Witness and Evidence
The shop assistant from Fortune Silver Jewelers was named Alan Bright, and today he was visiting his third uncle's house as a relative.
The village chief asked, "Alan, do you know them?"
Alan Bright laughed, "Third Uncle, of course I know them! Just a few days ago, they bought something from our Fortune Silver Jewelers, and I was the one who sold it to them. I remember this young lady's husband—he sure knows how to pick jewelry! He chose an orchid hairpin for his wife, and a plum blossom hairpin for his mother-in-law."
Lily covered her mouth and chuckled, saying, "Alan, what a coincidence! So the village chief is your third uncle! Take a look at this hairpin—is this the one you sold me?"
Lily handed the plum blossom hairpin to Alan. Alan took it, looked it over, and said, "Yes, this is definitely from our Fortune Silver Jewelers. Each design has only one piece, and I remember it clearly—this is exactly the hairpin you and your husband bought that day."
Helen Parker never expected her luck to be this bad. Her face grew awkward, and she blurted out weakly, "You sell so many hairpins, how could you possibly remember them all? Maybe you're mistaken."
Alan Bright replied, "There's no way I'd be mistaken. Every piece from Fortune Silver Jewelers has our own mark, and everything sold is recorded in the ledger—how much it sold for and who bought it. It's all written down, black and white, can't be wrong!"
Helen Parker had never shopped at a high-end jewelry store and had no idea about such procedures. She stared in shock, just about to come up with an excuse, when Cynthia Wu rushed over, panting, and shoved a piece of paper into Lily's hand. "Lily, I brought you what you asked for!"
Lily smiled and patted Cynthia Wu's back. "Look at you, out of breath! Did you run all the way here?"
Cynthia Wu waved her hand, acting like it was nothing, and glared at Helen Parker. "I'm just impatient—I can't stand to see petty people get ahead! I'd squash them right away if I could!"
Lily handed the receipt to the Village Chief, her smile sly as a fox. "Village Chief, here's the receipt from Fortune Silver Jewelers. The design of my plum blossom hairpin is even drawn on it—there's no mistake. If you don't believe me, Alan can verify it."
The Village Chief examined the paper—it was genuine. Alan took a look as well and confirmed it for Lily.
With both the receipt and Alan Bright as a witness, Lily had all the proof she needed. Helen Parker wanted to argue, but she couldn't get a word out, her neck stiff with frustration.
"Everyone can see it now—whose jewelry is this?" Lily called out loudly.
The villagers, indignant and riled up, began cursing Helen Parker and Grandma Evans for their shamelessness.
Grandma Evans blushed furiously at the scolding. She slapped Helen Parker hard across the face, yelling, "You wretched woman! You dare to trick me? Using me as your pawn, huh? Just wait till we get home—I'll deal with you then!"
Helen Parker's hair came undone from the slap, leaving her disheveled and with a swollen cheek.
She looked up at the villagers—all of them were either cursing or mocking her. Susan Evans, the third daughter-in-law, was secretly enjoying the spectacle from the crowd, hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.
Helen Parker wiped her face and glared venomously at Lily Evans. "You clearly had the receipt all along, so why did you wait till the last minute to show it? Were you just trying to embarrass me? How could you be so cruel? Are you deliberately trying to ruin me?"
"So you hit my mother and called us thieves, and somehow that's my fault?" Lily massaged her forehead. This woman was shameless to the extreme—truly unbeatable!
"You did it on purpose!" Helen Parker shrieked like a mad dog. "You heartless wretch, you're trying to kill me! You evil thing!"
"Enough! Haven't you made a big enough scene?" At the doorway, Arthur Evans barked loudly.
Helen Parker snapped her head around and saw Arthur Evans standing at the entrance to Dr. Wu's courtyard, his face dark with anger as he glared at her.