Chapter 483: Going Crazy
Aside from the one thousand yuan she’d spent here and there on the camera and film, she still had three thousand left.
But now that three thousand yuan, along with the camera, was gone. Vanished, right along with Su Dan.
It was obvious Su Dan had taken the money. Despite Qin Shanshan’s desperate attempts to hide it from him, he had found it and stolen it.
Qin Shanshan nearly lost her mind.
That three thousand yuan was her lifeline.
Miao Fenghua was shocked to hear the news. Even though she’d always coveted that three thousand yuan, she couldn’t rest easy with Su Dan just taking off with it.
"We have to find Su Dan and get that money back, no matter what. Otherwise, who knows what he’ll spend that three thousand on!"
Qin Shanshan’s eyes were bloodshot. She paid no mind to her ever-growing belly and was about to go look for Su Dan.
But before she could even leave the house, her intense emotions brought on a sudden stomach cramp.
Miao Fenghua had to desperately hold her back.
"I’ll go! I’ll go find Dan Dan! I’ll bring him back, I swear it!"
Limping and covered in injuries, Miao Fenghua set out on her journey to find Su Dan.
This was nothing new for Miao Fenghua. She spoiled Su Dan, and he never worked a day in his life. Whenever he was bored, he’d go to the town or the county seat to amuse himself.
Miao Fenghua had gone searching for Su Dan plenty of times before.
Miao Fenghua spent two days limping all over the town and county seat, searching every single place Su Dan might have gone. But in the end, she still couldn’t find him.
Unable to find Su Dan and worried about leaving Qin Shanshan at home alone, Miao Fenghua had no choice but to return to Su Family Village.
She thought perhaps Su Dan might have already returned to Su Family Village on his own.
Unfortunately, she was disappointed. Su Dan had not returned to Su Family Village; there wasn’t even a trace of him.
When Qin Shanshan saw that Miao Fenghua had returned without Su Dan, her eyes rolled back in their sockets and she fainted on the spot.
"My money! My money! My camera!"
Those were the last words Qin Shanshan uttered before she passed out.
That four thousand yuan was what Qin Shanshan had traded her entire life’s happiness and a woman’s most precious virginity for. How could she not be furious? How could she not faint?
Ever since Su Dan took the money, Qin Shanshan hadn’t been able to eat or sleep. When she saw Miao Fenghua return without him, the shock was too much to bear, and she fainted.
When she fainted, Qin Shanshan even started to spot.
"Oh no! My grandson! My grandson!"
The spotting terrified Miao Fenghua. Fortunately, it was just a scare from the stress; her grandson was fine.
When Qin Shanshan woke up, she knew she couldn’t risk moving around recklessly. After thinking it over and over, she began to suspect that Su Dan might have gone to the Imperial City.
"Do you think Su Dan went to find Su Li? Mom, go ask her."
At Qin Shanshan’s words, Miao Fenghua slapped her hands together.
"Of course! He probably did go find Su Li! I’ve already searched everywhere else he’d go."
So Miao Fenghua went to the village committee office to borrow their phone and call Su Li. Unfortunately, no one on Su Li’s end answered.
Angry and worried, Miao Fenghua limped out of the village committee office.
"That ungrateful wretch Su Li! If I’d known, I would have smothered you at birth! Ungrateful wretch!"
Miao Fenghua cursed Su Li through gritted teeth. Hearing about how much money Su Li’s factory was making while she herself didn’t see a single cent of it—how could she not be furious?
"You’d better hope Dan Dan went to find you. If he did and you dare not give him money, I’ll beat you to death!"
Muttering curses, Miao Fenghua returned home and, enduring the pain wracking her body, started cooking for Qin Shanshan.
’Nothing can happen to the precious grandson in Qin Shanshan’s belly!’
Meanwhile, Su Li was completely unaware of what was happening with Miao Fenghua’s family, nor did she know her mother was trying to reach her.
She and her friends had been out all day and only got home after dark.
It was already dark when they got home. After a night’s rest, it was back to school the next day.
With final exams just around the corner, that one day of rest was all she got before she had to dive headfirst into studying.
After a busy day, Su Li returned home that evening and finally got the call from Miao Fenghua.
Su Li didn’t know it was Miao Fenghua on the other end. She initially thought the call was from Wu Sheng, so she answered cheerfully.
"Hello?"
"Su Li, you bitch! So you finally decided to answer your phone..."
Miao Fenghua’s curses came pouring through the receiver.
Miao Fenghua was on the verge of exploding with rage.
She had been calling all day, dozens of times, and had only just now gotten through to a person. Holding in all that frustration, how could she not start screaming?
"Say one more curse word and I’m hanging up."
Su Li’s expression turned cold as she cut her off.
Miao Fenghua choked. She wanted to keep right on screaming, but the thought that this ungrateful wretch Su Li might actually hang up on her forced her to swallow her words. The effort nearly made her keel over.
"Did your brother come looking for you? Have you seen him?"
Miao Fenghua asked, her face beet-red with suppressed rage.
Su Li answered immediately. "No, I haven’t seen him."
"You haven’t seen him? How could you not have seen him? Didn’t he go to find you? Don’t you dare lie to me!"
Miao Fenghua was taken aback.
"I said no." Su Li took a deep breath. "If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up."
’Miao Fenghua definitely had other things to say—like cursing her, demanding money, or ordering her to help find Su Dan.’
So, true to her word, Su Li hung up. She didn’t want to listen to whatever else Miao Fenghua had to say and just get angry for no reason.
Su Li hung up the phone decisively.
On the other end, just as Su Li had thought, Miao Fenghua had a million other things to say, but she never got the chance.
"Go find your brother— Hello? Hello?! Su Li, you bitch, you actually hung up on me!"
Miao Fenghua was furious. After a stream of curses, she tried calling back, but now no one was picking up.
She didn’t know that Su Li had already, with brisk satisfaction, unplugged the phone cord from the wall.
Miao Fenghua cursed for ages, but in the end, there was nothing she could do. The anger on her face gave way to pure worry.
’If Su Dan didn’t go to the Imperial City to find Su Li, then where in the world did he go?’
Only Su Dan knew the answer to that.
Genuinely worried about her son, and with Qin Shanshan growing more frantic by the day about the stolen money, Miao Fenghua had no other choice. The next day, she once again set out, limping, on the search for Su Dan.
She spent another two days searching without finding a single trace of Su Dan. Just as a frantic Miao Fenghua was about to ask the villagers for help, Su Dan finally came home.
Su Dan was back, and he’d even brought the camera with him. The three thousand yuan, however, was nowhere to be seen.
According to him, he had gone to the city to "broaden his horizons."
And he refused to admit, on pain of death, that he had taken Qin Shanshan’s three thousand yuan.
"I didn’t take any money. I don’t know what money you’re talking about. I didn’t take it."
Seeing Su Dan’s staunch denial, Qin Shanshan was overcome with rage. Without a second thought, she lunged at him and started attacking.
"You didn’t take it? If you didn’t take it, did the money just grow legs and run away? And you still won’t admit it! This is three thousand yuan, not thirty-three! Don’t even think about denying it!"
Qin Shanshan was beside herself with fury, her strength surging as she beat Su Dan until he shrieked in agony.
"I didn’t take it! OWW! I didn’t take it! Stop accusing me! I only took the camera, and I brought it back, didn’t I?"
Su Dan’s protests were undermined by his guilty conscience, so he didn’t dare fight back. He just covered his head and took the beating.
Qin Shanshan hit and scratched him, and when that wasn’t enough, she started tearing at his clothes.
"Where did you hide the money? Give it to me! Just give it back, and I’ll forgive you for taking it."
As Qin Shanshan tore off his clothes, Su Dan begged for mercy, trying to cover himself while crying that he’d been framed.
"I didn’t take it! I really didn’t!"
In the end, Su Dan was left stark naked, but she hadn’t found a single cent on him.