The younger sister mistakenly identified her brother when visiting relatives and was kissed by the c

"When the police arrive, they'll have to interrogate him thoroughly and find out who ordered it! Who brings a dead cockroach to their meal out of nowhere?!"

The man was surrounded by the crowd, who pointed at him and cursed him, his face turning pale and then red. He struggled desperately, trying to break free from Qiao Xinxin's grasp, but her hand was like an iron clamp, tightly gripping the back of his collar, rendering him unable to move.

The man was so anxious that the veins on his forehead bulged, filled with regret and resentment. He never imagined that this young girl, who looked so young and spoke so softly, would be so formidable! Not only was she quick-witted, seeing through his tricks at a glance, but she was also so assertive, threatening to call the police without a word. Now he was truly in a bind.

Less than ten minutes later, a series of hurried and orderly footsteps came from the store entrance.

"Make way, everyone make way!"

Two police officers in imposing uniforms walked in one after the other. The one in front was a male police officer in his thirties with a square face and a very serious appearance.

As soon as he entered, he saw the shop packed with people, three layers deep. He frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice:

"What happened? Who reported the incident?"

"Officer, I'm the one who reported the case. Let me explain things to you."

When Qiao Xinxin saw the police arrive, she loosened the man's collar and went to greet him confidently. She calmly and clearly recounted to the police officers what had just happened, the suspicious cockroach, and the evidence under the man's fingernails.

The police officer leading the team listened and nodded. After Qiao Xinxin finished speaking, he turned his head, his sharp eyes coldly sweeping over the middle-aged man who was cowering in the corner, terrified.

"Comrade, is what this woman is saying true? How do you explain that half-eaten cockroach leg under your fingernail?"

The man was completely terrified. He was just a street urchin who idled around doing nothing but petty theft; he had never seen anything like this before.

Looking at the imposing uniform of the police officer, and then at the angry gazes of the dozens of diners around him, his knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground with a thud. Tears and snot streamed down his face as he cried out in a sob:

"Officer! I confess! I confess everything! This has nothing to do with me! It was Old Sun, the owner of the dumpling restaurant next door, who made me do it! He said the Bai family's little restaurant is doing too well, taking away too much of his business, and if this continues, his dumpling restaurant will have to close down. So he paid me to bring a dead cockroach to cause trouble and ruin the Bai family's reputation. He said he'd give me twenty yuan after it was done... I was just greedy for money, blinded by greed, please don't arrest me, I really know I was wrong!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the diners in the restaurant erupted in a cacophony of voices, as if a pot of oil had been boiled over:

"Good heavens! It was Old Sun from the dumpling shop next door who orchestrated this! How shameless!"

"Everyone has their own skills in business. The Bai family restaurant has delicious food and fair prices, so their business is booming—that's their own merit! He himself isn't good at cooking, and instead of trying to improve, he resorts to such underhanded tactics. It's really despicable!"

"That's right, officers! This kind of person can't be let off lightly! Today he dares to let people release cockroaches, who knows what he might do tomorrow with poison? He must be severely punished!"

After listening, the police officer's face darkened. He took out a small notebook, made a few notes, and then asked Qiao Xinxin and several eyewitnesses a few questions.

After confirming that Qiao Xinxin and the people in the store were willing to cooperate with the investigation, the older police officer turned to his colleague and said:

"Xiao Li, take this man with you. Let's go to the dumpling restaurant on the next street and summon Old Sun over for a confrontation."

Qiao Xinxin didn't go with them. She stayed in the shop, comforting Bai's frightened mother and letting her and her father continue serving the customers. After this incident, the diners not only didn't leave, but they ate even more heartily, all discussing Qiao Xinxin's cleverness and decisiveness.

About half an hour later, there was noise again at the store entrance.

The police officer walked in, followed by a middle-aged man with his head drooping, looking like a defeated rooster. That man was none other than Old Sun, the owner of the dumpling restaurant on the next street.

As soon as Old Sun entered, he saw Qiao Xinxin sitting behind the counter. His face twitched violently, and he lowered his head somewhat awkwardly, muttering indistinctly:

"I'm so sorry... Sister Bai, I was confused for a moment. I shouldn't have done such a despicable thing. Please forgive my rudeness..."

The police officer leading the team stepped forward and said to Qiao Xinxin:

"Comrade Qiao, the matter has been investigated. Sun Dazhu instigated others to attempt extortion, which failed, and also engaged in malicious competition and spread rumors. Given the seriousness of the offense, we have fined him one hundred yuan according to the law, and this matter will be filed with the local police station. If anything happens to Baijia Restaurant again in the future, he will be the prime suspect. As for the man who committed the extortion, because he was acting under orders and voluntarily confessed and cooperated with the investigation, we gave him a serious reprimand and education, and released him after he wrote a guarantee. This one hundred yuan fine is compensation for the damage to your restaurant's reputation; please keep it."

As he spoke, the police officer took out ten brand-new, bright green "Big Unity" bills from his pocket and handed them to Qiao Xinxin.

One hundred yuan is definitely not a small amount these days. An ordinary worker's monthly salary is only about thirty yuan, so one hundred yuan is equivalent to two or three months' expenses for an average family, and for Lao Sun's dumpling restaurant, it's more than half a month's net profit.

Old Sun watched as the ten ten-yuan bills were handed to Qiao Xinxin, his eyes reddening with pain. He glared at her fiercely, his gaze filled with a murderous intent that seemed to want to devour this young, yet incredibly shrewd, girl alive. But no matter how angry he was, he dared not act rashly in front of the police, and could only grit his teeth and clench his fists tightly.

Qiao Xinxin took the stack of money, but didn't even glance at Lao Sun.

She took the money in her hand, turned her head, looked at Bai's mother who was staring at her nervously, and said in a gentle but unusually firm voice:

"Mom, we can't take this money."

Bai's mother was taken aback, blinking in confusion. "Huh? Xin Xin, this is a hundred yuan! Why wouldn't we take it? Why would we turn down money?"

Qiao Xinxin smiled sweetly and, holding Bai's mother's hand, explained:

"Mom, we run a restaurant, serving the neighborhood. We value honesty and integrity. This money was earned by Old Sun through his dirty tricks. If we accept it, people will inevitably gossip behind our backs, saying we're making money by extorting people. I'm thinking, let's donate this hundred yuan directly to our neighborhood office. Let the comrades there use this money to buy some quilts, coal, or something for the elderly people living alone in our neighborhood, so they can have a comfortable winter. What do you think?"