to me didn't say where they got them from. Besides, it doesn't say 'Shi Se' Apparel Store on them, and I only have over six hundred pieces. You might be mistaken."
"Huh?" A police officer suddenly noticed the writing on the bag and exclaimed, "Xiao Yang, come look."
Yang Shuang turned and saw the words 'Shi Se Apparel Store Delivery' clearly written on the bag.
Jiang Weiguo also saw the writing on the bag. He thought he was mistaken and rubbed his eyes hard. He had clearly checked yesterday, and there was no writing on the bag. How could the words have flown onto it overnight?
"What do you have to explain now? Come with us," Yang Shuang said sternly.
"No, impossible, I clearly..." Jiang Weiguo stopped himself in time.
Although he didn't know how the words got there, the evidence was now conclusive. Jiang Weiguo knew that any further explanation would be seen as sophistry by the police. He could only shift the blame to others. "Comrades, I am also a victim. I had no idea this batch of cashmere sweaters was stolen. If I had known, even with a hundred times the courage, I wouldn't have dared to buy them."
Yang Shuang didn't bother listening to his rambling and turned to his colleagues. "You take him back for investigation first. I'll go notify the people from 'Shi Se' Apparel Store to identify the goods."
...
"Hey, have you heard? The boss of 'Mei Li' Garment Shop, Jiang Weiguo, is such a scoundrel. He saw that 'Shi Se' Apparel Store had good cashmere sweaters and came up with a wicked idea to steal all their clothes."
As per Chen Lishu's instructions, Zhao Xingwang bought cigarettes and struck up a casual conversation with the shop owner.
"I also heard that 'Shi Se' Apparel Store's clothes were stolen. So, it was a fight among peers? Wait, that's not right. Isn't that surnamed Jiang you mentioned the one selling goods at Yimin Store? How can he open a shop?"
Zhao Xingwang clicked his tongue. "He's just using a diversion tactic."
...
"Amitabha, we've finally found this batch of goods. The weight on my heart has finally lifted." Wang Aixiang's eyes were a little moist with emotion as she looked at the recovered goods.
"Officer Yang, thank you so much this time. If it weren't for your swift handling of the case, I wouldn't know what to do until now," Chen Lishu thanked him with a smile.
"This is all part of our duty. However, the situation might be more complicated than imagined. The comrade surnamed Jiang has consistently claimed to be framed, stating he bought them from someone else. The case requires further investigation, but don't worry, we will definitely bring the culprits to justice."
"Thank you for your trouble, Officer Yang."
After seeing Yang Shuang off, Chen Lishu looked at the closed 'Mei Li' Garment Shop not far away, then shifted her gaze to Yimin Store diagonally opposite. She refused to believe Jiang Weiguo was innocent. Since he dared to provoke her, he shouldn't blame her for being impolite.